I've only been to a public range maybe 3 times in my life and that was plenty.  I shoot on my own property whenever I want and however I want.  Once you're able to do that there's no going back to public BS.

I've got a better one, but it was at a privately owned barnyard out in the country.

We're out there firing MGs into the back pasture (where a valley dips down by the pond, creating a tall natural berm) and the landowner's neighbor (some 65ish year old guy) walks over and just walks up behind us, unannounced. (He had to go up their driveway to get there too.) He then proceeds to ask us what we're shooting. I responded, "Machineguns and stuff." He then asks if they're legal, so I'm like "Oh yeah. Got registration paperwork with the feds and everything." Then the hosts tell him, "This man is also a federal LE officer." He says something about liking guns, how he loves to shoot guns himself, then he walks back home and calls the sheriff's office on us. Of course that didn't result in any problems, but we were all just like, "Wow! What a prick."

In hindsight I think we should've told him we were mob hit men just practicing with our weapons, and that we hadn't found a live target for the new guy to practice on yet. That probably would've been more fun.

Not lately. But back in the day sometime around 1990/91 in North Carolina. Before sporting rifles were very popular. I was shooting my 69 dollar SKS rifle. Had all kinds of Fudds making comments about my Commie rifle being absolute shit. How I needed to be shooting something made in the U.S.?? looking back, probably most of those guys were Vietnam vets that had SKS rifles fired at them.....

I'm sure someone has called me a Fudd at one time or another after I addressed safety issues with them. People fooling with their guns when the range was cold to replace targets or sweeping the firing line while dealing with a malfunction.

Worst example of unsolicited advice was at the LGS and thank goodness it wasn't aimed at me. A guy walked in wanting to mount an AR carbine stock on his AK and another customer informed him that the only way to do that was by changing the gas system.

Join date checks out.

Mostly, the Fudds I encounter bitch about wood & steel being absent, since I shoot Glocks, ARs, and other guns with polymer or a stable chassis/frame less affected by weather, temperature, humidity, etc.

Mostly, I’m overtly rude & don’t respond, since 90+% of the time I’m working on load development for my target rifles & I don’t care what they think.

I have had several use my Leupold Mk 4 spotting scope without asking and the third time it happened by another idiot in the same group, I said some truly inappropriate things I shouldn’t have said….but that’s on me, not him.

And, I’m working on not being that inappropriate in the future….

Not sure if this counts as a Fudd… also not at a range.

Was at a gun show many moons ago when I was 15 or so (I’m 32 now). My dad was there for guns, I tagged along to get cheapo parts for my airsoft guns. Went to a booth with a guy running it that seems to be in his 80s. Sold shitty flashlights and Chinese red dots, exactly what I wanted for my toys. I’m browsing and he notices my shirt, which has a Thompson on it (just a picture of the blueprint of a Thompson). He asks if I ever wear that to school. I was being extra polite here because I felt so out of place being such a youngster at a gun show, and said No sir, I promise I only wear it when playing airsoft and on weekends. Then this guy tears into me about the younger generation being obsessed with all these AsSauLt RiFleS and how stupid we all are for liking them, and it’s ruining the image of REAL gun owners (AKA… people that like Pappy’s Remington double barrel checkered stock deer layer deluxe).

Anyway I put the cheap junk down I was going to buy and just left.

Also, this hypocrite was selling 30 round pre ban junker AR mags.

Pretty sure that’s a Fudd.

I'm not a narcissist convinced I already know everything.....

so I don't mind the opportunity to hear some good stories and maybe even learn something new (or a "better way") if a fellow gun enthusiast is feeling chatty.

Sure, I just listen & nod my head. I look through their cheap 32x scopes & tell them how nice their equipment is. They mean well... This was about 4 hours ago

Only to compliment my target.

I stated two legit irritating fudd encounters, don't make me list the dozens of other encounters which humbled me to the point that I felt gratitude for being corrected.

I rarely talk to other people while shooting, I have a training plan and try to execute it and drive on with the rest of my day.

However, at my local club, in the summer of 2020, three younger guys - obvious friends -  showed up, they wandered over my bench after a while and I let them shoot my 7.62 SCAR, they knew from some video game.  

While I was packing up, I reminded them to stock up on ammo prior to the upcoming presidential election, I had just bought several K of 5.56, 7.62x39, you name it.  They laughed and went on their way.

