What ever happened to

[white eagle]

Ol Jim Zumbo
haven't heard much about him and was curious is all [smilie=s:

[reloader28]

Seems like I heard something about him not long ago in the newspaper.
He lives between Cody and jellystone park.

[Plate plinker]

He has to be pretty darn old now does he not?

[jumbeaux]

Didn't he kinda fall from view after he made the "nobody needs an AR15 rifle" comment or something to that effect...

[bhn22]

I think he still has some sort of low-rated cable show on the Outdoor Network.

[fatnhappy]

Ol Jim Zumbo decided he no longer wanted a career in the sporting arms and hunting industry by running his mouth beyond his capacity to think.

To answer directly, I don't know. I read that he was working with a disabled/wounded vet organizations to take them hunting. I certainly hope he's enjoying his retirement.




Jim Zumbo's blog: "I must be living in a vacuum. The guides on our hunt tell me that the use of AR and AK rifles have a rapidly growing following among hunters, especially prairie dog hunters. I had no clue. Only once in my life have I ever seen anyone using one of these firearms.I call them "assault" rifles, which may upset some people. Excuse me, maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity. I'll go so far as to call them "terrorist" rifles. They tell me that some companies are producing assault rifles that are "tackdrivers."
Sorry, folks, in my humble opinion, these things have no place in hunting. We don't need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them, which is an obvious concern. I've always been comfortable with the statement that hunters don't use assault rifles. We've always been proud of our "sporting firearms."
This really has me concerned. As hunters, we don't need the image of walking around the woods carrying one of these weapons. To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let's divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the praries and woods."

[jonp]

I just saw some black powder with his name on it. The shooting fraternity was quick and brutal.

[376Steyr]

Zumbo did indeed come crashing down after he bit the hand that fed him. He has since rehabilitated himself, and has a show on one of the sporting channels.

[runfiverun]

I remember that.
It was shorty after that I bought an AR rifle to hunt with.

[Artful]

http://gunshowonthenet.blogspot.com/2007/02/jim-zumbo-apologizes-on-nugents-forum.html


The last few days have been an educational experience, to say the least. My ill-conceived inflammatory blog, as all of you now know, set off a firestorm that, I’m told, has never before been equaled. I’m not proud of that.

Let me say this at the outset. My words here are from the heart, and all mine. No one can censor me, and I answer to no one but myself. And I have no one to blame but myself. Outdoor Life, a magazine that I worked for full-time as Hunting Editor for almost 30 years, fired me yesterday. My TV show was cancelled yesterday. Many of my sponsors have issued statements on their website to sever all relationships. This may cause many of you to do backflips and dance in the streets, but, of course, I’m not laughing, nor am I looking for sympathy. I don’t want a pity party.

They say hindsight is golden. Looking back, I can’t believe I said the words “ban” and “terrorist” in the context that I did. I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote that. I can explain this as sheer ignorance and an irresponsible use of words. What I’ve learned over the last few days has enlightened and amazed me. As a guy who hunts 200 days a year, does seminars on hunting, wrote for six hunting magazines, had a hunting TV show, and wrote 20 books on hunting, how could I have been so ignorant and out of touch with reality in the world of hunting and shooting?

But I was. I really can’t explain it, maybe because I just summarily dismissed the firearms in question in my mind when I saw them in magazines and catalogs. I saw one “black” firearm in a hunting camp in all my 50 years of hunting, and I shot one last year off a boat when fishing in Alaska. To tell the truth, it was fun and I enjoyed it immensely, but I never considered one for use in hunting. I have to tell you that I have had a revelation. I’m learning that many of my pals own AR-15’s and similar firearms and indeed use them for hunting. I was totally unaware that they were being used for legitimate hunting purposes. That is the absolute truth.

My biggest regret is not the financial impact of all this. I’m almost 67 and retirement is an option. The dreadful impact here is that I inadvertently struck a spear into the hearts of the people I love most…America’s gun owners. And, even though this huge cadre of dedicated people have succeeded in stripping me of my career, I hold no grudges. I will continue to stand as firm on pro hunting as I’ve ever done. But what’s different now is that I’ll do all I can to educate others who are, or were, as ignorant as I was about “black” rifles and the controversy that surrounds them. My promise to you is that I’ll learn all I can about these firearms, and by the time this week is out, I’ll order one. The NUGE has invited me to hunt with him using AR-15’s, and I’m eager to go, and learn. I’ll do all I can to spread the word.

