Fudd-Lore: A Beginners Guide

Feb 2, 2026 | Ammo Nerds, Staff Writer

Fuddery 411

In the manicured world of clay target shooting, where the scent of spent powder blends with the aroma of freshly cut grass and cigar smoke, a distinct hierarchy prevails. At the top—or at least, loudly claiming the top—sits the Clay Target Fudd. Unlike his hunting counterpart, who roams the woods in flannel, complaining about a lack of game, the Clay Fudd is a creature of the clubhouse, the tailgate, and the shooting line. He is the self-appointed guardian of “proper” etiquette, the keeper of ballistic secrets, and the man who believes that if you don’t shoot a Browning O/U, then you are wasting your time.

Clay Target Fudd-Lore is less about “stopping power” and more about “breaking power,” heavily seasoned with snobbery, pseudo-physics, and cliches. It is a world where a missed target is never the shooter’s fault; it is a failure of the choke, the wind, the sun, or the “unreasonable” trajectory set by the course designer. You, on the other hand, missed because you don’t possess his specific knowledge. It’s not long before you will hear him proudly say something totally cringy like “it’s the Indian, not the arrow” or “head on the stock, eye on the rock.”

The Attire

To the Clay Target Fudd, the shooting line is a runway, and the dress code is strictly “Country Club Ballistic.” The centerpiece of his ensemble is invariably an overworn collared polo shirt (tucked in, of course), because t-shirts are for the unwashed masses and comfortable clothing is an affront to the sport’s gentlemanly roots. His headwear is rarely a simple baseball cap; it is either a bucket-style sunhat that he promised his old lady that he would wear, or a hybrid cowboy/Indiana Jones archeologist style lid that is neither stylish nor sporty. The shorts are inevitably 10-pocket cargo and often drop below the knee. The socks and shoes ensemble is what really makes the look. The stockings are typically white tubes pulled up to the calves, overlaid with white New Balance that often fasten via space-age Velcro. The pouch takes precedence over a Castellani or Barepelt. “Do you know how many shells I can reload for the price of a new vest?” Completing the look are a pair of Bass Pro Shooting glasses that have been retrofitted to accept blinders for the trap field. Lastly, custom-molded ear protection that he bought from his Fudd buddy, who makes them on an occasional weekend in the clubhouse. This will ensure he can’t hear the trapper call “loss” on many of his birds. When in doubt, look for the corpulent fella that left the fashion highway somewhere around Exit 1989.

The Cult of the Break-Action

The most visible pillar of Clay Target Fudd-Lore is the absolute supremacy of the over-under shotgun. To the Fudd, a semi-automatic shotgun is a “jam-o-matic,” a rude device that flings hulls at fellow shooters, and generally a tool for “unserious” people.

The Myth: “You can’t compete with a semi-auto. No one wins shooting a semi.”
The Reality: Modern gas-operated semi-autos (like Beretta A400s) are incredibly reliable, softer-shooting, and mechanically faster than human reaction time. They are easier for a beginner or younger shooter to operate. Of course, Mr. Fudd never leaves his home club and has never heard the name Joe Fanizzi.

Caveat: The worst thing you can do in his mind is bring a camo gun to a trap line. This is akin to wearing muddy boots to a wedding. The Fudd will eye the synthetic stock with disdain, muttering about “balance” and “swing dynamics,” ignoring the fact that the teenager next to him is dusting 25 straight with a gun bought at Walmart. Where he draws the line and is required to speak up is having a semi on “his” trap field without a shell catcher. In his eyes, this violates the 11th commandment….” thou shall not sling shells on the trap field.”

The Choke Tube Tarot

If the gun is the temple, the choke tube is the holy relic. Fudd-Lore places a mystical emphasis on choke selection. The Fudd believes that specific targets require specific chokes, measured to the thousandth of an inch.

Watch a squad of Fudds approach a Sporting Clays station. Before even looking at the targets, they will begin the ritual: unscrewing chokes, holding them up to the light, and debating the merits of “Light Modified” versus “Improved Cylinder.”

The Myth: “That bird is at 35 yards; I need to switch to my ‘light-full’ or the pattern will have holes in it.”
The Reality: While chokes do matter at the extremes, for the vast majority of mid-range clay targets, the difference between one choke step and another is negligible. A shooter who centers the bird will break it with almost any constriction. The Fudd, however, treats the choke as a magical talisman. If he misses, he blames the “blown pattern.” If he hits, it was because he brilliantly selected the correct Invector Midas constriction for the station.

The “Reading the Breaks” Fallacy

Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of Clay Fudd is the forensic analysis that occurs after a shot. Fudds believe they possess the superhuman ability to see the shot string (the cloud of pellets) in flight and diagnose exactly why a target didn’t break.

