Vall,
That engraved Ballard looks like a jewel. Makes you wonder what stock was on it originally, but your replacement is excellent. Will make a beautiful rifle. The .22 looks like a challenge, but will make a nice rifle when done.
Chuck
I was guessing it would have come with stocks similar to a #8, #, 9, or #10 style. Only real difference would probably have been the grade of wood, as an engraved gun always got better wood, even if you didn't order it. The wood pictured is very highly figured, and a set Dave had inletted for his gun, but felt mine was a better candidate for it, since it is a high grade Ballard.
The .22 proved to be quite the challenge, as after getting the barrel off, and soaking it, the extractor still wouldn't come out. I tried driving it out with a punch through the ejector cut, but the end broke off. Then I tried putting a notch in the remainder to get another purchase with the punch, and the middle broke off. I finally decided to drill out the last 1/3 of the ejector, but it simply spun in the blind hole. I figured if it was spinning, I'd just let it spin until it was loose. After a few minutes, I stopped and turned the barrel over, and it dropped out on the floor. Whew!
Not sure if I'll keep the #3 once it's done, as I've got 4 of them, and all nicer. Just wanted to get it working, and maybe turn it around for a small profit.
