Machine Gun Shootout

The end cracked me up. Opera at the shooting range. Great piece, makes me want to learn how to shoot a gun. I wonder how many mishaps (a la Tori's response) occur at the shoot out.

Fantastic piece -not only riveting and engaging but a very insightful peek into those passionate about guns. If all guns were used for recreation and this sort of stuff to me gun control is less of an issue. The unfortunate things is that a few bad apples spoil it for the whole lot of folks who are law abiding citizens and therefore we must restrict the freedom of law abiding citizens, albeit with a very different idea of fun than me.

Thx Current!

I can't believe this pod represents the American way. Not my America. Too much testosterone. What kind of person would take a baby to an event like this? Get a sitter! Great story anyway, its interesting to see other ways of life.

Clearly not all of America but this is a large country and when we respect what others are passionate about and they respect what we love things work out better. You would not find me at a gun show - never held a gun in my life - but categorizing all folks who do as crazy or they doing the same to be is polarizing and unproductive

Very awesome POD. [as always!]

Kaj, that was awesome. I would love to go to that. There is a place outside of Reno NV that is similar but not as big. Still really fun.

That was a great pod!

This is the best pod ever producer in-house (excluding Vanguard). I mean that.

The experiential celebration of cultural contradiction, celebrating automatic weaponry as an “anthropological study of a micro-community.” Participant observation firing a Gatlin gun and a flame thrower at the open firing range intermixed with open-ended interviews with M-16 wielding youths. Employing strong anthropological relativism, Larson says that gun culture is as diverse as American culture, “not uniform or monolithic.” This critical theory, the absence of editorialization, and the goal of balancing the rather liberal content on Current with a pod open to the relatively conservative topic of pro-2nd amendment all smack of the initial revelations of anthropological theory-building. It is getting deeper…

Great Pod Kaj... I think that the gentleman who talks about how kids get their aggression out by shooting guns and "aren't a problem" begs the question: What happens if you don't make it to the range enough? Is it like a drug that you need? The targets out there are cars, trucks and human size buoys... isn't that suggestive enough that the tool they are carrying is for lethal force? Can the owner of knob creek really believe that the whole group of "law-abiding" citizens are truly law abiding, because in reality, they all seem to be waiting to take the law into their own hands, whether they understand the letter of the law or not. There's a lot of fear in that group of people. A lot of xenophobia.

Gun Gontrol..? What does does that reeeally mean?.. Im from Los Angeles California and the only gun control that is really being excersized is how U hold it.. Its amazing how people dont notice how easy they are to come by(in the black market). Young kids are all getting a'hold of them ,like its a trend from youngest to oldest, and smallest to biggest caliber. Gun registration and permits should be more accecible, so we can really know where these guns are coming from and who's holding them. Do U really know who has a gun, really...Not only at open ranges but in the city.

Oh, America. =)

I get the feeling that a few of you guys need to open up the ol' minds a little, and stop stereotyping...

Friends and I have been driving to Knob Creek from Missouri twice a year for the past 10 years. Why? It's fun.

Let's see if I can answer some stuff...

Barrels under 16" inches for rifles have been regulated since 1934 - To install one, I'd need to pay $200 tax, get stuff signed (by local and federal authorities), and wait six months. With shotguns, the magic number is 18" - anything under means about 10 years in jail. And some states don't allow certain items. For instance, Missouri does not permit civilian ownership of suppressors, so most ranges tend to be a little noisy. Manufacture of new machineguns has not been permitted since 1986, so there's a finite quantity of registered items out there, so prices have literally been going through the roof.

As for the poor girl with the scope nose - If there's any justice, her boyfriend just got permanently cut off - there is NO excuse for handing a high-recoil rifle or handgun to a novice without a LOT of supervision.

Opera at the range? Why not? Altho at our campsite and party tent, we tend to favor a mix of jazz, bluegrass and Grateful Dead... As for mishaps, it's like anything else where you've got high pressure and lots of moving parts - there's likely to be some scrapes, burns and the occasional "Oh Bleep!" Thus far, since they've been doing this, nobody has been shot. Some folks have been hit by fragments from explosions, etc., so safety glasses and hearing protection are pretty much the number 1 fashion accessory.

