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Photos: Kentucky hills ring with gun fire at Knob Creek Gun Shoot
Updated On Apr 17, 2019 11:55 am IST
The Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun show attracts thousands of visitors from across the country and around the world for the two day event featuring machine gun owners firing millions of rounds. Machine gun owners can reserve spots on the main firing line, but the waiting list is up to 10 years. On a secondary firing line other vendors rent out machine guns to anyone willing to pay for a few rounds. Started in 1965 by Biff Sumner and friends having a cookout and shooting machine guns it grew into the biggest machine gun shoot in the world.
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A man fires a machine gun on the main firing line during the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun show in Bullitt County near West Point, Kentucky. Paul Winters has been coming to the Knob Creek Gun Shoot since 1992 to blast away at targets with machine gun rounds. “This is Disneyland with guns,” Winters said. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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A man loads ammunition into clips at a machine gun rental stand during the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun show. The two-day event is held twice a year in the hills of Kentucky near the hamlet of West Point. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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People fire machine guns on the main firing line. “This is a place to come compete and have fun with your buddies,” Winters said. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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An employee uses a flame thrower as an explosion goes off during a shooting session. The Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun Show was started in 1965 by Biff Sumner and a few friends who were having a cookout and firing off weapons for fun. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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A woman runs to get into a shooting position in a sub-machine gun shooting competition. It has evolved into the biggest private machine gun shoot in the world, attracting thousands of automatic weapons enthusiasts from around the United States and abroad. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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Machine guns are seen on the main firing line. General admission is $15 a day for adults and $5 for children under 12. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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A boy walks past a destroyed car on the main firing line. Hearing and eye protection is strongly recommended. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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Visitors climb the hills at the back of the main firing line looking for souvenirs during a break in the shooting. The rapid fire thumping of automatic gunfire is never far away as machine guns riddle abandoned cars, old appliances and other targets with bullet holes at the Knob Creek Gun Range. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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A young volunteer carries empty ammunition cartridges after a shooter ran through a sub-machine gun competition. Machine gun owners can reserve spots on the main firing line, but there is a waiting list of up to 10 years. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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Spent shells are seen at the base of a machine gun on the main firing line during a break in the shooting. Visitors who don’t own a weapon can rent a machine gun -- cash only -- if they sign a waiver and are over 18 years old. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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Women running a bake sale wait for customers inside the Knob Creek gun shop. “You can shoot anything that goes bang if you got enough money for rental,” said Winters. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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A man walks past a vendor selling inactive Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) at the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun show. There are shooting competitions featuring sub-machine guns, shotguns and pistols. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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Visitors explore destruction on the main firing line during a break. At the Military Gun Show that accompanies the shoot, vendors sell everything from guns to ammunition. An extensive amount of German World War II memorabilia is also on offer. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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People look at a destroyed car on the main firing line. Kenny Sumner is the current owner and manager of the Knob Creek Gun Range. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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Spectators film tracers from machine guns during the night shoot. Each day ends with a “night shoot” with thousands of tracers bouncing off their targets into the night sky and setting off fireworks attached to barrels of fuel. “It is in the United States because we have that luxury of being able to own guns, especially machine guns,” Sumner said. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
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