Here’s a small peek into some of the fun that went down at CANCON Carolinas this year. If you missed it, we hope to see you next year!
Suppressors are more popular than ever before, but a lot of shooters are still hesitant to take the plunge into ownership. We’re here to change that.
CANCON is the world’s largest fully suppressed range day, and this year’s event at the Clinton House Plantation in Clinton, S.C., was bigger and better than ever before. An unprecedented number of shooters cycled through the gates over the weekend to get hands-on experience with the largest variety of cans available at a single event.
Some attendees were there as prospective first-time owners looking to learn, try and buy. Others were seasoned suppressor shooters perusing the newest models to add to their collection. Others were there just for some good old-fashioned American fun, like blasting suppressed machine guns!
If that’s not enough for you, CANCON also hosts shooting competitions with amazing prizes, survival classes and purveyors of high-end blades. Oh yeah, did we mention there was a Little Bird helicopter flying around too?
Here’s a small glimpse into what went down at CANCON Carolinas 2025 and what you can expect to see when we’re back next year, May 8-9, 2026:
The Venue
You can’t host the world’s largest suppressed range day without a huge range, and we have the Clinton House Plantation to thank for that. Situated in the beautiful woods of South Carolina, the massive range has enough pistol and rifle lanes to accommodate the dozens of companies that come out with their cans and guns. Plus, a 1,000-yard range and a 1-mile range for those looking to really reach out. With this much room to stretch out in, it means lines stay short even when attendance is at its apex. Result? More shooting and less waiting.
On the flip side, that much shooting requires a lot of ammo. Special thanks to Ammoman for helping to supply the ammo this year!
VIP/Industry Day
If you’re interested in attending CANCON, it’s worth considering going all out and being a VIP. Sponsored by MasterFFL.com, VIP/Industry Day takes place the day before the gates open to the general public on Friday. Besides providing a whole extra day of shooting (with barely any lines, to boot), purchasing a VIP ticket will garner you a gift bag as well. As most already know, there’s more than stickers and swag inside.
This year’s VIP bag was filled to the brim with some very exciting and valuable goodies, including:
If you’d like to get next year’s bag, keep a close eye on when VIP tickets become available; they always sell out fast!
Buying Cans, Guns & Gear
CANCON isn’t just a place to shoot, it’s a place to buy if you choose to do so.
Besides gear, knives, apparel and other goods you can purchase from vendors dotted around the event, you can even get started on a suppressor purchase thanks to companies like T&K Outdoors, an FFL local to the Clinton area. T&K Outdoors’ booth was all set up to take your prints, picture and information to start the Form 4 process on just about any suppressor you’re interested in buying. What’s more, their extremely helpful employees were eager to handhold anyone through the process, something that can admittedly be a bit intimidating for new buyers.
Check out their store in Spartanburg, S.C., if you’re local, or take a look at their website!
Pros Vs. Joes Shooting Competitions
Being a VIP ticket holder isn’t the only way to walk away from CANCON with excellent prizes—regular attendees have the chance to test their mettle and earn some goodies in the Pros Vs. Joes shooting competitions. If you’re willing to put your skills on display in front of a crowd and then manage to outshoot one of our Pros, you’ll walk away with more than an (justifiably) inflated ego.
Some of the prizes included:
- 11:00 a.m. – Maxim Defense Winner #1: Luke Baxley
- 11:30 a.m. – Maxim Defense Winner #2: Brian Gregory
- 1:00 p.m. – Meprolight Red Dot Optic Winner: Steven Bowman
- 1:30 p.m. – LWRC International 9mm Rifle Winner: Devon Christie
The Proving Grounds
Winning Pros Vs. Joes is one thing, but if you really want to see how your shooting skills hold up to more real-world conditions, then you need to check out The Proving Grounds. They’ll see how well you can shoot after dragging a man-sized dummy 50 yards. Spoiler, probably not as well as you think. Activities like this are crucial to the gun community by not just emphasising the importance of training, but shining a spotlight on it.
The Proving Grounds has been a CANCON staple for years now, and they’ll be at future events as well, but if you can’t wait, consider attending one of the competitions they host around the country.
Going Long With Barrett & Gunwerks
Suppressors aren’t just for carbines and handguns, they’re an excellent addition to long-range precision setups as well. To help demonstrate that, a couple of top-notch manufacturers brought out some rifles that really let attendees stretch their legs.
The Barrett Mile Challenge put a .416 Barrett rifle in shooters’ hands and asked them to shoot at a distance that most haven’t had the chance to before. Even with such a fine tool for the job, not everyone hit the target. Those who did were awarded a special challenge coin minted for this year’s event.
Meanwhile, at the humble 1,000-yard range, Gunwerks was showing shooters just how achievable these extreme ranges can be with the right equipment. In this case, that equipment wasn’t just an extremely accurate Gunwerks rifle, but one equipped with the company’s Revic Radikl Smart Rifle Scope with integrated ballistics.
OFFGRID Basecamp
If you need a breather from all the suppressed shooting, what better way to spend it than by improving your survival skills? That’s what OFFGRID Basecamp provides at CANCON.
Inside OFFGRID’s tent, instructors, authors and manufacturers congregated to teach attendees crucial survival skills by drawing on their real-world experiences.
Gorilla Medical was there to teach about treating gunshot wounds, Tactical Rifleman had carbine drills to run and Mountain Readiness offered valuable insights into preparedness strategies. Alan Kay, winner of the first season of Alone, was also there to provide wilderness survival advice in conjunction with Knives By Hand.
BLADE Show Tactical Knife Show
Another small reprieve from shooting found at CANCON is the BLADE Show Tactical Knife Show. Fans of edged weapons and tools will be spoiled for choice—whether they’re looking to buy or just browse and chat with manufacturers from top brands like Stroup Knives, Krein Knives, Heretic Knives and Spartan Blades.
If you like what you see here, know that it’s just a taste of what you could experience at BLADE Show Atlanta, the world’s largest knife show.
Attending Future CANCONs
We host two CANCON events per year, one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast. If you’re interested in attending either, or both, make sure to keep an eye out for CANCON 2026 tickets on the event website here: canconevent.com. We hope to see you there!
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