Does anyone know what the total production of Ballard rifles was while the company was in Cody? It seems that we are seeing a few rifles for sale recently but the great majority are probably still held by their original buyers.

The Billings Gazette, December 31, 2004 ...

I have a few Cody Rifles and wondered about that, too.

Steve Garbe is still around somewhere; maybe he'd offer some insight.

Anyone here know Steve well enough to approach him?

I'm mostly out to lunch.  What is the present status of the firm?

Try Wyoming Armory, the artist gunmakers are still there for the most part or so I have been told. Here’s the last link, (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

Actually very few of the original Ballard crew are still there. Ron Long, who was the lead man, and who is not well, Neal Rice, who has passed on, Earl Hines, who does checkering for Wyoming Armory but works elsewhere, and Keith Kilby, who does case coloring and metal finishing for them, not sure of Dave Casey and some of the others. They are still putting out fine work I understand, but sadly not building Ballards.

Unfortunately when they and who bought them out they moved and also changed their direction. Steve Durren and probably one of the best gunsmiths I know of went to work for them at that time. And the new owners basically destroyed everything that they had bought. And Steve Durren returned to what I believe it is Johnson's sporting Goods and back to where he used to work.

I'm not positive, but fairly certain the Ballard name was up for grabs when it was chosen by the group who made them in Cody. It also went with the sale when it went to Michigan, so not sure what it would take to ever use that name again these days?
Whether the Cody Ballards are an extension of the earlier Ballards seems quite logical in their history. Considering all the various companies that built Ballard rifles, but didn't own the patent, one more in the line seems a very natural progression to me.
I still hold some thread of hope they could be made again, but the thread is very near to breaking, and I'm not holding out waiting. Those who own a Cody Ballard know those guns are as highly prized as an original, and can often bring bigger money than the originals do! That alone speaks volumes for the quality of the Cody built Ballard rifles!

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   "That any of the parts, other than Barrels, some screws etc,  for the Cody Ballards were made anywhere other than in-house, is strictly rumor."

rkba2nd is pretty close. In addition buttplate castings were outsourced. Hi wall hammer castings, Hi wall breechblock castings and Ballard DST trigger plate castings were sourced as were front sight inserts and Ballard thru bolts. Some levers were also contracted either as machined or cast. All castings of any kind were machined in house. All parts not listed above were machined from flat or bar in house. Ron made most of the molds, I made a couple after he left.