Saw one of them them after Biden got elected and he said "we should have listened to you."  I remarked "know you know."

Fudd yelled that my FVG on my Colt 6920 socom rifle was illegal. Fudd said it to me three times.
I explained it was pistols not rifles and he said , oh thanks I didn't know that.

Yes. I’ve been a magnet for fudds almost since day one.

I'm not sure of their status on the modern sporting rifle platform but I've learned just about everything I know about reloading and shooting from old timers. However, with that said, there is one older gentleman who will stand behind you at the skeet or trap range and tell you the errors of your ways until you pack up and leave.  He knows what he's talking about but everyone has their limit. Some won't even go shoot if his car is in the lot.

"Stupid boomers whining about projectile ricochets.   They don't even know how phased plasma works."

"I know, right?  Ever seen one of 'em try to reload the 40 watt battery?  Takes forever."

Or the time i ran into a kid with his brand new LWT rifle that wouldn’t cycle at all. We pulled the handguard off to discover the ‘armorer’ who built it forgot the gas tube.

One of my local range/club has a resident sage who hangs out pretty much 7 days/nights a week...
Wears his membership badge. That's right... "badge" he had made up 'round his neck like a tv cop...
In 20 years I've NEVER seen him with a firearm or shooting.
'Guy just sits preaching unsolicited reloading advice and gun control tropes or talking about his bad knees, historical shooting accomplishments or his 'beatus...
Pretty sad actually... I think he spends so much time at the club cuz he's got nothing else going on in life.

"The only reason to have one of them drones is to look in my daughter's window."


I guess we either die, or live long enough to see ourselves become the Fudd.

I've had many Fudd encounters but one sticks out in particular.   I was testing several new guns and making sure they ran with different types of ammo for concealed carry.   The old fellas next to me kept muttering about how much money I was wasting and were getting really resentful every time I'd pull out a new handgun or rifle to function test.   Not sure they realized I could hear them with my fancy high dollar ($35) Howard Leight earpro.

They spent the entire range session bitching about how much money I spent on my guns and that range trip.   I never once responded to them.  

Then I drove away in my 25 year old car I paid $3000 for, that was parked next to their late model $60k pickup truck.

Yep, big spender here.

They are the worst and most irritating of people. Worrying about how others spend their money. Unless something is immoral or unethical, and if the spender is a person in my circle of concern or interest, you'll never hear a word out of me.

Not really, but I usually shoot at home or on other private property.

As an aside, I was once walking past the range at Knob Creek where two old hillbilly guys, who seriously looked like they were from the cast of "Mountain Monsters," were fiddling with some sort of rifle.

When they touched that thing off, it was the loudest gun report I had ever heard. Painful. It rattled my fillings, so I hot footed it into the gun shop.

Don't know what gun it was, but they fired a couple of more rounds and I noticed other people fleeing the vicinity.

I recall one of those annoying guys in my youth at the first club I belonged to.


He would criticize your rifle if you hand a mini14 or an AR (1980’s) with a no one needs that comment.
He’d offer device on how to shoot when no one was talking to him.
He’d scavenge the brass in the brass buckets, anf he’d pick up your brass if you didn’t tell him to keep his hands off.
When he heard I was in the reserves he of course thought I could just go get him a set of NM sights for a garand at the reserve center.  He never stopped asking for me to grab him a set either.
I never once saw him shooting yet he was there nearly every day with his black lab.  I liked the dog, him not so much.  He was a pain in the ass.

The only time he made me laugh was when he was walking down to our back “combat” range that the State Corrections was renting to be his regular nosy bumming self.  He got caught in a cloud of CS gas as they were doing mask training.   ahh good times.  The dog was quicker to meet me at the door of the club house for refuge.

