Fudds and Tactards
A division of patriots
The use of the word Fudd to describe a gun owner seems to have become popular around the time of the 1994 assault weapons ban. Generally, it was used to describe a gun owner who felt semiautomatic firearms and high capacity magazines were silly or unnecessary and should even be illegal. But the idiom has evolved to now describe gun owners who just happen to prefer older style firearms and shooting or hunting techniques. The term is most frequently used by those unable to provide a substantive and fact based counter opinion, who, by calling someone a “Fudd,” can appear dismissive without offering genuine dialog to support their argument.
Today, calling someone a Fudd usually insinuates they exist in an irrational and disconnected reality where proper credence is not given to modern firearm related gear and/or shooting or hunting techniques. Because of my views on several gun related topics, I’ve been called a “Fudd.” It doesn’t hurt my feelings—I was a cop for 13 years and have been called much worse. I also raised two daughters, so my skin is thick. Additionally, a random stranger exhibiting no reason to earn my respect has no chance at injuring my pride. Of course, the insinuation that I’m anti-gun in any way is ignorance personified, and, because of FDS, I do feel a bit sorry for the Fudd bashers.
What is FDS? FDS is Fudd derangement syndrome which is a mental disorder that’s often the product of skill-select or inadequate training, combined with limited experience. Those afflicted with FDS resort to ad hominem—against the man—attacks. By labeling someone a Fudd because their opinions are contrary to modern times or gear, they feel it elevates their own position to one of authority. You recently witnessed similar behavior played out during COVID where those opposed to the jab were publicly berated as “anti-vaxxers,” like that alone was enough to discredit their opinions.
The segment of gun owners most at odds with the Fudds are the Tactards. I’ve been credited with coining this term because I’ve often written about it, but the truth is that a former Marine who was a cop and younger than me, and who was the editor of several gun magazines, was the first person I heard speak it. Last time we talked he was working as a firearms trainer for a major “tactical” gun manufacturer.
What is a Tactard? A Tartard could be described, in part, as someone with the notion you must train daily, adhere to some strict doctrine, carry only certain firearms, ammo, and gear, and support your carry with multiple extra magazines, pepper spray, a striking instrument and a blade sharp enough to shave the abominable snowman. Otherwise, you’re not serious about self-defense. Tactards are easy to spot on the range. After they shoot, they tend to wag their head from side to side—they call it scanning—so fast they would not notice a nude Sydney Sweeney standing beside them. They have dot sights on all their pistols, multiple ballistic APPs on their phone, every firearm they own is suppressed, and they think a one-second reload makes them bullet proof. They also try to get further away from animals as opposed to closer before they shoot them.
Tactards have FDS, and Fudds have TDS (Tactard derangement syndrome). Funny thing, if you extract the original anti-gun insinuation from the term “Fudd,” there is really very little difference between the two—both think their way is the way.
Both lie: A Fudd will tell you about the thirty point buck that got away and the bear he killed with a 25-20. The Tactard’s fib begins with, “There I was, 20 insurgents headed my way, and all I had was a Steyr AUG, a multi-tool and a single MRE.”
Both miss: I’ve witnessed Fudds miss easy shots at animals as large as a couch and I’ve seen tactards fail to hit an IPSC target at 10 yards. The Fudd blamed the new-fangled scope and the tactard the 1911.
Both like guns: A Fudd worships at the altar of the 30-06 and the Tactard will have a 7mm PRC or 300 Blackout tattoo. A Fudd thinks the 300 Blackout is a power outage and the Tactard thinks a 284 is an engine out of a Studebaker.
Both have lots of guns: Tactards tend to have a multitude of ARs, a few bolt actions, and a plethora of pistols. Fudds, on the other hand, like to mix their battery with bolt guns, lever guns, revolvers and even—God forbid— single shots.
Both support the 2nd Amendment: Tactards are all about personal protection and killing zombies. Fudds are all about hunting, and shooting the fool who kicks in their door or says their coon dog is trashy.
Both like gun gear: Fudds like leather butt cuffs for lever guns and Tactard’s are enamored with holsters that let them carry pistols pointed at their pecker and nut sack.
Both hoard ammo: A Fudd will have a case of 30-30 ammo he visits weekly and hugs, while a Tactard will have a cache of 5.56 NATO buried in the back yard.
Both are prepared: Neither will admit to being a prepper, but Tactards talk about “bugging out” while Fudds relish the day “when the shit will hit the fan.”
I’m somewhere in the middle—probably a TacFud—and that brings us to the point of all this. It might be fun to pit the Tactards against the Fudds, and to call each other names instead of having fact-based discussions, but in truth they’re the Ying and Yang of shooters. Fudds have been benefitting off what Tactards have learned and some of the notorious Tactards grew up as hunters. Fudds and Tactards could learn a lot from each other if they took the time to put their differences aside.
Two of the greatest firearms journalists to grace the pages of any magazine were Jeff Cooper and Finn Aagaard. Guess what? Both were hunters, both were staunch supporters of the Second Amendment and the right of personal protection, and both carried a gun—all the time. Cooper did more for the Tactards than any man has or ever will, and Aagaard educated Fudds in hoards. (For what it’s worth, Sheriff Jim Wilson once told me Finn might have been the most dangerous man he ever met.)
Let’s get something straight, our likes, preferences, and dislikes are tempered by our experiences. We learn about guns and skills when we share those experiences instead of resorting to name calling. If the “shit hit the fan” and I had to “bug out,” I can identify an equal number of those many would call Fudds or Tactards whom I’d want by my side. Around the campfire at night, we could argue about all our differences while collectively working together to stay alive and drinking some moonshine one of the Fudds showed us how to make.
While the term “Fudd” might have originated as a label for gun owners who supported anti-gun legislation around semi-automatic firearms, it has since evolved into more of a colloquial description of gun owners who have old school preferences. Labeling them a Fudd for the latter reason is fine, and if done in good humor, is just as acceptable as calling someone who wears their battle kit every time they go to the range, a Tactard. The true difference in what is now considered a Fudd and a Tactard is as same as the age-old argument between the 45 Auto and the 9mm Luger. Both are right.
But let’s get something straight:
Those among us—including gun owners—who support limiting the protections of the 2nd Amendment should not be described as Fudds, because they are in fact, enemies of liberty. It’s not appropriate to grace our adversaries with a label that has evolved to one that could also be a suitable description for many of our fathers and grandfathers—men who fought Nazis, killed communists, and suffered, and then came home and killed deer with a 30-30 and carried a 1911 or a S&W Model 10 shoved in their waistband.
Now if you will excuse me, it’s a beautiful Sunday. I’m going over to my range to shoot my suppressed 8.6 Blackout and my Colt Peacemaker.
I cannot lie, I'm a Fudd and proud of it.
I knew this was going to be good just reading the title. It did not disappoint.
I’m in the middle ground too. Equally at home with a wheel gun, lever gun, bolt gun as I am with an AK an AR, a 1911 or Glock.