There ya go agin', pickin' fly sh*t outta pepper .... ;>)
I thought it was obvious that I was making reference to rechambering an older model '73 repro NOT so chambered from the factory.
In his book on "Gunsmithing The Guns of the Old West", David Chicoine devotes a chapter to the toggle link rifles - '66, '73, '76.
He states:
"Unlike the over-built Maxim machine gun, the toggle link actions used in our lever action rifles are minimalist; their components not occupying any more space than is absolutely necessary for dependable operation, and they have never been considered to be very strong."
Note the choice of words .... he did NOT say that they are NOT very strong. It all depends on the fit and the amount of useage.
He says later in the chapter that the Winchester-type toggle link actions get their strength from the fit of toggles in the frame motrises, not the material of the frames; iron or gun metal bronze.
"While the toggles were made of hardened steel, the mortices in the frame will wear, especially when the gun gas been fed a diet of higher pressure than normal smokeless ammunition. Once that happens, those pins have become the load-bearing axles for the toggles and by this point the head space will have begun to increase, sure signs that the toggles are no longer a precision fit in those frame mortices."
In order to avoid law suits, Uberti must have re-engineered their rifles to a high standard of fit to withstand the pressure of the .44 mag cartridge. Presumably the frames are made of proper steel, not iron like the originals. We await the decision of the jury of public opinion.