Columnist Susan Snyder: Game is a truly sad commentary

Friday, July 18, 2003 | 9:17 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4082.

Michael Burdick's paintball hunting endeavor shows society itself, at its very worst.

After all, there would be no Hunting for Bambi excursions if there were no men willing to pay $10,000 to shoot a 200-mph projectile at unarmed, naked women running away from them.

And maybe there aren't any such men. Maybe Hunting for Bambi expeditions into Southern Nevada's desert are a hoax designed to entice people to purchase Burdick's video of the same name. It shows men clad in camouflage duds using paintball guns to shoot women wearing only tennis shoes.

The voice mailbox of Burdick's Las Vegas-based Real Men Outdoor Productions company was full this week, and he didn't answer e-mail inquiries. But whether it's real or a marketing ploy, Burdick knows there is a market for grown men playing a coward's game with a toy gun.

How pathetic.

In reports aired this week on KLAS-TV Channel 8 and MSNBC, Burdick, a purported client and at least one of the women allegedly willing to run naked through the desert and earn $1,000 to $2,500 (depending on whether she is shot) said the "sport" is not degrading to women.

Golly, that's a relief.

Skeptics, however, might want to check the website (find it yourself). Under "Book a Hunt," it promises to send prospective hunters a list of female targets from which to choose.

"With over 30 women ready to be chased down and shot like dogs we guarantee a wide variety of Bambi's to choose from," the site says. "Whether it is a fat (expletive) cow or a perfect 10 we have an abundance of beauties."

Hmmm. Maybe it's only degrading to dogs, cows and people who can spell and punctuate correctly. Then again ...

"So if you are the ultimate sportsman and are seeking the ultimate adrenaline rush then come out to our ranch and shoot one of these nagging whinny (expletive) where it hurts and shut her the (expletive) up. Then mount her like a 'Real Man.' "

Wow. Glad they said it's not degrading. One might be inclined to think otherwise.

Metro Police hadn't launched any kind of investigation into what is evidently a voluntary endeavor on all sides, police spokesman Jose Montoya said this week.

And although Bambi hunts reportedly happen on private land, Bureau of Land Management officials said this week that their special agents were investigating to make sure the activity wasn't being conducted on public land.

"We wouldn't issue a permit for anything like that," said Frederick Marcel, who issues permits for commercial filming on BLM land.

Almost forgot to mention the videos. Customers are promised a video of their hunts. Take it home to the little wife. Throw in the T-shirt.

Blatant misogyny aside, it is difficult to find the sport in hunting and shooting at an unarmed, defenseless human being. It's the way we hunted black slaves, American Indian children and, more recently, Mexicans trying to cross the U.S. border in southern Arizona.

Calculated hoax or morally polluted business venture?

It doesn't matter.

Whether the guns are real or fake, hate is pulling the triggers.