Millions of followers watch as the Ohio creator combines firearms, drums, drones and full-band metal covers—sometimes burning through 5,000 rounds in a single production.
The drums weren’t loud enough, so Nate Wilkinson reached for the guns.
The big ones.
In 2019, Wilkinson filmed himself firing guns to the beat of a heavy-metal song, just for fun. Once the video reached Facebook, it went viral—and changed his life.
Today, fans know the Ohio creator as Gun Drummer. His videos are a combination of adrenaline, gunfire and heavy metal that, according to Wilkinson, have generated more than 3 billion views across social platforms.
Gun Drummer has grown to the point that Wilkinson has left his previous careers in the restaurant and construction industries behind. His full-time job now involves firing everything from AR-platform rifles to Barrett M82s in time with American music from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pantera and plenty of artists in between.
“I play drums, and I’ve always loved the thunderous noise of heavy metal,” Wilkinson says. “But the drums weren’t loud enough, so guns were just the next logical step.
“When you’re shooting a Barrett M82 to the beat and your whole body is getting smacked with this shockwave, it’s just insane.”
Gun Drummer at a Glance
| Real name | Nate Wilkinson |
| Based in | Ohio |
| Gun Drummer began | 2019 |
| Signature act | Synchronizing gunfire with rock and heavy-metal songs |
| Typical full production | About 30 firearms and 5,000 rounds, according to Wilkinson |
| Reported reach | Millions of followers and more than 3 billion total views |
| Former careers | Restaurant and construction industries |
How Gun Drummer Videos Are Made
There is much more happening in Wilkinson’s videos than gunfire.
Camera drones sweep through the scene. Explosions and flames punctuate the music. A full band may be playing behind him while tables loaded with guns stand ready nearby. One Hook & Barrel favorite is Gun Drummer's Happy 250th America video that really gets the blood pumping! It's a Revolutionary War battlefield blast by every measure!
A typical large production can involve 30 guns and 5,000 rounds of ammunition. Between the firearms, camera equipment, instruments and band, setup alone can take hours.
Then Wilkinson has to choreograph it all.
He calculates how many rounds he will get from each magazine and where in the song it will run empty. Every transition has to happen at the right moment so he can switch firearms without losing the beat.
“I’ve tried a million different triggers, a million different guns, a million different types of ammo,” he says. “There are so many things moving around that have to be working correctly in order for it to run properly.”
And it doesn’t always run properly.
A firearm might malfunction. A drone may crash. A microphone or camera might shut off. Batteries die. Any of those problems can appear while Wilkinson is trying to keep the entire production synchronized with the song.
There is rarely an opportunity to start over. When Wilkinson and the crew are deep into a song, they generally do not have the energy—or ammunition—to redo the entire performance because one element failed.
Backup guns can bail him out when a malfunction cannot be cleared quickly. Other times, a mishap becomes part of the performance.
“When you start making a mistake, just make more noise,” Wilkinson says. “Just start screaming, voice your frustration and really just let it fly. People really like that human element, so you win either way.
“You can’t panic. You have to just go with the flow because it’s not going to go correctly. Like, it’s not—ever.”
The Physical Toll of Gun Drummer’s Videos
Wilkinson wears hearing and eye protection during every shoot, but firing thousands of rounds while head-banging to heavy metal still takes a physical toll.
He may be dealing with the concussion from a Barrett M82 while remaining focused on the target, the rhythm and the camera drones moving through the production.
Wilkinson describes the experience as “psychotic.” He might be shooting beneath a hot sun with his hands beginning to bleed, scalding brass flying around him and enough smoke hanging over the range to make breathing uncomfortable.
The challenge is doing all of that safely despite the physical punishment.
Now in his mid-30s, married and raising children, Wilkinson has become more conscious of limiting the damage. Lingering injuries can be part of firing thousands of rounds through firearms equipped with aggressive muzzle brakes that redirect blast toward the shooter.
One painful lesson came while firing two revolvers chambered in .450 Marlin—one in each hand. Wilkinson compares the experience with shooting .45-70 Government cartridges, except he says the recoil felt three times worse.
Before the shoot, he wrapped the revolvers’ grips in Goon Tape. That turned out to be a mistake.
The smooth grips were designed to move slightly in his hands under recoil. The tape prevented that movement, directing more of the force into his palms.
“It was just sending that shockwave straight into my palm, and I was starting to get this section of my hand just popping out of place for a while,” Wilkinson says. “It healed since I took the Goon Tape off.”
