Bullard Large-Frame Lever Rifle 

A gun that has been heavily used yet taken care of is the best kind of gun

Nothing more beautiful than a rifle that has been heavily but respectfully used. Thanks for the opportunity to view this excellent example of Bullard's craftsmanship.

so glad the title sequence was wrong and it's this beautiful piece of art work and not the Ladies home companion again!

This is probably the Rolls-Royce Phantom of 19th Century lever rifles. Completely impractical from a business standpoint, but still such a good rifle.

That is a beautiful piece of engineering. Cobrays and Khyber Pass pieces are amusing for sure, but ones like this are just fascinating. Glad to have the chance to see it in detail!

I just wish my teacher had done some revision! your mini lectures rock some wonderful arms!

Ian, I note the similarity to the Remington Rolling Block action. In fact it appears Mr Bullard essentially designed a beautiful 'mechanisation' of this via lever, thus obviating all manual operation that the Remington required. The evident result is an action as strong as the rolling block with the speed and ease of a rack-and-pinion lever gun. Sweet.

Your RIA videos have been a really interesting look into a lot of manufactures I'd have never otherwise heard of. Great idea on somebody's part!

Thre is so much history behind all of these weapons, it's amazing. I swear I can't wait till I can start collecting. Great videos, and lots of great info.

Looks like an ambidextrous design that might be a little more handy than something like a Henry, which loads from the muzzle end. Pretty cool rifle.

Just sat down to relax on a Friday evening and now I have something to Google until way past my bedtime. Absolutely beautiful rifle.

A very unique, well designed, and beautiful lever action rifle. If only!

I was disappointed you didn't get into how the action worked. No description of the locking mechanism. :(

Ian, this might be my favorite episode. I love guns like this.

That's actually a really, really good looking gun.

WOW That piece had to be beautiful originally! I never cared for opulent engraving etc, but workmanship and wood oh yes!

This is easily one of the top 10 coolest lever guns ever made. Could you get these chambered for modern smokeless cartridges?

My name is Jake Bullard and so naturally I love this rifle.

I´m always impressed by these old gunmakers, so thank you for uploading !

A beautiful gun. This is one of those rare weapons I sometimes see on this channel that makes me want to take up gunsmithing, so that I can build replicas of them.

2:25 "An extraordinary piece of wood" I like this phrase so much, it sounds like a such cute insult.

Excellent presentation.

Must've been an absolutely beautiful rifle when it was new. Still a nice looking firearm, but I really would like to see one brand new.

It has an incredible patina , awesome piece , love history

It's a beautiful rifle.. Need more appreciation for workmanship such as these. Firearms like this should be seen more as an art piece, living history, rather than what people think about them these days.

Surprised you did not demonstrate the gearing creeper that makes the action so strong and smooth?

beautiful rifle but I'm disappointed that you never told how it locked. I see a large lug between hammer and bolt similar to the Winchester 94. When you operate the lever the locking lug rotates like a Remington rolling block. Awesome rifle.

Hi Ian, Thank you for a good and informative video.

My late Uncle and Godfather George a WW2 had a gun catalog I believe from 1952 with a yellow jacket, anyways they did a story on the Bull-ard they had Mechanical drawings etc and I fell in love with it but never actually saw one. The Large Frame and small frame.

That gun looks remarkably like the "Brush Gun" a .45-70 lever action rifle from fallout New Vegas. It even has comparable weathering and wear.

Forgotten Weapons The intro title card said Cobray Lady's Home Companion. Just a heads up.

That's a tang sight, not a receiver sight.

Well made rifle with some honest wear. Nice find Ian.

Looks like a high quality weapon that was owned by someone who used it heavily, but gave it the TLC it needed. Maybe owned by someone who ate and made a living by the game he hunted? If so, maybe that rifle was his income, so, he treated it accordingly.

So is that style loading gate pre "modern" set up shotguns or does this rifle pre date it

I was waiting to see you explain how the rifle worked( how the rifle locked up and functioned), but you never got to that part. :(

Is it wrong of me to want to buy this and then use it because the person who originally bought this made it to use it so I think I'd be doing a service to the previous owner but that is a sexy lever action seems really well built even compared to some of the more modern lever actions

Interesting title screen on this one Ian, I didn't know Cobray was in business in the 1800...

Truly beautiful rifle.

