The first is a full blown custom schuetzen rifle with a Pope barrel in .32-40 caliber. Half octagon, 30", and a gorgeous bore. Stocks are birdseye maple, with a palm rest, and brass buttplate similar to Schoyen style. It was built on a Union Hill Ballard made in the mid 1880's. The telescope is a early JW Fecker built when he was in Cleveland. Probably late 1920's. The barrel was never cut for iron sight dovetails, and rollstamp is on the 45 degree flat, so always a scoped rifle. There's a small brass piece added to the lever for offhand shooting when the shooter would have his three fingers under the lever instead of inside the loop.
The 2nd one I bought later in the show. It's a factory Marlin Ballard #6 Schuetzen with a barrel by Geo. C. Schoyen of Denver Co. Done some time prior to Schoyen's death in 1916. It too is a .32-40, but a half octagon 32" heavy barrel, with a great bore also! Other than the palm rest, and barrel it's a standard #6 Marlin model. It had no sights or scope, so I added both midrange Vernier, globe front, and the Belding & Mull telescope after I got back home. It had a few chips missing from forearm, and missing the palm rest. So I made repairs to the forearm, and built a new palm rest in the correct Schoyen style. Has the very early German style stocks, with heavy buttplate and flat bottom. This is an early Ballard from around 1876 or so.
