Hi Victor,
Thanks for the question-
I would say that I certainly admire them, but I also use them as a springboard for research. My favorite historical era is the Industrial Revolution- more so the second. When I start to research and learn about Parkers, I get sent on so many tangents that it's like a lifetime of learning that spans the globe. Then there are all the players involved. I find out about one person and then learn of their connection to so many other people and places and gun companies. I love the artistic aspects and the mastery of the crafts involved in developing, creating, and putting a personality to the different parts of the Parker guns. I also love to show, talk about, and teach about my guns and try to share the appreciation I have for them with others. That's the teacher in me that seizes on such moments
I am not proficient at shooting clays or anything else outside of a range to be honest (and I prefer an indoor one at that). I love to shoot my Kimbers, but I'd even hesitate to say I'm great with a 9mm. Decent enough I guess and hoping to get good enough for bragging rights. As for my Parkers, I know many of you love shooting them and I'm sure it's amazing to have that connection to the past in the most fundamental way; I tend to have an unhealthy reverence for them and am still looking for a display case worthy to keep them in. (Although they spend more time out of the cases than in anyway)
Kerilynn