Here we present an antique Ball & Williams Ballard Rifle in .44 Rimfire, made circa 1864 by Ball & Williams in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Ballard design was one of the favorite long arms during the Civil War period, though production numbers do not necessarily reflect it. The original designer was Charles H. Ballard and his agents Merwin & Bray oversaw production between several different companies. It was a simple, single shot falling block action and was one of the early guns that would fire a metallic cartridge. This rifle has a 20" half octagon/ round barrel with a dovetailed German silver blade front sight. The patina’d case colored receiver is marked on left side "BALL & WILLIAMS / WORCESTER MASS / MERWIN & BRAY AGTS / NEW YORK" and on the right “BALLARD’S PATENT/NOV 5 1861”. The barrel shows a dark gray patina and the wood stock is very worn. The butt stock and the receiver are held together with a repair. The action functions as intended with tight lock up. The manual cartridge extractor operates without impingement. Serial Number: 12788. This firearm qualifies as an Antique, and does not require FFL Transfer or NICS Background Check.