Newsflash to Business Week: You’ve Got Zumbo Wrong!
By Glen Wunderlich Outdoor Columnist Member Professional Outdoor Media Association
Three years ago outdoor legend, Jim Zumbo, bit the hand that had been feeding him. In a moment of carelessness, he wrote on the Outdoor Life web site that he saw no place for “black guns” in the hunting fraternity. And, as quickly as you can say assault weapon, he lost his lofty position at Outdoor Life magazine (which he held for 30 years), he lost his TV show, and thus his means of income. Now, as Jim has rebuilt his iconic status among outdoor enthusiasts, as I predicted in 2007, comes one Paul Barrett opening up old wounds.
In a recent Business Week piece titled Rambo Rifles for Weekend Hunters (the title alone suggests a disconnect with reality), Barrett seeks to sensationalize similarities between U.S. military issue firearms and today’s modern sporting rifles (MSRs) by claiming Zumbo yet maintains a certain disdain for these popular firearms in terms of hunting; nothing can be further from fact. While Barrett may get an “attaboy” from gun grabbers with his attempted cheap shot, his magazine comes up empty.
When Zumbo removed his foot from his mouth three years ago, comrades in arms quickly educated him in the ways of MSRs. First it was friend, Ted Nugent, who had Jim smiling after a workout in Texas with an AR-15 on Nugent’s own TV show. Then, at a live auction to raise funds for the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) that same year, Jim made a profound statement, when bidding on a MSR seemed to stall at wholesale value around $900. He stood up and everyone paid attention when he added a simple caveat: “I will throw in a personally guided prairie dog hunt to the winning bidder.” That’s all it took to inflate the bids to $3500! Jim was back!
And, if that wasn’t enough to convince everyone that he learned his lesson, he topped his commitment to the shooting sports industry the following year at POMA’s annual conference. A printed agenda highlighting auction items was being followed in order by the auctioneer. Jim moved to the front of the room and explained how had met a young man at the conference – a college student and aspiring writer, who already had numerous heart operations at his young age. After getting to know this young man, who was struggling against the odds to make it as a writer – and, more importantly against life itself – Jim altered the course of the night’s events again. He briefly explained the youngster’s struggle then stated, “I am offering to take this young man and a high-bidding hunter on a wild turkey hunt.” Out of nowhere, POMA pocketed thousands on the spot for Jim’s benevolence.
Zumbo not only supports the outdoor media and firearms industry, but his new TV show, Jim Zumbo Outdoors, focuses on his dedication to supporting our troops, while others pretend to do it with mere lip service. He spearheads an effort to provide hunting opportunities to our returning wounded military warriors by providing them with accessible means to hunt the great outdoors week after week.
So, when Paul Barrett writes about Zumbo, as though he continues to be some type of wedge between factions of new and old-school hunters, he misses the target. While Barrett’s words may draw attention to the popularity of MSRs, he also displays his ignorance on the cohesiveness that has developed between sporting shooters and hunters like Jim Zumbo.
