Breaking the stigma of ‘AR’

If Jim Zumbo had the National Shooting Sports Foundation in his corner a few years ago, cure he might still be the hunting editor of Outdoor Life magazine.

Zumbo was literally driven from the temple after expressing discouraging words in his web site blog about the viability of so-called “black rifles” or AR-15-style guns as hunting firearms. Unfortunately, side effects Zumbo expressed his opinions just at the time black rifles were gaining traction in the shooting sports world, treatment and his comments touched off a firestorm of protests.

Zumbo and Outdoor Life parted ways, though the famed hunter has since regained his lofty status in the outdoor world. He also has redeemed himself in the eyes of his former detractors by participating in such programs as Purple Heart Hunters, whose members are among the primary users of black rifles: the United States military.

It is to reduce the likelihood of such faux pas that the NSSF announced here at the SHOT Show an ongoing effort to educate shooting sports enthusiasts about black rifles, euphemistically termed “modern sporting rifles” by the organization and its members that manufacture the firearms. Hopefully, what such traditionalists as Zumbo will learn from the project will rub off on the general public, though the process of osmosis might be unclear at this point.

“Modern sporting rifles are constantly being misrepresented and called terrorist weapons in the media,” NSSF spokesman Mark Thomas said. “Our campaign has the twofold purpose of developing an understanding among sportsmen about this type of rifle and to dispel some of the myths about these rifles among the general media.” -[source]