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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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?
How many of them do you think have ever worn out one single barrel?
They want the deer deader. I remember when everybody in my local gunshop was clamoring over one another to buy 30-378 Weatherby Magnums for baby sized Texas deer. Most of them probably were hunting over feeders less than 150 yds away too.
The most insane people at SHOT will be the trap shooters. Guaranteed. Followed closely by most of the other shotgun sports.
The paintball/airsoft crowd has also become a major segment of SHOT since the show organizers began letting them on the floor a couple years back. You can actually meet people at the SHOT Show now who believe that guns should be banned. :mad:
A huge percentage of the attendees (and the folks for whom the SHOW is really intended) are shop owners and their interest generally lies in sales programs, pricing, terms, and the like. They actually show up to spend money and do business.
I’m so geeked about getting to go this year, when you guys see the red-headed dork frantically sprinting from booth to booth like a 4 year old on a 3 day kool-aid sugar rush on Saturday…that’ll be me
Well, I guess you could call me a “Fudd” to a certain extent. I started off hunting and that’s my primary passion. It was only last year I bought my first EBR and it has opened up a whole new realm for me. These things are a blast! I would like to take this moment to thank all the great members for providing such valuable information and insight on all the various tech aspects of all the equipment. It has helped make me a “wise and informed” consumer. Now, back on topic.
As stated, there are owners, shooters and I’d like to include enthusiasts in all fields regarding firearms and their intended purposes. Hunters are just as “tech savvy” as the rest. We get excited over a new GPS, rangefinder, trail cam, waterproofing or anything that can make us more successful. We appreciate the Light Optimization Profile on the Leupold VX-L to achieve the proper cheek weld when shooting. And yes, that new and improved Mallard decoy with the digital image transfer makes some of us grab a towel to clean ourselves up. I personally can’t wait to see what new products come out of SHOT but there are many people in all fields that have no idea about this show or what it’s about.
In all seriousness, I see the same thing here regarding new products/innovations or just building a better mousetrap. Look at all the vertical foregrips offered in not only the standard length but the “stubby” as well. We have one point, two point and three point slings with the latter being frowned upon. We have red lasers, green lasers, weapon mounted lights that strobe because they’re better and the regualr ones just aren’t cool anymore. Look at the excitement that stems from a new magazine design. The list goes on but I’m still learning :D. Is this really any different then that new over and under with hammer ejectors? I don’t think so.
I personally think that the “Fudds” get a bad rap but unfortunately, this is the group that tends to “Zumbo” themselves the most. We don’t seem to learn and Cooper is just the latest example. But not all hunters are “Fudds”, not all AR owners are “Special Ops” wannabe’s and not all CCL holders are “Cop” wannabe’s and carry a badge. Unfortunately, it’s the few in each category that makes the rest of us look bad. I will give the AR community this, they are more passionate about their “category” and I think it’s because they are under constant attack. If only all the categories could learn from you guys and if only we could all band together and quit classifying each other. The fact is we are all under constant attack, it’s just the other communities haven’t never had anything taken away like the AR community did in '94. That’s where the difference lies.
I remember when everybody in my local gunshop was clamoring over one another to buy 30-378 Weatherby Magnums for baby sized Texas deer. Most of them probably were hunting over feeders less than 150 yds away too.