Reminds me of a rather unpleasant shop in Colorado. I was new to shooting and guns, I had just purchased my first rifle at 18 years old. I bought a scope that I wanted to put on it, but couldn't figure out the right scope rings. Well I went there and asked about it. The guy was the most grouchy mofo I've ever met. He said he couldn't, and I quote, "do shit for me unless he saw the gun". These are the only words he ever spoke to me, he just grunted the whole time when I asked questions. So I brought the gun in to him, and the scope. Remember, I was just asking what rings I needed for it, that's it. Well he grunts and disappears in the back for a while, and comes back out with my scope mounted on the rifle with rings. I was kind of shocked, as I just wanted to figure out the rings I needed. I said well I didn't need you to mount it for me, but since it's on there, how much? He told me it was $100 for the work, and $50 for the rings. $150?!?!?!? I was 18 and I had poured all of my summer work money into this rifle so far. I told him "wow no thanks, I just wanted to know what rings I needed"

Well that torqued him pretty good. He grunted extra loud and cursed me under his breath, then took the rifle back. I heard slamming from the back, then he comes back up front, slams my rifle on the counter, slams my scope, grunts again, and points at the door. Roger that, sir, I'll get out and never ever come back.

The business folded about a decade ago I think. Not surprising. There was dust on everything, and I never saw cars in the parking lot.

If Merle is the final boss, this guy was final stage pre-boss.

I once had a fudd criticize how I was dressed at a gun show!

I had come straight from church on a Sunday.  I was dressed in a three piece suit with a pocket watch.  I guess he was mad because I gave them place some class

You can't make a fudd happy.

I've been criticized by all manner of idiots.

I've been bothered by fudds and I've been wrongfully accused of being a fudd.

Last year I took an unloaded cased rifle into a gun shop. I did not take the gun out of the case because that would be inconsiderate and impolite. Instead I was was prepared to hand the cased rifle over to the counter man so that he could inspect it.

Anyway, the counter man gave me a ton of abuse and he spoke about "red flags". He literally treated me as if I were a criminal. I told him that he was panty waisted to be afraid of an unloaded cased rifle and that I had the wrong gun shop.

Other times, I've had idiots criticize me for shooting a handgun or an AR. ("What do you want that for?")

Then I've also been accused of being a fudd by a few people here because I like walnut stocked rifles.

We are our own worst enemies.  I think that we should be able to shoot what ever we want as long as simple rules of safety are observed.

I don’t shoot at public ranges.

No, they seem rarer in real life.

as bad as fudds are some of the range nazis are just as bad.We have a range outside of Anchorage,the Birchwood range.My son and I went out there often to just shoot for fun.Never had problems till some new owners bought it.The range clowns to do nothing but give shooters a hard time.I stopped going out there because of the crap from the clowns.My wife wants to shoot real bad so we were going to go out but now no more single day price.Its membership only at about $400 a year.So no on that.

I was at Jim's in Fayetteville shooting OK when the guy beside me told me he could make me a better shot.  He moved my hands on my grip a little bit and it really worked.  He then handed me his Sig 938 and told me if I used his grip, I'd hit bullseye's all day long.  It was a nice gun.

Turned out he was a shooting instructor on Bragg.

Bought a NIB model 19 S&W in the early’90s. Was criticized for shooting it. Was $200, back when everyone wanted 9mm semis and couldn’t give away revolvers. Fudd thought it should be NIB forever. Funny he  never offered to buy it to save it from me.

Taking my kids to the range, one at a time, to teach them shooting. Range Fudds trying to become their instructor.

A friends rifle would hold zero cold, and would wander each shot further away as the barrel warmed up. Cold it would go back to zero. Found out a puddle of factory varnish in the stock was putting pressure on the barrel, and I cleaned that up so it passed the dollar bill clearance test. Finished working on it, so took it to the 100yd local range. At the range the Fudd RO was reaching over the gun as I was test firing because he wanted to see what cartridge I was using (his arm actually passed in front of the scope). Some choice words was said to him.

Another Fudd at a trap range discussing why nobody should own an AR. Thirty shots to kill people. I pointed out to him that his Rem 1100 with buckshot would send 45 lethal ‘bullets’ down range with five pulls of the trigger, and my 870 magnum could send 105 shots with 7 pulls.

Tell them it is a confidential tax document (which it is) and the only people you HAVE to show it to is the IRS & ATF if requested.

As long as you are safe and not a total ass hat, I could not care less what anyone else does.
A couple of stories only one of which was at the local gun club range.

