Stan hunting to me is a celibration of family as much as anything I do. I can buy food for less money, less time and less effort. But using that cheap .410 will connect me to my uncle. I'll be thinking about his long gone pointer, the taste of turnips pulled from the frosty ground and eaten in the field. Mud and all is fine when you are a kid or when your eyes are so bad you don't notice.

I try to select guns which connect me to my hunting history and departed family. I know you also enjoy your family this time of the year. Mine would rather you go hunting with their gun than drop flower by their graves. I hope my sons follow what I am trying to teach them.