Zumbo: Gun rag writer trashes "Assault Weapons"

[torpid]

It's unfortunate that a lifelong gun owner publicly appealed to his fellow shooters to support the creation of new laws that would ban other law abiding owners from public lands.

Perhaps- just perhaps, he may emerge from this with an understanding of what the 2nd Amendment actually protects.

This board has more than its fair share of former antis who came to that same realization. I sincerely do hope Mr. Zumbo is able to open up his formerly closed mind while closing his (hopefully formerly) dangerously foolish mouth.

It's a shame that the law abiding gun owners he attacked had to do that for him in the first place, but he did fire the first salvo, and now has to deal with the response- which may seem like overkill in its verbal and financial force.

 

[GoRon]

Sorry he HAD a chance with his lame apology.

If you follow this thread he had less than a few hours to get up to speed on the whirlwind he started before he went on the air.

Buck up and be a man and give the guy a chance.

He totally flushed his career down the toilet and you you want to keep kicking him while he is down.

He lived in a bubble that was burst. He is a natural ally by nature of his interests. Why drive him further away? Where he goes from here is now more important than what he has said.

It isn't like he was Charlton Heston, I never even heard of the guy before this flap. His influence is with the so called "fudds" we need to recruit to the cause, why drive them all away by destroying one of their guys?

 

[M110]

Cabelas chimes in


http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=548847

"Dear Mr. XXXXXXX,

Thanks for your comments. While Cabela’s believes everyone has the right to express their own opinions, we strongly disagree with Jim Zumbo’s February 16 posting on his Hunting with Jim Zumbo blog on Outdoor Life’s Web site.

Throughout our 46-year history, Cabela’s has firmly supported all aspects of shooting sports. We strongly support the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and the right of every U.S. citizen to purchase, own and enjoy any legal firearm of their choosing.

While we fully support Mr. Zumbo’s First Amendment right of free speech, we believe his opinions on this matter are counter to those shared by Cabela’s and many of our customers. Cabela’s Legal Department is currently reviewing contractual obligations and commitments regarding our sponsorship of the Jim Zumbo Outdoors television show.

Have a great day.
Sincerely,
Brent"

 

[QuietShootr]

Remington has 'tactical' weapons up on their non-LE website now:

www.remington.com/tactical/tactical_shotguns.asp

www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire_rifles/

Take that, Fudds.

And re the kicking him while he's down: I prefer to think of this as a 'monkey-stomping'.

And I LIKE it.

 

[Groovski]

Things like this lead you down the strangest paths sometimes. As an alternative to Gerber (for those who don't like Leatherman either) I did some poking around and discovered SOG:

http://www.sogknives.com/store/index.html

From their website:

SOG originally stood for Studies and Observation Group, an elite joint services military group designed for covert operations in the Vietnam War. Sanctioned to develop and purchase their own equipment, SOG created a knife for use in one of the harshest environments in the world. It is in the spirit of this elite group that SOG Specialty Knives was founded.
Totally committed to creating the world's finest specialized knives and tools, SOG became the first knife manufacturer to expand its line to include a broad scope of fixed blades, folding knives and multipurpose tools. Each product is created by Founder and Chief Engineer, Spencer Frazer. His patented inventions and unique, futuristic style have earned SOG many awards and Frazer the recognition as an industry innovator and premier designer.
Today, SOG products are distributed around the world and renowned for their uncompromising style and performance.

I think I'll check them out. They have multitools - and they look great.

Kudos to Cabellas

 

[rangermonroe]

NSSF has joined the fray:

HUNTING WRITER CRITICIZED . . . Longtime Outdoor Life hunting editor Jim Zumbo today is enduring the wrath of gun owners and industry following Zumbo's weekend blog entry on hunting with military-style firearms. Zumbo had opined that "terrorist weapons" have no place in hunting and that hunters should distance themselves from such imagery. He quickly apologized, but Remington withdrew its Zumbo sponsorship and Outdoor Life has taken down the Zumbo blog because of its controversy. "Jim's comments are as unfortunate as they are inappropriate," said NSSF president Doug Painter. "No one should divide firearms into good-gun, bad-gun categories."

Source: e-mail to me, NSSF bullet points, 02-19-07 www.nssf.org

 

[HiroProX]

While I still have severe reservations about some of the rather, vulgarly worded comments posted towards the fellow, this is a case of responsibility for one's actions and/or words.