First one was at the local private outdoor range where that day the the local yokel small town cops happened to be qualifying with their duty issued .38s.
It was in the early 70's, and Dad had recently traded the local PD Chief an AR-15 and a S&W 36 Chiefs Special straight up for a 1928 Thompson.  
FBI black case with blue velvet lining with all the goodies!
While Dad stopped in the club house, I walked down to the range and during a break in their shooting, I asked one of the cops if they would leave me a silhouette target when they were done. (I had never shot at one before).
"Sure kid, you find a gun and we'll let you shoot a target."  Well, I found a gun!
I went around the back of the club house so Dad wouldn't see me humping this heavy ass case down to the range and set the box on the last bench while they were still shooting.  
You can see where this is going.  
Needless to say, a couple of things happened in quick succession.  A stream of .45 ACP cases rose above the box; they quit shooting, as I cut all their target holders to the ground; and the old man charging out of the club house screaming that I had better find every one of those damn empty cases from the 50 round drum I just emptied!
The cops just stood there dumbstruck until they heard/saw the old man.
For some strange reason, I was never pulled over riding my bicycle without a light after dark after that!

More on point, the second was during a couple hour layover at the airport. I wandered into a musty Army Navy surplus store across from the airport wasting time.
I found a big box of surplus Colt marked M16 magazines.  I asked the crusty old guy behind the counter bullshitting with a fat cop on a stool how much?
$2.00 bucks each he said.  I said I'll take them all.  Paid the man and was heading out the door when the cop asked me what I was going to do with all those "baby killing" magazines to which I replied, "why kill a bunch of babies of course!"  
The cop was like -
A few months later the assault weapons ban was passed and I was like -

I did, trust me.

I actually had the paperwork for them on me, right behind the foam in the gun case. But I am not OBLIGATED to show it to some random RSO, despite what they were telling me.

Shame too, that was a nice range.

I actually had a group of 3 older guys, probably fudds, come over and check out the 300BO SBR I was shooting. Subs, and the "click-click TING" that they make, garnered attention. They wandered over and were looking at it during a cold range, so I chatted with them. They were dubious. They said it looked very illegal, I assured them it wasn't. I said, yknow what, wanna shoot it? The first two were like hell ya! but the third guy said ehh. Ok, no worries.

The first two shot it and were both blown away. Same reaction every time with that gun, first pull of the trigger, then turn to look at me with a massive smile. I get more joy out of that gun letting people shoot it than I do shooting it myself (@NotCaliforniaLegal). The third guy relented after the first two reactions, and he had the same . They showed me what they were shooting, some beautiful browning rifles, and a very nice and expensive 1911. Great day!

Shit-ass RSO's though. Just had to "assert". I knew the first one was gonna be a problem the second I uncased the 10.5" suppressed AR. His look said it all.

Was set up at the bench shooting my Remington 700 .308 at 100 yard targets one day as I could 300, 500, 600+ as the club only went to 100...

Some old guy comes up behind me and asks what I'm shooting. After I tell him, in his old man southern drawl, he says Boy, you oughta be ashamed of yourself.  Thats like taking a Nascar to a go cart track.

I said, not my fault this range is so short...  You buy more land, in that direction and donate it to the club, I'll gladly stretch out further.

Another time I was shooting my Suppressed .22 bolt action and Gem tech Subs. Guy asked me if it was one of them there Silencers and if it was as quite as "They Say"??? then immediately started yapping to the other fudd standing with him.

A few mins later, sounding annoyed, he asks if I was going to shoot and show him if it was quite or not?
I said I've already put 2 10 round mags down range and on the paper with you were jaw jackin..

He swears I'm lying to him, aint no way its that quite.  So I load another and show him.  He bout swallowed his dentures...

In my 50+ years of shooting I've ran into many fudds ranging in ages from 21-49.

Fudds . . . Fudds everywhere

To answer the OP, sure have.  Had some guy try giving my wife unsolicited advice on how to shoot at a 300 yard target (he was shooting about 5 inch groups @300).  Yes, I stood by and watched while she set up her rifle and proceeded to doo her thing and shoot sub 1.5" 10 shot groups.  The advice fud never said another word after she picked up her first target.  Did I mention she is a high master FTR shooter?

I do not remember anything obviously critical, but there has been plenty of unsolicited info/advice.


Why do you say inappropriate? After that I think anything you said would be appropriate, and deserved.

Attached File

Yes. Suppressors seem to be a catalyst for range Karens.

