What is my ballard?

wader4 · Post by **wader4** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 3:00 am

Anyone willing to play "What is my ballard" It is an octagon barrel, single looped lever, looping back towards the trigger. The only markings are " J. M. Marlin New Haven, Conn USA Ballard's patent Nov 5, 1861. The bore is in the neighborhood of 2.125 inches long, and looks to be a .44 cal. Ser # 115x and it has a v notch or it's missing a peice of in lay in the fore arm. I picked it up at a local gun shop and it was covered with rust. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 11:11 pm

I like to play "What is my Ballard!"

If you look at my Ballard #2 in the post below, titled "New Ballard" does your's look like mine?
Your Ballard did have a horn inlay, which is the V cut in the forearm. This is a feature of an early Ballard, as is the rollstamp of JM Marlin. The caliber could be the same .44 Ballard Extra Long, or possibly another.
Where the lever curls under and back towards the trigger, does it have a hole in that portion? Or is there possibly a pin in the frame that the lever hole fits over?
Is your barrel round or octagon, and how long?
Got any pictures you could send my way?
marlinguy@juno.com

wader4 · Post by **wader4** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 5:59 pm

Thanks for playing! Yea, it does look like yours but,the lever is different. This one looks more like the one Blackpowder max posted below yours. On his gun, the end of the lever points tward the butt of the gun where my gun wraps around and points at the trigger and is not connected to the rest of the lever like yours is. The barrel is octagon and is 28.500 inches long. No pin holes in the frame.
I striped it down to clean it up so no pictures at this time.
It is cleaning up nice. I can't believe how many times the serial # is stamped on this thing. 5 places so far!
What other calibers could it be and how do I find out what it is?
Thanks again for your input!

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 10:57 pm

Well it could be a Ballard #2, and that would be the most common. If you have it torn down, check the receiver underneath the barrel, and tell me if there is a hollow area between the barrel and the bottom of the receiver opening. If it's hollow there, then you most likely have a #2.
Only way to actually figure out what caliber it is for sure, is to do a chamber cast and measure it. Then check the measurements against "Cartridges of the World" data.
The Ballards probably had the ser# marked in more places than any other rifle made. Barrel, frame, forearm, buttstock (where it meets the frame) buttplate, both breechblock halves, and somtimes the ejector and hammer.

wader4 · Post by **wader4** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 9:30 pm

No opening! This one is solid. Do they give the dimensions for the bore or the throat? How hard is it to do a chamber cast. I read about them but never had a real good reason to do one.

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 8:33 pm

Sounds like it most likely is not a #2, which may make it a #4 Perfection. Caliber could possibly be a .44-75, or .44-100 Ballard, but still need to do the chamber cast with CerroSafe.
Chamber cast is easy to do. CerroSafe is available from Brownells, and it melts at less than boiling water temperatures. I put mine in an old tin can, and set it in a pot of boiling water, and when it melts, I pour it into the barrel. I use a wad of cotton pushed down just past the chamber, so I not only get a chamber cast, but also a throat and bore cast. This will give you a good deal of info, including bore size, bullet seating depth, and the cartridge dimensions.
Be sure to spray the chamber with a coating of lube first, and tap the casting out as soon as it's poured. Don't cast with the breechblock and ejector in the gun, just the bare receiver and barrel.
CerroSafe is reusable, so don't toss it afterwards, as you can melt it down over and over again! A copy of Cartridges of the World will help ID the cartridge, once you have dimensions.
The .44-100 Ballard was a pretty long case at 2.81" long. Even longer as a complete loaded round at 3.25" long.
The .44-75 is a 2.50" case, with a 3" loaded length.
Look forward to hearing what it turns out to be.
This is a #4 Perfection:

wader4 · Post by **wader4** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:45 am

That's what it looks like minus the tang sight! The case coloring is not there, but is cleaning up nice. I'm trying to post pictures by next week. Thanks again!