Few days ago, someone posted about an original Ballard A-1 Mid-Range that had been converted to .22 rimfire.  Just how common are these Ballard conversions using original Mid or Long range actions?  I understand quite a few Ballards and others were made into small bore prone rifles between the wars...but how many .22 conversions have you guys actually seen that used actions engraved mid or long range?  Also, did any of the famous barrel makers such as Pope, Peterson, Hubalek, etc. ever re-line an existing barrel?

westerner wrote on Sep 18^th, 2016 at 2:54pm:


Had Stevens with similar bore--but it wasn't a reline, a Peterson brl. fitted to a CF DST action.  Built as a position rifle, but became my long-range (100 yds) woodchuck rifle, until the coyotes exterminated the  woodchucks.

I have a Peterson Ballard barreled 22 RF with offset bore for CF on a Pacific action.  It was a position gun.  Too many modifications.  Good enuf for offhand 

Looked at a Winchester highwall with a hubleck offset bore in 22 short

I once owned two Hubalek Barrels I acquired from Matt Canjar. One was bored straight, the other off center. Neither had been fitted to actions. I have seen many others, and own a Peterson Ballard Pacific that is bored off center, as I believe most are, as opposed to being threaded off center. I once found a beautiful engraved Ballard built into a position rifle by Peterson at four hundred dollars, but called John Dutcher, as I couldn't afford it. There were many single shot rifles built into varmint rifles, most not fine engraved actions. The fine Ballards were used more often as prone or position rifles because of their breeching system, ideally suited to rimfire 22's. Wnchesters and Stevens 44 1/2s for their strength chambered in varmint rifle cartridges. What was done is done, and we can only wish more had survived unscathed. At least some can be salvaged and built into fine schetzen rifles such as those built by Ron Long, like the Ballard in John Dutchers book. There are numerous fine gunsmiths capable of saving some of those fine old actions if given the chance.

I owe/have owned quite a few Ballards that were re-worked by Eric Johnson, CC Johnson, Arthur Hubalek, HM Pope, and AO Neidener. I also own several that have no makers' markings. One #3 Ballard is particularly curious; it has a pivoting buttstock. It has adjusting screws that allow the buttstock to be raised and lowered. The pivot is located at the rear of the receiver. It also has a sub breechblock with multi-levers in it so there is no sear engagement. You cock the gun, pull back on the trigger and it fires. It's as if there is no trigger pull. It also has a plunger arrangement, so when the lever is pulled down to lower the breechblock, the lever is held at 90 degrees and doesn't flop around. I am told the builder was an amateur gunsmith. The workmanship/craftsmanship is amazing. So, as you can see from mine and the other responses, there are many converted Ballards out there. I have to note that over the last 5-10 years these guns, which were quite common to find at gun shows, have become rather hard to find.

That sounds about right.

My contribution to FrankenBallard lore is the one I most recently acquired: a Ballard Pacific, re-barreled with a 6 1/2 Rigby Ballard barrel, breechblock (numbered to receiver) converted to rimfire, barrel lined to .22LR. I bought it with the intent of re-converting the breech block to centerfire and re-barreling to .32-40, but I made the mistake of shooting the donor only to find its accuracy approaches that of my BSA International.....