In the past few years, Bob Walker of Rochester has been telling his son and hunting partner Jeff that he is considering putting away his shotgun and "retiring" hunting.

Walker has hunted almost every year for the past 66 years. Since then, he has been a 14-year-old Pleasant Grove farm boy who killed his first deer with a 0.410 shotgun.

That was in 1955, when Walker was one of the first people to obtain a one-day permit for the first deer season in southeastern Minnesota. November 9, 1955 is an easy-to-remember date. This day was not only the day Walker got his first deer, but also his mother's birthday.

Before that, deer hunting was mainly confined to northern Minnesota, but as deer migrated southward, it became a pastime for hunters in southern Minnesota.

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For most of these 66 years, Walker returned home with a successful hunt, providing enough venison, waffles, bacon and jerky for several months.

But as Walker approached his 80s, certain aspects of deer hunting began to affect him. He can no longer hunt alone. He can no longer squat down to dress the deer.

(Left) Bob Walker took a photo with his first deer in 1955. (Right) Walker takes a photo with his deer in the 2021 gun deer season. Contribution/Bob Walker

Walker is a retired sheet metal manufacturer, former Rochester Park and Recreation referee and volleyball official, who leads an active lifestyle, walking four to six miles a day. However, walking nearby is not the same as trekking through uneven woods full of branches and branches. He recently backed up while setting the blinds and tripped over a tree branch.

"At my age, why would you risk breaking an arm or a leg? I have had the privilege of hunting for many years," Walker said.

However, Walker hesitated to quit. He wants his hunting career to end in a high profile. In the past two years, the father and son have started their hunting weekend and have high hopes for Walker's last deer. They settled in different parts of the 60-acre woodland between Marion and Chatfield, and the two had been hunting for twenty years.

Both outings unfolded in similar and disappointing ways—at least for Bob. Jeff Walker, a versatile hunter, got the first deer. Then he will hold back, hoping his father can get another one. But as the day showed signs of coming to an end, Walker allowed his son to film when the opportunity appeared. During those two years, Walker removed and folded his stall empty-handed, "We will take our two deer to deal with them."

"I went there for a few years and didn't get one," Bob Walker said. "I really don't want to quit without getting one."

Bob Walker's earliest memory is hunting on his family farm. His father bought him a No. 16 shotgun and a full box of shells for $12, allowing him to start hunting pheasants when he was a teenager. Even before that, as a little boy, he helped his Aunt Mary rinse the squirrels. They developed a technique to defeat them.

"Anyone who has hunted squirrels knows that squirrels climb from where you are to the other side of the tree. You walk around, squirrels walk around," Walker said. "So she will stand still. I will walk around the tree. The squirrel will come over and she will shoot. This is how we work."

Then one Christmas, his father bought him a .410 shotgun, and Walker shot his first 14-year-old deer with this gun.

On November 7, 66 years later, the Pacers decided to try again. They went to the same hunting ground outside Chatfield. At 6:30 in the morning, Old Walker settled in his blinds, and they could start shooting in an hour. Jeff and his father established a distance "on a hill."

The day before, Walker was in the blind all day and saw only a deer: a small six-pointer on the path within 10 yards of his blind. Walker let it pass.

"It's small, small frame. Let him grow up hopefully," he said. "He is not the deer I want to shoot."

Later that day, Walker heard gunfire from his son's direction. His son got a deer. Jeff started tracking it and eventually found the dead deer. After a while, Bob Walker sat on the swivel chair in his blinds and saw movement on his left. The deer ran to Walker. The deer suddenly locked up. Walker was sure that the deer felt something unusual. His barrel came out the window and Walker opened fire.

"I shot her. She turned around and took off," Walker said.

"When I heard the gunshots, I knew it was him," Jeff Walker said. "I kind of prayed that this was a successful filming."

Jeff called his father and asked him if he had any. His father said he did it. Has it fallen, he asked? No, it doesn't. The deer had turned and ran back in the direction it came. Jeff told his father: Just stay where you are. When Jeff walked to Bob's blind spot, Bob pointed to the place where the deer ran.

Jeff walked in that direction, and shortly afterward, Bob heard his son cries of celebration. At the age of 80, Walker got his last deer. When he shot at it, Walker thought it was a doe, but it was actually a button.

"He caught me and gave me a big hug," Bob said of his son's reaction. "He is as happy and excited as I am. I cried out for war."

Walker's last successful hunt took place two days before the 66th anniversary of his first successful deer hunt. It happened in the same wood.

After the two got into the car, Walker took out the 14 slugs left in his pockets and handed them to his son.

"I want you to use them. I don't need them anymore," Walker told his son. "This is the way it is."