He hasn’t worked in decades, does he hunt and fish?
Where does the ammo come from?
I just have questions, no answers.
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Perhaps he collects disability.
He is on welfare.
He may have inherited money when he was younger, since he was just 54 when he moved to the woods.
The story also said he had worked as a woodman. Some people are able to do manual work into fairly old age. Maybe there is a sawmill nearby.