By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

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.

Stay tuned.

Editor's Note: Read Dave's response to your comments here

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

One more military blog and then I'll let it go for a while.

A friend of mine used to work for the ad agency that handled the Army's recruiting advertising, and we used to argue about it, my point being that the ads missed the main benefits of joining the service. There are three:

One: Military training is the best in the world. Whatever they teach you, you are going to know in your bones.

Two: If you have any aptitude for leadership, you'll find yourself with more real responsibility in your early 20s than you would have in your mid-30s as a civilian.

But the most important is, you will get to meet a born leader or two. I'm talking about the kind of officers or noncoms whose troops will follow them to the death - literally. This is a very, very rare type of human being, and one that you don't find in civilian life. The outstanding example in U.S. military history is Robert E. Lee.

If you are curious about what such leaders are like, I can refer you to three sources. The first is a short novel, Mr. Roberts, written by Thomas Heggen in the late 1940s. Second is a long novel, Once an Eagle, written by Anton Myrer, and published in 1968. It so successfully depicts the career of an ideal leader that it is used as a text by the Army.

But the most vivid is the HBO movie, Band of Brothers, and in particular the performance of a young British (!) actor named Damian Lewis (left), who portrays Major Dick Winters (right, in photo). Lewis is absolutely uncanny in capturing the personality of an officer who was not only a hero (he won the DSC at Normandy) but literally worshipped by his men.

The service has its share of officers and noncoms who are time-servers, incompetents, and are unworthy of their rank. But it also has men like Dick Winters, and if you have the luck to serve with one, it can illuminate the rest of your life. I had the great good luck to know two such officers: LTC (later COL) Charles Brauer, and COL (later MG) Howard Lauderback.

Thank you, sirs.