Shoot it! I had a 1911 (all original and U.S. Property marked) built in 1915 that a friend of my Dad (and a friend of mine) carried (and used) in France during WWI, as a member of the Wis NG between the World Wars, and again through WWII when he was reactivated. Ken gave the gun to me some time in the late '70s or early '80s, along with his issue holster from WWI, and I shot it a reasonable amount, never any problems. As earlier mentioned, the pre-1924 slides were a bit prone to developing cracks, though mine never did. Sadly, that gun (along with a lot of others) was stolen and never recovered. I recently purchased a 1911 built in 1914 (serial number initially shows early 1913, but it was one of the first runs of 1911s built by the government at Springfield Armory, about 3,000 pieces, as I recall), all original frame and internal parts and original barrel, but with a well-fitted commercial slide (appears to be early 1950's construction). It shoots well, and I have no hesitation in shooting it, though I shoot my modern 1911s more. One recommendation, use ball ammo only, if it is original, the feed ramp and certain other features do not render use of hollow point, or even many semi-wadcutters, reliable. I would also recommend using only standard pressure loads. Enjoy your new gun and speculating on its history!