The Big Sandy is the largest machine gun shoot in the United States. It takes place twice a year, in April and October, approximately 10 miles northeast of the town of Wikieup, Arizona.
For three days, hundreds of shooters fire approximately 2 million rounds at a variety of reactionary targets. It’s a shooters paradise that attracts people from around the world. It was my second time attending the event and I had a blast. Here are some photos from the weekend of Oct. 20-22.
A few hundred shooters line the ridge at the Big Sandy shoot. They often camp behind their line spot. Spectators are allowed to walk behind the spots. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Flags flying at the shoot. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Mary Lou of Big Sandy Machine Gun Shoot. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Twin M2 Browning .50 cal machine guns. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Twin M2 Browning .50 cal machine guns. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Twin M2 Browning .50 cal machine guns after firing a few rounds. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Twin M1919 Browning .30 cal machine guns. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Twin M2 Browning .50 cal machine guns AKA ‘Thumper’ after firing a few rounds. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Liquid-cooled M2 Browning .50 cal machine gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
The October 2017 Big Sandy shoot saw the largest number of big guns on record. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
The October 2017 Big Sandy shoot saw the largest number of big guns on record. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Russian D20 or M1955 152 mm howitzer. It is currently the largest firing gun in civilian hands in the US. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
A closer view of the Russian D20. It fires a 97-pound shell with an effective range of 11 miles. The entire gun weighs 12,000 pounds. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Browning M2 .50 cal machine gun mounted atop a direct fire mortar. This combo was used on Vietnam-era Swift Boats. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Homemade 20 mm gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
75 mm and 105 mm recoilless guns. In the middle is a homemade black powder gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
A different view of the 75 mm and 105 mm recoilless guns with homemade black powder gun in middle. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
US 3-inch M5 Gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Another view of the US 3-inch M5 Gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
US T-124 76 mm Anti Tank Gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
1837 6-pound cannon. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
US M1 57 mm Gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
German Rheinmetall 37 mm Pak 36 Gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
1918 water-cooled Maxim machine gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
German WWI Maxim LMG 08/15 machine gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
German MG 34 machine gun. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
US M151 jeep. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
Prepping RC airplanes to act as moving targets. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
RC airplanes ready to be flown down the range as moving targets. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
US M38 jeep for sale. (Photo: Ben Philippi/Guns.com)
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