I am going to start off this article with a hard hitting line – filling your own tanks, as well as others can be scary as hell if you don’t have the right fill station. I hope you understand how sincere I am about this, as I’ve been there, I’ve seen what can happen when the wrong fill station is used.

Back in the day, when I was running my own paintball field, we would fill peoples tanks for a small sum. It was a pretty sweet deal, in fact, it wasn’t uncommon for us to make a couple hundred bucks a month from doing this – even in the small town we lived in. We’d literally get people from every town around us, and believe me, when you charge nothing – people find you.

Anyway, back to the story. You’ve heard the horror stories, of how entire tanks and canisters explode during filling… well, for me, and this situation, it wasn’t the tank that exploded — it was the fill station.

It was a normal weekend night, and we were filling our tanks before hand in preparation for the busy Saturday we had planned for. I had just gotten back from practice, so I let my brother go ahead and start filling up the tanks. We had a friend over the time, who was with my brother while he was filling. From what I heard, everything was going fine. I was upstairs getting something to eat, and then all of a sudden I heard a loud POW! What followed was a massive hissing sound, as if gas was just pouring out a large hole. Before I could make my way down the stairs into the basement, it stopped.

Apparently, what had happened, was a seal within the fill station had been compromised, and allowed air to escape. The tank’s pressure was so great, that it literally destroyed that seal, causing the loud pop I heard upstairs. Thankfully, while the air was gushing out, the friend that was watching was able to walk over and close the tank (he was a welders son, so he had been around these kinds of things).

While you may think the lesson here is to have an experienced friend nearby while filling tanks — it isn’t. What you really need is a quality fill station. If we were running a legit business, and had that happen while customers present, what would they think? Honestly?

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Paintball is more than just a sport or hobby for your spare time. Like with any other team situation, there are a number of ways you can benefit in other areas of your life with what you learn playing paintball. From team work to physical fitness, there is a lot that can be learned from this sport.

One of the most valuable lessons learned in paintball is that of team work and being interdependent. Conquering these two lessons will prepare you for many situations you will face as a professional in the business world as well as in your recreational activities. Learning to rely on others and where your place is in a group will make you valuable in the work place as well as a loyal friend.

On the paintball field, each player has his/her own position and responsibilities. Each position is important to have filled. How one player is fairing in the tournament very much affects how all the other players on the team are doing as well. With most occupations you will have similar situations in which you will be depending on coworkers to do their part of the work. Paintball, however, is a lot more enjoyable way to strengthen these necessary skills.

Paintball also strengthens your mind and your ability to make decisions quickly. On the paintball field you will be faced with situations when you have to make a choice right then with no time to debate your options. You learn to think fast! You may even develop your own strategies that help you make the best decision on such short notice. Not only do you not have much time to make these decisions but you are under high stress as well. Chances are, you have paintballs whizzing by you and the wrong move could lose the game for you and your team.

Agility and physical conditioning are important aspects you will also develop while playing paintball. There is tons of movement in every paintball game. Sometimes your position, such as the sniper, will not be moving around a whole lot during the game, but other positions will be constantly on the go. You may be required to run, dive, jump, or any number of physical actions. Being quick on your feet, however, also contributes to your mental acuity as well; there is a direct correlation between your physical and mental health and you will develop both when playing paintball.

Shooting skills can be very helpful as well. In instances where you may come face to face with a home invasion or mugging you want to be as prepared as possible. Having experienced high stress decision making on the paintball field will only help you make similar decisions in a real life threatening situation. Of course it never hurts to know how to properly handle a gun, aim at your target, and to know trigger control. In fact, police forces and military often use paintball guns to practice and train their men.

Start playing paintball because it’s a great way to improve your mental and physical conditioning. Learn how to work with others on a team and take command of a situation. Paintball gives you plenty of practice making quick decisions under stressful conditions. Gear up today at ChoicePaintballGuns to start enjoying the game of a lifetime. This store offers helpful customer service and low prices on complete set ups to get started playing right away.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Levesque

Paintball is a team sport and like every other team sport one weak link can be the downfall for the entire team. Every team has to know what the strengths and weaknesses of each player are so they can perform drills to turn those weaknesses into strengths making them an all around better player. Constant drilling can turn a unprepared team into a unstoppable force on the paintball field making other teams cower behind their bunkers.

Here are 3 drills every team should have in their practice line up!

One-on-One: Have two players face off at opposite facing bunkers. Each player is allowed to shoot one ball then they have to check back into their bunker before shooting another ball. This helps your players practice accuracy with snap shooting instead of spraying paint all over the place. They go until one of the players is struck by a paintball ending the duel.

