Desert Sportsman’s Machine Gun Match

By Anthony Dee

Any readers who have attended any of the Solider Of Fortune Conventions in Las Vegas should be familiar with the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club. All of SOF’s Firepower demonstrations and Three gun shooting competitions have been held there. We are located just outside the beautiful Red Rock Canyon recreational area off W. Charleston Blvd. on the outskirts of Las Vegas. The club facilities cater to several shooting disciplines, Benchrest, Silhouette, IPSC, Cowboy, IDPA and Hi.Power. We have several different range areas to cater to their needs. What you may not know is that we also conduct a monthly Machine Gun match. In fact we have been conducting these regularly scheduled matches longer than any other club in the country. I have been the match director for the past two years and would like to share one of our recent matches with you. We meet on the first Sunday of the month and usually set up some sort of tactical course. We use a wide variety of targets and props that are available from the clubs large assortment. We like to use a mix of steel, paper and bowling pin targets to keep it interesting. We are very fortunate here that several of the shooting disciplines share their resources so there is always something new to challenge the contestants. This particular match was a six stage assault course in which the shooter started sitting with an unloaded gun. Upon signal the shooter loaded the gun and moved to what we call the Mousetrap. This prop was built from a similar one seen in a earlier edition of MGN. The shooter had to engage a bowling pin sitting on a platform and doing so activated a falling door. The shooter had a very short time to engage the two exposed targets without hitting the door. The shooter then moved to a three position barricade and had to engage a variety of targets through each of the openings. From there the shooter moved to a barrel and engaged a variety of steel plates shooting through the barrel. The shooter then moved to a doorway and upon opening the door a turning target was activated and the shooter had to engage it before is moved out of sight. The shooter then engaged a steel plate which activated a hostage target that moved in front of a bad guy. Needles to say the bad guy had to be neutralized before the hostage obstructed its path. The shooter then moved to a mailbox and engaged several pepper poppers interspersed with good guys. Next were several bowling pins and finally a falling plate to stop the timer. Penalties are given for targets that are not neutralized with the fastest time being the winner. We usually have a team match at the end of the regular match and awards are given at all the matches.

We have a large Class III community here in Las Vegas and we always try to promote these weapons in a positive manner. I always have a gun available to anyone who wants to take part in a match free of charge. Just bring ammo.

Another aspect that has been present here in Las Vegas for several years is that there are a few gunshops in town that rent subguns for use on their indoor ranges. One of the oldest and the best, (I work there) is The Gun Store on East Tropicana Ave. They offer 10 different guns to rent. These are a big hit with our tourist community and make for some lasting memories of this fabulous city. If you should find yourself in Las Vegas be sure and look us up you’ll be glad you did.