marlin ballards and #2 remington

[blackbahart]

I recently aquired a trio of interesting rifles the remington in 38 special that has been rebored and converted to cfand a pair of ballards.The unscoped was a 38 that was lined by parker hale to 22lr .
And the interesting one that is scoped and in mashburn 219 zipper imp.The real interesting on the zipper is the breech block is way different .I have not taken it apart as of yet ,but haven't seen anything like it ,just wondering if somebody can enlighten me as to who or what it is.Info I received is it was from an estate and no other info availiable
Cheers Peter

[marlinman93]

Well your Rem. #2 is self explanatory as to what it is. The Ballard converted to .22LR is also a #2 in the Ballard line up. Good choice on the conversion as the #2 Ballard is a cast action and extremely safe in .22LR.
The .219 Zipper has been converted to striker fire, and the breech block may have been modified, or a new one built. I hope for your sake it's a forged action, and not built on a cast action!! The caliber is marginally strong enough for the .219 Zipper if it's forged, but if it's a cast action it's a time bomb and it will eventually break and could be devastating.
Check the rollstamp on the left side of the action, and tell me if it's stamped in 2 lines or 3 lines. That will be a start, but still need to drop the breech block out, and check under the barrel to see if it's solid or hollow down below in the lever screw area. A picture looking into that area will help determine if it's cast or forged.
Even if it's forged, I'd limit the .219 Zipper to mild loadings. Forged Ballard rifles are limited to around 30,000 psi, and that cartridge can go higher in heavier loads!

[blackbahart]

the 219 is a 2 line address and I have to remove the stock to pull the trigger group ,I pulled the group out and there is no hole like the 22 has and is not porus like the other ,

[marlinman93]

Great! Sounds like a safe shooter!
Puzzled why the stock needed to come off to pull the breech block assembly out? Must have changed something when they built the striker block? Would enjoy seeing pictures of the breech block if you ever decide to open it up! Those doing the conversions back in the early 1900's had some very clever ways of building them.
I blew the picture up larger, and looks like the lower rear of the frame was reworked to make it fit the pistol grip stock. Most gunsmiths milled the bottom off to do so. Is yours fitted into the wood, or milled off?

[blackbahart]

The pistol grip on the stock comes too close to the rear of the trigger group and it will damage the wood to get it the last 3/8 " back .I removed the butt pad and went to remove the draw bolt and the screw slot popped one side off ,so I will have to tack a nut to remove it tomorrow .I will post pics of the block assembly as I never seen anything like it

The whole rifle seems to be a full out custom .It is an interesting heavy rifle and plan to give it a nice home .It would be nice to find out who was the builder of this one as it is well executed


thank you for verifying the receiver marlinman93.

[marlinman93]

Once you get the custom Ballard apart, you may find some maker's name hidden under the forearm, or some recess that's not readily seen. I too hope you can locate a maker, as it's always nice to get some history attached to a neat custom gun!
Ballards are heavy in general, but when makers start to add larger barrels or heavier stocks, they can jump over 10 lbs. pretty fast!
Is that a Bausch and Lomb or Tasco scope on it? Looks like one of the Balvars that B&L made, or the very fine copies Tasco built? Those are really both great telescopes, but do add a lot of weight also!

[blackbahart]

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[blackbahart]

I removed the broken draw bolt and removed the stock .There is no makers name on it .the breech block looks to be a custom job,and I didn't take it apart as I didnt want to guess how the parts go together yet .Youcan see how the stock has to come off to pull out the breech block
Peter

[marlinman93]

Thanks so much for the parts pictures! That's a surprising breechblock, as I was expecting a hammerless striker action! Seeing the sides built up to semi enclose the hammer was a big surprise to me. I wonder if they used the original Ballard parts when they built the custom breech block halves? That is the most unusual custom variant on the Ballard breech blocks I've seen! It looks as if the high sides encompassing the hammer are mainly there to add strength to the breech block to help handle the more modern chambering.
That's also a really fine job of stock work to fit the wood around and under the action to form a nicely shaped pistol grip on a straight grip receiver! Wish you had found a name, as I'd love to know who the talented gunsmith and stock maker were!
Thanks again!

[blackbahart]

I was hoping somebody reconized the work ,as there is nothing marked .The forend does match the one on the Hepburn and appears to have been made by the same person .They both came from the same estate and both in the same 219masburn improved chambering .The barrel on the hepburn is marked Mashburn Arms .I guess we will never know who done the work ,but whom ever they were they did excellent work ,real creative craftsmen
Peter

[marlinman93]

The style is typical of those done in the 1950's or so era. So the shape of the forearm, and stock are what I often see on single shot rifles converted to varmint or heavy sporter rifles. But work is not typical of all built then. There is a big difference between the guns professionally varmintized, and those assembled by amateurs. Some big companies sold semi finished stock sets for popular single shot rifles, and depending on who did the work it varies from horrible to extremely well done, as yours is. But your gun could also been done from scratch blanks by a talented stock maker too. Most gunsmiths could do fine metal work, but left stock work to another. Very few were talented enough to all of the metal and wood, and get it really nice. HM Pope did pretty poor stock work. His stocks worked fine, but sure weren't anything to brag about in the looks department!