It has been a good year for buying too.

You know the old saying: He who dies with the most toys wins. Your dad was right up there :bowdown:!

I am sick too. My symptoms seem to improve somewhat in the summer months when I can fly fish and do other outdoor activities. But once summer starts winding down I start feeling the symptoms come around and feel it all winter long.

I am hooked on the drug. I enjoy the hunt, the satisfaction of finding a great gun, the personal relationships developed with like mined folks, the craftsmanship of a bygone era and satisfaction of preserving historical items. It's a healthy disease as long as you don't cross the line and become a hoarder and negatively affect family and friends. I try to focus my collecting on vintage waterfowl guns and vintage decoys, I have been known stray occasionally----that small just talked to me!!

Embrace your passion! We get too little time.

I am lucky my Parker addiction can be feed with just a small gain in knowledge. Many days this forum provides that education and cools the fire to acquire. I do very much enjoy seeing a wonderful example of any grade Parker.

It's inherited
 

I'm pretty sure I caught it from my dad. Some of my fondest memories are hunting and shooting with my dad. That is why I hunt with his superposed, wear his hat, and take my sons like he did. It makes me feel like I am passing down what his father passed to him. It also seems like I am hunting with him when I have his hat or gun. I will do my part so my sons carry it on as I will pass my guns to them. The three of them are among my favorite hunting partners and all started with a SXS . I guess the curse has been one of my blessings as well.

I'm the only one afflicted in my family. I hope I passed it to my daughter. At the moment it manifests itself with C grades.

dads guns
 

Shawn I think you are blessed to have such an avid gun daddy. Mine gave me all the time he had and included me on all the hunts he could which I have passed down to my son , grandson, and now daughter. My dad made his selection simple and I still have it. Browning Sweet Sixteen plain barrel. Mom and I bought for him when some dirt blew the end of his Remington humpback auto in a duck blind . A whopping $265 at Oshman sporting goods in Houston Tx. Bagged a turkey few years ago with it and cried afterward as I could still see his face as I do everyday. Cherish all of this, pet your fine dogs and enjoy your own heritage of guns. Hope we can hunt upland birds someday together. Best David

Dad and mom left a total of 4 guns, Iver Johnson 12, 10 gauge single shot, two 22 rifles a Remington single shot and a Winchester single shot both bolt actions, Mom loved to shoot the 22's. They will be passed down to my kids along with some of my Parkers, seems like only yesterday Dad would drop me off at a neighbors farm to hunt Rabbits with my JC Higgins bolt action shotgun, time waits for no man buy what you can and enjoy them while you can! Gary

I have always had the disease, but fortunately, I suppose, inadequate funds to feed it, so have been only moderately afflicted compared to many.