Ballard No. 2 Sporting Rifle

About the Ballard No. 2 Sporting Rifle

The Ballard No. 2 Sporting Rifle is a single-shot, breech-loading falling-block rifle built by Marlin Firearms on Charles H. Ballard's patented action. Produced from 1876 to 1891, the No. 2 was a light hunting model chambered in .38 Long Rimfire and fitted with a 30-inch octagon barrel, a German silver blade front sight, and an adjustable semi-buckhorn rear sight. Its smooth walnut forearm with horn forend insert and straight-grip stock with crescent buttplate made it a popular and affordable small-game and sporting rifle of the late frontier era.

By the 1870s Marlin had turned Charles Ballard's falling-block patent into a graded catalog of single-shot rifles; the modest No. 2 Sporting put a fast-locking, accurate breechloader within reach of working hunters who could not afford the premium target Ballards.

Ballard No. 2 Sporting Rifle specifications

The No. 2 was one of the lighter, more economical Sporting grades in Marlin's Ballard lineup, typically supplied with a 30-inch octagon barrel in .38 Long Rimfire. Configurations varied, and Deluxe No. 2 examples were offered with upgraded wood and engraving.