Archetypes of the Gun Owner: Fred the Fudd

Let’s start this series off with the most controversial, shall we?

First up: Fudds.

Who is a Fudd?

To be brief, a Fudd is a gun owner who doesn’t care what laws get passed, as long as they can keep their deer rifle/duck gun/whatever.

Fudds are near-universally hated in the self-defense-oriented ‘gun community’, and for good reason. Fudds are the reason a ‘sporting clause’ exemption for imported rifles & shotguns exists (if such an exemption didn’t exist, the measure would likely not have passed Congress). Fudds are the reason that anti-gunners say “You don’t need 30 rounds to hunt a deer!” Fudds are also the reason that the responce “The Second Amendment isn’t about hunting!” was coined.

Fudds can also be competition shooters, though that is far from common in today’s action-shooting-centric competition shooting world.

What it boils down to is this: Fudds are hobbyists. Guns are their hobby, if not just a tool used in the hobby. While not all Fudds are hunters, the epitome of Fuddery is the hunter who owns 20 bolt action rifles in 20 different calibers for all manner of animals, a handful of duck & upland game shotguns, a revolver in the nightstand, and doesn’t mind gun ownership being a privilege that has to be earned.

If most Fudds weren’t into hunting, they wouldn’t have any guns. They’d collect model trains, or fly fish, or do some woodworking, or something else. Guns are just a recreational tool to them, not something serious. If all private gun ownership in the US was banned, a la the UK, most Fudds might be upset that their favorite pastime has been ruined but would accept it before too long.

Not all Fudds are at the same level. The level of Fuddery an individual has can vary from person to person. Some people honestly believe that gun ownership should be regulated for “the Greater Good”. Other Fudds are a little less indoctrinated, and draw the line at Silencers, or machine guns, or ‘high cap mags’. To me they are all Fudds, because they are willing to compromise on a right that is supposedly enshrined as un-infringe-able in this nation’s founding document! Their widespread dislike of anything that isn’t wood & blued steel gets old real fast, too.

Charleton Heston’s “Cold, dead hands!” line was in reference to his hunting rifles.

Know Them by Their Phrases

-“You don’t need 30 bullets to kill a deer”

-“What do you need a gun like that for, anyway?”

-“What are you, paranoid?”

-“Only criminals and assassins use silencers”

-“.223 is designed to wound”

-“…because they don’t make a 46!”

-“Stopping Power”

Who is not a Fudd?

Since Fudds are primarily noted by their lack of concern for gun rights, someone who does care is not a Fudd. Even though a Fudd usually sticks to bolt guns, shotguns, lever guns, and revolvers, owning those things doesn’t make you a Fudd. If all you own is lever action 30-30’s, but you think that machine guns should be sold in hardware stores, you’re definitely no Fudd. Clint Smith is a good example of someone who visually fits the profile, but his political and societal views firmly land him in the non-Fudd zone.

Clint Smith gets it. I’d love to make it out to Thunder Ranch some day.

What Makes Them Dangerous

Here’s the real problem with Fudds: Their familiarity with guns.

There are lots of people in this country who don’t want to promote gun rights. Nearly 60% of the households in the US don’t own a gun (source). I don’t blame them for not being pro-gun, they probably have never touched one in person and I don’t expect them to really understand what they have no knowledge of. What makes Fudds so dangerous is that fact that they do.

This guy has spent more time reading a single issue of Field & Stream than he has the entire constitution. Probably.

A Fudd is familiar with guns. He/she owns guns, hunts with guns, shoots guns, and is skilled with guns (at least to the non-gun-owning public). Compared to 60% of the US, the Fudd is an expert.

It’s the combination of lack of concern with the eroding gun rights coming from a supposed expert on the subject that truly allows the general public to allow gun control. When Mr. & Mrs. America see lots of people who actually own and use guns not caring about the potential gun bans, then they are much less likely to oppose such bans themselves.

It would be one thing if everyone who owned at least one gun was a borderline radical gun rights activist. If every person who owned a bolt action or lever gun united under the banner of “all gun laws are an infringement”, this country would be a different place… but they don’t. The vast majority of gun owners are complacent and uninvolved and when asked “do I really need an assault weapon?” they generally respond with a resounding “not really”.

What do They Have to Offer?

Now that we have a better understanding of what Fudds are, and what we need to steer clear of, let’s look at what we can focus on what we can learn from them. I think the biggest thing to learn from Fudds is to enjoy shooting. Now that sounds too simple, but hear me out.

When something is fun to do, you are motivated to do it. If that thing is shooting, then you’ll be more motivated to go to the range. The more you go to the range and practice, the better you’ll be. If you can make shooting fun, you’ll probably get better at it, even if that’s not your goal.

I have limited ability to hit the range. I have 2 kids under the age of 2, I don’t make 7 figures a year, and I don’t live out in the country. I have to plan out and budget out my range trips in advance. I can’t just go at the drop of a hat like I’d like. I have to be careful with my ammo usage. When I do make it out there, I am basically shooting whatever gun needs to be shot, and usually practicing with my EDC pistol. It’s not super fun, so much as mandatory skill-building/maintaining exercises.

Fudds, on the other hand, do not have this problem. Since Fudds are hobbyists, that means they only shoot for fun. If it wasn’t fun they wouldn’t go. It’s purely recreational.

Personally, I like shooting sporting clays with my over/under. That might be the most fun I’ve ever had with a gun in my hand within 400 miles of home. I don’t do it more often because the time and ammo costs can be more effectively spent elsewhere, but man is it fun! I think I need to break out the ol’ scatter gun and a couple boxes of shells. That’ll help my target transitions, right?

Yeah, that’s pretty accurate.

Conslusion

If you’re stuck in a rut and don’t really get much enjoyment out of just doing drills, shooting B8s, and working fundamentals, try tapping into your inner Fudd. Find something fun to shoot and do that for a bit. If you old lever action just makes you happy in a way that your EDC pistol doesn’t, don’t feel bad about shooting it a little every now and then. Doing something a little less serious every now and then isn’t a bad thing! As long as you don’t go full-Fudd and start blabbering about Tupperware guns being crap and voting for anti-gun politicians, you’ll be fine.

Next time we’ll take a look at Sheepdog Shane.

Stay involved, and have fun. I’ll see you next Friday. -S_S

*The character of Elmer Fudd is not mine.