AK47s, M16s, Uzi’s, Assault Rifles, Military Bolt Action Rifles, Canons and Tanks is just some of the hardware in use at the World’s Largest Machine Gun Shoot. Twice a year thousands of men, women and children from all walks of life, descend on Knob Creek Gun Range, Bullitt County, Kentucky, to experience the finest display of weapons outside a battlefield. A diverse selection of gun fanatics dressed according to their beliefs, are there to show, buy, or merely admire guns, ammo, literature and meet like-minded people. The only prerequisite is a pair of earplugs.
The gun range is appropriately situated about thirty miles from Fort Knox, in the heart of Bullitt County. As you approach the main range, walking along muddy forest paths across a dilapidated wooden bridge, the sound of rapid gun fire and explosions engulfs you. This is combined with clouds of smoke and hoards of people wearing military combat gear and camouflage, or German Nazi uniforms. Most have one or more machine guns casually slung over their shoulders, or drive past in convoys of mini-tanks brandishing large machine guns. It gives the illusion of being in the middle of some bizarre war zone, where you are accepted, as long as you are armed, or have an obvious appreciation of armory, regardless of the origin.
Over the three day event 30,000 people are estimated to have entered the grounds. The delights they meet include the live machine gun range which boasts a line of about forty enthusiastic gunners wading through mounds of empty shells, sampling a vast array of impressive hardware. Some gunmen straddle huge mounts upon which sit mammoth machine guns which consume vast amounts of ammunition, such as the Totenkopf, complete with skull and crossbones, used by the Nazi SS. Other hand held machine guns project used shells in all directions, while others release rapid fire flames; the latter seems a big hit with the silently appreciative audience, who were murmuring the attributes of each weapon to each other, or merely nodding in acknowledgement indicating their approval.
Scottish photographer Hilary Knox explores the pursuit of happiness in whatever form it takes. This exploration tends to include cultural extremes and often engages in irony and humour, and has taken me to fringe communities and gatherings in Europe and USA. Her work has been selected for exhibitions and photofestivals including Nooderlicht, the Netherlands; Photo Espana; Arles, France; Chobi Mela, Bangladesh; The Royal Scottish Academy and the Collective Gallery, Edinburgh; and OXO Bargehouse, London. Knox currently resides in London.
