Desert Warriors

In this blog segment, we explore some of the gear preferences and unique playing style of our good friends at High Desert Scenario.  Only a matter of 2.5 hours away, their environment is polar opposite compared to the drippy, wet Willamette Valley. Large rocks and small trees dot an arid landscape known for its temperature extremes and unique landmarks. It’s a real trip playing on their field. They’ve created a wonderful community around it too.  Teams from all over come down to test their skills on a very unique and diversified playing field full of urban bunkers, trench warfare and long distance tactics.

Our good friend dtr43 sat down with us for a little one-on-one chit chat:

1.Can you tell us about the advantages of using both a tac-cap and a flatline barrel setup? It seems like this configuration is common.

Some of the Central OR teams started using these for a couple reasons… The primary ones being that they hold less paint so it forces you to think about your shots, it fine tunes your reloading and team communication when doing so, and sometimes can rid a case of spray and pray and put you back on track to being as efficient as possible with your shot choices. Also being smaller size they take up less of your field of view. Tac caps are pretty popular amongst Central OR but we also like to mix it up with hoppers sometimes too.

The Flatlines (and Apex barrels) are popular around here for the simple fact that they reach out a little further than traditional straight barrels. Both HDS and all of the local public land fields have open areas, and strongholds that having one of these barrels may make the difference between you or the enemy walking to respawn. Another bonus is they are or can be made to be fairly short barrels, which work good in the cramped quarters of CQB, but then still reach out to touch someone in the open.

2. With regard to attire, how do HDS teams deal with the heat of a Bend summer?

Personally in the summer months I will wear an underarmor tshirt and standard multicam BDU bottoms and my tac vest just how I run it all year long. Most people will do the same but may just wear a standard cotton tshirt. Once in awhile we’ll get someone who wears shorts or is even crazy enough too go shirtless. The main thing in the hot months is to drink lots and lots of water. Drink water even if you’re not thirsty, each break take a couple drinks and get into the shade for a few minutes to cool off. At times of extreme heat we will occasionally have night games or early morning starts to beat the worst of it.

3. What is the number one thing you or most HDS players consider when looking to purchase a marker for your environment?

Me personally, and I think to say its safe for most in our area want something that is durable. Something that can get the fine sand and dirt that we have around here in it and still work. Something that we can drop or fall onto in a pile of rocks. Something that can get wet with rain or covered in snow. Something that takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’! That’s why you see alot of Tippmanns around here…

4. Are snow battles a common occurrence on the HDS field?

Snow games aren’t that common out there now adays. Before the conditional use permit and regulated hours/days of use we would have hoth battles all the time! Now adays throughout the winter we can only have one game per month with 30 players max so that hampers things and it just depends on if the weather cooperates with our chosen game date for the month. People do still play in the snow around here, but more often than not the games happen on public land, and not HDS.

5. How big of a problem has safety been given the heavy CQB style?

As far as I know we have not had any CQB safety issues out there. We always warn people at our game briefings that “if you go into the CQB areas there’s a pretty good chance you will get shot at close range” and that “if that doesn’t sound like your type of game then stick to the more open areas”. Luckily HDS has a lot of both types of terrain to play on so people can kind of pick and chose what they want to do on the field.

6. Do you prefer the name Murdoc or Marloch?

Murdoc all the way, reminds me of the A-team! -cue theme music-