outdoors

CUMBERLAND, WIS. — Sitting in a deer stand near this northwest Wisconsin town the other day, the sun yet only hinting of its morning arrival, I wondered whether I could fire the rifle I held in my hands twice quickly in succession, before a standing whitetail could move. It was a fair question, and the answer, I thought, was, "Probably." And, soon enough, a deer did appear, a doe, followed by her fawn.

About 40 yards from me, the doe stopped, not necessarily alert to anything. She simply stopped for no apparent reason, as deer sometimes do.

Raising the rifle, I aligned the rear sight with its forward counterpart, placing both on an imagined trajectory toward the animal's vitals, just behind its left shoulder.

And ...

Didn't squeeze the trigger. Not twice. Not even once.

"A buck will come along soon enough," I thought.

I had wanted for some time to carry what is commonly called a "black rifle" while deer hunting -- particularly since the brouhaha that arose in January over comments made about these weapons by longtime outdoors writer and broadcaster Jim Zumbo, who lives in Wyoming.

"I call them 'assault' rifles," Zumbo wrote on his Outdoor Life blog, "which may upset some people. Excuse me, maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity. I'll go so far as to call them 'terrorist' rifles. They tell me that some companies are producing assault rifles that are 'tack drivers.' "

The reaction was swift. Outdoor Life, the National Rifle Association and others who employed him as a writer or supported his TV show headed for the exits. Many gun owners, particularly those familiar with AR-style weapons (a k a "black" rifles or "assault" rifles), were no more forgiving. They blistered Zumbo, forcing a nearly immediate apology and retraction, and quickly undoing more than 30 years of career-building.

All over a gun that mechanically is no different than any other weapon with a semiautomatic action, of which there are millions owned and used by North American hunters everywhere.

• • •

So, what are "black rifles," and are they often used by hunters?

The answer to the second question is yes.

Semiautomatic assault-style (largely a media term) rifles have long been used by American hunters, particularly varmint hunters -- such as those who seek foxes, coyotes and prairie dogs.

The attraction is manifold. Outfitted with heavy barrels and high magnification scopes, black rifles can be extremely accurate. For example, a good shooter with a properly configured AR-type rifle and ammunition can pick off prairie dogs at 700 yards.

Additionally, gas-operated and configured in .223 caliber (5.56 millimeter) -- as the AR-15 was when developed in 1956 (largely) by Eugene Stoner, chief engineer for Illinois-based ArmaLite -- the gun has virtually no recoil, a big advantage while target shooting or hunting.

And most AR-style rifles can be outfitted with magazines capable of holding as many as 30 rounds, which can aid some sporting uses, such as coyote hunting.

In 1959, ArmaLite licensed the AR-15's design and trademarks to Colt, and, in Vietnam, the "little black rifle" became standard military issue beginning in about 1965, and was renamed the M-16.