PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

February 2012

ZOMBIE ATTACK!

by Marty Hayes, President

That’s how I felt when walking by many of the target manufacturers’ booths at the SHOT Show. Talk about stupid! The recent zombie craze that has hit the shooting crowd is just plain ill conceived, and if you actually thought about it for more than two seconds, you’d understand that by buying into gun products from the zombie craze is setting yourself up for possible disaster.

Imagine being a little old lady on a jury who is deciding your fate after you shot and killed a homeless person who was kind of dressed like one of those zombie targets after that homeless person stepped upon your front porch and made threatening gestures that lead you to believe he was armed and intending to kill you. It is the job of the little old ladies on the jury to decide if you acted as a reasonable and prudent person would when you fired several shots into the torso and head of the zombie look-alike.

Imagine, that the prosecutors admit into evidence the images of the deceased, doing a surprisingly good

Imagine, that the prosecutors admit into evidence the images of the deceased, doing a surprisingly good imitation of a zombie, complete with rags covering parts of the body and bleeding holes in the ragged clothing.

In addition to that evidence, imagine the prosecutors admit into evidence your stash of zombie targets, both shot up and new that the police confiscated after a lawful search of your home.

They got a search warrant after you denied them entry. It was a lawful search warrant because on the warrant, the police listed as possible items of evidence of a homicide, including “guns, ammunition and other evidence related to firearms use.” And, because the local anti-gun judge signed it, it was lawful on its face and so the evidence makes it into court.

So, there you are, the only witness to the incident, trying to convince the little old lady on the jury that you are a reasonable person, and only did what a reasonable person would have done when approached and threatened by the raggedy-looking fellow you shot multiple times. All well and good, until the prosecution cross examines you and asks you about the used and new zombie targets that you routinely use when practicing to kill zombies. What are you going to say? It was just all good-natured fun?

How do you answer the question, “How do you kill a Zombie?”

“Ahh, shoot him multiple times in the chest and head?”

Of course it could be even worse for you if you happened to use the Hornaday’s Zombie killer ammunition, Z-Max. No, I am NOT kidding. And, please understand I think the privately owned Hornady brand is a great brand, and Steve Hornady is one of the true good guys of the industry. But, this one is a gutter ball.

Okay, enough about zombies. It sickens me to see the subject of honest use of deadly force in self defense taken so frivolously.

Editor's note: I'm disgusted by the fact that the entire firearms industry has seemingly thrown their common sense out the window and has embraced this zombie craze solely, as near as I can tell, in order to make money.  Fun is fun, but there has been nothing shown to say that the industry understands the difference between fun and the serious aspects of self-defense shooting.  When firearms designed and sold explicitly for defensive use, like pocket pistols, have names like "Zombie Killer," when jacketed hollowpoint ammunition is sold with "zombie green" tips and marked as zombie ammo, it seems clear to me that the inmates are running the asylum--or at least the marketing department.  I hope this fad dies a quick death.  --Mark Freburg