Very nice collection of Ballard's. 
Thank you for posting.

Your display reminds me just why I like Ballards. Very nice.

Regards,
Powderman

VERY NICE,but now I know where all those Ballards have disappeared to. All great restorations,I hope to show mine off,WHEN they come close to yours.57thahc

Great display Vail, did you win any awards?

Thanks guys! Our show has a policy of not giving awards, as we don't want any hard feelings for anyone who might feel slighted for not getting an award.
There is only one gun on the display that is a full restoration. My special order half octagon #4 Perfection, with 34" extra heavy barrel. It is a 3 digit, first year gun, and was a wreck when I got it. The engraved special order gun has new wood I put on it this year, but no other restorations on the display. 
The little #3 at the top right is an unusual Ballard, as it is .25 Stevens RF. Under the forearm it is stamped, " .25 RF Re-bored by J. Stevens Arms Co." 
The two schuetzens on the table are a Schoyen on the left, and a Zettler Bros. on the right. The Schoyen has one of the first Unertl scopes ever produced, and does not have the typical Unertl logo stamp. It just has "UNERTL" on the bottom of the tube.
The guns represent #2, 3, 3f, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, the engraved special order, and the two schuetzens. No room for the #1 and #1 1/2.
Most of the Ballards on the display have special order changes for the model they represent. The #2 is unusual, as it's .38 Extra Long CF only, with heavy long barrel, and set triggers. The others have either special barrels, sights, or optional buttplates.

bnice wrote on Aug 27^th, 2015 at 8:54am:


The shooting cup was a gift from a friend, and unfortunately it is unmarked. My guess is the winner was supposed to have it engraved, but never got around to it. It's has nice old rifles of both muzzle loader and cartridge design on the sides; plus a target.

Very nice Vall. You sure have a great knowledge of Ballards and older rifles and can pick out those special order features that make them unique.
I think you need another display rack for the #1 models and it sure would be nice to see a #7 or 10 in there next year

Jon

38-55Kidd wrote on Aug 27^th, 2015 at 1:12pm:


Thanks for the kind words Jon! I'm contemplating a way to add the #1 and #1 1/2 next year! Not sure I'll ever own a #7 or #10, but then I thought I'd never own an engraved Ballard either, so who knows? They're still on my bucket list!

slumlord44 wrote on Aug 27^th, 2015 at 10:15pm:


I had a very nice long chat with a Stevens collector from Canada while at the show's setup day. Was way more knowledgeable about Stevens than anyone I'd ever met, and knew things I didn't realize were known! He showed me pics of his Stevens collection, and he owned one of every deluxe or Schuetzen model made. Plus had every Stevens catalog made from the very earliest, up to around WWII! Mind blowing to see it all! And he collects other single shots too, so he had a gorgeous #7 Ballard he was heading home with, along with an equal Stevens #50 too! Said it took 18 months to get them OK'd to go home with!

Thanks Bob! You're welcome!