What's happening to RECON?

As some of you who follow RECON may have noticed, there have been some changes coming down the line. Dawn “Editor” Allcot, the editor of RECON for almost the past year, and her husband TJ are currently expecting their first child. As any of you who have children know (and any of you still living at home are also aware), this can be quite a time-consuming process! In light of that, Dawn has stepped down from her position as editor, and I have taken on the responsibility of filling some very impressive shoes. Dawn will stay on the RECON staff as a writer, and TJ will continue to provide the great woodsball pictures that we all love!

What does this mean for you, the subscriber?

First, I'd like to say that the vision and heart of RECON is going to remain entirely unchanged. We are the magazine of woods paintball, and there are no intentions of changing that. Ever.

We will continue to produce a magazine that is full of articles on topics that YOU want to read about. You can look forward to more tactics articles by Bruce “Charon” Johnston, event coverage from Doug "Montydoom" Montgomery, more articles on stealth by the likes of Jayson Orvis, and the culmination of the Battle Mountain saga. We will continue to provide pictures from Rich “Junkie” Struth, TJ Allcot, and Stephanie "Serenity" Kirk along with the rest of the extremely talented RECON freelance staff. We will continue to bring you info on the latest and greatest equipment to rock the woods. And we will continue to do this all in a professional, family friendly format. We want RECON to be a magazine you are proud to display on your coffee table, that you can use to start conversations and get your friends to see what this sport called paintball is really all about.

Unfortunately, due to the transition, there are going to be delays in publication. The RECON staff is working as hard as we can to get issues in your hands as soon as possible. The details on this are being worked out as we speak, however we will commit to giving you the most up to date information possible, whenever it is possible. We are just as anxious as you are!

As always, please feel free to send any comments, questions, or suggestions to RECONeditor@gmail.com. We love to shape this magazine to what YOU want to see, and direct feedback is the easiest way to make that happen.

Looking forward to serving you all in the near future
Ian “Lo” Ebersole
RECON Editor-in-Chief

Back to the Woods

Well, around here, summer has hit in full force. Which means, it's time to get out and play paintball. For any woodsball game, summer can be the ideal time to play, plenty of foliage, nice weather, and no worries of freezing your marker with CO2. Of course, there are a few hazards to be careful of, especially in the summer:

Plants: The bushes provide great cover for crawling. Just make sure you know what kind of bush you're snuggling with. I've made the mistake of finding myself halfway through a patch of poison ivy. Not good.

Bugs: Ticks and mosquitoes are out in full force. The little buggers might not be a huge irritant, but can cause problems later. Make sure to use bug repellant, and check for ticks after you play!

Weather: As nice as the weather can be during the summer, thunderstorms can always be a risk. Don't mess with lightning. Also be careful of dehydration, especially during long games! Water is your best friend, both for drinking and cleaning off hits between games.

Newbies: Ok, not a hazard. But be aware, summer is the time of year when most new players try out the sport. Make sure their first experience is a great one, both by insuring safety and good fun gameplay.

So what are you waiting for? Get out and play!