Gun Guys** Marlin Ballard single shot .22

targa911S · 02-22-2007, 02:37 PM

My buddy strolled in with this the other day, anybody know anything about this? It's a Marlin Ballard.

on2wheels52 · on2wheels52's Garage

You sure that's the original wood?
Jim

targa911S · 02-22-2007, 05:16 PM

oh no, totally not original. it's called a fish belly. nothing but the action itself.

many944s · 02-22-2007, 05:31 PM

Even though the wood is not original, it is beautiful!

-Nick

targa911S · 02-22-2007, 06:01 PM

Oh just wait until I show you the wood on the Lefever Nitro I'm finishing. This is a nice piece, and I'm not braggin', but the wood figuring on the Lefever makes it look like plywood.
My buddies gun is a total frankenstein. It was make for very long target shooting. I guess it's the action itself that is the big deal.

tabs · 02-23-2007, 01:04 AM

This is the REAL THING....One of 40 built by Springfield Aresnal in 1928 for the US Army International Match Team. Caliber is the venerable 30/06.

Jeff Higgins · 02-23-2007, 06:09 AM

Nice Martini there, Tabs. We have a lot of Canadians that used to come down for our mid and long range matches that used the Martini. Hell for stout, very rigid action. They ususally did quite well.

The Ballard action was prefered by many match shooters back in the day. Its central hammer, with its very short throw, made for the fastest lock time of all of the outside hammer single shots. They generally had very nice triggers as well, making them quite well suited to match shooting.

They were not as strong as the typical falling block single shots, so they were kind of limited as far as the larger hunting and long range match calibers. Their real forte was Schuetzen, a fun little game played at 200 or 220 yards. Many were converted to rimfire for the once very popular indoor matches. I don't recall offhand who Eric Johnson was; I'll check some of my references when I get home tonight. Some of these conversions, from the more prominent 'smiths, are quite valuable today.

The ornate stock on your friend's rifle was typical of the Schuetzen game, and its indoor .22 counterpart. The forearm looks a bit unusual, however. It looks more suited to rest shooting than off-hand, but rest shooting was a part of the Schuetzen game as well. Is there a socket on the bottom of the forearm to accept a palm rest like tab's Martini?

The rebated ledge on the side of the action where the barrel screws into it indicates later manufacture. The ledge is most visible in your third picture; the shadow below the octagon flat. It indicates the later, much stronger steel action that Marlin brought as an improvement when they purchased the failing Ballard Rifle Company. Prior to Marlin's purchase, the Ballard used a cast iron action that was notably weak. They tried to make up for it with their "Everlasting" shells; a very thick brass shell with a huge rim. Proprietary to the original Ballard company, I don't think Marlin continued them after their purchase. The later, stronger Ballard actions were chambered for more "normal" cartridges; .32-40, .38-55, .45-70, etc. I think Marlin purchased Ballard some time in the late '70's or early '80's. Again, I'll check my references.

At any rate, that is one hell of a nice rifle. I'm sure it shoots quite well. It is quite safe to shoot with modern rimfire ammo; stick to the standard velocity stuff and it should be very accurate. Nice find.

targa911S · 02-23-2007, 06:59 AM

Thanks Jeff that is the best info I've gotten for him and I will pass it on.
So as far as wood....you want wood?? Her is the stated above Lefever. It still needs another hand polishing. The barrels are on their last rust cycle today. so the whole thing will be done this weekend. Hard to believe now that it was a rusted up POS with a broken stock when I got it.

many944s · 02-23-2007, 11:10 AM

WOW, I don't think you could have gotten a better cut for grain clarity than that! Very nice work!

-Nick

targa911S · 02-23-2007, 12:24 PM

Totally agree with you, it's the nicest piece of wood I have seen in a long time here. I'm not even going to checker it. I'll just let the wood speak. Thanks for the comps. It has been a labor of love. I will keep it as a vintage shooter.

HardDrive · 02-23-2007, 02:27 PM

Beautiful piece of work.

targa911S · 02-23-2007, 02:47 PM

Thank you.

Jeff Higgins · 02-23-2007, 07:03 PM

O.k.; more Ballard info. It looks like Marlin purchased Ballard in 1875. The rifles were stamped "J. M. Marlin - Ballards Patent" until 1881, when the stamping was changed to "Marlin Firearms Co., New Have, Ct. - Ballard's Patent". Marlin did continue with the Ballard Everlasting chamberings in .44-100-530, .44-75, .40-65-33, and .38-50-250. They were also available in most of the standard chamberings of the day, including most of the Sharps and Remingtons. I can't seem to find my reference on when the rebated shelf was added, or when the action was changed from the casting to the forging. Can't seem to find a reference to Eric Johnson, either. I bet he came after the period my references cover.

Here are a couple of shots of my Ballard No. 5 Pacific model. It's a post-'81, originally chambered in .40-63 Ballard. a.k.a. the .40-65 Winchester. It was re-bored and re-chambered to .45-70 in the '40's by a gunsmith in Oroville, Washington. It is believed by the family from whom I obtained it that it had been in a closet, unused and forgotton, since the '50's.

When I first got it the action was rusted shut, the lockwork unuseable, and the barrel looked like the exhaust manifolds on a similar vintage truck. I screwed the barrel off, removed the stock (it looked like a piece of dried-out driftwood, and came appart as soon as I loosened the through bolt) and threw the action in a can of brake fluid, then forgot about it for the next year.

When the brake fluid had done its magic, I was able to open the action and take inventory. Surprisingly, the major parts had not returned to the elements. With a new screw kit and various action parts from the parts bin, I got that part back back together and working. The barrel was scraped with a chisel tip x-acto blade, wire-wheeled, and draw filed to remove the rust. The whole while I was rubbing a coat of linseed oil into the stock as often as it would accept one.

After a year of fooling around, it was ready to shoot. Except for the pitted bore, anyway. I wound up loading up a couple dozen rounds with the Lymann #457125, the big 500 grain Government roundnose, cast from a 20:1 mix. "Bullet lube" was actually JB Bore compound, a very fine lapping compound. A couple dozen rounds and the bore was as shiny as a new nickle. A little oversize, but with soft bullets and black powder, that's not an issue.

It has since been used extensively as a hunting rifle, fulfilling a promise made to the guy that gave it to me. Standard load is the Lyman #457193, a 420 grain flatnose cast from wheelweights, over a duplex load of 7 grains of Reloder 7 and 53 grains of Goex FFg. Good for about 1300 fps, it has killed everything I have ever pointed it at.

You will also notice a tang sight base. It has seen double duty as a match rifle, actually winning a couple of mid-range (500 and 600 yard) matches for me. It likes the RCBS .45-500 BPS in a 20:1 mix for the long range work, over the same duplex load. Anyway, it's been a great rifle for me; resurected from the dead and put back into service. It still excells at everything it was ever meant to do.