Photo of Jim Zumbo from jimzumbo.com
Much to my surprise last evening as I surfed around the satellite system I found Jim Zumbo on the Outdoor Channel. Jim as you may know set off a firestorm last February when he made a blog post criticizing the use of “assault style rifles” for hunting. Throw Zumbo Under the Bus? was my initial reaction to Jim’s post as the net was getting heated up about his famed post. I had two additional posts on this topic Who is Jim Zumbo? and Waiting for the Other Shoe To Fall where I question the motives of some of those involved. I believe that Jim Zumbo was caught up in a feeding frenzy that was fueled by chat rooms, message boards and of course blogs that lead to many of his sponsors running in fear to break off ties with Jim Zumbo.
I felt then and still today that this was an overreaction and a sad view of how easy our gun and hunting community can be divided and consumed by our own.
In light of that firestorm I was surprised to see Jim Zumbo back on TV in less then 6 months. I’ve always enjoyed reading and watching Jim Zumbo’s work he seems like a real hunter to me unlike some of his counterparts on the TV. When I first got into hunting and trying to learn as much as I could he was an important contributor to my education. I think it’s great that he is back and I look forward to watching Jim Zumbo Outdoors on the Outdoor Channel.
