Jim Zumbo letter on USO
08-30-2004, 04:00 PM
#23
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Raleigh NC USA
Posts: 352
RE: Jim Zumbo letter on USO
I'm not going to go so far as to cancel my subscription to Outdoor Life or Field and Stream over Zumbo's actions, but I'm not planning on getting any of his books or videos either. No great loss, I wasn't going to get them anyhow.
I wasn't trying to stir up the hornet's nest, I just wanted to highlight that Zumbo missed a real good opportunity to take a stand on the issue and failed to do so. What he should have done is tell Taulman that the legal action was so wrong and decisive that his conscience wouldn't permit him to continue to patronize any of Taulman's business or at least say that the reaction to the ruling was so negative that in order to protect his own interests he had to disassociate his business interests from Taulman's.
The old addage is that you can get judged by the company you keep. Lie down with the dogs and get up with their fleas.
I wasn't trying to stir up the hornet's nest, I just wanted to highlight that Zumbo missed a real good opportunity to take a stand on the issue and failed to do so. What he should have done is tell Taulman that the legal action was so wrong and decisive that his conscience wouldn't permit him to continue to patronize any of Taulman's business or at least say that the reaction to the ruling was so negative that in order to protect his own interests he had to disassociate his business interests from Taulman's.
The old addage is that you can get judged by the company you keep. Lie down with the dogs and get up with their fleas.
08-30-2004, 09:14 PM
#25
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Kerrville, Tx. USA
Posts: 2,722
RE: Jim Zumbo letter on USO
I must respectfully dissagree with the majority of the posts that are anti Zumbo. On the contrary, through the years I have found him to be a common man's writer/hunter. Unlike lots of the "in vogue" new genreation hunters, he is constantly writing about hunts that the common man can do. If you had really read his articles/books, you would not read a lot of rich man's guided hunts stories, but lots of hunts that you and I could go on.
I remember an article in particular where he personally backpacked over a public land mountain to get into some public land that was "locked up" behind private land. The landowner tried to make him move, saying that he was on private land, but shut up when Jim pulled out his maps and the landowner realized he knew what he was talking about. He backpacked the bull he got out on his back over that mountain too.
Sure, he gets to go on some hunts we only dream about, but after putting in his dues, why shouldn't he.
Maybe he didn't go as far as we would like to see in his letter, but let me tell you something: giving up a hunt in Arizona for a real chance at a really big bull is a BIG THING. Are you sure that you could do the same? Let's say that you put in on your own (not through the USO tag process) and you didn't draw in the primary drawing, but drew in the extra tags that were given out. Can you honestly say that you would sacrifice your tag of a lifetime? Of course, this question is only valid to nonresidents, since it doesn't apply to residents. We also don't know all the legalities of putting things such as this in print. Sometimes we would like to say more, but could be sued if we say too much.
Is USO wrong in what they are doing? Absolutely. As a nonresident of AZ, do I support the 10% cap on nonresidents? You bet.
However, I still believe Jim Zumbo to be a good an honorable man. Only time will tell the full story. I for one, support his eating the tag. The letter he writes says plainly that he supports residents hunting rights.
I wrote him a note that thanked him for his giving up his tag in AZ, and encouraged him to continue the fight agains't USO. We will see how it plays out, but I continue to support him, read his articles, and buy his books.
I remember an article in particular where he personally backpacked over a public land mountain to get into some public land that was "locked up" behind private land. The landowner tried to make him move, saying that he was on private land, but shut up when Jim pulled out his maps and the landowner realized he knew what he was talking about. He backpacked the bull he got out on his back over that mountain too.
Sure, he gets to go on some hunts we only dream about, but after putting in his dues, why shouldn't he.
Maybe he didn't go as far as we would like to see in his letter, but let me tell you something: giving up a hunt in Arizona for a real chance at a really big bull is a BIG THING. Are you sure that you could do the same? Let's say that you put in on your own (not through the USO tag process) and you didn't draw in the primary drawing, but drew in the extra tags that were given out. Can you honestly say that you would sacrifice your tag of a lifetime? Of course, this question is only valid to nonresidents, since it doesn't apply to residents. We also don't know all the legalities of putting things such as this in print. Sometimes we would like to say more, but could be sued if we say too much.
Is USO wrong in what they are doing? Absolutely. As a nonresident of AZ, do I support the 10% cap on nonresidents? You bet.
However, I still believe Jim Zumbo to be a good an honorable man. Only time will tell the full story. I for one, support his eating the tag. The letter he writes says plainly that he supports residents hunting rights.
I wrote him a note that thanked him for his giving up his tag in AZ, and encouraged him to continue the fight agains't USO. We will see how it plays out, but I continue to support him, read his articles, and buy his books.
