Not too long ago, I picked up an '03A3 drill rifle. You definitely can do a lot of shooting with a gun without damaging it. By the way, even with all that shooting, my '03A3 would still be considered as virtually mint. At least four of those barrels have been used on my original '03A3, which I still have. Over the years I've used many of those parts. Consequently, I sent off an order for about $15, which included five or six extra barrels since they were being sold for only 75 cents each! Milled trigger guards were about 35 cents each, and I ordered several of them as well. Fortunately, DCM also offered parts at very reasonable prices. The more I used the rifle and was exposed to other gun people, the more I became aware of the importance of having spare parts. I learned to shoot with it, and to make that possible, I also learned to handload and cast bullets. It was the first "new" gun I'd ever owned. Months later an unissued, mint 1903A3 rifle arrived at my home. It didn't take me long to convince my dad that we needed one, and since I was gainfully employed at the local grocery, I would pay for it. The Rifleman ran a notice of the sale by the Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) of unserviceable 1903A3 rifles for the princely sum of about $7.50 plus $10 shipping.
I'd been reading gun magazines like Shooting Times and American Rifleman. My friends gently - sometimes not so gently - rag me about taking so long with my work, but even they might be a bit shocked by that. In one sense, it took me 51 years or so to complete this project.
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