This rifle was originally produced by Marlin in the late 19th century and customized by George Schoyen in the late 19th century or very early 20th century. Schoyen is widely considered one of the greatest barrel makers. He was a Norwegian immigrant that settled in Denver in 1870. Schoyen barreled Ballards have shot many record breaking groups into the present day. For example, see the .276 inch average groups shot by Claude Roderick at 100 yards on page 353 of Ballard: The Great American Single Shot. It has an empty front sight dovetail, a filler block in the rear sight dovetail and is equipped with a Lyman Targetspot 20x scope complete with scope caps. The sleeved barrel is marked "GEO. C. SCHOYEN DENVER, COLO." on top. It has "J.M. MARLIN NEW-HAVEN. CONN. U.S.A./BALLARD'S PATENT. NOV. 5. 1861." on the left side of the action, the serial number on the bottom, taps for peep sight mounting, double set triggers, wooden panels on the side of the lever, a smooth forearm, and a custom pistol grip stock with large cheek piece, checkered grip, and schuetzen buttplate. Included with the rifle is a false muzzle, a straight grip Schoyen style buttstock with large cheek piece and Schoyen schuetzen buttplate, bullet starter, and ramrod.

Fine. The finish on the barrel has mostly thinned to a brown patina. The action retains about half of the faded case colors. The current buttplate has a brown patina and varnish while the second has a mostly gray patina and some oil staining. The wood is very good as refinished. The checkering is crisp, and there are only minor dings and slight scratches on the buttstocks. The forearm has some light dings and scratches, filled holes and marks from an old palm rest mount, and two additional palm rest screws. The action functions fine. The optics are excellent. The included accessories are fine to very good.