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rifleman
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My new Ballard
Oct 28th, 2024 at 4:13pm
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Was high bidder at a local auction on this Pacific 45-100.  Beautiful bore. An original Ballard midrange sight. Cost me $1100. Bore slugs to .460” 

Buttplate doesn’t look very forgiving…
  
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rifleman
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Re: My new Ballard
Reply #1 - Oct 28th, 2024 at 4:13pm
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ndnchf
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Re: My new Ballard
Reply #2 - Oct 28th, 2024 at 4:29pm
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Wow - you stole it that price!  Congratulations!
  
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Bulseyetom
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Re: My new Ballard
Reply #3 - Oct 28th, 2024 at 4:50pm
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My thoughts are start with some light smokeless loads as blackpowder will let you know you pulled the trigger.  After you decide that the recoil won't disable you, then go to black with a fairly light bullet. My Pacific in 40-85 thumps pretty good with a 400 grain bullet and black so I cannot imagine what a 500 grain bullet with some 90 grains of black would do!  My rifle shoots much more accurate with blackpowder.  Tom
  
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marlinguy
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Ballards may be weaker,
but they sure are neater!

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Re: My new Ballard
Reply #4 - Oct 28th, 2024 at 5:55pm
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I have a #7 Long Range in .44-100 and it's got the shotgun style buttplate that most #7's use. I shoot smokeless with 4198 and a 480 gr. bullet and it's not bad. But I also shoot a Pacific in .40-85 with the crescent buttplate and use a 410 grain Snover bullet. It hurts if I shoot it without my PAST recoil pad on, but not bad at all when I wear the PAST.

That's a pretty nice Pacific, and in a unusual caliber for a Pacific. You did fantastic on the price too!
  

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jhm
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Re: My new Ballard
Reply #5 - Oct 28th, 2024 at 7:43pm
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Very nice rifle. Want yer money back????




JMH
  
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Oakdale
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Re: My new Ballard
Reply #6 - Oct 28th, 2024 at 8:25pm
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A long time match shooter and good friend loved the original old single shots. Oftentimes he would show up at a match and shot one of his old guns. He told me frequently that he felt the Ballard was the best single shot, followed closely by the Stevens 44 1/2.

I wish he was still with us......

Tom
  
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Green_Frog
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Re: My new Ballard
Reply #7 - yesterday at 9:15pm
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Sweet!  I paid $1300 for one (in need of a couple of minor repairs) at an auction about 20 years ago and thought I’d done well. You got a screaming deal.  It looks like the finish is well above average for a Ballard of that age.

Mine was in the elusive 40-90, so I haven’t shot it very much!  It has a couple of oddities. The barrel and fore end have matching numbers but are different from the matching numbers on the whole rest of the gun.  If that weren’t strange enough, the barrel is not marked with the chambering.  I could only be sure of what it was with a chamber cast.  Has anyone else encountered original Ballard barrels without caliber markings?

Froggie
  
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