The funny thing is that my grandfathers WAS used in a serious way. Back in the 1950's, some bad guys showed up at his house (two of them) intent on robbing the family. It started as a "can we use your phone" situation and they tried to force their way into the house. My grandfather stuck that H&A in the ribs of the first baddie and forced them both onto the grass in the front yard, sitting back-to-back while my grandmother called the sheriff. When the deputy showed up, they complained that my grandfather tried to shoot them. The deputy told them if they didn't shut up, he'd shoot them himself!
Long story short, my grandfather took the H&A out the next day to fire it - he hadn't done so in years - and the first two rounds were duds! The next two fired, and the last shot was a dud. He'd always kept the revolver oiled, and 3 of the 5 rounds had soaked in oil and were inactive. After that, my grandfather made it a habit to fire off rounds every so often just to ensure function. He later replaced that H&A with a S&W Model 10.
As to ammo, you can get 38 S&W ammo, just not necessarily locally - though I never had problems keeping my Enfield fed. But, I'd also not tempt fate by using it as a self-defense revolver. Keeping it as a neat design, yes.
