B.C. Hunter

In responce to Mr. Zumbo's Apology I too have made mistakes in the past but when I made my mistakes I was not in a position to effect millions. "With great power comes great responsability" he has not shown over the years that he has the ability to wield such power. Can I except his apology yes, forgive him yes trust him not to shoot his mouth off again no way in He**. I have fought against him in the USO mess and {its true they did give himfree hunts any where he wanted} and now this. I will never buy anything or support any company that isaffiliated with him.He has lost his career because he deserved to. His actions called for it. If he wants to stand up for our rights then let him do it on his own dimejust like the rest of us. For he has proven he is not worthy of sponsership.

Mr. Zumbo I would say to you, You made this bed now you have to sleep in it, I can execpt the fact that you made a mistake but you should never be placed in a position to make"A" mistake again. You, through your past actions and current one's have shown you on the wrong side of the fight too many times. I except your apology but now itis time for you toRETIRE.

H.

txhunter58

As far as the USO stance/support, you are probably correct, but he was chosen for an Arizona hunt with one of the "extra" tags from the USO lawsuit, and he turned the tag back in without hunting. How many of us would have stood on our principals if we had gotten a letter that year saying we had drawn an elk tag for AZ??????

B.C. Hunter

He only turned down that tag after the VP ofOLN told him itwould be in his best interest to do so. So dont make it out like he did it because he wanted to. Then he used it as an example to get back into everybodies good graces. Dont be fooled he has notmade nor was that a selfless act. He was trying to save his bacon again.

txhunter58

And you know this for a fact because ..............

The FACT remains that he drew a tag and did not use it. Anything else is speculation or 3rd hand at best.

handloader1

Soggy Cereal:

Sorry, I am not at liberty to elaborate. Good luck.

B.C. Hunter

I got it straight from Jake Hartwick who was the exec at OLN that canceled the USO program and is the one who told Zumbo, the before mentioned information and went into more detail than I care to about the effect this would have on his career if he did not distance himself from Taulman. Being from Az I've seen a number of people not use a tag that they have drawn for many differnt reasons. So why must it be that he didn't use his because he was trying to do the right thing. For all you know he could of had a bad case of the runns. What I do know is that he was told it would not look or be good if he went on that hunt. And the fact that USO outfitters are the worst guides in AZ is well known they are the standing jokeof the season between breaking game laws and the people that they hire. But this isn't about USO, its about the fact Zumbo did not give up his hunt for selfless reasons. Sorry Tex if this is the death of your Hero or Idle, but he is done and soon to be gone.....

Sniper151

This was not a verbal statementin casual conversation thiswas in writing. Now tell me that this was not his honest opinion. Had it been a slip of the tongue between other hunters I could live with it and forgive. Mr. Zumbo had his opinion and statedthis in writing for all to see. A professional, high visibility hunter that intentionally wrote a article that was read by hunters, anti's, and those on the borderline that could go either way. This intentional, deliberate article cast a shadow on all who hunt. The cancellation of his show and the severing of ties with sponsors is a sign of how this statement impacted the industry and the sport. I'm glad they had the grapes to do what was right quickly and not stringing this deal out. Do I want Mr. Zumbo as a spokesman for semi auto, or should I say assault rifles? In no uncertain terms NO.

DM

Many years ago Michael McIntosh of "Sporting Classics" mag. wrote an article pretty much saying the same thing Zumbo did in his blog. If Mr. Zumbo want's me to take his apologyseriously, he needs to get MacIntosh converted too, then i will know he is serious about his apology!!

DM

SILVERTIP-CO

Tes Nugent is reeducating the Zum. Zummy may appear onstage with Ted at the NRA convention, as well he should.

The pointof all this messis thatZumboes comments are
'divisive' to huntersshooters( one word as we OUGHT to be ONE). SOmething Ted is explaining and Ted well understands.
The left (KlintonsBradysShumersPoloseys)feeds off our divisiveness. Lets get it together. My last rifle purchase was black( bolt action) .223.

I think my next may be a Dragunov.

huntinglife

My original comments are below about the Jim Zumbo controversy. While many of you are quick to jump on the lets get rid of Jim Zumbo bandwagen, I want to clearly state that you should all research the amount of work he has done for this industry and for all of your rights in the hunting world! Take a look at his history in this industry and you will realize that he has done a tremendous amount of work for all of us in conservation, politics and the NRA!





MY COMMENTS

Monday, February 19, 2007
Jim Zumbo Controversy

Jim Zumbo has made a tremendous mistake stating that no hunter should ever use an assault rifle to hunt with and listing the AR-15 as an assault rifle. More then likely he is going to pay for that comment with the loss of a career as one of the great hunting writers of all times! The domino's are already falling! I personally hope he makes it through this!

