Guns.com is 10 years old! To celebrate, we’re bringing you the top 10 shooting experiences we’ve had over the last 10 years.
10. Shooting RC Airplanes
Experience #10 was shooting remote-controlled airplanes at the Big Sandy machine gun shoot. This event takes place twice a year near the town of Wikieup, Arizona. Not only does it take a lot of skill to hit a small, fast-flying RC airplane, but it also takes a lot of ammo.
9. Shooting a .50 AE Desert Eagle
Experience #9 was shooting a .50 cal Desert Eagle. We visited the Magnum Research factory in Minnesota in 2021 and finally got a chance to put our hands on a 50 AE Desert Eagle. It has become synonymous with blockbuster films. This gun is an absolute hand cannon, but it actually has less recoil than you’d expect and is also surprisingly accurate.
8. Shooting an M134 Minigun
Experience #8 was firing a GE M134 Minigun at the Green Mountain Boys machine gun shoot in 2018. This event takes place every July near the town of Eden, Vermont. Miniguns are fire-breathing dragons. We were lucky enough to shoot it at dusk, and we got a pretty spectacular fireball.
7. Blowing Up a Car with a .50 Cal
Experience #7 was blowing up a car with an Armalite AR-50 Rifle .50 caliber at the Knob Creek Range. With a little help from our friends at Knob Creek, we added some dynamite and diesel to the mix. Marc Hampton made a clean shot setting off the dynamite. This vaporized the fuel, which ignited into a huge fireball. The unfortunate car was sent to the giant scrapyard in the sky.
6. M45 Quadmount “Meat Chopper”
Experience #6 was witnessing a WWII-era M45 Quadmount in action. This was at the Green Mountain Boys machine gun shoot in 2018. The M45, or “Meat Chopper” as it’s lovingly referred to, has four .50 cal Browning M2 machine guns. When all four guns are fired at once, it rattles every single bone in your body if you're standing nearby.
5. 20mm Vulcan “Hand of God”
Experience #5 brings us back to the Big Sandy machine gun shoot in 2018. Battlefield Vegas showed up with their recently restored M61 20mm Vulcan rotary cannon. Nicknamed “The Hand of God” because of the great vengeance it can lay upon its enemies, this gun is an absolute ripper. In fact, its rate of fire is so high that Battlefield actually had to slow it down so that you didn’t miss the burst in case you blinked.
4. Gunship Helicopters
Experience #4 found us in the desert 30 minutes outside Las Vegas in 2019. Gunship Helicopters is an outfit that gives civilians the chance to experience being a door gunner, minus any pesky enemy fire of course. We went up in their A-Star helicopter for an adrenaline-fueled gun run engaging mountainside targets with a variety of guns. The blast of the rotor draft, the vibration, and the butterflies in your stomach all make this the ride of a lifetime.
3. Daniel Defense Factory Tour
Experience #3 found us in Black Creek, Georgia, in 2018. We were there to tour the Daniel Defense factory. In less than a decade, Daniel Defense went from an obscure company making rails for rifles to a household name in the AR industry. Not only did we get a chance to fire some of their fine guns, but we also saw how they are put together.
2. Knob Creek Night Shoot
Experience #2 was the night shoot at the Knob Creek machine gun shoot in 2017. This event takes place twice a year on the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky. When it's dark at the shoot, the line consisting of upwards of 100 machine guns prepares to let loose with all they got. When the siren sounds, the machine guns roar to life.
The darkness is filled with tens of thousands of rounds of tracer fire. These rounds set off a charge of dynamite and diesel fuel. The night is transformed into a scene straight out of "Dante's Inferno." It is hands down the most awesome full-auto experience one can have. And this fall, unfortunately, will be the last time it happens. So we hope to see you there.
1. WWII Ball Turret
Experience #1 brings us back to the Big Sandy shoot and 2017. An exhibitor from an aircraft museum in California brought a fully functioning WWII ball turret to the shoot. Mounted inside the turret were two .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns. Spectators were allowed a very rare opportunity to climb into the turret and fire the twin .50 cals. It was the talk of the event, and it was the number one experience in the last 10 years of Guns.com.
Our Heartfelt Thanks
We appreciate you joining us over the last 10 years on this incredible journey. Guns.com looks forward to spending the next 10 years with you and being your go-to shop for all of your Second Amendment needs.
