Marlin-Ballard No. 2 Sporting Rifle
TITLE: Marlin-Ballard No. 2 Sporting Rifle
MAKER: Marlin Firearms Company
MADE IN: New Haven, CT
CALIBER: .32 Rimfire Cartridge
DATE: ca 1881
DIMENSIONS: Barrel: 26 ¼” Length: 41 ¾” Height: 6 ½”
INSCRIPTION: Serial Number 29838 /MARLIN FIRE ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN CT. U.S.A. / PATENTED, FEBUARY.9.1875. / _N M’CH N WKS. / -GFIELD. MASS. / ADDRESS / POULTNEY & TRIMBLE / BALTIMORE U.S.A. / JH (in cursive in oval on stock) BALLARD’S. PATENT. NOV. 5, 1861.
CREDIT LINE: Guns from the Browning-Cowan Family
OBJECT ID: 986-12-061
Ballard Rifles were originally designed by Charles Ballard, who took out a patent for a single shot rifle in 1861. In 1874, a young gun designer named John Marlin asked to put the gun into production in New Haven, CT. Marlin had popular long arms that competed with Winchester.