Yep. It's fun. And considering that the only way into this "club" is to pretty much have a clean criminal record, you're generally having fun with people who you don't have to worry about. I can leave our party tent, and several full coolers, a generator, and other items, all unattended when I go to the range for the day. And they'll all be there when I get back.

People get REALLY uptight if kids are not visibly wearing hearing protection. But it _is_ a family event.

Whoa - that rawbird fellow... All those big words and complex sentences... Dude, let's go shooting sometime! Actually, Knob Creek is pretty much "Gun Nut Mecca" for a lot of folks. And don't just call it "The Gun Culture." It is one, with a lot of people who know each other from around the world, and around the country. I've had the privilege to meet, and compete with, people from over 30 countries.

And now I'm seeing a bit of psychological transference... I don't want to "take the law into my own hands." I do want to live until the police or sheriff makes it to my house, and I want to make sure my girlfriend and her kids do the same. There's a big difference between some doof playing Charlie Bronson, and breaking out the 12 gauge (while you're dialing 911) when a carload of methheads decides to park in your front yard...

Knob Creek is NOT the black market. The cheapest one can join the "Class III Club" is going to take about $3,000, and ammo to feed the thing for an hour or so will go for over $200. If I buy a machine gun "at" Knob Creek, several things have to happen. I give the nice dealer my money (they'll generally take checks). I fill out paperwork. I chase it from my local PD on through the ATF, and make darn sure all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted. We're talking government bureaucracy. After fingerprinting, six months of background checks etc., I'm allowed to buy a $200 tax stamp, which is affixed to my paperwork (and cancelled). The gun is transferred from the Class III dealer who was at Knob Creek to a Class III dealer in Missouri, who oversees transfer to me. If I want to take the thing back to Knob Creek, I complete paperwork as to when and why I am moving a regulated device (well in advance), and file it with the ATF.

Terrific piece! I actually felt a sense of freedom seeing ordinary people engaged in a some what taboo activity for many of us in states that hand cuff us to restrictions and regulations- and I'm not a particular gun fan. And the Opera overture at the end was a classic touch. Kaj a la James Bond looks great shooting and the flame thrower was an outrageous addition. Wow Virginia there are still some vestiges of "America" left albeit not to everyone's taste.

Awsome! Guns should be in every home in America. I hate Hippies!!!

I am into the difference and similarities between the visual representation and the in-studio explanation and voice over.

I am interested in Kaj's reference to anthropology and enjoy his description that his interpretation of real action--through the editing, mise-en-scene, journalistic interruption--is anthropology. He was striving towards and achieving a type of experiential journalism foreign to most liberals (who couldn't handle such an event). It is difficult to balance real conservative Navy Seal celebration of the fun of guns and the relativistic Harvard Kennedy School post factum voice over reflection. The balance of voices isn't "uniform or monolithic." Instead of being objective or subjective he is a bit of both. And that is where the fun is.

I get the feeling that someone is disappointed that Kaj (oh, and I liked the general cinematography/editing style...) didn't go out of his way to hunt down Toothless Bubba and get a quote about how machine guns were for killin' gay hippies for jeebus... Instead, he pretty much looked at a cross-section of the activities and people, and did a pretty darn fair job of _documenting_ the happening. I'm sure that some folks are irritated about how it doesn't play to their preexisting stereotype, but hey.... Balance is not an illusion, and it is fairly obvious when someone attempts to create it. This short doc does a nice job of condensing three days of peace and powder (it is a VERY peaceful event... just kinda noisy...) into a few minutes. Kaj, if you make it to another, you oughta camp, and you're welcome at the Freak Show party tent...

Great show! Second amendment is an individual right, as the founding fathers intended. N.R.A. all the way!

