Quote Originally Posted by loiner1965 View Post
just had a reread from another forum about the 11mm french revolver, it says the cylinder was very strong but the weakest part was the top strap which could take mild .45acp loads of around 800 bar.
like everything else you will get numpties using excessive smokeless powder in these old bp revolvers which they do in the usa now.
i was interested in the strength of the modern made uberti 1858.....i know the uberti says bp only for safety and to stop people using smokeless in them etc bu anyone know how strong they are ?
Hi,

The Anvil conversion uses a standard Uberti Remington 1858 NMA frame, but the cylinder assembly is replaced with a completely new one having a fixed rear plate holding the firing pin and a revolving forward portion with the chambers rebated at the back thus lending greater strength to this part of the cylinder. The rebated portion of the chambers have been machined to dimensions that also provide visual confirmation that when full the recommended powder charge has not been exceeded. The complete gun is obviously subject to nitro proofing ensuring its safety when used with the recommended maximum load. The maximum recommended smokeless charge is very small and I would liken the felt recoil and report as being similar to that from a .38psl revolver with a target load.

Provided the maximum load of smokeless powder is not exceeded and soft lead balls are used rather that conical bullets the gun can be considered as safe for continual use without concern. I'm sure we are all fully aware that even small increases in these light smokeless charges can result in dangerous pressures, so extra care is needed when dispensing nitro powder.

Some research by the maker suggests that with these light loads using soft lead balls is preferable in terms of accuracy compared with the use of conical bullets.

Any attempt to use smokeless powder in a standard black powder revolver or exceeding the recommended loads in a nitro conversion would not only be extremely dangerous, but also subject to the law of diminishing returns making the whole thing utterly pointless

Brian