I have purchased a Ballard rifle from an online dealer and hope to have it in hand late next week. The seller was not sure of the model, but I believe it to be a #2 sporting model. The rifle is set up for .32 rimfire, but my very limited understanding of these rifles leads me to believe that it is possible to reverse the firing pin in order to shoot centerfire cartridges. My questions are how do I tell if the rifle is convertable, and if it is, what version of the many .32 cartridges should I expect it to chamber? The photos of the breechblock show the firing pin housed in a square bushing with a retaining screw on the side of the hammer.

Shorty, to add to what was already said by singelshotman, the original Ballard iteration of the .32 centerfire cartridge can best be described as a .32 Colt ( NOT the slightly larger Colt NP or S&W) case with a case-diameter .32 bullet, installed via a reduced diameter heel at its base and using external lubrication (grooves with a waxy lube) also as seen currently on .22 rf cases only.  You can run a .32 S&W or .32 H&R Mag reamer in and make the chamber accept the more readily available brass, but then the expensive and hard to find original .32 rimfire cases won't work in it any more.  (And this is a problem because...?)  The firing pin can be made to work with cf by simply removing the retaining cross screw, pulling the firing pin out to the rear of the block, and reversing it before reinstalling the retaining screw.  No further disassembly should be necessary unless, as s-sman suggested, something is broken.

Your bore is quite likely to be less than pristine due to the toxic primer compounds used on those old .32 rf cartridges, so the following may be irrelevant, but the bore diameter of the old .32 rf can frequently run .316" or more, so commonly available .32 pistol diameter bullets (.311-.314") will probably be loose, another reason you might want a custom mould made.  You might look at a hollow base mould at that so the skirt can expand and give a good gas seal.

The final solution, in my mind at least, is to have the barrel relined.  If you want to stay with the .32 pistol class rounds (the heaviest thing I would consider for that #2 action) you can get a proper bore diameter at the same time as a good bore and the chamber of your choice.  Otherwise, a #2 makes a DANDY .22 rimfire rifle...that is what I am doing with mine.  Be sure and go back through the archives on this forum to see other discussions of this and similar projects.  There are a lot of things there I probably left out.

HTH, Froggie

frogster;
             My first Ballard was a 32 Long, 32 Colt will chamber and fire safely but will not shoot worth a hoot,  about three inch at 50 yd. Relining is a good idea--re-barreling might be less expensive. I re-barreled mine in 32/40 Ballard about 10 years ago. and another has been re-lined in 30/30 Wesson. I realize they are considered unsafe but the term "unsafe" is sort of a relative term--unsafe as compared to what. I probably won't do another Ballard because the shooter is limited to low pressure loads.  leadball
PS  the firing pin should be rounded somewhat because the indentation is large and square--if it is orginal

Thanks for all of the feedback! 

I will wait until I have the rifle in hand before making any decisions. The bore was represented as being "very good" but who knows what that really means? If the bore is OK, I will probably leave it as it is, otherwise I will likely have the original barrel relined and chambered for .32 H&R Magnum, simply for the sake of convenience. The idea of making a .22 is also very appealing as I have a peculiar affection for 22s that can only be fulfilled by periodically adding another to the collection. It is a sickness....

Hey Froggie...you called?? RCBS does make a heeled bullet for the .310 Cadet. OD measures .325, heel OD is 315, weight about 120grs. If either you or Shorty wants a couple to try before you buy a mould let me know and I'll mail out a couple.

This place is an incredible resource! I think if I can keep this rifle original, I will. Not that it is especially fine, but because I have several "project" rifles in the works and think it would be nice to have a rifle that doesn't need to be reworked. I have never reloaded anything more than my fork and a few breeches, but I am willing to learn and think it would add another level of enjoyment (aggravation?) to my shooting