Run-and-Gun: For this one have some cardboard boxes set up down the course behind a few bunkers. Pick the path you want to run down the course and have your players go through it shooting the boxes as they go. This drill helps to hone accuracy with your shooting while running.

Face-Off: Have two of your players start at opposite end of the course at the breakout zone. Blow a whistle and have them start shooting as they start running at each other through the course. Once a player is hit the duel is over. This drill is great for practicing zoning off the break of a game.

Start putting these drills into effect with your practice schedule and I guarantee you will see leaps in how your players begin reacting in game situations. You will not only begin winning games but dominating your local or national tournament circuits.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Zach_Manning

Berlin is well known for renowned universities, research institutes, museums and politics. Being the capital of Germany it has its own great importance. It is a beautiful city with plenty of greenery, lakes, fountains, parks and rivers all around. It is famous for manufacturing cars and other heavy engineering products. Berlin is also known to be a famous tourist destination. If you have not travelled to Berlin then your journey to Europe remains incomplete. The best thing about visiting this place is that you need not make big plans in advance to come here. Even a last minute plan would be sufficient.

Weekends in Berlin are quite happening as the culture of nightlife and party is fabulous. The important places of the city are all booked before the start of the weekend and you get prior intimation through e-mails. Else you may always check an organizer’s website. If you visit the city on a New Year’s Eve, then you find the atmosphere to be even more exciting. The crowd comes in the open on the streets. You may find them at the symbolic Bradenburg Gate, cheering and sipping wine. You get to eat the pancake at midnight. You would love to see a sky colored with the sparkle of firecrackers. The DJ night is organized all over the city in the open. You may go clubbing till the next morning.

You may sometimes be lucky enough to be a part of the various carnivals in the city. Weekends in Berlin best suited for these events. Some of the most famous carnivals are -

. Love Parade

. Club Transmidiale

. Jazz Fest Berlin

. Karneval del Kulturen

These colorful carnivals have the best of the media coverage. The people throng the streets in the most colorful dresses and the enthusiasm level is the highest.

A typical weekend for the youth in Berlin starts with the usual get together. They head towards any club or event organizers. The day may start with camping, horse riding or paintball shooting. In fact paintball shooting is the most preferred activity. The guys all geared up in the helmet, the dress and equipments get divided into groups and run after the life of their rival groups. The set up or the war zone may be chosen by you. You may choose to compete in a marshy land, meadows or in a forest. However, the main aim is always to charge around blasting the life out of your rival.

To make your Berlin weekend memorable you may visit several famous monuments around the city. You may also be witness to various live art and cultural shows being performed. Some of the famous museums in the city are -

. Neues Museum

. Bode Museum

. Altes Museum

. DDR Museum

Hence you need not rally plan your tour to the city in advance. Just pack your stuff and have a blast there.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Morgan_Bailey

Since it’s going to cost ongoing money for regular supplies (paintballs, new guns, parts, paintball equipment, etc.), it doesn’t make sense to NOT make a business of it and try to make money. Depending on how large of an operation you want to start out with, there may be a significant initial investment involved in buying all the equipment you’re going to need. This is another reason to run your paintball field as a business.

Most of the people interested in starting a paintball field already have land they will use. You can also purchase a piece of property to open the business, however know what you’re getting into before you go! Unless you can find a super cheap deal on property, it’s very rare for a start-up paintball field to generate enough money to pay a mortgage. Your best bet is to already own the property or perhaps go into business with someone who owns land; you can possibly rent the land or consider offering a percentage of the business to the landowner.

If you’re starting your own paintball field, there are certain pieces of equipment that will be essential. The best advice is to start small and add more equipment as you need. When starting a business, you will want to have a clear goal in mind about how big you plan to get; but don’t let your delusions of grandeur ruin your math skills. Keep a close tally of all costs from the very beginning, starting with the first quote on paintball gear.

Before you even start gathering equipment quotes, there are obvious steps you will have to take that are the same for starting any business. Setting up your business entity and getting a local business license will be necessary beginning steps to becoming a retail dealer. Every penny counts when starting a business, so getting dealer prices for your equipment quotes is a must. This is a mandatory first step – become a dealer with the paintball wholesale companies/manufacturers you want to deal with before requesting an initial equipment quote.

The equipment you will need to start a paintball field can become exhaustive quickly, but you’re better off to start with the bare minimum. Don’t start by building the paintball field of your dreams right off the bat; start your business with the bare minimum and build into a larger operation with more equipment as your clientele list grows. You will need bunkers, paintball guns with hoppers, air tanks, and plenty of paintballs. At first, you can save money on buying only a few paintball markers for people who don’t have one, but allow players to bring their own. The problem with this is you will get complaints about players who have unfair advantages with totally decked out paintball guns.

