How YouTube Is Changing American Gun Culture

On a chilly mid-November day, Joseph Osse packed his black sedan with a few firearms, a steel target, and a stand to hold his phone before setting off into the desert west of Salt Lake City.

Osse, 32, began filming his shooting sessions about a year ago, uploading short videos to YouTube. To date, he has created over 300 clips, with quirky titles such as “Plinking Steel,” “Art of the Mag Dump,” and “First Person Rifle Cam.” These videos have attracted anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand views.https://svtoday.org/

Firearms-related content on YouTube has long occupied a niche space, often surfacing in recommendations for viewers who watch Call of Duty gameplay streams or search for information on the sleek weapons used by John Wick, the fictional hitman from the popular movie franchise.

Operating under the username Graizen Brann, Osse learned to shoot by watching the very YouTube channels he now seeks to emulate. In the past, firearm skills were typically passed down through generations, taught in youth organizations, or acquired through military service.

“I just enjoyed what I was doing,” he said. “And I figured if there was anyone else out there who shared my passion for firearms, they might subscribe and see where it goes.”

A new wave of American gun owners—who are younger, more diverse, and drawn to tactical training and self-defense—are fueling the popularity of firearm-focused channels. According to unpublished research from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, gun-related content has amassed more than 29 billion views on YouTube. This has given rise to a growing subculture known as “guntube,” with content creators referred to as “guntubers.”

“It’s a massive audience that, until recently, hasn’t been studied in depth,” noted Jared Holt, a senior researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank that examines the intersection of technology, politics, and society.

To some, videos reviewing firearms, testing gear, and offering shooting tips seem no different from hobbies like cycling or playing guitar.

Yet guntube is a sprawling community of its own. Some guntubers have developed cult-like followings, and the industry even hosts an awards event called the “Gundies,” a playful nod to “The Dundies” from the sitcom The Office. The firearms industry sponsors content creators, leveraging them to promote guns and accessories. Much like video game streamers, top guntubers earn thousands per video—one even pursued political office.

However, unlike guitars, guns come with controversy. The increasing visibility of firearm content on YouTube has sparked debates, particularly concerning the nature of the videos and the audiences who consume them.

When a would-be assassin attempted to kill former President Trump in July, he was wearing a T-shirt from a popular guntube channel at the time of his death by a Secret Service sniper. Similarly, before murdering 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket in 2022, Payton S. Gendron stated on social media that he had watched tactical firearms training videos on YouTube.

In March, a New York State judge ruled that Google (YouTube’s parent company) and Reddit could be sued for allegedly facilitating Gendron’s racially motivated attack. By June, amid pressure from the gun safety advocacy group Everytown, YouTube announced new restrictions on certain firearm content for viewers under 18, along with a ban on videos demonstrating specific gun modifications. In response to YouTube’s tightened policies, some prominent guntubers have migrated to their own firearm-focused streaming platforms.

Osse, who immigrated from Haiti in the early ’90s, was raised by a single father who worked as a U.S. Air Force mechanic. Like many millennials, his interest in firearms was sparked by video games. During the coronavirus pandemic, he purchased his first gun—a Glock pistol. Today, he works a minimum-wage data entry job, supplementing his income with side gigs to sustain his shooting hobby, which he sees as a means of self-improvement, self-defense, and education.

“I’m not in it for the money right now,” he said. “I just enjoy sharing content with the world and seeing both the positive and negative feedback.”

Among the channels that influenced Osse in 2022 was T. Rex Arms, a well-established guntube channel known for its extensive content on firearms, gear, training, and what it describes as the “citizen defense industry.”

Founded by Lucas Botkin roughly a decade ago, T. Rex Arms began with videos of Botkin shooting targets and crafting pistol holsters from thermoplastic sheets in a toaster oven. Today, the channel boasts over a million subscribers, a weekly podcast, a downloadable training app, and a thriving tactical gear business with around 90 employees.

Isaac Botkin, Lucas’s brother and host of the T. Rex Talk podcast, traces guntube’s origins back to 2008. That year saw the release of a series of tactical training DVDs, the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the debut of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, a game that helped introduce a new generation to military-style firearms.

“Video games became hyper-realistic, the nation was at war, and this kind of content was suddenly available online,” Botkin explained. “Tactical training stopped being specialized knowledge—it became accessible to anyone.”

For guntuber Chris Charles, video games were his gateway from virtual gunfights to real-world shooting.

“Call of Duty 4 was a game-changer,” said Charles, 26, who lives in Stockbridge, a suburb of Atlanta. A car emissions inspector and digital media student at Mercer University, he first developed an interest in firearms when his brother gave him the upper receiver of an AR-15 at age 17. YouTube tutorials helped him assemble the rifle. Later, following the loss of his mother, shooting became his primary hobby, overtaking his other interests—playing piano, football, and rock climbing.

About a year ago, Charles launched his own YouTube channel, Kit, Guns, & Gear. While it has attracted a modest audience, he insists that for him, shooting remains strictly a pastime—separate from the anti-government rhetoric and Second Amendment activism that some guntube channels push to boost engagement.

“Though, of course,” he admitted, “some of that stuff inevitably seeps in.”

Just days before the U.S. presidential election in November, Charles and a group of 10 friends—mostly in their 20s and 30s, including one woman—competed in a pistol match at a local shooting club, recording the event for his channel.

Mark Leeber, a range officer with decades of experience, sees a shift in the demographics of firearm enthusiasts. “There’s been a huge cultural change,” he said, crediting YouTube for making the sport more accessible.

“The biggest change is who’s getting involved,” he added. “More African Americans, including Black women, are showing interest at all age levels. When I first started, it was mostly middle-aged white guys.”

While most guntube creators are men, one exception is Tacticool Girlfriend, a channel with over 62,000 followers. Run by a trans woman who keeps her identity private due to concerns about harassment, she has described the guntube community as “a very toxic place” dominated by machismo and gatekeeping attitudes.

Still, she believes in the value of what she does. “I want to see more people entering this space,” she said in a video last fall. “The impact I’ve had on individuals and communities proves how important firearms education can be, especially for those not traditionally represented in this world.”

Tim Stuckey, a steel mill worker, is another guntuber who found his way into the firearm community through video games—specifically, the 2009 sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

His interest in guns evolved from toy Nerf blasters to BB guns and eventually to his father’s shotgun. In 2022, he launched Gear And Guns, which has since grown to over 9,000 subscribers.

“I started small—just learning from my mistakes and helping others do the same,” said Stuckey, 24, who hopes to become a police officer. His faith informs his view of gun ownership and the Second Amendment, which he sees as essential for “life preservation.”

His wife, Grace Stuckey, an ICU nurse, initially had little exposure to firearms but gradually developed an appreciation for her husband’s passion.

“At the end of the day, he’s helping people,” she said. “Just yesterday, he showed me a comment on his channel and said, ‘Look, I’m actually making a difference for someone.’”