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Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire (Read 20127 times)

Reverend Al Oldtimer Offline Posts: 568 Location: Victoria BC Canada Joined: Jun 25^th, 2016	Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Jul 24^th, 2018 at 5:19pm	Print Post
	I've been scratching my single shot rifle itch lately and I just received my latest purchase in today's mail. Couldn't be happier. It's a Ball & Williams mfg Ballard octagon sporting rifle in .44 rimfire / percussion with the dual ignition system. Good condition overall with a good shootable bore. Very light pitting in the grooves, but shouldn't hurt accuracy with my old eyes and open sights. Came supplied with a lathe turned brass adaptor cartridge to use the percussion nipple for ignition and I will likely duplicate it and make some more to use in it. He was also kind enough (?) to include 100 rounds of PPU .303 Savage brass that has been converted into .44 Ballard XL cases ... so now I guess I need to try and find myself a Ballard in .44 Ballard XL! Anyway, here are some photos for your viewing enjoyment ... (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links)

	I may have passed my "Best Before" date, but I haven't quite reached my "Expiry" date yet ...
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powderman Senior Forum Member Offline Posts: 334 Location: British Columbia Joined: Feb 26^th, 2005	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #1 - Jul 24^th, 2018 at 10:58pm	Print Post
	Looks like your setting yourself for some fun. Thanks for posting. Regards, Powderman


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marlinguy Frequent Elocutionist Offline Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater! Posts: 16111 Location: Oregon Joined: Feb 2^nd, 2009	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #2 - Jul 24^th, 2018 at 11:04pm	Print Post
	Looks like a well cared for, solid Ball & Williams!

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Reverend Al Oldtimer Offline Posts: 568 Location: Victoria BC Canada Joined: Jun 25^th, 2016	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #3 - Jul 25^th, 2018 at 12:04am	Print Post
	Yes, I was more than happy when it arrived as it was much nicer than described by the seller. The fact that it's the rimfire / percussion dual ignition makes it practical to shoot a bit using the chamber adaptor and a percussion cap. I'm assuming that the nipple uses one of the larger "top hat" musket caps? It looks way too big to fit a standard No. 11 percussion cap. I will likely make up a few more adaptors similar to the one that was supplied with the rifle.

	I may have passed my "Best Before" date, but I haven't quite reached my "Expiry" date yet ...
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marlinguy Frequent Elocutionist Offline Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater! Posts: 16111 Location: Oregon Joined: Feb 2^nd, 2009	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #4 - Jul 25^th, 2018 at 10:56am	Print Post
	Dixie Gun Works sells those .44 caliber adapters already made up, and fitted for .22 blanks.

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Reverend Al Oldtimer Offline Posts: 568 Location: Victoria BC Canada Joined: Jun 25^th, 2016	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #5 - Jul 25^th, 2018 at 2:55pm	Print Post
	Yes, I've seen those ... so that is an option too. (And it looks like they will ship them to Canada as well, and that can be a big issue with some reloading related components crossing the border these days.) For some reason the large "top hat" musket caps are often very tough to find up here in my neck of the woods, but the .22 rimfire acorn blanks are very common. (I'm sure that I still have some in a drawer somewhere with a single shot .22 blank gun that we used for bird dog training when we had our German Shorhaired Pointer.)

	I may have passed my "Best Before" date, but I haven't quite reached my "Expiry" date yet ...
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Gunfunpow Full Member Offline Posts: 239 Joined: Jun 20^th, 2018	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #6 - Jul 25^th, 2018 at 4:17pm	Print Post
	That's a really nice looking old Ballard. Congratulations on finding it and bringing it back home to shoot. I'm doing the same with my .44 rimfire Rolling Block. I'll be using the Dixie cases and a round ball (not sure of the size yet) over black powder. Have fun with it!


