O.A. Bremer Ballard

[marlinman93]

Some years back a friend who shoots in our annual long range shoot sent me pictures of this Bremer Ballard he picked up at his local gun shop. It had beautiful lines, but looked very dark and rusty in the pics. Never thought it would clean up well, but when he brought it to our shoot later it was a very nice rifle. I told him if he ever considered selling it to please give me first chance at it!







A week ago I got the call from him and he said he was reducing his gun collection and did I still want it? Of course I did, and we worked out the details. He shipped it to me and I picked it up yesterday!
It's an original Ballard #10 Scheutzen Junior barreled action with Bremer built stocks and buttplate, and Bremer checkering. Bremer's checkering is so unique, and this checkering wraps up the side at the wrist and over the top all in one continuous pattern. Matching numbers on frame, barrel, and blocks. The barrel is a .32" half octagon in a heavy #4 weight as the #10 were. Chambered in .32-40 Ballard. Sights were missing when he got it, so he put an MVA Soule tang sight, and a Baldwin globe front sight on it.
I've had the original pics for many years, and occasionally drool over them. Often thought about asking him again, but decided not to bother him in all these years.

[Walt]

You did good, Vall!
Beautiful pictures
You're gonna need to add another couple of rooms to your house to make room for your beautiful old guns.

[marlinman93]

You did good, Vall!
Beautiful pictures
You're gonna need to add another couple of rooms to your house to make room for your beautiful old guns.

Heading to Greeley, Co. mid May for the collector gun show and I'm taking 5 old rifles along to sell, simply because I need to make more room in my safes for the best stuff.

[GunnyMack]

That looks like a real nice Ballard!
I'm inhaling my lunch so I can go pick up a new (to me) Parker. 12ga, VHE with 32" and a vent rib- its kind of a rare bird .

[marlinman93]

That looks like a real nice Ballard!
I'm inhaling my lunch so I can go pick up a new (to me) Parker. 12ga, VHE with 32" and a vent rib- its kind of a rare bird .

Going to share pictures when you get it home?

[GunnyMack]

Yes sir!
I posted it as New Family Member

[JBowen]

Real unique (to me anyway) rifle, Val. Explain the purpose/function of that buttplate. It looks like you just about have to slip your arm through it?


JBowen

[marlinman93]

Real unique (to me anyway) rifle, Val. Explain the purpose/function of that buttplate. It looks like you just about have to slip your arm through it?


JBowen

This particular rifle does have a tighter curve to the lower prong that wouldn't fit some guys with larger arms. Most are a bit more open and fit most arms. The Swiss style buttplates were designed specifically for offhand shooting, and the lower prong hooked under your armpit and the top prong sat over your upper arm, but not over the top of your shoulder. It allowed the shooter to hold his rifle standing on his hind legs and not have barrel weight let the butt slide up off your shoulder. Most of these guns also had a palm rest that hung below the forearm so a shooter could hold the barrel level and allow him to let his elbow of that arm against his side for more support.
Here's a picture from the .22 scheutzen match done earlier this year:

[JBowen]

Thank you for the picture and explanation.
Makes perfect sense to me now.

JBowen

[Bill in Oregon]

Dang, Vall, what a nice addition to your collection. Years ago I showed up a few times just to watch members of the State of Jefferson Schuetzen club shoot their marvelous rifles at the Sportsman Park off I-5 north of Grants Pass. The schuetzen rifles are even more intoxicating when seen in person.

[marlinman93]

Dang, Vall, what a nice addition to your collection. Years ago I showed up a few times just to watch members of the State of Jefferson Schuetzen club shoot their marvelous rifles at the Sportsman Park off I-5 north of Grants Pass. The schuetzen rifles are even more intoxicating when seen in person.

Scheutzen matches are such a nice slow pace, and watching them do their thing is intoxicating. We have none around my area, so have to go down to Eugene at Emerald Empire, or up to Tacoma at Tacoma Rifle and Pistol club.
I remember my first trip to Tacoma to watch a match and seeing guys breech seating bullets I turned to my friend who drove with me and asked what the heck they were doing? Shooters used just one case all through the match by popping out primers, repriming, and charging the same case. Then breech seated the bullets into the bore, and chambered the primed and charged case. I couldn't believe how well they shot, and how slow and smooth the match relays went!
When you've shot matches where you prepare for weeks building up all your ammo for both the match and practice it's a whole new world. And you can easily adjust powder charges during the matches if you feel your charge is slightly low or high. Pretty neat stuff.

Here's one of the finest videos ever done on Scheutzen!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk2E-Ttb-Gw#ddg-play

[GunnyMack]

Good video, thanks Vall.
Im wondering if you can share a few pics of the breech seating tool, how exactly it's used. I've not seen one nor how it's used.

[marlinman93]

Good video, thanks Vall.
Im wondering if you can share a few pics of the breech seating tool, how exactly it's used. I've not seen one nor how it's used.

Breech seating tools vary greatly depending on who made them. They all perform the same function, and most use a lever to give the shooter leverage to seat bullets. I have quite a few, and they are each different for different brands of rifles.
The things they have in common for lever type tools are they hold the bullet in the tool by means of a sliding case. The bullet is hand inserted into the case on the seater, then the seater and case inserted into the chamber. The tools either hook into the breech block mortise, or they hook on the action. Then push the handle forward to seat the bullet, and pull it back to remove the tool. Ideal made cheap tools called "push seaters" that you put the bullet into, and then simply pushed a knob on the end of the tool to seat a bullet. That was pretty tough to do and they were only sold to guys who wanted a cheaper option.
Here's my Jerry Cleave tool for my Hepburn Match B rifle:




This is a Bo Clerke tool for a Winchester 1885:


My own design of a seater for my Ballard rifles:


The tool at middle left is one of my old Ideal push seaters:


Another Cleave tool Jerry built me for my Ballard rifles. Only one ever made as Jerry said the block was far too complicated, and he refused to ever make another for a Ballard!






Bullet molds for breech seating are also unique. The molds are cut so bullets have stepped bands with the base band being groove diameter or slightly larger. Each band above the base gets smaller as they get towards the bullet nose. This allows the bullets to seal at the base, but makes them much easier to breech seat. Ideal was one of the first companies to commercially build such molds and they named the style the "Hudson Bullet" after Doc Hudson, a famous scheutzen shooter. But all the custom barrel makers like Schoyen, Pope, etc. offered stepped band molds with barrels they made for customers. I have three Pope molds, but only one Schoyen as he made far less, or at least far less got separated from their shooting kits and guns! Accurate Molds sells copies of the Ideal/Hudson molds.

[Griff]

Nice addition to your Ballard collection.

[GunnyMack]

Thank you Vall, I now have a better understanding of how the seaters work. I can see how that push seater would be a chore without the mechanical advantage.

[marlinman93]

Nice addition to your Ballard collection.

Thanks Griff. It's up there near the top since my niche is Ballards by custom gunsmiths.