Ted;
You are 100% correct on the "MonoBlock", I've been Shouting that for years. The process was first patented by Henri Pieper. He simply called it a steel breech piece. I am not absolutely certain but think perhaps Beretta may have coined the term monoblock.
Topgun
Buck may well have done some heavy loading on more than one gun, but I distinctly recall a write up on it in the Lefever collectors newsletter several years ago in which he used an L C Smith. The only part I was uncertain about was as to whether it was hammer or hammerless. In spite of all the hoopla published by Mr Brown on his rotary bolt that matter of opening upon firing is a problem which has plagued quite a few guns so equipped over the years. In this case it only came into play when the loads far exceeded normal, but some rotary bolted guns have had problems with normal loads.
