For the last two years, I have attended the Gundie Awards with Dillon Precision, the premier reloading company in the shooting space. Dillon Precision is one of the sponsors in my competition career, and I enjoy helping support them at different events around the country. We wear blue tracksuits and bring more firepower than any other vendor. The Gundies are a relaxing break compared to most industry events because Forge Relations focuses on bringing diverse, fun activities for attendees and vendors.
What are the Gundie Awards?
“The Gundies are a set of awards that recognize top creators in the firearm industry. The awards are voted on by the community and provide a platform for creators to gain exposure and recognition. The awards were inspired by an episode of the TV show, “The Office,” and were created as a way to bring the firearm community together.
In addition to recognizing excellence in the industry, the Gundies also promote responsible firearm ownership and showcase creators from all backgrounds. The awards have continued to grow and expand, reaching every niche within the firearm community. By promoting a positive message and fostering a sense of community, the Gundies aim to support and encourage the next generation of firearm content creators.” (https://www.thegundies.com/about-us)
Where is the event hosted?
It all started in a restaurant four years ago during Shot Show in a restaurant and has turned into an event where hundreds of people gather on the OX Ranch in Texas. OX Ranch spans 18,000 acres and is packed with adventure. In typical Texas fashion, they have game animals, water features, and even an airstrip. Its primary duty is as a hunting lodge with cabins scattered throughout the property. What usually grabs people’s attention right away is the exotic animals. The OX Ranch resembles a zoo, with rhinos, giraffes, kangaroos, and much more. It is one of the only places you can go on an African Safari stateside.
Ox Ranch is also home to Drive Tanks. Drive Tanks are in a class of their own when it comes to operating heavy military equipment within the United States. They have several working tanks and a few with live guns. At the end of the Range Day (we’ll get into that shortly), they fire off one of the tanks with live ammunition. It is genuinely remarkable to see something of that stature in person. All of this comes together to make OX Ranch one of the most exciting locations to host an event, especially an event centered around fostering and building the firearms community.
The Range Day
The range day is my favorite day of the whole event and likely it’s the same for many others. The vendors that help support The Gundies, Like Dillon Precision, all have a booth on the firing line and bring out some of their favorite guns to turn heads. This year they scheduled an entire day for the range from 9 am to 4 pm—seven hours of continuous shooting!
Every year with Dillon Precision, we choose our guns based on what caliber we will shoot that year. We bring our reloading presses and load ammo right on the range! All the ammo we shot at The Gundies was loaded on Dillon Precision Machines. This year was 9MM and .300 Blackout. We shot a total of around 16,000 rounds, combined, in this 7-hour span. Here is our load out:
.300 Blackout:
- FN M249 SAW Machine Gun
- Sig Sauer MCX Machine Gun
- Q Honey Badger Machine Gun
9MM:
- Taran Tactical TR9 Machine Gun
- Taran Tactical MPX Machine Gun
- H&K MP5k Machine Gun
- Taran Tactical Sand Viper x 3
- Taran Tactical Pit Viper
… and a Minigun!
The range day is great for attendees because the vendors supply all the guns and ammo. All you need to do is show up and let it rip! In total, a couple of dozen vendors were on the firing line, including Heckler & Koch, Foxtrot Mike, Firebird Targets, and Henry Rifles. Attendees typically use this time to make content to post throughout the year and showcase what the vendors highlighted.
For Dillon Precision, we wanted to show how achievable it is to reload. Most people think it’s complex or have a fear of the unknown. It is a simple process. Once you understand what each station in the machine does, you can set up a machine in a matter of minutes. We had two RL1100 reloaders running the entire day, making .300 Blackout and 9MM. For the 9MM press, we had a Dillon Automation machine connected, so it was nearly hands-off for the entire process of loading 9MM.
The most significant factor, as we pointed out, was the price point of the ammo we were shooting. We were shooting a 208 grain subsonic Hornady hollow point boat tail .300 blackout. On average, the price is around $1.50 per round. While on the reloader, our total cost per round was a mere $0.60. The cost-saving surprised many attendees, and sharing that knowledge with them was great. Not to mention, who doesn’t want to shoot .300 Blackout out of a plethora of machine guns?
Since I was helping with the logistics of assisting people in and out of the Dillon Precision booth, I only floated around to a few of the vendor’s booths. Still, from what I heard, there were some other great attractions, like Henry Rifle’s suppressed .38 special lever gun and Foxtrot Mike’s full auto PDW 9mm called the Interceptor 9.
The MAD MINUTE
The range day ends with the MAD MINUTE, which is a constant barrage of lead down range. Each year it gets bigger and crazier. For 2023, Dillon Precision got to kick off the MAD MINUTE with the Dillon Aero M134D minigun. This has one of the fastest rates of fire in the world at 3,000 rounds per minute. That equates to 50 rounds of .308 per second! It was followed by a firing line of attendees and vendors on guns from the booths. As soon as we heard the minigun, we all began to fire. Pyrotechnics down range created vast clouds of flame and smoke. To finish the minute off, a tank fired, and two helicopters did a low-altitude criss-cross fly over. The best way to end a shooting day is a display of firepower.
Vendor Expo & Ranch Activities
Outside of the range day, the vendors are set up in an expo-style format in one of the ranch’s buildings. This allows the attendees a more intimate interaction with the vendors than screaming over the blasts of muzzles. It also lets everyone who’s interested to learn more about the vendor and specific products that they brought.
One of the more popular vendors at this Gundies was Heligunner. Heligunner is a texas based recreational company that does exactly what the title business states, helicopters + guns. They took attendees up in their bird with machine guns. The Ox Ranch set up some targets for strafing runs that included some silhouettes and cars as targets. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some.
Since the event was hosted at the Drive Tanks headquarters, you can believe that we got a ride on the tanks ourselves. They have a full-scale obstacle course perfectly tailored for tanks. It featured climbs & drops, a water crossing, and some straightaways to really pick up the speed.
So for a quick recap, you got to shoot machine guns, fly in helicopters, and ride on tanks over two days.
Awards
The award ceremony is the perfect icing on the cake to end the weekend. We all gather around the stage, and the beginning credits start as we finish dinner. Forge Relations presents many different categories like “Best Outdoorsman” and “Breakout Creator of the Year.” This is where some of your favorite GunTubers and Instagram creators get recognized for the work they have put in throughout the year. After the awards come some after-dark activities, like a shoot house with gel blasters and thermal optics provided by AGM Global Vision. Also, the award hall gets cleared out to be used as a dance floor with a live DJ.
The weekend is filled with sharing laughs with friends and creating lasting memories. Forge Relations does an excellent job of bringing people together. The Gundies Awards are the perfect event to mesh creators and vendors together under the same roof, keeping it light and enjoyable for everyone involved. Keep a look out for the Gundies on your 2024 calendar. The word on the street is that it will be even bigger and better.
