I am looking at a ballard action that a friend of mine has for sale, niether of us know how to value and I want to be fair so I thought I would ask you folks how you would value.

Single trigger centerfire ballard converted to rimfire.  Supposedly has an aftermarket trigger and hammer for NRA prone shooting.  That is all I know at this time.  Any help would be appreciated.

Philip, 

     The big question would be whether the receiver itself is the cast or forged variety.  If originally rimfire it was likely cast and therefore weaker and less desirable/valuable except for rimfire use.  You can tell by looking under the barrel tenon with the block lowered or removed.  The cast action is hollow there while the forged action is more or less solid.

     As far as the trigger, if the breechblock has a separate plate on the bottom which holds it together and contains the trigger, it probably began life as a DST as irish66 speculated, if the block is just composed of the two sideplates, then it was a single trigger unit from the outset.  While looking at the block, if it has not been altered too severely, the shape of the firing pin channel might also give you some hint about the history of the rifle.  The reversible firing pin on the light caliber (pistol class) cartridges was flat and offset from the centerline of the bore so when turned one way it hit the rim, or when reversed it hit the center primer of the cartridge.

HTH,
Froggie

PS I'm just speculating here and could be way off, but even a single trigger cast action in good shape would probably be worth $500-750 or more if complete and not too badly altered or worn just to build a rimfire rifle.  Forged w/ DST block, the value would go up quickly.  JMHO, YMMV.   

Thanks guys, I'll be looking it over this weekend and this information is very helpful.  (will probably cost me too much but helpful).  The history is that it started out life as a pacific and was rebuilt by Eric Johnson, so it is actually a barreled action at this point.   

Philip 

Philip,

     If indeed the rifle started out as a Pacific model, it had/has a forged, straight grip receiver and a had double set triggers.  If the same block was retained (as Eric Johnson often did) when the trigger was altered, you have a DST block that could, if desired, be returned to that function with the addition of the proper parts.  As Terry said in the previous post, the barrel itself has some value, perhaps significant, if it is in good shape.  You can track a great deal of information about the building of the rifle by Eric Johnson by the serializations he added to the barrel when he did his work.  I believe you can go through the ASSRA archivist, Rudi Prusok and request a copy of the shop information on any Eric Johnson gun for a modest search fee... his address may be found on the ASSRA home page.  Of course, if the barrel is damaged or otherwise unusable for you, then the comments made by Vall and myself about the relative value of the action apply by default.

Regards,
Charlie Shaeff
Green Frog