Dave, On my bench, in front of me right now, is a 1939 Model 12. It was brought in by a client complaining of intermittent light strikes, says it cost him a gobbler last season. His grandfather hunted over it for the better part of 40 years, and when I asked if it had ever been detail stripped and cleaned, he said it was doubtful. So now it's completely apart and heading for the ultrasonic bath in the morning. Probably be good for another decade or two.
I just shot a round of clays yesterday, with a group of seniors at the sporting clays range in Providence Forge, VA. This was the test run for an AL391 that was having ejection problems. It ran 60 rounds without a hiccup, so it went back to the owner this morning. He is a retired vet (80+ yrs), that shoots twice a week, (with a walker, and shoots well), but lives for the next day at the range.
My sons and I used to shoot at National Cap Skeet and Trap, before the hand wringers caught up with them. We never missed a North-South. If you ever shot there my oldest son might have been the trapper.
I think I have read most all of your THR posts and a lot of the old TFL stuff. Always calm & cool with a little advice, a barrel of information and a ton of encouragement. Whenever I had a shotgun question it was always "Let's see if McC says anything about it".
So why am I telling you this? I guess all of our histories are long and intertwined and much of the warp and woof of the tapestry we call our lives is the time spent on the range, or in the field, or on the bench, with friends or alone, doing something with firearms. And someday we will all be spoken of in the past tense, and that will happen soon enough. Live all you got left to the maximum, surround yourself with the people you love, and don't quit.
I gotta hit the sack! I have a neat old gun to clean and reassemble tomorrow, it's gonna be a good day!