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oneatatime Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3873 Location: Rocky Mountains Joined: Oct 30^th, 2011	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #7 - Jul 25^th, 2018 at 5:25pm	Print Post
	Having never seen one of those apart could someone tell me if the nipple is screwed into the 2 halves? Seems like if it is and since it all lines up with the center of the case that a clever machinist could make a nipple replacement that incorporated a firing pin somehow. Comments?


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Redsetter Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3468 Location: New York Joined: Aug 6^th, 2013	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #8 - Jul 25^th, 2018 at 5:29pm	Print Post
	oneatatime wrote on Jul 25^th, 2018 at 5:25pm: Having never seen one of those apart could someone tell me if the nipple is screwed into the 2 halves? Seems like if it is and since it all lines up with the center of the case that a clever machinist could make a nipple replacement that incorporated a firing pin somehow. Yes--I've seen it done on two of them.


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marlinguy Frequent Elocutionist Offline Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater! Posts: 16111 Location: Oregon Joined: Feb 2^nd, 2009	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #9 - Jul 26^th, 2018 at 2:53pm	Print Post
	Chauncey, the Civil War reenactors do exactly what you mentioned to use old pre-Marlin Ballards in their reenactments. Not sure of the entire process, but whatever they do does permanently change the guns, and isn't just screwed into the old nipple position.

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Reverend Al Oldtimer Offline Posts: 568 Location: Victoria BC Canada Joined: Jun 25^th, 2016	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #10 - Aug 15^th, 2018 at 3:09pm	Print Post
	Well, I just received my Old West brass mould that I'll use to cast a heeled .44 rimfire bullet for this Ballard. The Ballard slugs at .440" groove and the bullets from this mould are .440" on the driving bands and .418" to seat in the case mouth so it should be a good match. I'll make up some more adaptor cartridges so that I have more than one to work with and then I will get this old girl up to the range and shooting again! (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links)

	I may have passed my "Best Before" date, but I haven't quite reached my "Expiry" date yet ...
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Gunfunpow Full Member Offline Posts: 239 Joined: Jun 20^th, 2018	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #11 - Aug 18^th, 2018 at 3:33pm	Print Post
	Thanks a lot for posting your bullet mould info, just what I needed to know for my .44 rf rolling block. I'll be ordering one as well. Now, to find .22 blanks....


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Reverend Al Oldtimer Offline Posts: 568 Location: Victoria BC Canada Joined: Jun 25^th, 2016	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #12 - Aug 18^th, 2018 at 4:01pm	Print Post
	Try any sporting goods store that stocks dog training supplies (for .22 blank pistols) or a sporting goods store that stocks accessories for field sports (.22 blank pistols for starting races). They're usually not too tough to find.

	I may have passed my "Best Before" date, but I haven't quite reached my "Expiry" date yet ...
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GT Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2042 Location: Northeast Wyoming Joined: Jun 28^th, 2015	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #13 - Aug 25^th, 2018 at 8:15pm	Print Post
	Al, I've been considering one one of these for for quite a while, Merwin and Bray - Ball and Williams - pushed the button last week and it came in last night. Mine isn't quite as nice as what you have - needs a little TLC and a couple of pieces made for it the trigger is broke off where it just begins to thin up, nipple is replaced with a plug, and the rear sight is missing but it's a simple project compared to a few of my others. I haven't had a lot of time to check it close but it looks to be around a .440 groove diameter (had to bump up a round ball to slug it ) not as good a reading as I like. Mine is a 5 groove, left hand twist, close to 1:28" with wide lands and narrow grooves, is this close to what yours is? I'll do chamber cast and double check bore diameter before making a mold... Have you shot yours yet, been awaiting a report. Thanks for the nudge... Regards, Greg

	"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk" T. A. Edison "The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right" M.T.
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marlinguy Frequent Elocutionist Offline Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater! Posts: 16111 Location: Oregon Joined: Feb 2^nd, 2009	Re: Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle .44 rimfire Reply #14 - Aug 26^th, 2018 at 10:19am	Print Post
	Greg, Is yours a nickeled receiver, or just old case colors turning nickel looking?

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