You can level the playing field somewhat with a chronograph. This device will ensure everyone’s gun has the same velocity. The other disadvantage of allowing players to bring their own guns is you will be missing out on renting/making money on an essential piece of gear – without a paintball gun, you can’t play. To save money on your initial equipment investment, however, “bring you own” policies will let you get by with a smaller number of guns for your first purchase.

Perhaps one of your largest equipment costs is your air tank refill station. This will require a commercial sized air compressor; depending on the size you want, these can cost between $4500-$14000. You will also need one (if not several) industrial bulk sized air tanks to store the air you produce from the compressor. Finally, you will need a fill station scale and air tank refill kit to transfer the air from the bulk sized tank to the smaller paintball gun air tanks.

While your air tank refill station may be one of your more expensive equipment commitments, it’s also a definite regular income source of every paintball field. Eventually this investment will pay off – everyone at your field will need air tank refills and will have to pay what you ask if they want to keep playing. If there are a lot of paintballers in your area, you can also sell tank refills to anyone with an empty tank even if they’re not field customers.

The best way to save money on your air tank refill station is to consider purchasing a package deal. You can get much better prices when purchasing an air compressor and bulk air tanks together. There are different size packages available – containing smaller air compressors and few bulk tanks and larger air compressors with several tanks. All the necessary gauges, valves, lines and hoses you will need are also included.

Other essential equipment when starting a paintball field are bunkers. When deciding on what bunkers to use, first decide if your field will cater more towards speedball or scenario paintball. This decision may also be impacted by how much room you have to work with or the actual lay of the land. Fortunately, bunkers can be made of just about anything and still be effective. Old cars, stacks of tires, barrels, and even rock piles work great. In some cases the land itself may provide natural bunkers with hills, old barns or buildings, trees or different elevations.

You can also purchase inflatable bunkers of all shapes and sizes for your paintball field. Shapes available include large triangles, rectangles, and cylinders that provide great cover while playing. These types of bunkers are often used in speedball matches. Inflatable bunkers are also available for scenario play as well and come in shapes of walls, buildings/forts and armored vehicles such as tanks and personal carriers. These bunkers are great; easy to set up and will give your field an awesome look. The disadvantage is they are expensive and are probably cost prohibitive for the start up paintball field.

Another method of making money with your field is by renting out equipment for people to use when playing. This equipment will consist of a paintball gun, mask, hopper and air tank. You can also offer various protective equipment like chest or groin protectors, helmets or even tactical vests. After your field has a positive cash flow, you can upgrade your equipment rentals with better masks or guns (offered at higher fees) or attachments to the markers, like better barrels or sniping scopes – also offered at higher rentals fees.

Choose the type of paintball guns you’re going to offer as a rental at your field based on which type of play will be available. If your paintball field is going to be for scenario woodsball type play, consider the Tippmann 98. These guns are super sturdy, easy to maintain and there are tons of accessories and modifications for them. Tippmann also offers warranties on all their equipment and they have great customer service.

If your field is going to cater more for speedball, consider using Spyder paintball guns. Spyder competition style markers are easy to maintain and super sturdy. They’re also light and fast enough to compete with the higher dollar guns; but so easy to use, they’re great for beginners. The best thing about Spyder paintball guns like the Sonix, Xtra or Victor is they’re all very high quality guns but cost less than $100 each. These guns are a great place to start because they’re so durable and cost the least.

Another mandatory piece of equipment is protective gear. To provide the most fun at your field, you must ensure proper safety at all times – industry approved paintball goggles must be worn by every player. Choose goggles that are light, sturdy and cheap. The Tippman mask is a good one to start with. Also check out the Hawkeye paintball goggles by RAP4. RAP4 is also a solid company and very easy to work with; they will probably be the quickest to offer better pricing when buying in bulk.

One great way to save a lot of money when purchasing paintball equipment is to buy your gear in a package deal. For example, the Tippmann 98 Power Pack contains the gun, 9 oz CO2 tank, hopper, and goggles for a much cheaper price than if you purchased these items separately. You can get an even better deal when you purchase multiple Power Packs for a deeper volume discount. These packages are also a very convenient way to group your gear together; for example, if you buy 10x Power Packs, you’ve got a complete set – up for ten players ready to go.

