Daryl and Mr W martin, Having had my last dog a while ago without being on my last legs, I have been very fortunate to have friends with wonderful dogs who who welcomed a dogless hunter! (They know who they are!) I agree with you both about the fun of very old guns. As I have gotten older, I have enjoyed older and older guns. I have now jumped back in time over the pinfires and have been heading out for upland birds and ducks with muzzleloaders - guns of the ancestors at a point in life when I have grandchildren and am therefore already becoming an ancestor myself! Being out with friends chasing birds is fun and using an old gun to bag a couple of birds is fun. The size of the bag now matters less. Let's keep the Hedelines, Mullins and Mantons going and hope for more seasons to get out in the field, before anything too radical happens!
