Are "Fudds" as quirky as us?

[rob_s]

Leading up to SHOT there's all this chatter on the various tactical forums and gear forums, and obviously for most of us our interest lies in the "LE/Tactical" section at the north end of the convention center.

I got to wondering though, does the non-tactical crowd, say the hunters, get as worked up as we do? Is there some guy out there that just can't wait to stop by the Bob's decoys booth because he's heard they're going to have a really great new mallard this year? Or a skeet shooter that's all worked up to stop by the golf-cart display to find a hot new way to tote his over/under?

I don't really have any ties in those communities, so I have no idea if they're as gay as we are.

[Magsz]

Just as gay.

My future uncle in law and all of his friends would probably cream themselves if they even knew what shot show was.

They're big time hunters up in Georgia and they can sit there and talk for hours about a damned tree stand.

[LOKNLOD]

Some probably are -- but I think the majority of them are just oblivious to anything but what they hear at the gunshop when they're buying their annual box of ammo in the fall.

It may be hypocritical of me, but if all I had to be excited about at SHOT was a new duck decoy, I'd have to go out back and suck-start both barrels of a Browning Superposed.

[GlockWRX]

It's hard to see them get their fan boy hysterics on like us. We are a technology driven market segment, so 'new' products tend to fire us up more than a relatively stagnant segment like hunting guns. I look at my brother-in-law and father-in-law who are hunters and they don't even know what the SHOT SHOW is. The only time they know something new has been released is when they see it at Cabela's. I have never heard of a Fudd paying 3 to 4 times MSRP for a new rifle just to be the first one to have it.

But you never know. There could be a new deer piss scent or camo pattern that will revolutionize the entire hunting industry. Or they could geek out about a new .30 caliber round that is exactly like another .30 cal round, but is 100 fps faster or slower.

[David Thomas]

They are just as quircky, although in a different way. They get more excited about SCI events and DU banquets than SHOT. There are probably more sub groups in the Fudd community... handgun hunters, shingle shot, black powder, cast bullet, double rifle, etc...

Then there are sub groups of the sub groups. Take the cast bullets crowd for example. You have Keith vs. LFN, Linotype vs. Wheel weight vs. Lyman No. 2, Marvalux vs. beeswax, etc...

[Gentoo]

People get gayed up over anything.

No matter how weird, boring, unusual, or mundane, there is a whole community of people who follow every little detail.

http://www.knittersreview.com/upcoming_events.asp

[ST911]

They're just like everyone else. Among them are those that have great technical knowledge, proficiency, and backgrounds in their disciplines. There are also the lowest common denominators who don't know one rifle from the other because they all look the same.

The more serious among us will spend thousands on train-ups, classes, and skill maintenance. They'll spend thousands on hunts and their own skill development attending shows, clinics, etc in their disciplines.

There are "owners" and "shooters" in that community as well.

One friend can split hairs and cite tech specs on his own non-tactical interests like few can.

See also: Various motorsports.

[JBnTX]

I have a friend who shoots nothing but bolt action target rifles.
He frowns on "tactical" or "military" type rifles.

He is an absolute fanatic about his bolt actions and accuracy.
He won't shut up about them.

He can put as many shots as you require into one small hole at 100yds
all day long.

To him, his bolt actions and accuracy are the pinnacle of firearms ownership.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

There is more than one internet forums on Flashlights and those guys geek out over the newest LED bulb.

I also 'shoot' cameras and those guys geek out ahead of the PMA and Photokina.

Guys are guys, gear is gear. I'm sure a good percentage aren't totally gear orienteed, but then I doubt there are on the web much.

[Business_Casual]

Or they could geek out about a new .30 caliber round that is exactly like another .30 cal round, but is 100 fps faster or slower.

Now, that is the truth.

Fudd's are suckers for a new cartridge that does exactly what the 30-06 does but at 4x the cost and barrel wear. How dead do they want that deer, anyway?

M_P