THE UNOFFICIAL DEF CON SHOOT

 

WHAT WHERE WHEN WHO WHY WHOA WOOT! WAIT... WOW!

WHAT'S THE STORY?

The DEF CON Shoot is a public event that happens just prior to the DEF CON hacker conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is an opportunity to see and possibly shoot some of the guns belonging to your friends while taking pride in showing and firing your own steel, as well, in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. We choose a spot, then we rent tables, canopies, and bring all the necessary safety equipment and amenities. All you need to bring yourself and (optionally) your firearms.

 

WHERE IT ALL GOES DOWN

The 2023 DEF CON Shoot will take place at...

Pro Gun Vegas
12801 US 95 South
Boulder City, NV 89005

For specific directions to the shoot site you can drop the following Lat/Long coordinates into a GPS device... 35.95814764, -114.92240996

 

WHEN IT HAPPENS

The DEF CON Shoot takes place on Wednesday prior to the start of DEF CON. In 2023 it will be August 9th.

The Shoot has historically been three 75 minute shooting sessions, each consisting of repeated periods involving about 12 to 13 minutes of shooting, followed by 2 or 3 minutes for cease-fire and target prep. That gives everyone time to reset targets, etc.

Wednesday, August 9th

Staff Setup - 10:00 - 11:00

Registration Opens at 11:00

Intro & Safety - 11:45 - 12:00

Session 01 - 12:15 - 13:30

Session 02 - 13:45 - 15:00

Session 03 - 15:15 - 16:30

Cleanup - 16:30 - 17:30

 

Thursday, August 10th

no DEFCON Shoot

Go enjoy the rest of DEF CON, BSides, and Black Hat

 

WHO CAN ATTEND?

You do not have to be a registered attendee of DEF CON, Black Hat, BSides, or a member of any organization to attend our event. As long as you agree to comply with the terms of our Code of Conduct laid out at the bottom of the registraion page, you are welcome. New shooters and veterans both attend regularly. You can attend with your firearms, of course, but folk without guns of their own in Vegas may have the opportunity to try gear from others in attendance or to inquire with the ProGun range about whether rental firearms are available.

 

WHY WE DO THIS

For many years, the DEF CON Shoot was a beloved part of the world's largest hacker convention. Gun owning geeks would rally together in Vegas for DEF CON and -- in between the talks, parties, and general goings-on in Sin City -- they would take the time one morning to head out in the desert and blow off some steam by letting loose with loads of ordinance. Organized by CHS, a venerated DEF CON Goon, this event took place year after year until 2005. As is so often the case with events at DEF CON, times had changed and the event had outgrown its surroundings. For a number of years, there was no DEF CON Shoot... the ranges where it had taken place in the past had been swallowed up by the city's suburban sprawl and folks just needed a break.

Deviant Ollam frequently used to gather some of his friends for trips to local rental ranges like The Gun Store or American Shooters, but because he has only been attending DEF CON since DC8 he missed out on a great deal of the earlier fun. In 2008, Deviant restarted the event and acted as the primary coordinator, whipping up enough gun enthusiasts' support to see this sort of high-powered good time continue happening for the next eleven years.

The 2020 Shoot did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of an in-person DEF CON conference that year. In 2021, several of the long-time DC Shoot attendeed restarted efforts and gathered tenatively in the desert once again. In 2022 the event returned in full force, now with longtime staff member C.S. at the helm, with assistance from Deviant and several other mainstays from prior years. We look forward to welcoming everyone who wishes to attend in good faith and high spirits as we start to reclaim our legacy of fun events and welcoming attitude on the firing line.

The 2023 Shoot will be run entirely be C.S. and his designated new crew of assistants, but you can reliably expect to see lots of old-time faces there since everyone wants to keep being a part of the fun!

 

WHOA, THAT'S A GREAT DEAL!

We're not trying to run this like a profit-generating business, but starting in 2011 we established a small registration system for people to gain access to the event and reserve shooting lanes. This was necessary in order to manage the number of people (or at least plan for the number of people) and to keep the line from becoming unsafely crowded. Also, that was the first year that we started to have significant overhead (in all senses of the term... both in costs as well as sun shade for the participants!)

DEFCON Shoot 2023 Registration Page is Here

On-site cash registration is possible, but space is not guaranteed. Historically, the most dedicated folk have opted to pre-register!

 

WOOT! I'M GAME!

So, you think you'd like to participate in the newly-revitalized DEF CON Shoot? That's great! We look forward to you joining us. Use the above link to pre-register and then swing on over to the DEF CON Forums or hit C.S. up on Twitter to ask about an invite to our Slack instance where you can connect with others about any questions you may have. Ride sharing, t-shirt designs, camping arrangements, and more are all discussed in Slack.

 

WAIT... AREN'T VEGAS CASINOS SUPER SCARED OF GUNS NOW?

Yes... by all accounts, most casinos (and casino-hotels) in Las Vegas are now all wary of one of their guests being the next deranged shooter who tries to sew mayhem from a window. There is news coverage as well as anecdotal chatter from folk who report that guests are being subject to greater scrutiny if they have Pelican cases, long cases, etc. However, it should be noted:

1. Many Vegas hotels have had a no firearms policy for a while now

2. You're still very unlikely to get much scrutiny if your luggage doesn't look "firearm-ish"

In any case, we suspect that a lot of you may become familiar with something that lots of us more heavily-armed folk have known for years when staying in Las Vegas: many mainstream casino-hotels will allow guests to check their legal firearms with the security office during their stay. Many of us have done this before at multiple hotel properties. Simply call ahead so you know what is expected at the casino, then plan a little more time in your schedule to accommodate this part of the process. Or stay in an AirBNB or a shitball place nearby like a Siegel Suites, the Circus Circus Motor Lodge, or a Travelodge. We're betting they don't care at all there... they just want their $56 per night and prefer you to not leave used heroin works in the potted plants outside.

 

WOW! LOOKS LIKE YOU ALL HAD FUN!

Yes, indeed... it's always a great time when you get a bunch of gun people together.

We don't update these gallery links much anymore, because now you can always check Twitter for the hashtag #DEFCONshoot to see what folk share.

DEFCON Shoot : A Convergence Of Hacking And Shooting
InRange TV

 

Here is z0rlac's video montage from the 2012 DEF CON Shoot...

z0rlac's video

 

There were some great videos shot at the 2011 DEF CON Shoot...

 

Here is a video montage from the 2009 DEF CON Shoot..
.

deviant's video

 

Here are some photos from the 2008 DEF CON Shoot...