pADAMS — Under the pouring rain and the biting cold, over haybales and around stacked benches, darts flew in the free-for-all battle between mothers and sons./ppAll’s fair in motherly love and dart gun war, as each side put their targets in their sights./pp“The battleground is fierce,” said Danielle L. Denney, who came out with her twin sons Reegan and Mason, 7. “Nobody’s taking any prisoners.”/ppThe mud-covered battle took place during the Mother-Son Showdown, organized as a fundraiser for the South Jefferson Rescue Squad./ppDeborah L. Singleton, the squad’s executive director, said the event came about after the squad hosted a father-daughter dance./pp“We had some moms say, ‘Why don’t you do something for mothers and sons?’” she said. “We did some brainstorming and this is what we came up with.”/ppAbout 110 people participated Sunday in the fundraiser at the Adams Fireman’s Field, North Main Street. The rules included prohibitions on headshots and overly physical contact./pp“I told a couple kids they had to ride home with their moms after this,” Ms. Singleton said./ppThe darts may have been foam, but the shots still packed a bit of a punch./ppNatalie J. Bogert, of Copenhagen, found herself with a fat lip from a wayward dart, while her sons Owen, 12, and Xander, 10, both found themselves with small nicks./pp“We have some war injuries, but we’re hanging in there,” Mrs. Bogert said./ppThe battle raged for most of the afternoon, with organizers purchasing 3,000 darts to keep the fight rolling./pp“There’s never a point you don’t have ammo,” said Xander, who took to battle with a Nerf Strongarm blaster./ppAshley J. Caprara said she signed up herself and her son Kane, 6, immediately after learning about the event, as Kane has about 20 dart guns at home./pp“It was really fun,” she said. “The rain and mud made it even better.”/ppFresh off the battlefield near the Adams Fire Department, Mrs. Caprara asked Kane how many times he shot her during the early afternoon, to which he held up all of his fingers./pp“I was surprised,” she said. “I thought he’d be more aggressive.”/ppVideo from the dart gun battle can be seen at http://wdt.me/dartgun-battle./p
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