This may be a long post, just remember, Kevin, you asked about a .31!
My great-great grandfather had an 1848 Colt pocket model in .31 caliber he carried in the Civil War. The barrel and frame have different serial numbers, no idea how that came about, but after he died it was passed on to his son. My great-grandfather had two sons and by the time my grandpa and great-uncle were boys, that old colt was just " Grandpa's old pistol" and was given to them to play with. They lost track of it and about 1940 or so, my uncle dug it up out of the chicken yard on the original home place. It was pretty much a lump of rust as you could imagine, but he showed it to grandpa and my great uncle Frank who told him the story. Uncle Frank decided he had been the one who left it laying outside and it got covered up somehow. My uncle who dug it up had it for years and would work on it from time to time, cleaning it up. Around 1975 or so, he gave it to me and I worked on it too. It has all new screws and springs and I made one piece walnut grips for it. I didn't try to replace the nipples because I know me and I would have to shoot it if it had good nipples on it! The bore and chambers are pitted but the overall condition of the gun is quite good, given it's history. It functions normally, the cylinder lines up and locks and everything. I bought an original .31 two cavity bullet mould at a farm sale, one cavity a round ball and the other one conical. In 1994, I gave the old Colt with the mould to my son, who has it now. The thing has zero value, economically, but it's priceless to me.
So, I really don't have any shooting experience with a .31 revolver but I sure have spent some time with one.
Steve