18 November 2002, 11:10
dej470New High Wall rifles
hi all
Anyone seen/used/heard reports on the new High Wall rifles being made by Ballard Rifle Co? I had heard a while back that someone bought the rights to, and was again manufacturing, the Ballard rifles. What I recently discovered online is that they are making Winchester High Wall rifles as well. Seeing the prices at
www.ballardrifles.com causes me to ponder if it would be wiser to aim for getting one of the new rifles, as the cost of a good condition original is right up there with the cost of a new one by Ballard Rifle Co. With the new rifle there are no mysteries such as how it was loaded for/treated by the many prev owners. Although an original does have a nostalgic appeal, I have been nervous about the chance of eventually getting up the $$ for a High Wall, only to find that it has some shortcoming that was unforseen at time of purchase.
thoughts/reports?
DJ
18 November 2002, 14:05
retired jeffGood question.
I've looked at them on several occasions over the past few years. Almost bought one! But I choked on the price, then later I found about the Stevens 44 1/2 rifle made by CPA. It's a switch barrel falling block and very pleasing to my old eyes. So I got one of them instead..
At any rate, you might want to post your question on a few other boards. There's lots of folks that are really into the singleshot's, they're friendly and very knowledgable.
http://talk.shooters.com/Scroll down to
Sports / Competition and look for Blackpowder Cartridge
Further down is
Firearms & Weapons Collecting
check out the Schuetzen room. This is probably your best bet.
25 November 2002, 14:05
vigillinusAll Winchester High Wall rifles - and low walls - were made with forged receivers. No castings.
27 November 2002, 14:51
VarminteerHello,
The October 2002 issue of Varmint Hunter magazine has an article on a Ballard 1885 in .225win. They mounted a Lyman Super Targetspot scope on it. If your looking for a semi-custom falling block it might be a good idea to just rebarrel a Browning M1885 and restock it with your favorite wood.
Just my thoughts.
Larry
01 December 2002, 12:50
<Taildraggin>The only issue with the Ballards I have seen and heard is that the wood grade is not up to the quality of the rest of the rifle. Their ad sort of backs this up (there's a small knot in the wrist of a very straight grained walnut stock). For the price, I don't find that acceptable.