I have been lusting after a Ballard #2 .38 with convertable rimfire/ center hammer.  I have seen reference to using .38 Long Colt for use with the center fire ignition configuration.   Is this the correct cartridge for Ballards marked .38?  Is accuracy acceptable?  THOP

We've got a guy here in Central VA who uses that very combination Vall mentions with a case full of black powder to shoot a reduced BPCR course they set up.  It does surprisingly well!   

froggie

Marlinguy, to take my question further, is there any reason I could not safely shoot .38 Special smokeless loads, standard pistol loadings with lead bullet, in the #2?  I've got lots of .38 Special cases. and I would think the Ballard would be at least as strong as the Charter Arms five shot revolver that I shoot them in.

THOP

Thanks for the cautionary advice Froggie.  I will certainly keep that in mind when I start shooting it.

THOP

Anyone who tells you the actions are all the same doesn't know much about Ballards. 
The cast actions are weaker for two reasons. The first being they are cast, but the big reason is the receivers are hollow underneath the chamber area. 
That hollow space really allows a lot of give when pushed to higher pressures, so no #2 or #3 with a cast action should be rechambered to anything stronger than the original .38 Long, .32 Long, or .22RF. 
Yes, the #2 was chambered for .44-40, and many people point this out when they want to rebarrel one, but there was a reason Marlin dropped that caliber from the #2. I've got one in .44-40, and it's still intact, but I would never shoot it with ANY factory loads.
Don't use .38 Special ammo for two reasons. It's too hot, and it's .357" diameter bullet, where the .38 Long is a .370" bullet. You wont hit anything, and you may blow up your gun, not to mention lead up the bore in the meantime.-Vall

I am going to beat a dead horse here. I shoot at the North SOuth SKirmish Association. One of the competitions allows for original military ballards if converted to centerfire with a retracting firing pin. These guys have been for years shooting a 45 colt, or a 44 with black powder only. every once in a while an action cracks!!!!! Luckly, one hasn't ever come apart wholesale but I suspect it is only because they only use black. Now, these are pre-marlin ballards, but they are very similar in construction and are cast actions.
I have a few old ballards of various makes, and believe me, I want to barrel them in calibers I feel would be safe as long as I own the gun, one of them being .38 long. But I fear the NEXT guy who buys the gun and doesn't know about the limitations. I badly want to make my Brown Ballard a 25-20SS, but don't think I should, If someone someday put a load of unique or 4227 in it would it blow, I don't know, but don't really want to find out.
I think a .38 long ballard is about as neat of a gun as I could want for woods loafing in the Virginia mountains where I live. It would just as fun on the plains of Kansas where I used to live.
If you don't have John Dutchers book on ballards think about picking it up. I think it just came out in a second printing. It will tell you all about the cast actions and the forged ones, and a heck of a lot of other good stuff. If you read it you will be pretty sure you need another ballard, or three!
Merwin

I went through this several months back with a very tired #2 in .38 Long. I would definately check the length of your chamber, mine was a bit longer than others I'd heard of. 1.1" sticks in my mind but please don't go by that, sometimes I forget what my better half said before I even clear the door...  The bore on mine is worn and the chamber is not as nice as I'd like to see. A good cleaning and a light lapping helped.  I looked into molds (NEI has a heeled style) Marlinguy suggested a hollow base wadcutter, along with the hollow base warning. I didn't want to put alot of money in a custom mold unless I was pretty sure the barrel would shoot. I like to cobble up my own stuff so I modified an unused LEE single cavity mold. It started as a .38 SWC mold. I chucked and indicated it in a 4 jaw chuck in my lathe and ground a nose form lathe bit to give me a flat nose style. I left the 2 rear bands at .360 and opened the nose to .376 along with a small grease groove. The lube grooves were left on the heel in case I needed them. Don't laugh guys but I tumble lube them in Johnson's Paste Wax and it does very well with my mild loads. I often shoot 50-75 at a sitting. 2 patches wet with Kroil and a couple dry ones are all it takes to clean and the bore is taking on a shine to boot.. Often as not the first shot from a clean barrel is right in the group, real important for my needs. The Johnson's dries hard in a couple days and won't pick up lint, dirt or whatever might be in my jacket pocket when I take her for a walk. I shot it in Jan and Feb but only on paper out to 50 yds. Shooting from sitting position with my back up against a cold silo (and my butt on colder ground) was more of a test of me rather than the load but I think I found the mildest loads that were accurate to 50 yds. The pics below(if they show up) were at about 30 yds.  Unfortunately, at 100yds they won't stay on a 5 gal bucket! Load development consisted of Bullseye and Unique, with data found for .38 S&W and .38 Spl kept in mind for some guidance. I did not want to excede the mildest .38 Spl loadings with a similiar weight bullet. My case capacity with the heeled bullet seated excedes a .38 Spl. with a wadcutter seated. Marlinguy (thank you!) put me onto (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) for an inexpensive copy of the Ballard tang sight. That with a Lyman 17A on the front should help. What were they thinking when they came up with buckhorn sights? I just can't use them very well. Now that the weather is warming up I opened my range but have not yet had time to use it. Spring is coming fast, maybe when corn is in and alfalfa is off I'll get some time to work with this rifle some more. Until then I'll just take her for a walk with the loads I have.  I guess I shouldn't admit it but I really kind of wanted this barrel to fall on it's face so I could have a excuse to rebarrel it to .25-20SS or .32S&W Long.  Finding a Savage 23B in .25-20 last Saturday has helped cure the itch a little. It looks right at home between the .22 and the .32-20 in the rack. As usual, the Lyman mold is on backorder everywhere.
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I suppose it's possible but there is no indication of the chamber having been altered from the cerosafe cast or from a look at the chamber thru a borescope. Again, the case length is from memory. I did not have to trim much from a .38 Spl. case. The heel is a slip fit in the fired case and the length was set that the bullet is seated slightly when the breechblock is closed. It's fine for plinking and I've had a good time with it.