More Power!

Fred brought to my attention that at 40 yrs old, this is a time when we should be aware of our pysical abilities. I thought long and hard about getting back into martial arts, boxing, or even just jogging or biking again. Maybe I too should have choosen martial arts, because it's mental as well as pysical. But, for two plus years, I've declined the offer of friends and co-worker to join their paint ball team at work. I accepted three weeks ago to give it a try.Since then I've been comitted to playing once or twice a week. we free style play, meaning we do what we want upon agreed uponed terms, such as shoot until the other poeple submit.

It is really great exercise. we have a great deal of land to play in, we all take it very seriously. Defender or attacker; you're still in the middle of the woods running, jumping, and dodging. War games to the max!!! The only thing that you have is your endurance to pain. If you've never been shot with a paint ball, I can't tell ya what it feels like, but it is not un-common for guys to wear softball bruices for a week. you either submit and quit or you get shot even more.

I am a federally certified millwright, I make a living by knowing how machines work. Electrically, pneumatically, hydraulically, or mechanically I'm the guy you want when you want the most your piece of equipment can give you. When the engineer walks away, I'm the guy that makes his creation work in the real world.

I once tweeked a Mossburg 500 AB's ejector so much, it ejected the shells forty-five degrees; over the right shoulder of the shooter. Don't ask why... It's a piece of machinery; I take it apart to understand how it works, then I play with it. This is my curse.

So, I bought a fifty dollar paint ball gun. A Paradox make and played with it for two weeks, as is. Then I took it apart to understand it. Nothing is simple as pneumaticss are simple; so I begin to seek ways to increase it's power. The first couple of attempts made it to hard to cock, but I took it from there and built "more power".

My Problem now is that I have a paint ball gun that shoots through an eighth inch of plastic! The PPE (Personnal Protection Equipment) worn during these game are not enough. I am scheduled to play tomorrow against a rival team, and I am not sure of the ability of my opponient's PPE. I will be forced to drop out, or buy a new retardard gun.

I would never use the gun in play now, but what has come to my mind is non-leathal defense. I've made home made Zip-Guns, who hasn't. You make'em, shoot'em and take'em back apart, This is different though. Like most of the Zip-Guns I've made that shot Tennis balls or what not, it's not leathal, but no-one would want to get hit by it.

Unlike those though, I can lock and load this as fast as I can throw a clip into anyone of my pistols. I can even make it more powerful than it is. What is the eithical thing to do? Should I continue to build it up? Am I braking laws I'm not aware of? It has started out as fun, exercise, that's all. Now I'm thinking of something much more!!!

Who would expect such a thing? It's quite, it's ass kicking, and it's fun! Do I walk away. do I expand? I don't know? What do you think?