The best way to "spin" this for the fudds is to show how his attitude has put their own sporting arms in danger as well. His article is being trumpeted by the vile and dishonorable "Brady Bunch". The same hive of scum and villainy that characterized Mr. Zumbo's beloved bolt-action sporters as "sniper murder weapons". Not only has he endangered the EBR crowd, of which I'm assuredly a card carrying member, but he has endangered the guns of other fudds.

The fact is, this hard lesson for Mr. Zumbo may serve to get the attention of fudds. But it will only work if it is shown in the context of the "Brady Bunch's" new assault on hunting rifles via the "sniper murder weapon" route.

 

[Atticus]

Remington has 'tactical' weapons up on their non-LE website now:

Black plastic stocks on the same old pump and bolt guns? I'm sooo impressed that they trust us with black plastic stocks. No....I think Zumbo knew the people who USED to butter his bread, very well. Wonder what he thinks about them now? Why is it that companies like Remington and Colt are so blind to their own markets. Are they trying to qualify for government assistance or what?

 

[MudPuppy]

So, other Fudd writers are joining in, voicing their support of Zumbo and his position.

Question, is that deserving of a new thread or post the closet Anti's names here?

 

[Mongo the Mutterer]

Buck up and be a man and give the guy a chance.

Aren't we cute? Don't you think he had time in those two hours to check with some PR people? He knew from the vitriol on his blog that he was in trouble.

He did not, repeat did not, back off from his "terrorist" quote. He didn't buck up. And by the way, it is about him, not me. He has the personal responsiblity for his comments. He owns them, but he hasn't paid for them yet.

 

[Hawk]

So.. who else bought something from Remington today?

Not today, but this week for sure. And I'm going to go out of my way to tell them why I bought whatever it turns out to be.

I wouldn't have thought a company that big could be that fast on their feet.

 

[blackhawk2000]

I called Remington, and thanked them for dumping him. I told them I just wanted to let them know, that we are aware of there action and do appreciate it. She made it sound like they were getting a lot of calls.

 

[dport]

If you follow this thread he had less than a few hours to get up to speed on the whirlwind he started before he went on the air.

The logic here is amazing. So what if he only had a couple of hours before he posted his "apology" blog. In his "apology" he said he posted without thinking. He said he was tired and should have taken his time.

Well, he should have taken his time, once again. If a poorly worded and hastily put together post on your blog started a firestorm, isn't it logical to take your time for the apology to make sure it's right?

So either he CAN put his words together to express his point of view in a short amount of time, OR he was a FOOL to do the same thing that he alleges got him in trouble in the first place.

 

[Fly320s]

MudPuppy: So, other Fudd writers are joining in, voicing their support of Zumbo and his position.

Who?

Please post links/text here.

 

[SteveS]

Does OL feature articles on evil military style rifles or feature hunts with them?

If there is a demand, I don't see why not. They have a 2A column each month, where they talk about things like the NO gun grab and other things that have nothing to do with hunters.

ZUMBO DOES NOT SPEAK FOR HUNTERS, he speaks for himself. Enough with the Fudd comments already. Direct your ire at the source and quit lumping hunters in with him. Check out the sportsmen forums. The ones that I frequent are full of complaints towards Zumbo and I have a hard time finding support for him.

 

[Trip20]

Certainly, everyone in the firearms industry heard this call to action. Now, the question is, how do we harnass this event . . . this energy . . . to advance gun rights?

This is one of the most significant statements in this thread. The way the gun community banded together to confront one man's comments is inspiring. When battling gun control in general, I hope this sort of response is repeatable because it makes me wonder if any gun control measures at all would have a snowball's chance in hell.

To Mr. Gresham: This is not about forgiving Zumbo, which seemed to be a majority of your issue with this incident. I forgive the man even if I believe the motives for his apology might not be so pure.

If every concerned gun owner were to forgive Zumbo, most would not then buy his products or watch his shows. Zumbo has lost credibility, and frankly no amount of clemency will revive the gun community’s ability to take Zumbo seriously.

Mistakes have consequences and I must say that the "eat their own" angle you've played is a bit dramatic. In times when our plight has changed from an uphill battle, to a bare rock face climb, we must act swift and decisively when responding to those who may aid our enemies, especially those supposedly with in our own ranks.

