Ballard No. 7 Long Range Creedmoor

About the Ballard No. 7 Long Range Creedmoor

The Ballard No. 7 Long Range Creedmoor is a heavy single-shot, breech-loading falling-block target rifle built on Charles Henry Ballard's patent and produced by Marlin Firearms of New Haven from about 1879 to 1883. It was the dedicated long-range match model of the Marlin-Ballard line, made to compete in the Creedmoor-style 800-, 900-, and 1,000-yard target matches that were popular in the era. The rifle used a lever-operated falling-block action with double-set triggers and a long part-octagon barrel of roughly 34 inches, and it was fitted with a long-range Vernier peep tang sight and a wind-gauge front sight for precise elevation and windage adjustment. Chambered for big black-powder Creedmoor cartridges such as the .44-100 Everlasting, the No. 7 carried a checkered walnut pistol-grip stock and weighed about ten pounds.

The No. 7 Long Range was the Marlin-Ballard's match-day thoroughbred, built for the great Creedmoor target meetings where American and international teams squared off at 800, 900, and 1,000 yards. With its Vernier tang sight clicking out elevation by the yard and a wind-gauge front blade reading the breeze, it was a precision instrument dressed as a buffalo gun.

Ballard No. 7 Long Range Creedmoor specifications

The No. 7 Long Range was offered in several grades, including the higher-finished No. 7 A-1 (Creedmoor A-1) with fancier wood and upgraded sights. Long-range Ballards were chambered for a range of heavy black-powder target cartridges including the .44-100 and .45-100 Everlasting; individual rifles varied considerably in barrel profile, sights, and stock configuration.