Collector?
 

I have been obsessed with Parker’s for the past two-plus years. A regular on this forum. Shoot Parkers exclusively—and I shoot the hell out of them. Anxiously awaiting the release of Julia’s Spring 2018 catalog. Feel like a child on Christmas Eve. I am not looking for a specific gun to complete some well-planned collection. Just excited about the possibility of a new toy to take on my next outing, whether it’s sporting clays (do lots of that) or a hunt (I’m a duck hunter, but it’s still farm bird season at my club). Am I a collector? Or just a Parker aficionado?

-Victor

You are a man with good taste, obviously infected with Parkeritis.
Sorry to say there is no cure, I recommend periodic purchases of Parkers
and shells to shoot.

Victor, look forward to seeing some of your Parkers

Victor, what you have described is the textbook start to Parker collecting.
Besides being a passion, if you are a careful buyer, it's a great place to park money for a generation or so.
You sound like me, 30 years ago. Enjoy the ride.

Victor, I am in your boat.....I love [U]shooting! , and I have come to love shooting guns that have a story to tell. I started off collecting, to shoot, american doubles that were straight stocked.....upon discovering Parkers, the almost unimaginable variations, and sheer numbers, AND the intrinsic beauty of the Parker guns have definitely made me, make Parker guns my sub specialty!!, and really the only gun I have been interested in “collecting”, just due to the vast diversity among the quarter of a million Parkers (original) made.....there are no 8 gauge foxes, no 28 bore elsies or foxes, etc.....they are just THE most interesting American double to me.....I do not consider myself a collecter in the traditional sense, but a acquirer of interesting shotguns to shoot, and become a participant in the legacy in a tool (shotguns) history...and my pleasure is not in having, it is in using.

Here’s a teaser:

10 - 10 - 12 - 12 - 12 - 28

-Victor

Think I've only got 13 Parkers , but I've also got a bunch of other stuff . I don't really consider myself a collector but rather an ACCUMULATER :rolleyes:

And yes I shoot many other brands of SxS as well as a couple brands of O/U's :whistle:

I have a little of everything, more of some than the other. Although I have the look and feel of an accumulator, I do research on every gun that presents that possibility, so maybe I'm a bit of a collector also.

That's a nice start. 2 years in? Yeah, pretty good, for sure!
My modest collection started just like yours. I would buy, already knowing what kind of target, or hunt it would be used for.
When you find yourself buying guns based on variations, such as different bbl steels, Damascus/Twist patterns, engraving styles, grades, etc, then you know for sure you are a collector.
If you find yourself buying a gun based on it having a Fishtail Top Lever, Katie bar the door!