[spacecoast]

I was a part of that survey on The Firing Line, and answered #2... "it depends". I have a > $2000 Colt Single Action Army in .44-40 (100 years old) that shoots great and which I am unafraid to shoot a limited amount. Same with a 115 year old Colt Bisley. I also have a fairly valuable Remington New Model Army from the Civil War that is now over 150 years old and also shoots great. It's highly uncommon for the large parts of such guns to break under normal use due to their simple and robust design, and they do not have many small parts, numbered or otherwise, like a Luger. That said, I wouldn't want to damage any of them in any way and therefore use an appropriate amount of care.

Another factor to my advantage with nearly all my firearms is that I load my own ammo for them and so I know and control exactly what I use to feed them, and act accordingly. Those that are capable and still in their prime get anything and everything up to eye-watering .44 magnum loads that would make Clint Eastwood blush. But I give the old guns a break and don't shoot the "collectible" Lugers (and certain Colts for that matter) that might break in normal use and would be difficult if not impossible to replace.