Ballard identification

[randyt2]

Hello everyone,
I just inherited this Marlin and would like to know the model/year. I will be needing the forestock, sights and cleaning rod to complete this.
Stamped on left side of receiver is the J.M. Marlin New Haven Conn USA, second line is Ballard's patent. Nov. 5 1861 The serial numbers on the bottom of the receiver and barrel is 2278. It is a double trigger, with the straight butt stock. I'm not sure the caliber, but a 40 S&W bullet is pretty loose, and a 44-40 is too tight.
I would like to post some photos, but really don't know how yet.
Hope someone can help figure this out.
Thanks in advance
Randy

[randyt2]

I forgot to ad that it is a 28 1/2" octagonal barrel and a crescent steel butt plate.

[marlinman93]

If it has thimbles under the barrel for a wiping rod it's likely a Ballard Pacific. The cartridge will be impossible to determine with the info supplied. Just too many chambers that could accept a .40 S&W cartridge. I'd need good measurements of the rim diameter at the chamber, plus base diameter, and bore diameter at the muzzle to even narrow it down to a few cartridges. The real tell would be to do a chamber casting with Cerrosafe and measure the casting.
The 28.5" barrel doesn't sound right, and I wonder where or how you measured it? Need to measure from the back edge of the action to the end at the muzzle. My guess is you measured to the front of the action, so it's likely going to be a 30" barrel and will measure around 30 3/16" total.

[randyt2]

Ok, I have made a few more measurements. The barrel from muzzle to rear of action is 29-15/16". Inside the barrel I'm trying to use a caliper and get .405" at the muzzle and .470" in the chamber area. The rim area is .590".
I'm not sure what the "thimbles" are but there are 2 loops for the cleaning rod that are about 5/16" inside and 3/4" long. The forestock is missing, but there is a long pin through the underside of the barrel with one end having a freely spinning barrel nut and the other end is threaded for the same type nut, but with threads.
Hope some of this helps
Thanks again
Randy

[marlinman93]

Ok, I have made a few more measurements. The barrel from muzzle to rear of action is 29-15/16". Inside the barrel I'm trying to use a caliper and get .405" at the muzzle and .470" in the chamber area. The rim area is .590".
I'm not sure what the "thimbles" are but there are 2 loops for the cleaning rod that are about 5/16" inside and 3/4" long. The forestock is missing, but there is a long pin through the underside of the barrel with one end having a freely spinning barrel nut and the other end is threaded for the same type nut, but with threads.
Hope some of this helps
Thanks again
Randy

The "loops" are called thimbles, which support the wooden wiping rod. Because of the wiping rod design the Pacific #5 and #4 1/4 couldn't attach the forearm in normal fashion, so Marlin used the cross screw to attach the forearm. The hole for the wiping rod in the forearm made the forearm wood a bit more fragile, so we see them cracked or missing on occasion.
The cross screws had threads under the screw head, and the rest just fit into a ferrule to finish off the other side of the forearm wood.
Here's a picture of one of my Pacific Ballard rifles:



The measurement is short on your rifle as it should be a little longer over even numbers. So a 30" barrel usually measure about 30 3/16" long, and a 32" will be the same 3/16" over 30" length. Likely someone either recrowned the barrel, or cut it down from a much longer 32" or 34" barrel. People did that to make long barreled guns handle more to their liking, and it hurts values today for collectors.