The good and the bad.

Every screw in the rifle needs replaced. The set trigger screw was missing and I replaced that yesterday. The bore is dark and worn for the first third of the bore, the rest looks OK.

The rear sight is a modern receiver sight on a angle aluminum piece, that all has to go.

The rear barrel sight is now gone and filler installed. A combination front I'll leave on for a while.

The barrel was from a Winchester High-Wall with an inch cut off threaded and fitted to the Ballard. The barrel a No. 3 that is 33" long so it must have been 34". The cambering job is very professional with a tight fitting extractor. The extractor is not like a Ballard and I had to take it up to my friend John's and we filed the extractor down so we could take the action apart. I have no idea how they could have gotten it together with that extractor.

The butt stock is just a piece of wood butted to the action and pulled tight with the through bolt. The forend is from a High-wall badly fitted, all wood has to go.

The name stamped on the top of the receiver is J.C. Cox I don't know if it was the owner or the gunsmith. There was a Kansas gunsmith in the 1880's named J.G. Cox. More research before I spread all the parts to the wind.

More later.




MP Sadly Deceased as of 2/17/2014