This rifle features a heavy #4 weight full octagon barrel marked "GEO. C. SCHOYEN DENVER COLO." on the top flat near towards the breech. The front sight is a Winchester windgauge spirit lever, and there is no rear barrel sight or drilled/tapped holes for scope blocks. The rifling is typical Schoyen with 7 wide grooves and narrow lands and finished in a Schoyen soft brown. The action is a Marlin #6 Schuetzen frame with beautiful typical "Ulrich" engraving pattern featuring a bear within a circle on the left side and a running buck within a circle on the right side. The receiver ring is not rebated, and the engraving extends over the octagon flats. The underside of the frame has a large takedown screw, which partially obscures the serial number. The double set triggers are the later style with a thin contour. The lever is a three finger loop style made for double set triggers. The tang sight is a short range (Schuetzen type) Farrow windage Vernier made with the Ballard hole spacing. The forearm and pistol grip stock are extra fancy black walnut with checkering and black insert on the forearm tip and underside of grip. The buttstock has a medium size cheekpiece on a Monte Carlo style comb with a nickel plated Schuetzen buttplate (Schoyen style). This style and the extreme perch belly are showcased in the Schoyen catalog. The forearm is quite stylish with a Schnabel tip and long thin checkered diamond. The forearm has two holes for a very early pre-Pope/Stevens palm rest base. A palm rest is included. The accessories with the rifle include the very rare original loading tools and are the following: Schoyen brass lined bullet mold for a 200 grain, 6 grease groove bullet; brass schoyen bullet lube pump with .32 caliber die; Schoyen re/de capper; and Schoyen duplex bench mounted powder measure (glass jars missing). The rifle also has an interchangeable Schoyen made shotgun buttstock for bench rest shooting. With the rifle is a fishing license/card issued to the original owner M.J. Emerick of Medford, Oregon, and a copy of the "American Single Shot Rifle News" (March-April 1995), which contains a John Dutcher article about George Schoyen with this rifle pictured and described and a letter discussing this rifle and its previous ownership history written by John Dutcher. According to Dutcher, this is the best false muzzle Schoyen Schuetzen rifle he has owned in 40 years of collecting, from the standpoint of overall condition, unaltered as it left the Schoyen shop and the completeness of original loading tools. This rifle is pictured and described in John Dutcher's book "Ballard: The Great American Single Shot Rifle" (page 350).

Excellent with 90% Schoyen brown finish remaining on the barrel and 85% Schoyen case colors remaining on the action. There a couple patches of minor pitting near the muzzle. The wood is also very fine showing some minor handling marks with overall crisp checkering and retaining most of the finish. The shotgun buttstock is excellent showing some minor handling marks with overall crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. A great example of a Schoyen Ballard that would add value to any antique single shot rifle collection. Provenance: Robert M. Lee Collection.