My very first centerfire rifle was a Springfield 1903A3, caliber .30-06, manufactured by Remington in August of 1944. I bought this rifle at The Grant Boys in Puente Hills Mall, Southern California, when I was a senior in high school in 1976. I was there after school with some friends, saw it, ran home and got my money, and came right back and bought it. I paid $55 for it. I paid my money, they put it into a long plastic bag with the receipt taped to it, and I carried it right through the shopping mall, out into the parking lot to my car and drove home.

Can you imagine a young man walking through a shopping mall today in Southern California carrying a rifle, even one poorly concealed in a long skinny bag? I'm sure he would draw fire![:@]

I did carry this on a few hunting trips, never saw any critters, and it now is a treasured collector item. My dad had a similar 1903 Springfield in WWII, and I will always treasure this rifle because of that.