Colin Huddleston’s legs are about as athletic as you would expect an 85-year-old’s to be, but as he curtly points out, "I don’t need them for shooting ducks — I just need my good eye".
The Mosgiel octogenarian went to the opening day of the duck-shooting season for the 80th consecutive time on Saturday, and used his "good eye" to bring down five ducks at a friend’s pond in Mataura.
It was a good day and he was already planning on heading out next year.
Mr Huddleston said it was hard to believe he had been doing it for so long.
He started going out with his father, Claude, in 1944, when he was just 5 years old, and he had not missed an opening day since.
"He would take me out on a row boat on Lake Waihola.
"We would row across the lake to our spot. It was pretty unpleasant if it rained. You just had to suffer through it.
"The odd nip of rum or whisky wasn’t allowed. Alcohol and firearms didn’t mix as far as father was concerned.
"Once you fired a shot or two, you didn’t notice the cold — the adrenaline kept you warm."
Since then, he had shot on the Taieri River, the Waipori River, on a pond at Clydevale and now at a pond near Mataura.
"The pond at Mataura has a mai mai so you don’t get so wet these days and you’ve got all this flash clothing to keep warm and different modern duck-shooting gear and decoys that flap and splash in the water — it seems a bit unfair for the ducks.
"It’s all changed. It’s more luxurious by comparison. I call it ‘gentlemen’s stuff’.
"If it wasn’t for that, I probably wouldn’t still be going."
Mr Huddleston said he went shooting with family and friends, and they all looked after him.
"I get everything done for me.
"They make me hot cups of coffee, give me slices of bacon and egg pie — much to my doctor’s disgust, I would imagine.
"The camaraderie — meeting the guys that you might only see once a year, and catching up — that’s why I love it so much.
"We have a lot of yarns about what happened years ago and all that carry on. We put the world to rights, pretty much.
"It’s the only time when certain stories can be told."
He said roasted duck with roast vegetables was still his favourite way to eat duck.
The trick was to chew "gently".
"You’ve got to watch out for those pellets. They’re awful. You have to be careful."
While he may be 85, he has no plans to call it a day yet.
"As long as I’m fit enough and I’ve got helpers — enablers, I suppose — I’ll keep going until I can’t."
