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CarniK Con (Carnivorous Kinetic Concepts) is an American YouTube firearms comedy show known for its videos of firearms used in humorous scenarios and the heavy use of American symbolism. The channel debuted on Halloween 2012 and has since garnered a passionate following among gun enthusiasts across the internet. Videos typically feature Dugan Ashley and other members of CarniK Con conducting testing and evaluation of firearms (typically machine guns) in unlikely, scripted scenarios. The show is typically filmed in Missouri where the group is based. CarniK Con’s video formats can range from music videos to short stories, to infomercials and 20 second shorts. The channel is also known for its firearms related meme development such as skittles and guns, Ryan Gosling and operators, and the beer company “Freedom America Ale.”

History
The channel name CarniK Con was derived by Dugan Ashley, Randy Broshankle and Stanley Childs in 2012. The name is a compression of Carnivorous Kinetic Concepts. Initially, the three considered filming episodes in traditional firearms coverage fashion, without consideration of the comedy that the channel is known for. “But we did our research and thought this was the way to take things up a notch.” They began writing and filming in November 2012. Dugan Ashley also writes the music featured in their videos along with Ted Craig who joined the group and began co-writing soon after CarniK Con’s inception.

The first video the channel released is simply titled “CarniK Con Opener.” It is the opening title sequence of the show that plays at the beginning of most episodes, ending with Randy wearing American flag patterned apparel firing a machine gun with the words excellence displayed behind him. As of December 2012, CarniK Con has gained more than 18,200 subscribers, making it the 31,408th most subscribed channel on YouTube.

Feud with FPS Russia
Upon the initial success of CarniK Con, in spring 2013 they were purportedly approached by representatives of the YouTube channel FPSRussia. During this time, FPSRussia published the video AK-47 Bacon Sundae in which an AK-47 is fired with an open receiver filled with ice cream and bacon. Fans of CarniK Con accused FPSRussia of intellectual material theft from an earlier CarniK Con video AR-15 VS AK-47, Solved Once and For All in which Ashley fires an AK-47 with a ham sandwich in the receiver. Ashley has made no comment regarding this, but ten days following the release of AK-47 Bacon Sundae, CarniK Con released the video SUPER CARBINE COURSE, in which a character resembling Dmitri Potapoff(FPSRussia) presumably dies while attempting to conduct a “phantom reload.” At this time, there have been no collaborations between FPSRussia and CarniK Con.

Merchandise
In December 2013, CarniK Con released a limited run of MIL-SPEC AR-15 Receivers featuring their logo (A creature formed by a collage of weapons known as ‘The Gun Dragon’). They are editioned from zero to 300 and sold through the firearms manufacturer Palmetto State Defense.