Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Whatever Happened to Jim Zumbo

That's when I decided Nuge was off my list too.

Perhaps since this is a shooting and not a hunting forum my comments may be out of line. I think that it is as much a hunting issue as it is a shooting issue so I will go ahead.

Due to my fuzzy memory I had to go back and look at Jim Zumbos original comments. My interpretation of his comments is that he was more concerned with the place of black rifles in hunting rather than simply saying they should be banned. Hunters particularly older ones tend to be traditionalists. We grew up with walnut stocked bolt and lever actions. Whenever something perceived as technologically advanced comes along there is an uproar among some who question the place of that advancement in fair chase and hunting tradition. Most of these "advancements" turn out to be no big deal and are usually marketing hype. Look at the long raging discussions in the archery world over recurve so versus compounds versus crossbows. With me the look and feel and noise of a crossbow insults my aesthetic sensibilities. If I should say this should I be banned from the bowhunting world or should it just be seen as a topic for good natured campfire talk?

Jim Zumbo screwed up in that he didn't use good judgement in how he expressed his feelings. Using anti gun buzz words like assault rifles etc did not sit well with a lot of us. The role of black rifles in fair chase hunting at the time was being questioned by some traditional hunters. That is why the industry rebranded them as "modern sporting rifles" Any new advancement in technology probably should be questioned by ethical hunters. The same thing happened when compound bows came on the scene. We were certainly allowed at the time to express our "outrage". None of us were banned or vilified. It was just the hunting culture evolving.

I thought then at the time that the reaction to Zumbo statements was way out proportion to the "crime". I still do. Whatever good the man did for the hunting and conservation world was suddenly out the window over one stupid paragraph. We get so upset with the left and its political correctness and rightly so. Political correctness however is alive and well on our side of the aisle. We sadly are hypocrites in that respect. Give it a break.

I think if we took a poll of men born prior to 1950 and asked their opinions on AR-15 rifles, I think we would be shocked. I think JZ is just a product of his generation. I know of no one age 70 or older who has any interest in AR's or AK's. And I've heard plenty of old guys deride them while in gun shops.

Big difference in Uncle Joe at the gun store and a public figure who purports to represent hunters commenting on a widely-read blog.

I think if we took a poll of men born prior to 1950 and asked their opinions on AR-15 rifles, I think we would be shocked. I think JZ is just a product of his generation. I know of no one age 70 or older who has any interest in AR's or AK's. And I've heard plenty of old guys deride them while in gun shops.

Answer from a distance would be ego. Outdoor editor of one of the largest hunting/shooting publications of his time. Also probably had his ass kissed for some time because of it. From readers to outfitters who wanted a writeup, he was a big man in his own mind and came to think he was more knowledgeable and influential then the rest. He obviously thought the way he did and his ego made him believe everyone else should also.

To hell with them, each and every one.

I think if we took a poll of men born prior to 1950 and asked their opinions on AR-15 rifles, I think we would be shocked. I think JZ is just a product of his generation. I know of no one age 70 or older who has any interest in AR's or AK's. And I've heard plenty of old guys deride them while in gun shops.

He wandered off in an area he was pretty much ignorant about.

... What if John Barsness wrote a weblog entry that all pink camo hunting rifles needed to be banned by the federal government, that they were only used by women and fairies and he wanted them banned from the hunting woods and obsession outlawed? ...

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