Quote Originally Posted by Redleg View Post
Birds are harder to hit because they are smaller....(just to be a smart***)

Now if one is questioning his judgement I wouldn't have a problem with it at all, I find his judgement in the shooting questionable.
Just to make it clear - I wasn't saying that the shooting would have been justified if he was younger, only that there is a decent chance of eyesight, hand-eye coordination and therefore his aim being bad since he is 61 years old.

My father in law was a police officer until his retirement at 65. So yep older gentlemen have the ability to reason and even handle stressful situations. I find your inablity to understand that when an individual reaches the age of adulthood, age rarely has the effect on judgement that people think. If you can prove he was mentally impaired because of senility or other mental incapaticiting age related conditions - I might see your point, but nothing demonstrates he suffered from such a condition.
Again, I didn't say that people can't work in the police when they're 61 or older, just that you'll rarely see them on the streets, making arrests. Older people will usually be involved in administrative duties within the department.

If the man can physical handle the weapon and the conditions one faces while hunting - then let them hunt. Nothing prevents him from doing that - expect your own age prejuidice. My 65 year old father still works construction, running heavy equipment and welding. He is in far better shape then many 20 year olds. So get off the age bashing unless you can prove the man had a physcial or mental age related condition.
I'm not age bashing! For the love of God people, stop looking for "isms" whenever someone criticize something. I already said that I believe it was wrong. Moral and legal implications would be the same if Mr. Horn was 20 years old. I was saying that I would rather have 2000$ worth of my property stolen then to live next door to an elderly trigger happy person. To quote myself:
Personally, I'd rather have stuff from my home stolen than have an elderly, trigger-happy computer technician with a shotgun on the loose in my neighbourhood...
Not that I would be okay with living next door to a 20 year old trigger happy idiot, but at least the chance that his eyesight, reflexes or anything else is not the best is much smaller.

Let me give you similar example, like when you're driving in a car with someone in his thirties or with someone in his seventies. Not that I haven't seen people aged 70+ drive safer then some much younger people or that I think it's impossible for elderly people to drive safely, but, everything else the same, I'd feel safer with a younger guy, especially if I don't know the person well. Get my point? Now, I'm even more touchy when it comes to guns.

Disclaimer: I love elderly people. My parents are elderly people. Ma grandparents aren't alive anymore unfortunately, but if they were, they would be elderly people. I have a lot of elderly people in my family and I love them very much. When I was younger I used to offer my seat in the bus to elderly people if none other was free, I used to help (and I still do) elderly people across the street and with their groceries or their bags. So please don't accuse me of ageism or age bashing... And anyway, it was a minor point in my post