# Another anti gunner comes out of the closet



## 2400 (Feb 4, 2006)

David E. Petzal from Field & Stream had this to say on his blog sponsored by F&S.

February 22, 2007
ZUMBOMANIA: David E. Petzal's take on the Jim Zumbo fiasco
In case you just emerged from a coma and have not heard, the shooting world is agog over a blog posted by Jim Zumbo, former contributing editor at Outdoor Life, over the weekend of February 17. In it, Jim stated that any semiauto rifle with an AR or AK prefix was a terrorist rifle, had no place in hunting, and should be outlawed for that purpose. Then, courtesy of the Internet and all its blogs and chatrooms, the roof fell in.

The speed with which Zumbomania spread, the number of comments it drew, and the rabid nature of same were a revelation. Overnight, this thing became as big as Janet Jackson's clothing failure or-dare I say it?-Britney Spears' shaved head. Jim Zumbo is now as employable as the Unabomber, and Sarah Brady will no doubt adopt his comments to her own gun-control purposes.

For the last several days I've been visiting all manner of blogs and chatrooms, which has reminded me of when I used to deliver used clothing to the local mental hospital. I've tried to make some sense of it all, but because the waters are still full of blood and body parts continue to rain from the sky, I haven't come up with any Great Truths. Lacking that, here are some Lesser Truths.

What Jim said was ill-considered. He's entitled to his beliefs, but when a writer of his stature comes out against black guns, it sure as hell does not help our cause.

Even so, Jim made an immediate apology. He did not equivocate, or qualify, or make excuses. He acted like a gentleman and said he was wrong, and he was sorry. Apparently this is not enough anymore. We now live in the era of one strike and you're out.

For 40 years, Jim has been a spokesman and ambassador of good will for hunting. Through his tireless efforts as a teacher and lecturer on hunting and hunting skills, he has done more for the sport than any 250 of the yahoos who called for his blood.

Jim has paid dearly for what he said. He has lost his blog and his association with Remington. Cabela's has suspended its sponsorship of his TV show; and Outdoor Life has accepted his offer to sever ties. To all the chatroom heroes who made him unemployable, I have a word of warning: You've been swinging a two-edged sword. A United States in which someone can be ruined for voicing an unpopular opinion is a dangerous place. Today it was Jim's turn. Tomorrow it may be yours.

If Sarah Brady is smart-and she is very smart-she will comb through the same blogs and chatrooms I've been reading, excerpt some of the most vicious and foul-mouthed entries, print them up, and distribute them to Congress. Then it will be interesting to see how the men and women who wrote that stuff enjoy seeing their efforts being put to use by every anti-gunner in America.

*He also had this to say in 1994*

"Gun owners -- all gun owners -- pay a heavy price for having to defend the availability of these weapons. "The American public -- and the gun-owning public; especially the gun-owning public -- would be better off without the hardcore military arms, which puts the average sportsman in a real dilemma".An Uzi or an AKM or an AK-47 should be no more generally available than a Claymore mine or a block of C4 explosive."

Column by David Petzal, "Endangered Tradition" column in Field and Stream, June 1994.


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## -gunut- (May 8, 2006)

What the hell is happening?


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## jwkimber45 (May 6, 2006)

> Even so, Jim made an immediate apology. He did not equivocate, or qualify, or make excuses. He acted like a gentleman and said he was wrong, and he was sorry


Yeah, after everyone ripped him a new a-hole.....he was trying to salvage what little was left of his career......


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## 2400 (Feb 4, 2006)

jwkimber45 said:


> > Even so, Jim made an immediate apology. He did not equivocate, or qualify, or make excuses. He acted like a gentleman and said he was wrong, and he was sorry
> 
> 
> Yeah, after everyone ripped him a new a-hole.....he was trying to salvage what little was left of his career......


You are right JW, all he did was try to cover his ass.
He made a bunch of excuses to explain why he wrote what he did, he tried wraping himself in the flag and using wounded servicemen to show how patriotic he was. He didn't retract his statement about terrorists and he never said he was sorry.

Petzal supported the 1994 AWB and now supports Zumbo. :smt166


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## falshman70 (Jul 13, 2006)

This guy, like many tradional print journalists obviously hates the power that the Internet confers on the common man. We're "yahoos" because we're outraged at what Zumbro said. He's seeing his freedom to say controversial things against AR/AK shooters (and survive) curbed. And he doesn't like it.

I'm afraid this has opened a real can of worms for gun lovers. It would appear that many hunters don't like military-styled guns. I have talked to a number of acquaintances who are upland game hunters and are horrified by handguns. They only like pretty over/under shotguns. These hunters seem to miss the real intent of the 2nd Amendment which is not to protect hunting rights, but to assure an armed citizenry that can rise in defense of the country or resist tyranny.

Hopefully the hunting folks can overcome their prejudices and realize that regardless of what arms we like and what shooting sports we engage in, we have to stick together.


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

I left a message on the Zumbo site and I didn't cuss or call anybody a yahoo. Now this puke wants to come out defening his good buddy and calling names. Well if this is the kind of people that write for Field and Stream I guess I can live without them to. 
Boils down to one thing they don't like loosing their power to the internet. It's allways about power and money.


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## john doe. (Aug 26, 2006)

An apology is not sincere if it is just given to cover your ass and retain your employment.


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## -gunut- (May 8, 2006)

Do you have a link for this so I can leave a comment?


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## 2400 (Feb 4, 2006)

-gunut- said:


> Do you have a link for this so I can leave a comment?


Here you go.
link
http://fieldandstream.blogs.com/gunnut/2007/02/zumbomania_davi.html


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## scooter (May 9, 2006)

Copy of my post at F&S:mrgreen: :mrgreen:

The 2nd is NOT about your hunting rifle!!!!!!!!!!!!
It IS about an armed populace being able to defend themselves against egomaniacal politicians/Governments and the social elitists who want POWER. 
Zumbo SOUNDED like he had joined those ranks and your feeble attempt to defend him has you leaning in that direction too!

Posted by: Independent Conservative | February 23, 2007 at 08:33 PM


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

Just went up and put my 2 cents worth in. I am done with any writer or magizine or person who is not for the 2nd amendment.


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