Kinda’ depends how far you make it, doesn’t it?
I used to see an old guy on sunny weekdays, in Pine County, MN. He was in his 90s. He walked a logging road, actually a segment of the Munger trail. He might have made it a mile in and back. He used a .410 single shot to pot Grouse. Told me he hadn’t shot a Grouse on the wing in a long, long time. He was good with that. He had owned many different guns.They were all gone. He outlived every family member he ever had. To say he loved petting my dog was an understatement. I let him handle my Remington model 17 once, it was a bit much for him.
I was good with him ground swatting them, too. It was a day brightener to run into him.The old guy fought like hell to keep his pickup and his .410 at the old people’s warehouse he lived in. He didn’t seem to need assistance, maybe they called him in the morning, but, he told me he just fried the Grouse breasts and legs, and got dinner and lunch out of one. If he was cooking them, I figured he didn’t need much help.
I’ve got 20 and 28 gauge V19s at the moment, both less than 6lbs. That is the lightest version of a Darne, in very general terms. Tough witches to shoot well in the best of times, and my eye injury has insured these are not my best times.
There are times I want to be that old guy in the woods with his last gun that he can manage. But, I’m guessing his life was lonely and hard toward the end. Every person I ever knew who lived that long (I’m between any friends in their 90s at the moment) was having a struggle, often a difficult, daily struggle.
I haven’t seen him in a long time. Doubt I will.
Best,
Ted
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