By Mike Weland
“Gun 4 Sale,” Don Jacobson’s proposed ad reads. “Retired man is downsizing.” A brave face, quite possibly a small, nostalgic smile. Not a downsizing, but a realization, often jarring, that comes to all blessed with the gift of years.
From childhood, we have a notion of what lies many, many years into the far distant future, and even when the change is imminent, we still see it as yet a few more miles down our lifeline, never now, never today.
And then you’re sitting quietly, putting pen to paper.
Gun 4 Sale.
Retired man is downsizing.
Remington Model 788 (308) rifle Bushnell Sportview scope/leather strap/case
Very good condition, bought on 2/1/23 in Vancouver, WA for $552.
I have never shot it – last shot before 2023.
I recently cleaned & oiled the metal and also cleaned & lemon oiled the wooden stock.
As a child, his wasn’t the happiest of homes.
“I had a very difficult time raising my mother and stepfather and being the default good example for my siblings,” he writes. “Of the four kids my mom kept, we all had different fathers.”
But his grandfather and stepfather were avid sportsmen, and they bequeathed their love of the outdoors to him. Born in Idaho Falls and raised in Idaho and Montana, he had a lot of outdoors to enjoy. At age 14, an uncle in Forsyth, Montana, bought him his first fishing rig, a small Zebco, and he spent hours fishing the Yellowstone River just a few blocks from home. He acquired his first firearm, a .22-caliber Winchester single-shot, bolt action rifle not long after.
They were essentials, for what he caught or shot helped feed his family. They were the beginnings of a life-long love. To this day, he prefers wild game over most other meat.
Leaving home at 17, he finished high school and attended college at Fullerton Junior College, Orange Coast College and the University of Phoenix. He then served a tour in the Air Force in Colorado Springs, launching him on a career in communications support, working for AT&T in Southern California, moving to Vancouver, Washington, in 1990, where he worked for Charter Communication, Yahoo! Small Business and as a remote worker for Cerium Networks, Spokane.
After considerable study, Jacobson, never married, retired to Boundary County in the Mt. Hall area last year. Though he no longer hunts or goes fishing, he spends much of his time exploring his new environs and making new friends for future outdoor adventures, car shows and more. He enjoys frequent visits to the Senior Center, both for their exceptional home cooked lunches and the camaraderie, the games of pool and Mexican Train.
The Remington Model 788 is by no means the only firearm he owns. He still has four guns, a bow, some fishing gear. But he sees his parting with a firearm he’s owned for just over two years and has never fired for what it is. An admission to himself that times have changed irrevocably. That he’s reached an age at which he still clings to the love of the passions of his childhood that for so long brought joy but now only wistful sorrow, the knowing that the time has come to turn the page.
Used models found at Gunbroker.com (without scope/strap) start at $650.
$700 OBO.
Do you also want my ammunition?
Buffalo Cartridge Adrenaline Precision 149 grain
3 boxes of 20 count at $15.49 each before tax.
$45 OBO.
You can reach Don by calling (208) 267-2847. If you prefer to dicker, look him up at lunch time at the Senior Center, 6635 Lincoln, Bonners Ferry. Shoot him a game of pool.
Chances are you’ll own a nice, well cared for rifle. Along with a good new friend.