Why Wilkinson Limits His .50 BMG Exposure
Wilkinson has also reduced the number of .50 BMG rounds he fires during a shoot.
At one time, he says, he fired 200 rounds through an M82 in a single day. Now he is more cautious about repeated exposure to the pressure generated by the rifle and its muzzle brake.
That concern has a legitimate basis, although there is no specific round count that predicts memory loss, dementia or another particular medical outcome. Federal defense guidance identifies .50-caliber weapons among the systems capable of producing high blast overpressure. Research into repeated exposure and its potential cognitive effects is continuing.
One of Wilkinson’s most popular videos is a full-band cover of Pantera’s “Domination.” During one of the song’s heaviest riffs, he unleashes an M82 chambered in .50 BMG.
He has no intention of abandoning the big guns, but he knows his limits.
Wilkinson has a pair of M82s equipped with 20-round Fostech drum magazines. Once those 40 rounds are gone, he has reached his self-imposed threshold.
“I don’t want to get dementia early for just laying the smackdown on some bass and a metal breakdown, so I’ve gotten a lot more careful,” Wilkinson says.
Related:Best .50 BMG Rifles and Ammo: Four Top Picks for Heavy Firepower
Firearm Safety Behind the Spectacle
Gun Drummer’s videos are built to look chaotic, but Wilkinson says safety determines how every production is arranged.
The videos are entertainment rather than firearm-safety lessons, yet everything begins with the range and a reliable backstop.
Wilkinson’s new Ohio range sits in a valley designed to keep the thousands of rounds fired during a production contained within a controlled area. Every shot must be directed at the backstop—not into the ground or into the air.
That can be challenging because much of Wilkinson’s shooting is done from the hip, but he says there are no exceptions.
He also follows the foundational rules of firearm handling, including keeping his finger off the trigger until he is ready to fire and maintaining control of the muzzle at all times.
When you’re shooting a Barrett M82 to the beat and your whole body is getting smacked with this shockwave, it’s just insane.
“It’s not a joke,” he says.
Wilkinson knows many people within his enormous audience are not firearm experts. He hopes the videos will encourage some of them to learn more about recreational shooting, which makes the safety protocols especially important.
Eventually, he would like to create youth training camps centered on responsible firearm handling.
“I’d like to have training camps for youth to come learn how to shoot safely because that’s a big deal to me,” Wilkinson says. “It’s a really big deal.
“I need people to understand that you can shoot guns and really burn it down, make a lot of noise and have a great time, and nobody gets hurt if you just follow these simple rules.”
Gun Drummer’s Battle With Social Media
In the seven years since Wilkinson started Gun Drummer, he has experienced the difficulties that firearms-focused creators face on major social platforms.
He says his content is routinely demonetized or receives limited distribution, forcing him to depend heavily on sponsors rather than advertising revenue tied directly to his videos.
Wilkinson has considered hiring an attorney to challenge the demonetization. At the same time, he wonders whether taking on the platforms would create more trouble than it solves.
What frustrates him most is that platforms may restrict his ability to earn money from the videos while still placing advertising around the same content and generating revenue from its traffic.
He knows he is not the only firearms creator facing those restrictions. He also recognizes the risk that comes with publicly criticizing the platforms on which his business depends.
“It’s not smart for me saying any of this, but I would be doing a disservice to the hundreds of people I know in this space who are making Second Amendment content and getting crushed day in and day out,” Wilkinson says.
“I am a massive Second Amendment proponent. I don’t play with that. I know that it’s the correct, just and ethical way for a free society to run—for people to be armed.”
What’s Next for Gun Drummer?
Wilkinson has enough ideas to keep Gun Drummer producing videos for years. Since we at H&B are fans of John Cooper and his band Skillet, we can only hope that eventually GD will bang out their renditions of “Monster” and "Hero.”
Future concepts could include a Lord of the Rings theme, more full-band heavy-metal covers, dynamite and exploding cars. As the productions become larger, Wilkinson sees few creative limits beyond the safety and logistics required to make them happen.
“There’s quite literally nothing that we can’t produce,” he says.
For a creator who once decided an ordinary drum kit was not loud enough, that sounds less like a boast than a warning to turn up the volume.
For more from Wilkinson, visit the official Gun Drummer website.
Editor's Note: Rock over to Hook & Barrel's specially curated Spotify channel and our curated music content.
