Get over it?  GET OVER IT?  Save your Dixie cups boys, the South's gonna rise again!
We're just pausing to reload.        

If we didn't make fun of Yankees, we'd have to spend all our time making fun of repeating rifles and jacketed bullets, and some of us use those to hunt, doncha know!  Besides, a whole bunch of my Northern brethren are just Confederate wannabes.  See how many New Yorkers are in Texas units, etc.

With malice toward none but tweaking them all,
the Green (except for my Stars and Bars) Frog   

Sorry I have been out of touch for a while. New job and lost all details for this site. Couple of motorbike accidents leaving me slightly injured.

WHen I did find this site again I had trouble logging on as I had forgotten my password.

The continuing story.

As i sit here the Ballard carbine is on my desk beside me.

I am getting a digital camera this week and will post photos.

Markings.

Left hand side is stamped with the number 1288

Butt plate has a very faint marking which I think reads MM

The left side of the block has the number 15 stamped on it.

Upon taking off the fore end wood I discovered that the nmber 15 is also stamped there on the underside of the barrel. In the grove for the extractor in the barrel under the fore wood it is also stamped 1287

The fore wood is stamped 15

The extractor is stamped 15

There are markings above the serial number on the receiver but very faint. I'll have a good look with a large magnifying glass this week.

There seems to be markings on the right hand side of the receiver but again very very faint.

Condition.

For its age it is not bad. Action is crisp and the trigger has a very crisp let off. Hammer has two stages to the cocking action

At some time the pivot pin for the falling block has been replaced.

the sling mount at the butt is missing but the fore end swivil is there.

There is no pitting on the exterior of the barrel and it has gone a dark greyish patina all over.

The receiver has dings and scratches but again gone to a dark grey colour.

The manual extractor is like nothing I have seen in the books. WHere other carbines I hace seen on the net have a round peg to activate the extractor this has a flat lever.

The woodwork is in good condition with no cracks though the fore end has a few very old gouges in it.

The screw on the lower tang has been replaced at some time as has the butt plate screw.

ANY ONE GOT ANY SPARE PERIOD SCREWS? OR A PIVOT PIN?

The bore has some dark spots along it but the grooves are visible all the way to the end of the barrel.

I have soaked the bore with Balistol and given it a scrub out wit a 20 guage phosphor bronze brush and it is cleaning up nicely.

It is in 56-56. Though to be sure I am going to slug the barrel this week with a piece of soft lead.

It has the original sights on the fire arm, a blade front sight that looks as though it is possible to drift for sighting in.

The rear sight is fixed but also looks like it can be drifted in a dovetail. It has two blades one quite low and it flips down to bring up a higher rear sight.

As said before the action is very smooth and easy to operate.

I will try and get some picture up this week if I can.

Chris

marlinguy wrote on Nov 12^th, 2006 at 5:15pm:


I see what you mean about the two digit numbers but there is a little anomoly in that the barrel is stamped 15 under the fore wood and right beside it in the channel for the extractor it is stamped 1287

To my mind it looks like (correct me if I'm wrong) that when assembling this carbine they got all the part number 15 bits together and completed the carbine on receiver number 1288

I am so very tempted to fire this fine old firearm. RIMFIRE though. Going to get some brass stock lathed to cases for it and mill an offset hole in the base for a 6mm blank. I know Dixie make these but at $27US for 6 they are a little expensive.

Looking for some bits if you know where I may get them.

Action pivot bolt. lower tang screw, buttplate screw. Also a rear sling swivel (missing) 

Chris