Dimwit - the last mountainman. Shoots a 44 rimfire 1860s Ballard dual ignition rifle.

Dimwit has made reloadable 44 rimfire ammo for his Ballard single shot rifle. The rifle is made by Merrimack Arms & Manufacturing Company in about 1868. Dimwit pretty much earns his name when trying the optional percussion method of firing the rifle. There is also a part 2 follow up video! He may be stupid, but he's not a quitter...

[@philipdepalma4672]

Back when that gun was made self contained cartridges were a new thing and most manufacturers designed their guns around their own cartridge. This made the ability to reload a cartridge and fire it with a cap was important as you couldn’t count on any given store having the cartridge your gun needed in stock. Today guns are designed to use existing cartridges but it wasn’t that way back then. I have a reprint of the 1889 Sears catalogue and they advertise a wide array of unique cartridges available for sale.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Hello! I totally agree. Sure makes things interesting for us collectors, all these years later.

[@johnndavis7647]

Dixie Gun Works used to sell a 44 caliber reloadable brass rim-fire case. The rim of the case was machined to take a 22 blank that set off the main charge. A machinists friend built one for his rifle When Marlin bought the Ballard Company he designed a hammer with a switch that could go from rim-fire to center-fire. Fine rifles as long as you stick with black powder pressures.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Fine rifles indeed! I think Dixie has offered these reloadable "rim" cases since 1986? Too bad they refuse to ship overseas! Several other companies also offer them, including one in France. I have them in 32 and 38 and 41 caliber, and have used them in my videos. I will make more videos with them. Stay tuned!

[@rossjones5848]

Ross Jones Hi John , I was happy to see you show what happens when shooting a Ballard without a cartridge . I have to admit I did the same thing about 45 years ago . I cant remember wearing safety glasses , but I flinch and blink a lot and that probably saved my eyes . I clearly remember picking black powder particles out of my forehead , and it burned like heck . I sold that Ballard , but have bought more since then and will being trying them out someday soon . Your video is very enlightening and will probably save somebody from being a blind dimwit . Thanks for all your other interesting videos . Ross

[@johnndavis7647]

Thank you for trying that so I don't have too. That reminds me that I've been meaning to buy a full face shield for grinding and such. And for testing guns.

[@juanmanuelmarchioli]

I think the cap and ball way is only for when you run out of ammo. In any case in the old days have a diferent idea about safety. Great rifle by the way!

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

I agree. Check out my other videos as well. Got several rare antique guns, with cool mechanisms. Got more videos planned.

[@mikerogers582]

That was very interesting, thank you!

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Thank You! Glad you liked it. I also have several other videos with early single shot rifles. Mostly big bore rimfire guns, and I reload my own ammo for them.

[@brankod495]

Nice to see someone else bringing back to life a Ballard Rifle. I have two of them made by R.Ball so the company that operated just before Merrimack bought them out. Both of mine are marked No.44 but the chambers are cut for two different cases. One case is .445" at the base and is straight while the other is .457" at the base and is slightly tapered. Both chamber take a case that is about 1.1" long. The bore of each is different as well. One is .430" while the other one is .442". As to shooting the gun with loose powder I suspect what people did is when they fired the rimfire case they drilled out a hole in the center of the base and used the gun as a capping breachloder. Seems like you figured out a way to reload your gun nicely, good luck.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Thankyou, Sir! Sounds like you have a couple of interesting Ballard rifles. Good luck making ammo for them, they are fun to shoot. Also check out my video with a 44 drop breech rifle, using ammo made from 303 Savage brass. Your widest bore is for heel base bullets. The narrow bore is for regular bullets. The book "Cartridges of the world" has dimensions of almost every cartridge. Very useful!

[@brankod495]

@@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman I had worked on getting my guns shooting as well. One of them had a fairly pittted block so i had my gunsmith do a centerfire conversion and I now use a .44 Rem Mag case to make the new centerfire Ballard case and for the other gun I ordered reloadable .44 rimfire cases sort of like the ones you used for the .41 rimfire.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

@@brankod495 Sound good! There will be more big bore rimfire videos from me. Feel free to subscribe!

