Ballard barreled action

[Wayne Smith]

You are right, the real question is if you are building a Schutzen rifle or an American rifle.

[marlinman93]

You are right, the real question is if you are building a Schutzen rifle or an American rifle.

I guess I didn't know there was a difference? There were thousands of schuetzen rifles built in the USA in the late 1800's and early 1900's, and almost all of them were on American made guns like Winchesters, Marlins, Remingtons, and Stevens.
This one will get a Swiss buttplate regardless; just have to decide which size.

[oger]

If you find an outlet for buttplates let me know
I have been looking for a Swiss for a while.Thanks

[Chev. William]

Have you checked CPA for castings?

[oger]

The problem is it's a real Ballard #8 stock that is missing the buttplate. I will contact them maybe they have something that can be made to fit. thanks

[marlinman93]

I have 6-7 buttplates, but only one real Ballard small Farrow style. The rest are repops, and various styles. Winchester small swiss, Win large Helm, Stevens small and large swiss, Zischang, and a Ballard #6 schuetzen style.
CPA does not carry any Ballard buttplates, but Wyoming Armory does.

[oger]

Thank you, I will get a hold of them.

[oger]

Not able to contact the Wyoming Armory they have a wonderful website but not of the contact E-mails work. Thanks for trying

[M-Tecs]

Wyoming Armory
356 W. Yellowstone Ave.
Cody, WY 82414

Phone: (307) 527-4570
FAX: (307) 527-7104

Between 9:00 AM and 5:00PM Monday thru Friday, MST -Emails are the best way to contact us as we are typically busy in the shop. An e-mail gives us a record of your contact and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Steve Garbe - spgarbe@yahoo.com

Keith Kilby - keithkilby@msn.com

[oger]

Used the same info, Phone not answered, e-mails are not deliverable.

[Crown-C]

Val, I bought this one prong buttplate from Crossno at Tulsa show last fall. Haven't decided where to use it yet, like many other projects! But it does give the option for offhand and benchrest. I have never seen an original with one prong, only the ones that were cut off by gunsmiths such as Peterson or Schoyen. I ended up using an original brass schuetzen buttplate on my Steven-Pope barreled Ballard. Guess the decision is what you like and from what I have seen of your rifles from the forums you will make a great choice and it will look right. Richard

[marlinman93]

Val, I bought this one prong buttplate from Crossno at Tulsa show last fall. Haven't decided where to use it yet, like many other projects! But it does give the option for offhand and benchrest. I have never seen an original with one prong, only the ones that were cut off by gunsmiths such as Peterson or Schoyen. I ended up using an original brass schuetzen buttplate on my Steven-Pope barreled Ballard. Guess the decision is what you like and from what I have seen of your rifles from the forums you will make a great choice and it will look right. Richard

Thanks Richard! Just got word from Dave the stock is on the way to me! So I'll be able to do a rough test fit on the gun, and hold up various buttplates to get a look at what fits the style.

[marlinman93]

Got my stocks from Dave Crossno today! They look great!

wetted down to see how they look:

Tried a test fit to the barreled action, and this is as far as they'd go.

About 10-15 minutes with the wood carving tools and some dye, and they slid on. Put some self sticking sandpaper on the muzzle end of the barrel, and lapped the wood until it would slide back against the receiver. Then tapped it to mark the pins, and drilled the holes. Fits good, and about 1/8" large all around, so plenty to work with:

Not sure if the Swiss buttplate is small enough top to bottom, so it may not work. I'll see if a Winchester style can be reworked to have the correct V shape on the top tang. I'll post more as I get the wood shaped, and figure out a buttplate.

[Gtek]

Nice, very nice! Thanks for pic's

[marlinman93]

Nice, very nice! Thanks for pic's

Thanks! I have located the correct small Farrow style Ballard buttplate, so wont be using the plate pictured. Hope to get the Farrow plate soon, and begin shaping the final contours of the new stocks soon!

[Crown-C]

Very nice piece of wood and should make an outstanding stock. There is still a lot of work to be done, but that is what I enjoy. I usually have Dave fit the action and buttplate as I can take the action to him. When you speak of the Farrow buttplate is that similar to the photo I have attached? I picked this set up a couple years ago and haven't found the right action and barrel for it yet.

[Gtek]

The big question I am asking myself is- I wonder if I would have the patience to finish 100%? Or would it be too much to deal with once everything internal fit and plate set. I am pretty sure I would fold and my excuse would be to confirm feel so that I did not remove to much.

[marlinman93]

Very nice piece of wood and should make an outstanding stock. There is still a lot of work to be done, but that is what I enjoy. I usually have Dave fit the action and buttplate as I can take the action to him. When you speak of the Farrow buttplate is that similar to the photo I have attached? I picked this set up a couple years ago and haven't found the right action and barrel for it yet.

Yes, that is the Farrow style buttplate as used on Union Hill models. Nice find, as I don't see them separated from Ballard rifles often! John Merz had one and it's on it's way to me.

[marlinman93]

The big question I am asking myself is- I wonder if I would have the patience to finish 100%? Or would it be too much to deal with once everything internal fit and plate set. I am pretty sure I would fold and my excuse would be to confirm feel so that I did not remove to much.

The internal fitting on a Ballard is pretty quick when Dave does them. He does such a good job on the internal tang that it's just minutes with a wood gouge to fit it. I've done several externally, and always dread it, as it's a lot of work. I can do it, but it's just not that much fun for me. Unfortunately my budget dictates how I do things, and unless I thought I'd mess it up, I have to do it myself to save money.

[Crown-C]

It does take a lot of patience! I generally enjoy the work though as seeing it finished is worth the time and effort. This stock is another by Dave that I did all the finish work including cutting the cheek shadow line. It turned out nice, at least I think so!
Val, thanks for the info on the farrow buttplate, I thought it was, but wasn't sure. I have been looking for Ballard receiver (either cast or forged), probably a 3F, pistol grip with a #1 or 2 size barrel as the forearm will only fit a small barrel. Haven't found the right set yet.