I understand that many of you will not accept this apology, believing that the damage has been done and there’s no way to repair it. You have that right. But let me say this. I mentioned this above, and I’ll repeat it. I’m willing to seize this opportunity to educate hunters and shooters who shared my ignorance. If you’re willing to allow me to do that, we can indeed, in my mind, form a stronger bond within our ranks. Maybe in a roundabout way we can bring something good out of this.

Jim Zumbo

Better late than never - but I won't buy anything sold by him.

[Three44s]

Who says they have to be a hunting rifle to be legit?

Three44s

[Omega]

Wow, I had heard about this when it first happened but I don't follow any particular mags, writers or editors though do recognize a name or two every once in awhile. It's hard to know if he is just saying that(apology) to get back into the business or not but I am willing to take him at his word for the moment; but actions will speak louder with me.

[Catshooter]

To good ol' Jim, the Second Amendment is there to protect "sporting rifles". When he wrote his apology he had learned a lot, but still not enough.

It's been some years that this all went down. He could have found out by now that the 2A has nothing to do with hunting. Or not. I've not heard either way.


Cat

[DLCTEX]

I still wouldn't read or watch anything from or with him. Or Hanoi Jane.

[Rick Hodges]

I sure don't put him in the same class as Hanoi Jane. His career was ended swiftly and appropriately. Just because one writes for some outdoor hunting and shooting rag doesn't mean they know much. Zumbo just illustrates this. Good Riddance!

[cajun shooter]

I have a huge sticker on one of my motorcycle helmets that reads "Vietnam Vets aren't Fonda Jane"
I have not and will never forgive her regardless of her many apologies of late. Want to say your sorry then go and do something for the Wounded Warriors Project.
The same goes for Zumbo, words are easy to spit out to cover your losses. I had respect for the man until he stepped into that "AGAINST Black Rifle Group. I hope the NRA resends any thing he ever received from them.
As many have said, He just does not understand, even now, that he has spoken against all gun ownership and not just one type that is used. I just can't believe that he didn't have a clue about how many NRA target shooters use this platform also, not just hunters.
Maybe he should meet David Tubb . Later David

[MtGun44]

Amazing how the LOOKS of a rifle can get even an experienced hunter all
wound up and talking foolishly.

This isn't really too different a transition than it was from leverguns to bolt
action "military rifles" in about 1915 or so.

But old Jim was believing all the hate filled propaganda that he had seen
on TV. A gun, is a gun, is a gun, regardless of what it looks like.

It amazes me the number of folks that don't know that a LOT (in fact MOST)
AR 15 class rifles are about 1.5 MOA rifles with good ammo, or better. Many
of mine, with good handloads will reliably do better than 1 MOA.

I must admit, as a teen the jamming of the early M16s reported in VN set
my mind against the design. It wasn't until the early 1980s when I shot a
Colt Match HBAR that I was AMAZED, and had to buy one. I did things in
HiPower competition that I didn't know anyone could do (ignorant), let
alone ME. Shooting a good HBAR at 500 meters is a revelation, both
in what the gun can do and what is possible with long range shooting
in general with open sights.

Sounds like Jim has learned and will continue to. I'd love to meet him
someday and discuss it over dinner, but that will not likely happen.

[jonp]

A nationally known gun editor with over 30yrs in the business and writing for Outdoor Life had no idea about the most popular sporting rifle in the United States speaks volumes.
I picked up a copy of Outdoor Life a little bit ago and looked through it. I remember it from my childhood and had a subscription to it. It fired my imagination to read about far off hunting and fishing places that a small boy in Northern New England growing up near poverty most likely would never see. They might as well as been on the moon. The new magazine had many articles on hiking, mountain biking, fitness, etc and none on hunting. None on hunting? Not the magazine I remember and not one I would ever buy. No wonder Jim was unaware of the AR-15 and how many of us shot one at one time or the other.