by Mike Nesbitt

Ballard Rifle LLC of Cody, WY, is currently producing very interesting single-shot rifles. Many of their rifles are newly-made versions of the old Ballard single-shots-which you might have guessed. In my opinion one of their most outstanding rifles is the Highwall model.

In fact, Ballard Rifle makes several different versions of the Highwall and the rifle which is featured in this review is equipped with several fine options. This brand new Highwall from Ballard Rifle is certainly worth seeing, and it gets even more credit for its shooting performance.

The Highwall is a Browning design and Winchester bought the right to produce them in 1885. Many of us refer to the Highwall as the Model of 1885, although Winchester never used such a reference. Winchester always referred to this gun as their Single Shot Rifle, a designation used for both the Highwall and the lighter Lowwall. By whichever name, the Highwall was immediately popular with many riflemen.

In his book The American Rifle (1918), Townsend Whelen said, "I consider this the strongest and most reliable rifle action ever made." Several of today's shooters share that belief and the Highwall remains a very favored single-shot, even after more than 100 years.

Options and Calibers
Today's Highwall from Ballard Rifle has a list of options almost as long as the originals. Of course, the options available today are copies of those that were offered on the original Winchester Highwall rifles. Some of those options will be mentioned as we look at this individual rifle.

The list of calibers is also long, and just because they might not list a particular caliber doesn't mean you can't ask for it when you order a rifle. In their catalog, Ballard Rifle says their Highwall is available chambered for all popular blackpowder cartridges plus smokeless cartridges ranging from the .17 HMR up to the .577 Express, including the .22 Short or Long Rifle. Rimless chamberings are available on special order. The subject of this review is chambered for what is probably the most popular blackpowder cartridge ever made, the .45-70.

If you're not familiar with the single-shot Highwall, it is operated with a lever which also forms the trigger guard. Open the lever and the breech block drops. The hammer is center-mounted to the breech block, so it goes down when the block drops. As the breech block comes back up, when the lever is returned to the closed position, the hammer comes up in the full-cock position. This means the rifle is ready to fire, with a loaded round inserted in the chamber, as soon as the breech is closed.

Having a center-mounted hammer also means the Highwall is an ambidextrous rifle, good for south-paws just as much as for right-handers. The operation of a Highwall is rather simple, straight-forward, and very positive.

Set Triggers
One of the extra options on the rifle featured here, which can quickly be seen in the photos, are the close-coupled set triggers. This is only one of four trigger options available from Ballard Rifle. The other trigger options include: the simple trigger; the single-set trigger, and the double-set triggers, which require a longer trigger guard. With the close-coupled triggers, which are just a small fraction of an inch apart, the trigger is set by pushing the rear trigger forward.

There isn't much room behind the rear trigger and this shooter found it much easier to set the triggers while the action was opened, with the trigger guard down and out of the way. However, this means the action was then closed while a live round was in the chamber, with the hammer cocked and the trigger set. No problems were encountered but that is certainly something to keep in mind. Of course, setting the trigger first is not recommended for hunting or general shooting.

The action on this beautiful single-shot was gorgeously color casehardened and that includes the locking bolts and the hammer, plus the buttplate. If the rifle is ordered in a smokeless caliber, the action is blued rather than casehardened, just like the original Winchesters. Also, the actions are available in both thin- and thick-side versions.

Stocks are cut from straight-grained American walnut (very pretty!) and the buttstocks are available either with the crescent buttplate or shotgun butt. Fancier grades of wood, as well as finish and checkering, are optional. Barrels, made by Badger, are available as either octagon, half-octagon, or round with lengths out to 34 inches. Standard sights include a buckhorn rear sight dovetailed to the barrel and a blade at the front.

Peep Sights
This rifle was equipped with very excellent peep sights, both fore and aft. The rear sight was the fully adjustable Winchester Short Range with wind-gauge and the front sight was also an aperture. This very deluxe rear sight is priced separately at $485. The front sight was not the style with the spirit level and it was not adjustable for windage but it was certainly very good. While simply looking at those sights one could easily get the feeling of "who could miss with good sights like these?"

The first shots fired with this new rifle used handloaded ammo which is one of my very favorite loads for the .45/70, the 150-grain "Collar Button" bullet over just 10 grains of loose Goex Cartridge blackpowder. Bullet moulds for the Collar Button are available from Rapine Bullet Mould Mfg. Co. (9503 Landis Lane, Dept. GWK, East Greenville, PA 18041).

Only a few shots were fired at a paper target posted at the 25-yard line. After the rear sight was adjusted slightly, attention was given to some broken pieces of clay pigeon at the 25-yard backstop. Putting one of those pieces of clay in the front aperture, then squeezing the set trigger, simply meant no more pieces of clay pigeon.

The Collar Button bullet was originally designed for indoor practice with the .45/70 but that load is the real ticket for small game, and I wished a rabbit's eye was centered in the front aperture; that would put rabbit meat on the menu right away.

Next some 330-grain cast hollowpoints seated over 70 grains of Goex Cartridge blackpowder were fired at 50 yards. Results were good, making an excellent hunting load for deer or black bear, but I was hoping for better. This rifle has a 1-turn-in-18-inch rate-of-twist in the barrel and I believe it favors a heavier bullet for tighter groups.

Black Hills Ammo
Then some new smokeless powdered factory loads from Black Hills Ammunition were tried, with the 400-grain lead flat point bullets. Those shot quite well but they also taught me a lesson. This rifle must be held rather tightly, perhaps tighter than I'm used to, in order to get a real good group. Perhaps it's the rifle's recoil combined with the bullet's fairly long barrel time, but if the rifle was not held tightly, the group seemed to have two parts, one part higher than the other.

To follow up with that idea, some new 500-grain lead-swaged bullets from Buffalo Bullet Company (12637 Los Nietos Rd., Dept. GWK, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670) were used, seating them over 55 grains of slightly compressed Goex Cartridge blackpowder. The powder is compressed prior to seating the bullets, by pushing the powder down under a card wad with the expander die, so the soft lead bullets are not deformed in the seating process.

Those loads were tried from the bench at 50 yards and it took only a couple of shots, taken while re-adjusting the rear sight to this new load and holding the rifle very tightly, to see that the 500-grain bullet was liked by this rifle. The target was just a small black dot on the white paper and that dot stood out just fine in the front aperture. Three shots fired at the dot all hit very closely, with a center-to-center group of just under ° inch.

For hunting loads, the same 500-grain bullet would be seated over 70 grains of compressed Goex Cartridge blackpowder. That would push the bullet out the barrel just a little faster, duplicating the original .45/70/500 load which made the .45/70 famous. Those Buffalo Bullets being referred to, however, are intended only for single-shot rifles.

This brand new Highwall rifle from Ballard Rifle LLC certainly deserves all the good comments it is getting. It is truly a fine piece of craftsmanship. Prices for the Ballard Rifle Highwall begin at $2,050 for the Standard Sporting Rifle or $2,150 for the same rifle with the single set trigger.

In order to see one for yourself, contact Ballard Rifle LLC at: 113 W. Yellowstone, Dept. GWK, Cody, WY 82414; phone: 307-587-4914. They have a website at: www.ballardrifles.com, where you can look at Highwalls ready for immediate sale. Their color catalog which shows all their rifles, in various models, will be sent to you free upon request.