The Lore: “You were behind it. I saw the wad go right past the tail.” or “You chipped the back end, so you must be stopping your swing.”
The Reality: A shotgun payload moves at roughly 1,200 feet per second. The human eye cannot track individual pellets. What the Fudd sees is the wad (the plastic cup that holds the shot), which often flies on a totally different trajectory than the shot itself due to air resistance. Telling a shooter they missed “behind” based on the wad is often completely wrong. Furthermore, “reading the break” (analyzing the shards) is largely guesswork. A target can break into three pieces because it was hit by the fringe of the pattern, or because it was a “hard” clay. The Fudd, however, delivers these diagnoses with the confidence of a physics professor, often ruining the mental game of the novice shooter in the process.

The Trap Shooter’s Dogma

Nowhere is Fudd-Lore more rigid than in American Trap. The Trap Fudd is the strictest of the species. He believes there is only One True Way to stand, hold the gun, and call for the bird.

The Myth: “You have to hold a high gun. If you start low, you’ll never catch up to the bird.”
The Reality: While pre-mounting is standard in American Trap, many international disciplines (and successful hunters) start with the gun low. The Fudd’s insistence on rigidity often leads to “poking” at the target rather than a smooth, fluid swing.
The Voice Command: The Trap Fudd also believes the acoustic quality of the word “Pull” affects the target. You will hear grunts, screams, and guttural noises that sound like “Yaaah!” or “Huuulp!” The lore dictates that a sharp, weird noise triggers the voice-release system faster, giving the shooter an edge. In reality, it just annoys everyone else on the trap line.

The “Shot Hardness” Alchemy

There is the lore of the ammunition itself. The Clay Fudd is obsessed with “hard shot” (high antimony lead). He scoffs at “econo-loads.”

The Myth: “Those cheap shells have soft lead. The pellets deform and fly out of the pattern. You can’t break a target past 20 yards with that junk. You need to reload your hulls and hit the patternboard, son. “
The Reality: High-quality target loads do pattern better at long distances. However, the Fudd exaggerates this to an absurd degree. At the standard 16-yard Trap line or a typical Skeet station, even the cheapest, softest lead shot will crush a clay target if the shooter points the gun correctly. The Fudd spends $1000s on a reloader, wads, primers, and powder to compensate for a lack of fundamental skill, believing that “buying a score” is a viable strategy. Ironically, that Fudd is the same one asking for your spent hulls.

“Slingshot” Physics

The Myth: “Son, you missed because you stopped your swing.” When you keep the gun moving, it slings the shot in an arch-like pattern covering more of the area and creating more breaks.
The Reality: The laws of physics dictate that a human cannot swing a shotgun fast enough upon the ignition of the primer to “sling” shot. Ask pro and 2012 NSCA Hall of Fame Member, Wendell Cherry, about stopping the gun. He will tell you that stopping the gun is one of his 5 basic principles of shooting clay targets. His countless titles and his coaching of 30-plus national and international champions prove the Elmers of the world wrong.

“Magic Potion” #9

The Myth: “You can’t be successful at skeet unless you shoot #9 shot.” #9 has almost 200 more pellets in a 1-1/8oz load over #8s. You are foolish to shoot anything less.
The Reality: #8s or even #7.5 have more than sufficient pellet count to break a skeet target. The science says even with a 1oz #7.5 shotshell, success is almost guaranteed if the shooter is on the bird. #7.5 shot, with 350 pellets in a pattern the size of a yoga ball, is going to break a 108mm White Flyer 99.99% of the time. In fact, one could argue that the success rate with #7.5 is higher on a windy day when #9 shot loses momentum quickly. In addition, new shooters who don’t shoot birds at the center stake may find more success shooting #7.5 or 8 shots as the distances are further.

Pressing Elmer on the Myths

If one were to question a Fudd on why he believes something is beyond fact, it will result in a befuddled look of indignation. Pressed harder, and you will probably get something like “well that’s what grandpa always said, and his grandpa told him so it has got to be the case.” Here we have it folks, the root of all Fuddery; beliefs, customs, stories, techniques, and practices, passed around and down primarily through oral tradition or shared observation rather than formal instruction.

Conclusion: The Gatekeepers of the Range

Ultimately, Clay Target Fudd-Lore serves a social function. It creates an “in-group” of people who know the secret handshakes (or rather, the secret choke constrictions). It allows older shooters to maintain a sense of authority in a sport where hand-eye coordination and reflexes—attributes of the young—are paramount.

While their advice is often unsolicited and scientifically dubious, Clay Fudd is also the guy who keeps the club running. He’s the one picking up hulls, fixing the trap machines, and organizing the shoot leagues. We tolerate the lore because, in a way, it’s part of the atmosphere. Give them a big “THANK YOU” and enjoy the entertainment of having someone around to pick on. But when he tells you that you missed that high-house 8 because your socks weren’t pulled up high enough to “stabilize your stance,” just smile, nod, and break the next bird.