The Prodigal Gun

I live in a blue state. But we still have gun shows, knife shows, outdoorsman shows, etc.

This is a story related to that.

When my wife and I got married, I had four guns.

• Remington pump shotgun (12 gauge).
• Springfield 1903 30-06, sporterized.
• Ruger Mark II ,22
• Marlin .22 pump

About seven years in, we fell on hard times, and sold a lot of what we felt were luxuries. 2^nd Car, Stamp collection, class rings from high school, and finally the guns.

Things got better, gradually. I started recollecting similar guns. I got the Ruger Mark II first, then went with a Ruger 10/22 instead of the Marlin pump.

Eventually I had some more guns, a Remington 870, Remington Hi-Power, etc. But never found the 1903 replacement.

So a few years back, I’m attending a gun show and see a 1903 in pretty good condition, with a nice scope on it, and at a reasonable price. I looked at it, and decided I was over it. And we went on home.

Told my DW about it, and she said, “Get back in the car, you idiot.”

And we drove back.

The 1903 was still there, and I agreed to purchase it. We have BG checks at shows in our state. I don't mind. It would take a while, as the BG check was backed up, and the vendor had to keep redialing.  He didn’t realize he had a redial on his phone. I showed him that, and he was so grateful he gave me a free soft case for the gun.

While he was dialing, and dialing, and dialing, I took a closer look. There was a small chunk out of the recoil pad. While dialing, the vendor said, “It wouldn’t take much to replace the recoil pad.”

I let him know that my 1903 had a very similar chunk missing, but that I had iron sights. He said he had added the scope when he took it in trade a few months back.

It was the same gun. Serial numbers matched The prodigal gun returned, 25 years later. I have lovingly fed it a diet of nice brass since.

Best regards, and keep the four rules,

DaveJ