[@brankod495]

@@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman The cartridge your Ballard is chambered for is now the third variant of the .44 Ballard Rimfire I have found. I am trying to catalogue all the various .44 Ballard Rimfire cases I run into. Could you give me the dimension of the round that you make for your gun? You mentioned you use the .44-40 case. Do you have to change the dimension at the base at all or do you leave it at .470"? Do you trim down the length at all? Do you run the case into a different die to reshape it? What about the dimension at the case mouth? Do you use a heeled bullet? What is the bore dimension of you gun? I will definitely keep an eye out for more of your videos.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

@@brankod495 I have sold the Ballard. I used 44-40 cases. Did not change them, other than converting them to rimfire. They fit perfectly in the chamber. I used heelbase bullets, due to large bore dimension. Can not remember what the bore dimensions were, but the heelbase bullets fit perfectly. I did not even use a reloading press, and dies, when I loaded these. Good luck with your research!

[@johnndavis7647]

I have one in 38 long that I bought a Eras Gone Colt bullet mold for. I hope to cast some bullets and shoot it soon Congrats on your fine gun. Thanks for all you do. John Davis Jax Fl

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Thankyou, glad you enjoy my videos. More videos planned for this winter. Good luck with your 38 Long. Sounds like a sweet gun.

[@vidostuff]

In the old days they would save their spent cases which were copper and they would punch a hole in the middle of the case reload the hull and shoot it with a percussion cap

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Yes, you're absolutely right. I never had much faith in the muzzle loader way of shooting these guns. Undocumented rumors. After all, there is no ramrod. Another wiever commented that there was actually a tool that could be supplied with the gun, for punching igniton holes in spent casings.

[@steveblancard5566]

Dimwit - Great video, thanks for sharing. I just purchased a Ball & Williams Ballard sporting rifle, supposedly in .46 long rimfire long. It will arrive next week. From what I've read the .44. and .46 rimfires are very similar. The .46 having just a slightly larger bore/groove size. While waiting for it to arrive, I made up 5 reloadable rimfire cases similar to yours from .44 mag brass. I soldered brass pugs into the CF pocket, then faced them in the lathe, then machined the offset .22 blank pocket. I'd post a photo, but I don't see how to do it here. I also modified bullets and turned heels in the lathe. Its a start. Once I get the rifle and know the true dimensions, I'll probably order a custom mold from Accurate Molds.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Thankyou, Steve! Good luck with your Ballard. Make sure you also see the Ballard videos of my friend: Dr. Durell Shephard. I am sure you will enjoy them also.

[@steveblancard5566]

@@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman Thanks I'll look. BTW, I too have a KZbin channel with some interesting antique gun videos.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

@@steveblancard5566 Great! I will have a look.

[@jeffe.9904]

Sir, I really enjoy your videos and just became a subscriber! I belong to a "Black Powder" club and shoot trapdoors, rolling blocks, & sharps rifles. Thanks for all of your interesting videos. Maybe, you can shoot at paper targets so that we can see the accuracy of those old guns, I believe that would make your videos even MORE interesting to the viewer. Thanks again.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Thankyou, Jeff! Glad to have you on board. Due to a skelleton and conecting tissue illnes, I am no longer an accurate shooter. I do not do these guns justice, when it comes to accuracy. So I focus on showing the guns, and how they work. But I do have a lot of videos planned, that I hope you will find interesting. Still have lots of interesting guns to show. I am learning as I go, and constantly trying to improve, but progress doesn't allways come easy for a man named Dimwit...

[@jeffe.9904]

@@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman 😂, Thanks John. I suspect that your name "Dimwit" is only a play on words. Obviously, your knowledge is high and your collection is admirable. Thanks for what you do.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

@@jeffe.9904 Thankyou, for the kind words. Watch my latest video, where I really struggled, and managed to double load the sporterized P53 Enfield. Maybe you will change your mind. Not my proudest moment...

[@ralphwesterbeck5286]

I have recently acquired the same rifle but it did not come with the nipple. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to give me the specs of the nipple. I know the threads are much finer than a normal nipple. My idea is to fire it like a Maynard carbine through a small hole in the back of the cartridge. I would simply make the nipple slightly longer to overcome the issue with the hammer hitting the rim before the cap.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

I'm sorry, Ralph! I have sold this rifle, so I cant be much of help. You need to identify the thread dimensions. Track of the Wolf has a good selection of nipples. You should be able to fit at least one of them. Sounds like you have a good plan. Good luck!