I go for the unimproved range, the last one.  Usually I am alone.  I've never been approached by a fudd.  I always carry my suppressed mg's and once in a while the range master will come over to have a look at my gear but I never get complaints from fudds.  Not sure we even have any down here in the deep south.

Yes, in a few instances.

An old Fudd at the 25 yard line with me down on the 200 yard line.  We'd just hung targets, so I called down, "Is the line hot?"  Fudd says "What, what, what?", three times before finally hearing me and seemed annoyed that I was even asking. (Two minutes before, the same Fudd douche decided to mosey on out on a live range to hang his target without bothering to yell down the line, and everyone was like, WTF and yelling "Cease fire!")

Fudd showing his revolver off to everyone on the range while flagging everyone.  I called him out, and he apologized profusely, but kept doing it.  When I called him out again, he got pissed and old man bitchy.  I finally told him, "You know old man, before you kill someone, I'm leaving", and packed my stuff up.  That flipped his switch the other way and seemed to destroy his morale and he became apologetic again.  I don't know what his deal was.  Senile, I guess.

Another time, an old guy's wife kept flagging me with her bolt gun.  I very politely told her to knock it off.  Her old Fudd husband explained he was taking her hunting out of state and corrected her at first, but like the last guy, became irritated when I asked her to please stop swinging her gun past me, again, and again.  That time it was he who grabbed his stuff in a huff and packed out.

I have more stories, but most revolve around the younger tactical Timmies, and especially their wives and girlfriends.  On the other hand people seem to take their time to educate their kids.  I've observed that kids on the range, go out of their way to demonstrate safety.  Aside from being unfamiliar with guns and unsure with what to do with gun malfunctions, they seem to be among the most safety minded crowd on any line.  So, there's that.  Those kids should go on to possess those skills for life.  I wish people would have the same 5 minute talk with their wives / girlfriends / new shooter friends.

Seems like a few Fudds took offense to this thread.

This is more of a funny story about a dim wit that maybe I should have said something to.  Anyway this happened several years ago at the range i've been going to about once a week for the last 15-18 years.  I was alone on the rifle range when these 2 guys show up..one is carrying a rifle case and the other is following him like a puppy dog.  So the guy with the rifle starts talking about this rifle that he is building from the ground up and when he pulls it out of the case it appeared to be a bolt action rifle in an unfinished wooden stock.

The guy starts talking to his buddy about the new muzzle brake that he put on the barrel and he is going to test it.  When I see what he was talking about I stand up and back up away from him(he was about 3 benches down).  This guy had a "new" type of muzzle brake that he seemed very proud of and his buddy seemed enthralled.  Anyway this "new" muzzle brake wasn't threaded onto the end of the barrel like most are...it had 3 or 4 screws that appear to have been drilled into the barrel to hold it into place.  I don't  remember the caliber but it wasn't a larger one  .308 comes to mind.  Anyway as I am watching from around the corner I'm laughing because when he fires off the rifle...all that I heard was something like a hammer hitting a bell..and what was left of the "muzzle brake" had hit the 25 yard burm.  To this day I can still see the look on his face when he said "Hmmm, that was odd!"  lol

There's nothing fudd about that. That's just being perceptive and a good guy. Fudds force their shitty advice and opinions on you, mostly in the form of belittling you to make themselves feel smarter than they actually are.

A lot of people in this thread seem to think "fudd" just means "old guy" and have taken offense to it. There are a lot of sensitive old dudes here.

Agree. The Fudds who deliberately "misunderstand" what Fudd means.  (Cough, feudist, cough, cough)

My cousin was renting an old ranch house outside of Spokane about ten years ago. I went to stay for a few days, along with my cousins buddy, his girlfriend and her dad were visiting as well. We had a range set up out on the back field with some steel plates, my cousins buddy and I set up and started shooting.

Started with ARs and brought out the AKs. A few minutes goes by and his girlfriends dad comes out and walks over.

We stop and take out our earpro and her dad just stands there for a few seconds, looking over at our gun spread, and he says "I thought I recognized that sound. I'd know that God damn sound anywhere"

Turns out he was a Vietnam combat vet. He said as soon as he heard that AK pop off his hair stood on end. I asked if he wanted us to stop shooting it,  he said "hell no, I'm just glad it's not shooting at me!"

I asked him if he wanted to shoot it and he declined, said he already gave it a whirl back in the jungle