restoring ball williams ballard

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scoobypod
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Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:38 am

restoring ball williams ballard

Post by scoobypod »

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earlier i put this in the wrong thread [marlin]
i have a ball & williams 38 caliber rifle serial# 240
barrel octogon 13/16 across the flats 22.5 in long
globe front sight rear tang sight dove tailed inti the tang [damaged]
factory sling swivels
external extracter in forend
top of barrel marked [ball&williams worchester mass.]
left side merwin & bray agts new york
rte. side ballards patd nov 5 1861
all the internal parts and lever are missing
can some one give me some history of the gun and any help with locating the parts or am i chasing wind mills it took me several years to aquire the gun
but it was so nice i wanted to put it back together. any help would really be appreciated. also is this a .38 short or what?
thanx bob
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marlinman93
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Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: restoring ball williams ballard

Post by marlinman93 »

Your Ball and Williams Ballard is a .38 Long Rimfire, not .38 Short. It is pretty easy to narrow down the age of a Ball and Williams Ballard, as they were only built from 1862-65, and about 2,000 made. The previous company was R. Ball, and Williams later became a partner to Ball.
I'm afraid parts are non existent for reproduction parts, and your only hope would be to either find a junker Ballard for parts, or have parts built by a competent gunsmith. Even after getting it complete and working, ammo is extinct, so it wont be a shooting firearm.
Marlin lever actions 1870's-WWI, Ballards, and single shot rifles!
scoobypod
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Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:38 am

Re: restoring ball williams ballard

Post by scoobypod »

sir: thank you for your reply. i have located a machined breech block that is finished except for the location of the firing pin hole. i believe i can convert it to a center fire but my concern is the remaining parts. it is such a nice gun i hate to see it go to the wayside. are there any members that you know of that possibly have any parts? thanx bob
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marlinman93
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Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: restoring ball williams ballard

Post by marlinman93 »

Sorry, I don't know anyone who has any parts for Ball and Williams Ballards. Haven't even seen a junker for sale in a very long time!
Marlin lever actions 1870's-WWI, Ballards, and single shot rifles!
irish1861
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Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:56 am

Re: restoring ball williams ballard

Post by irish1861 »

Bob,
The Rifle Shoppe in Oklahoma has cast, reproduction parts. They will work with some effort on your part, or your gunsmith. I'll share the link to their web site. http://therifleshoppe.com Sometimes there is a LONG wait if the parts are not currently in stock.

Go to their site, look under Online Catalog and then Single Shot parts. I tried copying the exact page but the link would not work.

Richard Schoenberger, an Indiana gunsmith has center fire converted many old Ball & Williams for members of the North-South Skirmish Association. He does fine work with a quick turn around.
Good luck, you will love it when you are finished!
Jack
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