Newby Arty questions

[wterrell]

OMCHamlin,
I assume that you ask if you should 'continue' to shoot the pistol because you consider it a collector pistol. If the trigger plate is missing, it is not a collector piece. If you replace the trigger plate with a plate of the correct number, it is a boosted pistol, not a collector piece. Shoot it to your heart's content. Do not bother with replacement grips or springs or the like. It is a shooter.
It is rather odd to find a nice piece with the barrel shot out. The rest of the pistol should match the barrel after you put a few thousand rounds through it.
There are quite a few men who think that they can shoot a pistol to their heart's content and not depreciate the value of the gun. Each shot takes its toll and cannot be hidden. A mechanism will only operate a finite amount of times.