Next, you will need to stock up on paintballs. If you’re a shroud businessman, paintballs can be a great money maker at your field. Make paintballs a “must buy” policy at your establishment – “if you want to play on our field, you must use house paintballs.” Your ability to make money selling paintballs will depend heavily on how good of a deal you can get. Unfortunately, paintballs are expensive and you’re only going to get the best price markdowns unless you purchase palettes of paintballs (50+ cases).

This also presents the small dilemma of where you’re going to store your paintball stash. Paintballs must be stored in climate controlled air or they will go bad, warp and not shoot right. If you plan on storing your paintballs in the old barn on your field, you’re going to waste a lot of money, not to mention hurt your business. If the paintballs you sell at your field break inside player’s guns or won’t fly straight because they’ve gone bad, people will not have the best time at your park and won’t want to come back.

Karnage brand.68 caliber paintballs would be an excellent place to start. These are probably the best grade/quality for the cheapest price on the market. They come in several grades (that you can also sell at your field) and the owner is willing to offer great deals on bulk orders. RAP4’s AG1 and Eco friendly field paintballs are also a great bang for the buck. Often, you can also get even better deals from a company if you’re going to buy a lot of gear from them – or you’ll be buying a lot all of the time.

Once you’ve bought your equipment, give your field a field test – make sure it’s fun to play on! You’ll quickly find however that there’s more to it than just getting to play anytime you want. In fact, if you’re not business savvy enough, you’re ability to play anytime you want will soon be gone as will all the money you’ve spent! Be smart by studying every aspect of what it takes to be successful in your business before opening. Visit www.ChoicePaintballGuns.com for great deals on paintball park and field equipment.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Levesque

If you’re one of the few who already own a patch of land and want to turn it into a paintball field, you’ve got it made! You can play on it all you want and can turn it into a business if you want. If you’re like most however, you may owe money on the property you use (either as rent or a loan payment). For most people, the cost of starting a commercial paintball field will force them into business mode. If you’ve got the right location, marketing plan and set-up, running a paintball field can be a great money-making business. Plan ahead and start small!

Once you’ve gotten a quote on all the equipment, you’ll soon realize how committed you’re going to have to be by the size of the debt that can quickly accumulate. Initial equipment costs will require a loan for most people; then there’s the ongoing monthly bills you must also consider… a mortgage bill (if you have one), ongoing supplies like paintballs and replacement parts for your guns. Don’t forget the payments for your liability insurance policy to cover you in case someone gets hurt.

With a high level of commitment involved, it’s best to start your paintball field with a clear plan in mind from the very beginning. Write up a business plan with a mission statement and written goals with timelines. Come up with an aggressive marketing plan that not only includes initial start-up advertising campaigns but regular ongoing promotional ideas as well.

Before embarking on a journey of this magnitude, read everything you can get your hands on regarding this subject. Take your time in researching companies thoroughly before going into business with them. Remember – how they treat you is also how one of your customers could be treated in case they have to deal with them. If possible, travel to several paintball fields in different areas/states to speak with the owner and managers; look around to steal ideas and observe how their operation runs. Only spend time with the successful fields; see if you can figure out more ways of making money at your own field by copying their successful traits.

Another great way of making money at your field is by having a Pro-Shop on the premises. This would be a small store where players can buy paintball guns and equipment from you. You had to become a dealer anyway to get a better deal on your initial equipment purchase; you might as well try to sell more of their products. You can sell parts, upgrade kits, markers, masks and even apparel if you want. Having a pro-shop may also attract new customers to your field. Sometimes, people who just come to the paintball shop didn’t even know you had a field to play on – they may become patrons of your field as well.

After you’ve got all the equipment, your course is ready and the doors are open…. The initial success of your paintball field business will depend on one thing – how effective and consistent your marketing is. Get the word out that you’re a new paintball field open for business every way possible. Flier campaigns to churches, schools, youth groups, boy/girl scouts; website/landing page and direct mail campaigns are a good start.

Get involved with the local community as much as possible. Sponsor tournaments and organize events to be held at your field. Sponsor a local team for your field – and put them to work for you marketing your business! It might even be a wise investment to purchase netting or an inflatable course (with walls) you can travel with to set-up a temporary paintball field/arena wherever you can. Bringing a paintball event to a community festival, town event or even a block party is a great way to get the word out about your field.

It’s also a good idea to consider aligning your business plan with a higher cause to affect the greater good. This means your paintball field is a business to not only make money, but also to help troubled teens, for example (or any other cause you want to help). Since paintball is mostly played by teenagers, and is a great, safe outlet of energy and exercise – why not pick this group? Who knows, you might even end helping a troubled teen or two! Positioning yourself with a cause like this can also help attract new, different clients – who have no interest in paintball whatsoever, but still become patrons to support your cause.

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