[@markzimmerman7279]

I don't know why someone doesn't make a repro of a Ballard in a common caliber round.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Yes, I totally agree!

[@OrdenJust]

I not sure I understand why, when you drop the ball in, the ball does not roll down the barrel and drop out of the muzzle. If there is a ledge inside that stops that from happening, wouldn't the ledge interfere with the flight of the ball when the trigger is pulled?

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

The bullet seats against the land of the rifling. When the gun is fired, the rifling of the barrel is engraved into the soft lead of the ball, causing it to spin, which helps accuracy. This takes a bit of force, but this is want we want, so that proper preassure can build up behind the ball, and give it better velocity. When the ball has left the barrel, it is no longer round. It has a flat belt around it, with the rifling engraved.

[@mr.somebody1493]

You fired it incorrectly using a percussion cap. It uses a longer nipple and a cartridge with a tiny hole in the center, not loose powder. Same as the 1861 Ballard

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

I believe you're right. But I have read several places that they could be loaded as muzzleloader, if you ran out of ammo. As I mentioned several times, I didn't have much faith in this. But I had to try, to confirm it wasn't a good idea. There are also some useful information in the comments, from other wievers.

[@ralphwesterbeck5286]

This is my understanding as well. You wouldn't happen to have the specs for the nipple would you. My Ballard did not come with the nipple and I would like to have one made.

[@aaronballard7224]

DIMWIT! Can you please make a video, or write up with pics, on your process of converting your shells to rimfire? I’m wanting to attempt this with .46rf. Also is there a reason you use 6mm blanks? Would a .22 blank suffice?

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Reloadable brass for old bigbore rimfire guns, can be bought from these companies: www.hlebooks. www.dixiegunworks.com www.rccbrass.com If anyone knows of anybody else that sells them, let me know. Not all cartridges are available, but you can make your own, if you can get centerfire brass that can be altered to the right size. Drill out the center of the cartridge, and thread it. I use 8mm. Or you can use a similar UNF size. Buy a threaded brass rod, or bolts, in the same size. Apply strongest locktite, screw into bottom om cartridge, cut and file. Allow locktite to harden until next day. Drill hole for blanks (primers). Mill out recess for rim. If you have trouble getting the blanks to stay in there, use glue or fingernail polish (same goes for the bullets). I use 6mm blanks for startrevolvers. 22 blanks are probably the same thing? You kan also use cut down 22 ammo, without powder and bullet. Install primerblank first, fill with blackpowder, install bullet. You don't need loadingdies and loading press. I use a small benchwise, with smooth jaws. Most of these cartridges use heelbase bullets. I cast my own, using moulds from oldwestbulletmoulds.com . Others have made youtube videos about bigbore rimfire reloading. Good luck! I have more rimfire shooting videos comming soon...

[@knate44]

@@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman I think it covers all the same calibers as HLE books (32, 38, and 41 rf), and they are fairly expensive, but up in good old Alberta Canada, we have antiquegunscanada.com/

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

@@knate44 Thankyou! I'll look into that.

[@kenegerton7512]

Maybe you should explain your pronunciation of the name "Ballard"

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Somebody else has allready commented on that. The explanation is that english is not my native language. I am norwegian. But chances are, my english is better than your norwegian?

[@damonjenkins2185]

What diameter and weight projectile did you use?

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

I cast my own, with a mould from oldwestbulletmoulds.com . .44 Henry flat 200gr .440"dia bullet 418"dia. heel. I have used this for several old 44 cartridges, and it took some tweeking on a couple of them. But they have several 44 heelbase moulds, so make sure you get the right heel diameter.

[@geob0324]

Buh-LARD. As in ,"Buh. I don't like the taste of lard." The alternate pronunciation of the historical name, Ballard, as in"BAAL-ard." Ya learn something every day, don'tcha.? Great info, no matter how you pronounce it.

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Yeah, it has allready been pointed out to me, that my pronounciation was wrong. English is not my native language, but I don't think too many would bother to watch my videos if I spoke norwegian.