The Big Sandy Shoot, "the largest machine-gun shoot in the world . . . a uniquely American event," is held two weekends a year, in March and October, outside Wikieup, Arizona, a remote census-designated place halfway between Vegas and Phoenix on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Shooters pay $325 for a spot on the firing line; observers who aren't local pay thirty-five dollars at the gate. Shooters, staff, and observers come here from all over the world. At the fall shoot, I talked with folks from Belgium, Russia, Mexico, the UK, and Australia, to name just a few countries, and nearly every part of America. Many have come for decades; at least one guy I talked to had been to every single event over the shoot's thirty-five-year history. Like many Americans, I've seen machine guns shot onscreen a lot, but I've never shot a machine gun myself. I was here to close the distance and try to understand those who shoot and stockpile these guns. |
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From navy flat-fronts to tapered fits in khaki, the Everything Store has all the styles you're looking for—and at a bargain, too. |
| In this exclusive clip from Friday's season finale, our favorite will-they-won't-they duo gets real. |
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What's the biggest difference between a tourist and a traveler? The willingness to form new friendships on the road. Finding your people in a strange town can happen quickly. You just have to know where to start. After a day full of meetings or museums, bars have typically been the simplest places in which to connect with like-minded locals. What kind? You could always try the hotel bar. But it's rare that the person next to you is going to invite you to their artist friend's house party. Pubs? Sorry, they're not the same social scene in the U. S. as they are in the UK. Over the years, I've become accustomed to heading straight to a city's high-end cocktail bar to get a read on the cultural landscape and gather tips on every worthy restaurant, shop, and music venue in a ten-mile radius. But recently I've had to adjust my strategy—if a city has a natural-wine bar, that serves as stop number one for me. I know it's going to be the de facto hangout for the local creative set. |
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Sometimes, a hoodie just doesn't cut it. |
| The one way to guarantee breezy, beautiful sleep. |
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In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law banning the expansion of sports betting, allowing states to implement sports gambling. For the first time in our nation's history, Americans no longer needed to travel to Las Vegas to lay a wager on a game. They could do it from the comfort of their homes, with the mere tap of a finger, thanks to the proliferation of sports betting apps. The industry has exploded since then, with revenues expected to reach $39 billion annually in 10 years. For the second installment in our new series on The Secret Lives of Men, Esquire spoke to "Johnny Overs," who started betting on sports in his late teens. He earned his nickname by always taking the over on NBA games, and the habit quickly grew into a full-blown addiction. He estimates he's lost more than $500,000 over his life on sports gambling. Although he recognizes he has a gambling problem, Johnny also says he has no plans to stop. |
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