Parker County Today December 2016 | Page 66

our antiquities: PC’s EXTRAORDINARY FIREARMS The Riflemen — Extraordinary Firearms & the Men Who Love Them BY MISTY BROWNING, MARSHA BROWN AND MELISSA MOORMAN DECEMBER 2016 PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY T 64 A Caliber Above — Parker County people tend to take great pride in their history and their guns. These collectors honor both. he world is full of collectors. People collect stamps, baseball cards, matchsticks and vintage cars, but there is something about historic and rare firearms that has a special significance to Parker County’s past as well as an undeniable link to the foundation of our nation. It tends to draw people to great lengths to collect. What is it about historic firearms that catch the imagination of Parker Countians, inspiring them to go to great lengths to find and procure them?  Rare gun collector Mark Worthington summed it up best: “They appeal to me because they [vintage firearms] have a whole lot to do with our country’s heritage,” he said. “They have so much history behind them. Back in the day, everyone carried one — they had to in order to survive.” PCT talked with some of the county’s most savvy firearm collectors about their favorite pieces from the finest collections in Parker County.