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

I wasn't going to say anything more on this but I am confused on one thing. I am not trying to argue on this point, just trying to understand why some people think the way they do.

First off, I understand completely why folks are upset with Zumbo for saying assault rifles should be banned. That is a no brainer.

But where is the same outcry against Donald Trump for his stance on banning assault rifles before his flip-flop on that issue? Why give him a pass and yet crucify Zumbo for doing the same thing?

Many thanks

Apparently Zumbo hasn't gone away:

www.professionaloutdoormedia.org/node/10137

For me, that answer is simple. I do not consider Donald Trump a spokesman for the shooting sports. Supposedly Donald has changed his position and now represents himself as a staunch 2A advocate. That may be, that may not be. We'll see. Donald has a lot of things in his past he's had to rethink and walk back. The fact that he says he's into concealed carry and is packing heat tells me he may have seen the light.

Zumbo, on the other hand, was writing from a position as the shooting editor for one of the premier outdoor magazines. His blog post was an extreme betrayal, and the way Outdoor Life handled it was an even worse betrayal. The half-hearted apologies and rehabilitation, was all useless because the damage was already done. A right thinking magazine should have canned him publicly on the spot instead of sitting back and waiting to see which way the wind blew and then sending him off on a sabbatical.

I'm just saying this as a hypothetical, not to accuse our illustrious Mr Mule Deer. 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? What would be the reaction?

What if he then said he'd rethought the situation (after Eileen had beat him over the head with a frying pan) and decided pink rifles could stay?

What would that say about John's way of looking at private ownership of firearms (regardless of color) ? What if Wolf came out with a half-hearted retraction and sent John off to a weekend with Lee and Tiffany for rehab? Would that make it all better?

What would you think of Ingwe if he just started calling the .270 Winchester queer?

. . . oh, never mind.

Have been asked if the optics expert and Kodiak drunk I was referring to is Mule Deer and just wanted to point out it is not...

I see he's recovering from a heart attack:

http://www.jimzumbo.com/explore-jim-s-blog/entry/2015/12/the-truth-about-my-heart-attack

shaman,

Actually, Zumbo wasn't the shooting editor for Outdoor Life. He was the hunting editor. At the time the shooting editor was Jim Carmichel. This may seem irrelevant but isn't.

As has been pointed out previously in this thread, a lot of hunters are just as ignorant about the Second Amendment as anti-gunners. Zumbo was what's often been called a Fudd, a hunter who believes nobody will ever take his hunting guns away. But often Fudds are from states with repressive gun laws, so think registering or banning certain guns is normal, and Zumbo was born and raised in upstate New York. This certainly doesn't excuse his blog, but it does explain some of his ignorance.

A Fudd? That's funny, haven't heard that one.

For all of those haters out there - I can tell you this. Jim Zumbo treated me well back when I was just an elk hunting dreamer (and teenager). This was at a time when he was one of the "experts". He gave me words of encouragement - and his books contained advice/strategies that turned out to help me harvest my first elk.

I wish him well and just wanted people to know that he was generous with time and advice - when he didn't have to be. For that I am thankful.

wizzer

I think Mule Deer's statement goes along with what you say.



I have talked to him a few times and enjoyed the conversation. Also, I certainly don't hate him, I just question his logic in making that statement he did a few years ago.

shaman

I appreciate your reply but I am still somewhat confused by your answer.

Am I understanding correctly that you are more upset with a magazine editor making a call for a ban on a certain firearm then changing his mind than you would be with a person who is running for president of the United States, who may nominate Supreme Court Justices in the future, doing the same?

Many thanks

I grew up eagerly anticipating every issue of Outdoor Life in the 1980's. I'll always love Jim Carmichael, Jim Zumbo, and Pat McManus. I don't give a damn how the Campfire tells me to think and act. I think for myself.

And furthermore Jim wasn't a gunwriter of any kind or even much of a gun guy. He killed his first 19 Elk with Betsy, a pre 64 Winchester 70 .30-06 and he wouldn't have moved on but General Yeager gave him his .300 Bee Mark V and insisted he started using it.

Well, it's time to start.

We don't need to bring tenner shoes into this.

Drat. Did I say shooting editor? Yes, I did. Sorry, I've got to get the doc to up my dose of Armour Thyroid. I'm just not holding up all day like I used to. I probably was late for my nap.

Fudd? You mean like this?



"Shhhhh. Be veeeewy veeewy quiet. I'm hunting wascally elk."

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.

Amazing

And BY IN LARGE, a FUDD is a Conservative Yankee, also known as a liberal.

Just because you're the leper with the most fingers doesn't mean you're not a leper.

And I've quickly learned conservative "rebels" are no more conservative than conservative "yankees" are. I'm more socially conservative than the vast majority of them. But back to Zumbo. I could care less if he said Remington 700's need banned. One mans opinions don't move me that deeply. My grandfathers were both war veterans and hunters and they both felt "assault" rifles should be banned. I never hated them because of it.

Zumbo's comments sure hasn't curtailed the sale of M16 style rifles. They are more popular today than when he screwed up. Question for me, because I like to know what makes people tick, is the why of it.

Why would he say what he did? Obviously he meant it, but why would he do so when he was told not to, and I would think there were others in the industry with experience in that room.

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. Even against the advice of other knowledgeable people in the industry.

Ego bit him in the place he was used to being kissed. North, South, East, West, makes no difference, live long enough and an overinflated ego will most times eventually cause a fall.

Not all that rare to see it happen here on a smaller scale.