one question unresolved, for me

did he kill the kid, with his gunshot, or did the horse kick him dead?

if he lied about the horse doing it, then obviously the gunshot did it...

now,
i lean towards the bullet killing him, since he committed suicide,
and he went to great lengths to cover his ass, but...

and, then again
it's fiction, so Robert Duvall could have left it a little uncertain

marc