The older I get, the more my attitude changes. When I was a "young and comer" I had to have the latest and greatest deer killing machine, killed as many animals as I could get away with, and drove like a maniac to get there. Now I could really care less if I am successful after a day in the woods (in fact I'm often relieved I don't have to bust a gut dealing with a monster buck after it's down), I'm content to dawdle along on the drive there, and the rifle/shotgun I carry has to be aesthetically pleasing more so than super efficient. I see young guys taking to the woods as if they were on a Marine recon mission and can't help but wonder about that which they are missing out on.
As I sit in the woods on an Indian Summer day admiring the rifle I built many years ago, I reflect on the hundreds of hours I spent building it and feel a direct connection to my ancestor who roamed the woods of Pennsylvania with the family heirloom long rifle I copied it from. For me there is definitely a higher plane of experience regarding the whole muzzle loading deal than just "getting a few more days afield" and utilizing the the most up to date technology. But that's me.
(And yes, anyone who shies away from Holy Black and sidelock ignition due to the "mess" involved is either a wuss or never gave it a fair shake. That's my biased opinion and I'm sticking to it!
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Ahhhhhhhh, YES, Gnoahhh,
You've excellently expressed so very well the thoughts and deep feelings a great many of us older hunters eventually come to feel.
I doubt that younger hunters can comprehend that, some day, their thoughts & feelings may come to be the same. Only with experience and age comes such feelings and only "time" can cause that to happen.
I'm glad to read that others have those same feelings I've come to have. Being in the woods with a familiar and friendly rifle has a "goodness" all it's own... and shooting game becomes secondary or even not-of-great-importance once one reaches that point in life where it's the
total experience rather than just the "kill" that makes for a pleasant day in the woods.
THANK YOU, my friend, for saying it so well.
Strength & Honor...
Ron T.
