BIG SANDY MACHINE GUN SHOOT

You Too Can Take Part in the Last Great Gathering of Full-Auto Firearms

- Tyler Elsberry

Arizona's Big Sandy Machine Gun Shoot is a biannual event that takes place in October and March at the Big Sandy Test Center and Range. The event occurs in the boonies and hills off Highway 93 between Kingman and Wikieup. The location is isolated from the rest of the world and sports a quarter-mile-long firing line perched atop a substantial ridge, with targets on the opposite side and on the ground of the adjacent valley.

The Big Sandy's roots can be traced back to August 1987. Attendance was sparse in the early years; the informal event drew roughly 20 people per shoot, and news of the event was spread via word of mouth or by phone call. The shoot was first held near SP Crater, north of Flagstaff, Arizona. A November shoot was added in southern areas such as Yuma. The shoot would become formalized for the first time under the name of Dry Creek in 2001 and continued to use this name through 2003. In 2004, the current site of the Big Sandy was acquired and developed into an impressive range facility. The ridge that hosts the shoot boasts a quarter-mile-long firing line with roughly 130 shooting positions depending on the number of small arms and ordinance present. Since 2017, the site has functioned as a privatized proving ground often utilized by numerous defense contractors and industrial concerns such as Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics. The site has also been a home to media and entertainment programs, including filming for R. Lee Ermey's GunnyTime and audio recording for video games.