Did you notice how few African Americans were there. None in the POD. Hmmm Kentucky, hmmm guns,
I was surprised no swastikas, skin heads and white supremist. Was there any of that there? I appreciate good weapons and have no problem with joining the NRA to support legal gun ownership cause i may need to protect myself from someone one day. I choose to talk it out first.

Another slice of American life....

I see everyday in the San Francisco and Oakland papers about average people shot on the street.

Guns will not just "disappear". The proper handling and supervision of guns will always be open to debate. This podcast opens up a dialogue that regular media most likely wouldn't.

The street attitude about "respect" and the perception that respect, can be "bought" with a weapon is what's wrong.

Something to consider, is that guns are worthless without ammunition. Perhaps controls on ammunition, or ammunition that has a limited life, would be something that could further this discussion.

Great podcast, well thought out and executed.

i work at the Knob Creek with a vendor friend of mine. to address the comments of Supra, there are nazis, skinheads and even the Klan at this event. Few African Americans there. To be fair the white racists that come to the event for whatever reasons are few and are not given much attention. I walked past the klan group (all 5 of them) and lingered to see who was listening to their rant/recruiting and i was pleased to see that they were not only being argued with but the distain of the average person for them was appearent. Don't put the yoke of racist on the people of kentucky or the people who attend this event. This is a part of america. It might seem odd but these people for the most part are patriots and love this country. Cheers!

Great work Kaj, October was my 20th year to attend KC.

I must admit that I viewed you with some skepticism when we met. It would not be the first time that some Video type wanted to interview and the piece turned out to be a hatchet job. I was really pleasantly suprized.

One thing I noticed in this pod was that there were no black people visible at all...Interesting..

http://www.autoweapons.com/products/products.html

If you read the FAQ there, as well as go to the ATF website and look into the required paperwork, background checks, and look for information on crimes committed with legally owned machine guns you'll see the owners are some of the "cleanest" out there. To confuse these people with those you read about in the paper doing drivebys for "respect", as one person pointed out, is the same as confusing food for poison. As the boys grandfather explained in the video, if parents teach children respect, how to deal with problems without resorting to violence, and how to behave in society you wind up with a much better place where guns one day might not be so necessary.

The absence of minorities isn't in itself surprising to me given the cost, as well as the federal paperwork. My father had his papers filled out and stopped short of sending them in. I'm not black, but given how the government can operate sometimes I'm not shocked to see some people are hesitant on things like that. What does surprise me is how some people have to make race an issue in everything. I've seen, met, and talked to many black gun owners at the range over the years. Just Joe Average like the rest of us. Heck, I can't afford an automatic weapon thanks to the 1986 prohibition on "new" weapons that could be registered to civilians. The prices jumped greatly at that point even though there are, last time I looked, literally only one or two cases that involved their use in a crime. One was a police officer.

All in all, a well done piece lacking the hysterics and typical stereotyping of the media.

Though the only time I shot fully automatic weapons was in basic training in the U.S. Army 35 yrs back, I learned from an early age to safely handle and use for only hunting, target and extraordinary circumstances to defend myself with any gun.
People who learn and practice safe and use of all firearms for the purpose they were designed for don't concern me. It's the people on gangster rap videos and other media encouraging misusing them that we should be concerned about.
Hunting and sporting shoot with shotguns, rifles and pistols is a very important part of my and millions of Americans’ lives.

Knob Creek, KY = Amsterdam of guns.

This is why no one will ever invade America.

Great pod! I loved watching this.

Great POD, extremely well done. I agree with the above comments that the portrayal of gun usage in video games and movies, in part contributes to the ignorance of our society on how guns can be used, in non violent means, as sport, target practice, etc. (it's not my thing, but I have no problem with others using them appropriately if that's what they enjoy). I don't know of any connection between events such as those as Knob Creek, and crime/violence committed with firearms, if there was I'd be against it. However, that not being the case, I think the video is (as in many cases) an important and informative insight into a part of our culture, that I wouldn't have known about or understood. And in my mind, understanding our culture more fully, including all of the different paths taken within it, can only make us a better civilization on this planet.