Ballard Carbine
- Category
- Carbine
- Barrel
- 559 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.40 kg
- Introduced
- 1862
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Ballard Carbine is a single-shot, breech-loading, falling-block carbine built on Charles Henry Ballard's November 1861 patent. Manufactured by Ball & Williams of Worcester, Massachusetts during the American Civil War, it used a lever-actuated dropping breechblock that enclosed the lock work to resist fouling and a center-hung hammer for fast lock time. Chambered mainly in .44 Long rimfire with a roughly 22-inch part-octagonal, part-round barrel, the cavalry carbine carried a single barrel band and a pair of sling swivels rather than the usual saddle ring, and saw service with Union and Kentucky state forces in the Western theater.
Pitched against a crowded field of Civil War cavalry carbines, the Ballard's enclosed falling-block lock and clean metallic-cartridge ignition kept it firing reliably in the mud of the Western theater, and its patent later outlasted the war to become a celebrated target-rifle action under Marlin.
Most carbines used a 20-1/4 to 22-inch barrel and a manual rear-lever extractor. A 1864 Merwin & Bray dual-ignition device let some carbines fire either rimfire metallic cartridges or percussion combustible loads. Calibers also included .46 and .54 rimfire on some contracts.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Ball & Williams
- Category
- Carbine
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1862 to 1865
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 559 mm
- Overall length
- 940 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.40 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Falling block
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 1
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 335 m/s
- Effective range
- 180 m
- Maximum range
- 730 m
- Rate of fire
- 8 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Falling block action
Lever operated breech
Center hung hammer
Manual extractor
Sling swivels
Barrel band
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 409 carbines | 3.40 kg | 3.00 kg | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 407 carbines | 940 mm | 895 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 423 carbines | 559 mm | 406 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 423 carbines | 1 | 21 | Holds fewer rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Ballard Carbine
How much does the Ballard Carbine weigh?
The Ballard Carbine weighs 3.40 kg (7.50 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Ballard Carbine?
The Ballard Carbine is chambered in .44 Long Rimfire.
How many rounds does the Ballard Carbine hold?
The Ballard Carbine holds 1 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Ballard Carbine?
The Ballard Carbine is 940 mm (37.0 in) long overall, with a 559 mm (22.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Ballard Carbine?
The Ballard Carbine is made by Ball & Williams (United States). It was designed by Charles Henry Ballard.
When was the Ballard Carbine introduced?
The Ballard Carbine was introduced in 1862 and discontinued in 1865.
How does the Ballard Carbine operate?
The Ballard Carbine uses a falling block action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- United States Army
- 1863
- Kentucky State Militia
- 1863
Provenance
Confidence in this record
60%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/ballard-carbine' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "ballard-carbine", "name": "Ballard Carbine", "manufacturer": { "id": "ball-williams", "name": "Ball & Williams", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1861, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "5e9a4c0763d91a36e5438dd2cb8bd832bf9e54c1bb51bc9db9a02a7e31d2df9f" }, "category": { "id": "carbine", "name": "Carbine", "description": "Shortened rifles for close-quarters use" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1862, "barrel_length_mm": 559, "weight_empty_g": 3400, "action_type": "falling_block"}