...not much of anything. I thought I would add my experience to address all those posters who ask " should I shoot it ?" I bought this USFA Pre-War .45 Colt several years ago. Some of you may be familiar with this model. It is a high quality gun and the finish is outstanding. Lots of care went in to its manufacture.

I chose this gun as an example because it was bought new, unlike my Smith and Wessons, and I know exactly how many rounds and of which type have gone through it. Also the high polish blue and vivid case colors will readily show signs of misuse.

I handload for this gun. 200 grain lead flat nose (350 shots) and 250 grain Hornady HP/XTP (50 shots). Both bullets are pushed by Titegroup.

On several occasions I have carried this revolver deer hunting in the hopes of filling a doe tag with it. So far, no luck on that score. It is carried in an Uncle Mike's nylon holster that has no exposed metal buttons etc. At the range I always lay a wool blanket on the table so an errant screw or nail does not scratch the gun when I put it down.

My cleaning procedure is simple...Hoppe's no. 9 and then a light coat of Hoppe's oil.

Except for a slight turn line and some mild discoloration at the ends of the cylinders (which would probably clean up better if I cared to put in the effort), it still looks almost brand new.

Anyways, here are some pics, and needless to say, it is an absolute blast to shoot.

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That is an absolutely stunning gun - I've heard the quality is better than what Colt is putting out now. Do you agree?

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

I would have to agree. USFA is a small company and they go to painstaking efforts to get everything right. All that I have read from professional gun writers/evaluators say the same thing...very high marks.

I have a pair of the USFA Rodeo II's. These are considerably less expensive than BigMoose's because of the finish, but they're built every bit as well. One of these guns is unfired, the other has about 600 rounds of lead bullets through it. It's as tight as the day it rolled out the factory door with NO endshake and NO play at all when the cylinder locks. I definitely believe USFA is building a better product than Colt is these days.

I am still reading posts of guys asking the "should I shoot it question".

Yes, for Pete's sake, go ahead and shoot it. Unless it is a rare investment quality gun, you can't do much harm if you take a little care.

I am now over 1000 rounds (and I swear it is pure coincidence that my posts are now also) and the Ol' USFA .45 stills looks the same as the photos I posted originally.

Get out there and have some fun.