Fairgrounds transform into zombie playground

Military Zombie Hunt is a paintball game that occurs at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Customers get to ride in the back of military grade trucks while firing paintballs at oncoming “zombies.”

Military Zombie Hunt owner Nick Jackson said, “I am the owner, well, supervisor, of Military Zombie hunt. I make sure that my zombies are prepared and that people are having fun and being safe.”

The Zombie Hunt uses military trucks to transport customers in their zombie apocalyptic journey. These trucks were used during the 1950’s through the 1980’s.

“They are M35A2 Army trucks. They are mounted with eight stationary paintball guns equipped with glow in the dark paintballs. We use the trucks for people to ride on and shoot at live zombie actors,” Jackson said.

The hunt is an action packed adventure, bringing the thrill of a zombie apocalypse to life. No real brains are consumed during Military Zombie Hunt.

Jackson said, “On any given night we have about 30 to 35 zombies. Their role is to just act like zombies really.” Unlike “real” zombies, “They are all paid employees.”

Some students participated in last year’s Military Zombie Hunt. They recalled their most memorable moments from the night.

Sophomore Madison Bergmann went to Military Zombie Hunt last year, and explained, “We went there and got on a truck with a group. They drive you around on a hayride kind of route, and you get to shoot people. They don’t look like zombies very much, but they walk like zombies. When you shoot them, or they feel like they got hit, they fall down really slowly. It’s kinda funny.”

Junior Mitch Bailey said, “It was pretty cool. We just drove around. They had some different maps that we went to. It could have been more realistic, but it was pretty fun just shooting people with paintballs. They just came running after you and they didn’t really react when you shot them. It was kind of exhilarating, at the same time you only had so many balls so you had to conserve how many you shot. It was pretty expensive so I don’t know if I would do it again, but for the experience it was pretty fun.”

The paintball guns are of high quality and durability. They sport a lighter weight frame, over three hundred capacity paintball hoppers, and lower impact speed. This combination gives Military Zombie Hunt exactly what they are looking for.

“We run the Tippmann FT-12 50 Caliber guns with specially formulated glow in the dark paintballs from GI Sports,” added Jackson. Customers will be able to see when they hit their target because of the glow from the paint splatter as the event takes place at night. And the slower speed ensures that employees are not hurt when they are being shot at.

The event creates a scenario of action, adventure and zombies.

Bergmann added, “You got your money’s worth out of it because you got to shoot at people for a long time. It was pretty awesome because you don’t get to paintball and not get shot at very often. So, it’s just fun to shoot at creepy zombies.”