Notwithstanding extreme and embarrassing responses by some in the gun community (i.e., rumored posting of Zumbo's address on the internet -- this sort of crap is intolerable and those involved in such revenge can get the hell off of my team), Zumbo deserves every lost sponsor, and lost job opportunity.

Lastly I think you’re a true gentleman for giving Zumbo a forum from which to attempt an explanation and apology. That was a stand- up move and I’m sure Zumbo appreciated it immensely.

 

[Hawk]

So, other Fudd writers are joining in, voicing their support of Zumbo and his position.

I'd be curious as well - wouldn't have guessed that an allergic reaction to sponsorship was common among those folk.

I didn't take part in any negative Zumbo stuff on OL or here but couldn't refrain from chiming in on Brady and (positively) on Remington.

I really hope t'isn't so - I haven't the budget to buy from everyone that dumps these dweebs. Well, maybe a ball cap...

 

[shield20]

I tried real hard to buy a Remington today - couldn't find just what I wanted...luckily I noticed the link to the Tactical M700 someone posted above. Thats kind of what I was looking for, in honor of Rem & the putz from Brady @myspace who won't post intelligent responses (if I do say so myself) to his anti "sniper-rifle" blog. I will get one in .308 for sure.

 

[bogie]

Guys, in and of itself, was this kind of response to a 'blog actually "news?"

 

[kentucky_smith]

ZUMBO DOES NOT SPEAK FOR HUNTERS, he speaks for himself. Enough with the Fudd comments already. Direct your ire at the source and quit lumping hunters in with him. Check out the sportsmen forums. The ones that I frequent are full of complaints towards Zumbo and I have a hard time finding support for him.

I'm getting damn tired of that nomenclature as well. I was a hunter first and gun enthusiast second in life. Both are equally important to me.


You don't hear me whining about overweight armchair tacticool mall ninjas do you?

 

[Happyshooter]

Thoughts on Zumbo

I had a chance to do some not quite as enraged thinking about Zumbo and his statements.
As some of you may know, I am on the board of directors of a medium sized (1800ish) gun club with lots of different activities on our grounds.

I like action type pistols and action rifles. We also have fishing lake, trap, skeet, lots of indoor and outdoor archery, and bullseye type pistol ranges.

I sometimes do some of the other stuff, but it ain’t my thing.

For a few years I chaired the pistol range committee as one of my duties. While there I worked with the “cowboy” shooters as they used “my” range. These guys and gals get two old time pistols, a lever rifle, and a old time pump shotgun and blast at really big metal targets for speed. They also dress up like cowboys or whores.

It took some getting used to, and I almost started laughing a few times, but I figured all shooting is good shooting and after a while I saw they liked it and that’s what matters.

I think Zumbo was also set in his ways, but he took it the step further. He got pissed that people were doing his shooting with those funny guns. In his case the step further is that his is a bigot. I think we could have forgiven him getting mad and wishing we didn’t use fun rifles. I think we could have taken him making fun of us.

He, as a bigot, saw something he didn’t like and so he went without a second thought into the most vile thing he thought he could get away with. He knew his sponsor and employer would let him call us a racial name, or insult our mothers, but he thought he could get away with comparing us with the vile and evil men who hate America and harm the innocent.

That is the difference between us and him, that is the difference between normal people and a bigot.

 

[M110]

A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.
Benjamin Franklin

 

[taliv]

i bought a remington 700 last week, but it's not being transfered until today. does that count?

 

[Autolycus]

I really think the idea of harnessing this energy is an excellent one. Perhaps we could start by fighting for national reciprocity amongst CCW permit holders? Or just national VT style CCW laws.

What about using it to fight the upcoming AWB that is being discussed on so many different gun forums as I type this?

Guntalk: Perhaps you could start airing the message out. I would suggest asking Zumbo to come back to your show and talking about his apology. This will give him a chance to make it right and publicly retract his terrorist statement. And it will get you listeners as well as more people will listen. Then you can talk about the upcoming AWB so we all win.

 

[robear]

Zumbo dropped by another sponsor

Bottom of the page at Hi-Mountain Seasonings, one of the sponsors listed on Zumbo's webpage:

ATTENTION HI MOUNTAIN CUSTOMERS: We are in the process of severing our ties with Mr. Zumbo as a result of some comments made on his blog site. We in no way advocate or agree with any of the comments that were made on his blog. Thank you. --Hi Mountain Seasonings

http://www.himtnjerky.com/