The following is posted on the Remington Arms web site:

Remington to Sever Sponsorship Ties with Jim Zumbo

Remington Arms
Madison, North Carolina
As a result of comments made by Mr. Jim Zumbo in recent postings on his blog site, Remington Arms Company, Inc., has severed all sponsorship ties with Mr. Zumbo effective immediately. While Mr. Zumbo is entitled to his opinions and has the constitutional right to freely express those opinions, these comments are solely his, and do not reflect the views of Remington.

"Remington has spent tens of millions of dollars defending our Second Amendment rights to privately own and possess firearms and we will continue to vigorously fight to protect these right," commented Tommy Millner, Remington�s CEO and President. "As hunters and shooters of all interest levels, we should strive to utilize this unfortunate occurrence to unite as a whole in support of our Second Amendment rights."

We regret having to terminate our long-standing relationship with Mr. Zumbo, who is a well-respected writer and life-long hunter

Outdoor Life Comments as well:

Due to the controversy surrounding Jim Zumbo’s recent postings, Outdoor Life has decided to discontinue the “Hunting With Zumbo” blog for the time being. Outdoor Life has always been, and will always be, a steadfast supporter of our Second Amendment rights, which do not make distinctions based on the looks of the firearms we choose to own, shoot and take hunting. Please direct any comments you have to [email protected].

Jim's Apology:

I was wrong, BIG TIME

Someone once said that to err is human. I just erred, and made without question, the biggest blunder in my 42 years of writing hunting articles.

My blog inflamed legions of people I love most..... hunters and shooters. Obviously, when I wrote that blog, I activated my mouth before engaging my brain.

Let me explain the circumstances surrounding that blog. I was hunting coyotes, and after the hunt was over and being beat up by 60 mph winds all day, I was discussing hunting with one of the young guides. I was tired and exhausted, and I should have gone to bed early. When the guide told me that there was a "huge" following of hunters who use AR 15's and similar weapons to hunt prairies dogs, I was amazed. At that point I wrote the blog, and never thought it through.

Now then, you might not believe what I have to say, but I hope you do. How is it that Zumbo, who has been hunting for more than 50 years, is totally ignorant about these types of guns. I don't know. I shot one once at a target last year, and thought it was cool, but I never considered using one for hunting. I had absolutely no idea how vast the numbers of folks are who use them.

I never intended to be devisive, and I certainly believe in United we Stand, Divided we Fall. I've been an NRA member for 40 years, have attended 8 national NRA conventions in the last 10 years, and I'm an advisory board member for the United States Sportsman's Alliance which actively fights anti-hunters and animal rights groups for hunter's rights.

What really bothers me are some of the unpatriotic comments leveled at me. I fly the flag 365 days a year in my front yard. Last year, through an essay contest, I hosted a soldier wounded in Iraq to a free hunt in Botswana. This year, through another essay contest, I'm taking two more soldiers on a free moose and elk hunt.

When I started blogging, I was told to write my thoughts, expressing my own opinion. The offensive blog I wrote was MY opinion, and no one else's. None of the companies that I deal with share that opinion, nor were they aware of what I had written until this firestorm started.

Believe it or not, I'm your best friend if you're a hunter or shooter, though it might not seem that way. I simply screwed up. And, to show that I'm sincere about this, I just talked to Ted Nugent, who everyone knows, and is a Board member of the NRA. Ted is extremely active with charities concerning our wounded military, and though he's known as a bowhunter, Ted has no problem with AR 15's and similar firearms. My sincerity stems from the fact that Ted and I are planning a hunt using AR 15's. I intend to learn all I can about them, and again, I'm sorry for inserting my foot in my mouth.

Jim Zumbo



MY COMMENTS:

Jim Zumbo is probably finished as an outdoor writer because of this comment, even though he has apologized and the current article and apology were quickly removed by Outdoor Life. I hope that is not the case!

I have always been a really great fan of Mr. Zumbo, his writing, and especially his television show. His tremendous amount of conservation work, his empathy for the people he hunts around and with, and his respect for the animals he hunts has always impressed me. I am saddened by the controversy surrounding this very explosive issue because I looked forward to the opportunities to sit with my 3 kids and watch Jim Zumbo on television and share with them the stories that he brought from all around the world hunting in remote lands.

Jim Zumbo, you still have my respect, I am glad you apologized and I wish you the best and I hope this blows over quickly so I can show my kids the wonderful world you brought us.

While I personally will never choose to hunt with an assault rifle or an AR-15, I will not tell anyone in this world that they cannot hunt with one as long as they are accurate with that weapon. Whomever I do hunt with needs to be practiced and accurate with whatever they choose to hunt with. NUFF SAID!