doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com J. Haugh Ballard Rook Rifle

I have not checked yet. I am not concerned with shooting my reloads in .25-20 SS in my Low Wall, nor this Ballard.

Fwiw, a friend broke a cast Ballard in half using mild .25-20 SS loads for schuetzen. I ended up buying the rifle from him after he rebuilt it with a new, modern receiver.

The low wall would not concern me at all.

I understand. But also this gun is tight, no cracks and looks forged to me. I'll check the inside later. Most of the people in the ASSRA say low pressure loads are fine, since I was a member back in the 1990s...what 35 years ago. But I saw that one that Garbe reported on. What were the loads? I may shoot black powder, but those generate more pressure. I know about the "spike".

If I knew the loads, I have forgotten them. It was 30ish yrs ago that I bought the gun. The gun, as I bought it was a .22, and it still is, living now in Kansas.

That low wall is the ideal action for a .25-20 SS, which is one great cartridge. I had one in a highwall (not so great a choice).

That is a pretty rifle. Good luck with it.

Full disclosure: I removed the block, it's hollow under the barrel shank, so it's cast steel. I will likely just shoot black powder through this one. But that means all my jacketed 75 grain bullets, as well as several boxes of factory Jamison rounds, can't be used. I do have a mould for a 85 grain bullet.
What makes me lean to BP is this gun (and all Ballards) was made before the Smokeless era. In Colt Single Action revolvers (which I also collect) everyone makes a big deal about not shooting smokeless until the guns were verified/proof for it, around 1905. So I shoot BP in several of my older ones. Then there are the damascus barrel shotguns - everyone says shoot BP. I'm well versed in reloading BP, and have pleanty.

What makes me lean to Smokeless or this gun is many experts shoot light smokeless loads in these Ballards, even cast ones. The gunsmith was pretty famous, lifetime achievement award through the Contemporary Long Rifle Association, made the Bicentennial long rifles from scratch, made many Africa guns, etc. He surely knows about a cast action for the .25-20 SS round, yet used one. Also, I wonder what the pressure (not velocity) of a .22 LR really is? Or any of the old rounds Ballard used in these with black powder? Finally, I've seen pressure curves before that show BP is a HIGHER pressure, but a more gentle spike. I'm on the fence.

The action that you're referring to that blew up might likely have blown up even if it was forged. The owner used 5744 and put a wad down against the powder to hold the powder back against the primer. At the least that will cause a bulged chamber, and if the load was a little heavier, or accidental over charged, then that's the result. Don't blame the gun for poor loading practices.

Smokeless powder is almost all I've used in over 3 dozen Ballard rifles I own. The only BP loads I shoot are when matches require me to shoot BP to compete. My loads are all under 20,000 psi and safe for old actions of any kind. I don't push my Ballard or other single shot loads, and I stick with cast bullets for all my shooting, whether the barrels are original, or rebarreled rifles. Just my personal choice.