The most popular YouTube channel dedicated to guns, Demolition Ranch, will shut down later this year, according to its owner and host, Matt Carriker. In a recent video on his “Off The Ranch” companion channel, Carriker explained that he had “surpassed every single goal” as a YouTuber and decided he’d rather spend more time with his family than make videos.1Off The Ranch, “I’m Quitting YouTube… I’m Selling the Ranch,” YouTube, January 28, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ9oep6FwAY, at 5:46.
Carriker said that he and his wife “realized our kids are getting old really fast, and they’re not going to be in our house a whole lot longer, and that’s hit us real hard. And I know that in the next few years, when all of our kids leave our house and we’re empty nesters, I’m not going to look back and say I wish I made more YouTube videos.”2Ibid, at 6:31. He also listed the Demolition Ranch property for sale for $15 million.
Two other factors may have played into Carriker’s decision, however. Demolition Ranch garnered significant negative attention after it was discovered that the gunman who attempted to assassinate President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, with a DPMS AR-15 was wearing a Demolition Ranch T-shirt. YouTube also updated its firearm policies in June 2024, which may have limited Carriker’s reach and made it harder for him to make money on the platform, as discussed below. Data shows that his channel’s average monthly views have dropped by 10 million since 2022.
Demolition Ranch’s INFLUENCE
In the video announcing his retirement, Carriker explained that he started posting to YouTube in 2007, sharing videos of his car and animals before transitioning to gun content in 2011.
Since then, Demolition Ranch has amassed some 11.8 million subscribers and 2.5 billion views, primarily by showcasing military-grade assault weapons, machine guns, sniper rifles, and explosives — a practice common among social media influencers, known as “GunTubers,” who help market the gun industry’s products.
Carriker has also worked with controversial GunTubers. In November 2023, Carriker hosted Brandon Herrera (known as “The AK Guy”) at his ranch to film a video discussing and recreating the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. In the video, Herrera asks Carriker if the FBI was involved in King’s murder, and Carriker responds first by asking if the video will be published online, then sarcastically says, “No, on the record, I do not believe that the government would ever do anything against us.” Carriker’s appearance ends with an animated explosion, implying that the government killed him.
In May 2024, Carriker posted photos on X showing himself and fellow GunTuber Cody Garrett (aka “Donut Operator”) dressed as Nazi SS soldiers, the forces primarily responsible for carrying out the Holocaust, for a YouTube video.
controversial apparel
After it was discovered that the shooter who tried to assassinate Trump was wearing a Demolition Ranch T-shirt, Carriker said he was in “disbelief” and posted a video in which he denied having any influence on the shooter by saying, “He bought a shirt online and unfortunately, wore it that day.”3DemolitionRanch, “The Trump Shooter was Wearing My Shirt…” YouTube, July 15, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAnvLjavON0&ab_channel=DemolitionRanch, at 4:50.
The T-shirt was made by Bunker Branding, a company Carriker founded in 2017 to produce branded apparel for his channel and other GunTubers. While the company discontinued a hat sold under Herrera’s “AK Guy” brand (shown below) after the incident, the T-shirt worn by the Trump shooter is still available for sale online.
Days after the assassination attempt, Carriker made light of the situation by posting a fictitious breaking news story of a boy wearing a similar Demolition Ranch T-shirt saving kittens stuck in a tree.
YouTube’s policy changes
In June 2024, YouTube updated its policies to place tighter restrictions on firearms content, including age restrictions on videos that showcase military-grade weapons — like the kind shown in many Demolition Ranch videos. YouTube also began “deleting videos, and even whole channels, that direct viewers to websites where they can buy firearms, ammunition, or certain accessories” in accordance with its policies.
In response to the changes, Carriker posted a video mocking and criticizing the rules, and stating that they would hurt his viewership numbers. Carriker said that restricting his videos to users who are 18 or older “affects us big time.”4DemolitionRanch, “Edging YouTube’s New Gun Rules,” YouTube, July 5, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW__9jDDSvM&ab_channel=DemolitionRanch, at 10:30.
Data from Social Blade, a platform that tracks YouTube views and subscribers, appears to confirm Carriker’s prediction. While Demolition Ranch is still gaining subscribers, the channel has far fewer monthly viewers than it did two years ago. Between April and December 2022, the channel averaged 18 million views per month. But last year, that average dropped to 8 million views per month.