Hi Will, nice rifle. Is it a Pacific action?   

     Joe. 

Chuckster wrote on Nov 22^nd, 2012 at 9:19am:

 
No Chuckster, you are correct (mostly). There are some exceptions, but most 3 line Ballards are cast. It's pretty common to see modified Ballards, and I've seen a number of double set trigger cast actions, and they always use the Pacific set triggers and lever combo whether it's a factory setup, or a modified Ballard. My factory DST #2 looks like a Pacific without the wiping rod and thimbles. The seller thought it was something special when I looked at it to purchase. It made the purchase really tough to tell him he had a DST #2 and not some higher valued Ballard.
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frnkeore wrote on Nov 22^nd, 2012 at 4:57pm:


I have seen forged receivers with the 3 line address, but they are rare.
Will, your Ballard was never a Pacific. They never made a cast action into a Pacific that I've ever heard of or seen.

If I installed thimbles, wiping rod, and a Pacific forearm, my #2's with cast DST actions would look like a Pacific, and all the numbers would match. Bore the barrel to .45-70, and it's just like what you described.
I'd examine a Pacific with a cast receiver very closely, and disassemble it before a purchase. Not all numbers matching Ballards are original, and with no records of production it's very hard to tell skilled forgeries from the real thing. I know guys who can make these things look factory, and I've been fooled until they showed me.

will; nice old ballard, treat her special. my first love was ballard #3.

marlinguy, the pacific I saw w/cast reciever was a canoe paddle, no finish, brown patina, lots of crud and nothing in very good shape so don't think it was faked (what would be the point?), it was not for sale but to be restored. the barrel was just under reciever width and no tulip. I've never seen a #2 without a tuliped barrel, not to say they don't exist either but not common. a #2 with dst & heavy barrel to make a matching # pacific would be taking a very unusual rifle to make a common one. my guess is the gun was a factory screwup but that is just a guess. 
kootne

kootne wrote on Nov 24^th, 2012 at 4:18pm:


Sounds like it might be what you guessed, a screwup. I'd love to see one either way, as I just haven't yet. 
I have seen rare #2's without the tulip and extra weight barrels. One in .32 Long and another in .38 XL. Both were very early guns with low serial numbers. I always wondered why anyone would order DST on a #2, but even more confusing to see DST and extra weight barrels on a .32L or .38XL. They were always anemic calibers, and not what anyone would use for competition. I tried hard to buy both those guns for my #2 Ballard collection, but the owners knew what they had.

It depends on where you sell it, and if all the numbers match. If the breechblock halves serial number to the gun, it's worth a bit more, but if they don't, then it's a built up gun with a nice Johnson barrel. 
The real key is how much premium the Eric Johnson 5 star barrel will add? A built up cast action Ballard with DST will probably sell for around $1,000. Not sure if the barrel will add 20%, 30%, or ????