I sure hope you're not pulling my leg with that picture?!!!!
What you have is probably one of the most desirable Marlin Ballards made! It is catalogued as the 5 1/2 Montana model. which is extremely rare and desirable! The 5 1/2 Montana was basically the #5 Pacific model with a much heavier barrel, shotgun buttplate, and only offered in .45-100 caliber. They are all found in the same serial number range that your gun is. Lowest known is 9797 and the highest 10648. But there is one documented as being in the 16xxx range.
The caliber marking on your gun's barrel should be ".45-100 2 7/8 S" Marked over the chamber on the top flat.
I can't tell you exactly the value of a Montana, as they are so rarely seen for sale that there's no current reference to give a value. I can tell you a friend bought one a number of years ago in similar condition for nearly $15,000 and was tickled to get it. If it's for insurance reasons, I'd add $5,000 to that price. For sale purposes, I'd only sell it at one of the big auctions like Rock Island, or James Julia's. This is a gun that will get a lot of bidding at a large venue.

 

Hey LE,

Welcome to MO.

Way to go! Pics of a GREAT MARLIN........ on your FIRST POST!!

Later, Mark

 

welcome from upstate ny, what a nice old gun.:top:

 

"The caliber marking on your gun's barrel should be ".45-100 2 7/8 S" YES it is

 

Thanks! Spent lots of summers in Albany Co. @ Crystal Lake. Went to Colonie Central HS Jr & Sr year

 

"I'd only sell it at one of the big auctions like Rock Island, or James Julia's." Please tell me more about these auctions. Thanks

 

Since no one else is asking, how'd you come by the rifle? Passed down in family, gun show/shop find, idiot selling off family heirlooms for nothing cause they don't know what they are?

Welcome aboard and nice rifle!

 

Inherited from Grandfather that lived in the Quad Cities of IA & Ill

 

Hey Loco,

You can still obtain the "long" .45 caliber rifle brass.......................Add a MVA #108.............Go "ring" some dingers!

Later, Mark

 

Do a google search for James Julia Auctions and also Rock Island Auctions. They are the big boys in firearms auctions, and a gun of this rarity would best be sold there.
But I have to say I'm extremely disappointed that a gun like this would be sold! I can't imagine selling any gun that was inherited from my grandfather. Just seems like a very sad thing to do with something he owned.

 

I am getting up there in age and do not want to burden my wife and daughters with trying sell my "stuff". I've had the rifle since I was 1/2 my current age and up until lately never thought of selling but there comes a time.

 

Wow. What a nice looking rifle! Very impressive! I'm assuming it's not for sale you just had the curiosity bug bite you to see the worth? That's what I'm hoping for. I'd hate to see you sell something of that caliber especially with it being your grandads. Good luck with it.

 

Oh and by the way Welcome from The Great State of Texas!

 

I've kept my great-grandfather's 12 gauge side hammer W. Richards, a cheap, common firearm of the late 19th century. I see his face and can hear his German-accented English every time I pick it up. Still fire it with BP shotshells.

You'll regret selling that heirloom.

 

Well Loco you could always adopt me as a son and heir it to me....just trying to be helpful and give you some other options to consider..

 

Well my daughter wants my stuff, so she'll be the heir to my gun collecting habit. Just wish any of mine was willed to me by my grandfather, so she'd have something even more special!

 

Welcome from the space coast of Florida...

Wow. Can any of y'all imagine what that rifle has seen in its lifetime? Amazing!

 

If it stayed in the Kansas area it's whole life, it most likely saw some of the end of the buffalo era hunts. Anyone buying a 5 1/2 Montana Ballard in .45-100 was serious about hunting very large game like buffalo, or elk. The sheer weight of the Montana Ballard was more than any sane hunter wanted to pack very long, so hunting the plains in a wagon would be almost a necessity with the 14 lb. weight this gun was listed at!

 

I'll keep it under consideration. LOL

 

Vall, want to go in half and half and offer him a good price

 

Yes, I want to, but don't want to mortgage the house now that it's finally paid off!

 

make me an offer I can't refuse! LOL

 

I can make a bunch you'll have no trouble refusing! I truly wish I could make a legitimate offer! Owning a Montana would take one off the bucket list. But I'd have to sell too many other Ballards I love to be able to own it!

 

Update after a visit with a forum member:
s/n on block and butt plate matched exterior #
Unable to get forearm screw removed to ck s/n there, account it is in mangled condition, but still working on finding a solution.
Front sight prob not original as there are ding marks on right side of barrel in line with sights. Screws on butt plate match, but 1 has a different (none)
as the other one. App. 50% case harding left on block.
The bore is exceptional, rating very high on a scale of 1 to 10. With just the naked eye, it appears to have been fired very little, with very strong lands and grooves. The extractor cut is still crisp and sharp showing very little wear.
The barrel is still showing strong bluing, fading to brown in areas and some mottling. No deep scratches nor any barrel removal marks. The double set triggers work perfectly after a cleaning. Lever snaps up perfectly when closing, showing a slight gap which could be easily corrected with a slight bending of the lever. I observed several small cracks in the forearm and stock, however none would require more than gluing in position to prevent splitting of the wood. No chips or broken pieces of wood. Given the rarity of the Ballard 5 1/2, Montana, I would consider it in very good condition.
There were 2 sets of numbers etched on the underside of the butt plate. One appears to be a phone #, maybe. The other one is an 8 digit number. Anyone care to guess
what kind of numbers might be 8 digits?
Many thanks for the members of this forum for all the valuable information and help! I'll be forever grateful.

 

Loco Engr,

I understand where you're coming from. I just sold to a collector, two antique pistols my dad brought back from WWII. One was Flobert parlor pistol, the other a 1873 St. Etienne revolver. None of my sons is interested in them, and they have zero utility as shooters.

I'd rather they go to someone who knows what they are, and who will appreciate them. Same for your much more impressive (and valuable) rifle.

Anyone who can afford what it is worth (estimated value discussed above) will appreciate it for its history and will certainly take care of it. Much better to auction it to a collector than for a nephew to sell it to a pawn shop for $75... I agree that you're doing your wife a favor by selling off for what your firearms are worth, rather than having an auctioneer or dealer make her an offer of pennies on the dollar.

Too often I hear stories of widows who sell off collections for far less than they are worth, just because they aren't comfortable having "guns" in the house and have no idea what they're worth. And sometimes, they are at more risk for robbery if it is known that the deceased had firearms. Widows' houses are easy pickin's.

By all means, write up everything you know about the story of your grandfather and the rifle. A picture of him, better yet, a picture of him with the rifle, where he lived, his house, how he used it, any supporting documentation, any old ammunition, etc. The provenance could add significantly to the selling price of the rifle.

All the best.

 

Holy Cow man I googled it came across a Cabelas listing for one.
$40,000 thats right $40,000.
I think you are my long lost Uncle twice re-moved or something.
Just joking but not about the $40,000 price tag on one.
I would contact your insurance and get a rider put on your policy faster than anything else.

 

Well, on reflection I do understand selling. I am the last one alive who remembers my great grandpa; I also have a perfect H&R Premier in 22 that my great uncle bought new in the 1920s and seems to have fired maybe a box of shells. My kids were tiny when he died, and neither they nor my grandkids care about shooting. And in fairness, the two heirlooms combined might bring a few hundred bucks....

 

It occured to me last night that I could sell my Harley and buy that but now that I see $40,000 I guess I'd have to sell a fleet of Harleys. That Cabelas bench mark may not be achieved but it does give you high hopes for a hefty price tage to be sure. Congratulations! Proceed cautiously is all I'd say!