marlinguy
Frequent Elocutionist
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Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater!
Posts: 16039
Location: Oregon
Joined: Feb 2 nd, 2009
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Re: So, What is the failure mechanism for a Ballard?
Reply #8 - Jan 8th, 2016 at 8:51pm
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Every failure I've heard of was linked to some error by the owner in loading ammo. And every one was chambered in a caliber the #2 shouldn't have been chambered in. They were also shooting reloads, and questions arise if the loads might have been double charged. I have a #2 in .32-40 that is stamped .32 Long on the barrel. The previous owner said it was a .32-40 when he got it, and that was in the 1960's. I bought it much later, and it had seen many decades of shooting, and always breechseated ammo. I've only breechseated and fired it a small amount, so can't say much yet. But it's still very tight, and has good headspacing, and a great bore. Oddly, the .32 Long bore slugs to .317", and a 1:15" twist. Odd for a Ballard that was .32 Long. Over nearly 40 years of collecting and shooting Ballard rifles, the only crack I've seen was actually on a forged frame, and it was in the inside corner of the action, where it transitions to vertical, where the barrel threads in. No idea how that happened, as the owner didn't even notice it until I pointed it out. The gun was a .45-70, and had a fairly new barrel, so it could have been heavy loads, or maybe even damage when the barrel was installed. He stopped shooting it, and found another receiver to put everything into.
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