On Christmas Day, I posted about the top gun personalities you see at the gun range. We can all relate when seeing the various stereotypes at the range and have a good chuckle about it. I fell into a number of categories last time, so it’s perfectly fine to have fun with it and just laugh about all the crazy things we do as a community. Let’s dive into another round of top gun personalities I’ve seen at the range throughout my various sessions.

Serial Gun Buyer

Probably one of my favorite people in the gun community has to be the serial gun buyers. These people are like Dave Chappelle’s Tyrone Biggums of the gun world. They live for the sole purpose of completing various gun projects and once they are finished, the serial gun buyer either loses interest or just flat out sell their project gun. Usually they will sell old projects after a couple months to fund their new project. It’s a vicious circle and usually makes them lose insane sums of money over time.

The typical serial gun buyer is always after the latest and greatest in the industry and will typically search relentlessly until they find their holy grail gun. The serial gun buyer is hands down one of my favorite types to talk to because they are typically a wealth of knowledge.  They typically spend so much money on various projects that they become subject experts to get the best and can often help out with sourcing parts or making something era correct. Most clone rifle builders I have met are like this and they are always chasing that next build and what they find to improve their parts. There’s nothing wrong with being a serial gun buyer and if you ever run into these guys, I strongly suggest you sit down and pick their brain because they are usually are a huge help with completing various projects you may be building.

Speed Dater Gun Guy

The Speed Dater Gun Guy is a magnificent specimen who loves to go down the line at various ranges and ask a dozen questions to every single shooter on the line. Typically these are just older guys looking to chat with other people who enjoy guns and if you have the spare time to talk about shooting with them, it can be a really rewarding experience. Sometimes though the speed dater gun guy goes down the list and says what’s wrong with everyone’s gun choices whether it’s welcome or not.

We can see that type of behavior in the comments section as well. I won’t name anyone specifically, but just know we all know who you guys are! In general, though, the speed dater gun guy is often really just wanting to talk guns with other people and has good intentions. It may not be the most convenient thing to stop what you’re doing to chat with someone, but it usually means a lot to someone if you do so keep that in mind and be nice to your fellow shooters.

Gun Bunnies

The Gun Bunnies are probably the one group of shooters I truly worry about when it comes to range sessions. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a guy take his girlfriend out to shoot and things either turn unsafe or bad fairly quickly. I always encourage shooters to take out friends and teach new people how to shoot but it’s important to make safety an absolute priority. Growing up, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen girls wear low cut tops out to the gun range only to have a hot brass casing go down their shirt as they scream in agony.

Dressing appropriately and being safe are key factors to keep in mind when teaching new people how to shoot a gun. As long as people are being safe, I sometimes get a good laugh when new shooters fire a gun for the first time. There’s nothing like the overwhelming feeling of joy and excitement from girls and guys who shoot for the first time. It’s a fun reminder of why we all love to shoot and if you can teach someone to shoot safely, I encourage you to give it a shot.

The Redneck Ammo Bandits

Watching these crazy ass hats shoot guns is kind of like watching a train wreck right in front of you. I want to be as far away as humanly possible but for some reason I can’t take my eyes off of them because I really don’t know what will happen next. These guys will do a mag dump after mag dump all while yelling “Oh Yeah” or “Get Sum” as they shoot randomly hitting absolutely nothing. I can’t lie, the enthusiasm they often display is impressive, to say the least, as they bump fire their $200 SKS rifle on other people’s targets.

Shooting as fast as possible with a burned out barrel and no eye/ear protection. I literally can’t make this stuff up.

In the past, I would get fairly upset and leave if these guys showed up to my local range but now I just back up behind the shooting line and watch in pure amusement. If you’re the type of person who does this, please stop for the sake of the gun community. I love the enthusiasm but you guys are straight-up lunatics! Beware of these guys and if you see them just try to politely guide them on firearm safety because they will usually apologize and try to do better after a quick conversation.

Video Game Gun Guys

Video Game Gun Guys can be one of the more irritating groups of people to regular shooters but they are probably one of the most important groups to train and educate when it comes to learning how to shoot. I remember working behind the gun counter when people would come into the store asking for a certain model by the name in a video game rather than by its actual name. It’s fairly common to see guys walking around with friends saying oh look at that “M13” rather than an MCX because its called that in Call of Duty. If you run into younger people who do this DO NOT get frustrated with them and tell them to get out. Simply educating them and explaining what it’s called is a great way to give them the knowledge to change their habits.

Call of Duty has brought in a ton of new shooters but often times makes them mistake brand names.

At the end of the day, having movies and video games getting people interested in firearms will only help everyone as a whole in the gun community. It’s important to have people be interested in firearms and shooting sports to keep our traditions alive in this country and rather than getting frustrated with uneducated people take the time to help them out! it’ll only help the community as a whole in the long run.

The Tactical Peacock

The Tactical Peacock is similar to the Serial Gun Buyer but not as subtle. It’s the type of guy who has new money and immediately buys a new bright red Ferrari while yelling “LOOOOK AT ME!” Probably one of the worst culprits of this would be my friend appropriately named Chad. Chad often times will bring dozens of rifles and pistols to a simple range day with tables and containers full of ammo. Chad along with a number of people around the country get gratification by other people shooting and complimenting them on their guns.

It’s almost Identical to a Peacock when showing off its tail or better known as its train. It’s quite a spectacle and exciting to see but at the end of the day, you really just stand there scratching your head at why it happens. These people may not always know every detail about their firearms but are a great source to shoot some interesting oddball guns you may not otherwise get to shoot. If you see these mysterious creatures in the public don’t be afraid to go up and talk to them, they may just let you shoot some of their crazy rare guns!

Overall Thoughts

At the end of the day, we are all people and it’s fun to see individuals from all walks of life taking the time to go enjoy various shooting sports. I would say it’s like the car community except without the technical spec nerds in it. I love the gun community and shooting industry as a whole and although it’s fun to poke fun and have playful banter between each other, we all love the same thing at the end of the day.

If you see any of these people in the wild, don’t be rude and instead go up and talk to them! It’ll help them and will be a positive experience for everyone in the end. Let me know if there are any categories you think I should talk about next time in the comments below. If you have questions feel free to shoot me a message on my Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and thanks for checking out TFB.