Do you have a Wieger 940 ? This extremely rare rifle from the DDR . Looks similar to an AK

Why does the title card say "Lady's Home Companion"? Could hardly be a less similar weapon . . .

Very nice looking gun.

Ian forgot to mention that this is one of the few true ambidextrous leveraction rifles.

Would like to see the insides of the gun as well as some shooting.

Thanks!

That's a beautiful piece. One of my favorites I think. I could never own one because I would shoot it. Even the old rimfires can be hand loaded if you're willing.

How much of this stuff do you know off the top of your head and how much do you need to read up on right before doing the video?

I wish there was a good repro of guns like this, or the Whitney-__________ repeating rifles. It's a shame that these designs have been so forgotten.

mr ian is john browning of firearms mechanism explanation.

I love this action!! Beautiful rifle and shame still not around.

Holding the rifle and using the stock rear sight seems like it would be very awkward. Although the elevated sight does seem removable.

To me this looks like the gun of a professional. Someone who would either be a villain in a classic western, or a Quigley type of character.

Thanks for the vid sir.

gorgeous rifle

A fine rifle for the last days of the Old West. The stories it could tell...

*...it kinda looks like it has a falling-block behind the bolt that closes-up behind it in the last movement of the lever. However--- you can see that instead of a vertical block-movement to lock it; that bolt-locking-block pivots/'rocks' forward a little less than 90°... *i REALLY would have liked to hear/see, [preferably with guts exposed for close-ups], how that exact type of lever-action works--- as it's different from all the others i know well. *ESPECIALLY if that action can reliably handle .45-70, .45-80, and the rest of the weirdo, high-power cartridges it was chambered for, at the time period it was invented.

What could be, if these could have been cost effectively mass produced? The way the action is designed is really superior to what Win was producing off the Browning patents.

It's almost like first company to distinguish itself in the manufacture of repeating rifles (Winchester) was be able to dictate the course of development of repeating rifles while all others fall to the wayside regardless of whether their products are good or bad, they can be bought out or go bankrupt

Someone on Reddit posted a request to identify a rifle held by Teddy Roosevelt in this picture: i.pinimg.com/originals/dd/4f/17/dd4f178265c449bbc9fb7a91bed71673.jpg From his writing in the book "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman: Sketches of Sport on the Northern Cattle Plains" I discovered that he owned a 6 shot Bullard express rifle. I had never heard of one before, but could not match the gun pictured with any lever gun I knew about. It was quite nice to search Forgotten Weapons and find this exhibition of a Bullard large frame rifle. No wonder Teddy liked it!

He doesn't explain how the bolt locks/or how it differs from other *contemporary lever-actions... (although he says: "let's take a closer-look at how it works".)

I'd love to know the history behind that rifle

i actually came here looking for a Ballard rifle=( very scarce wiki on it like "it was a rifle".

That sight looks like it would get in the way of properly gripping the rifle

That was nice!

Very cool.

Am i correct in assuming you can't have a +1 capacity, since you have to work the lever, and therefore ejecting the chambered round, before you reload?

Look's very good and stronger than a Winchester

Because of the heavy use of this gun, I would imagine it would be 45-70. Since I would think that would be a much more common to find bullet.

I have one of these. Not sure where to take it to sell it

With the mag spring at the end of the tube, I don't see how you fed the rounds in from the elevator recess. What stops the round from pushing itself out?

I see that it loads differently, but is the lockwork still the same as a Winchester?

Yeah but I like it when you tell us how the lock works.

Dude over at “the Cinnabar” just posted a video on this

Dose it still work and can you still buy 45-85 cartridges ?

This was different rifle but how long was the barrel and what was the twist rate?

How does the action work? Is it strong ? how is it locked up?

aside from it's good construction, how is this lever action stronger than other toggle-link designs?

Do you think this rifle can be reproduced and sold somewhat at a cheap price.

What is the locking mechanism for this rifle? I looked at the patent drawings but cant make out anything obvious. Edit, I see that it is a toggle lock but wouldn't that be to weak for 45-70 as seen with the 76 winchester? Also, wouldn't it have been patent infringement on the winchester/Henry's design?

My grandpa found one in the middle of knwowher in Utah

does it eject the round or just pull it out and up (I can't tell)

is anyone doing modern reproductions of these?

any idea how much this sold for?

how much did they used to cost? 40 bucks?

either he is small or old guns were really big

How did the bore look?

Another lever action design that does not chew my thumb up when loading that never made it. This would be a good candidate for reproduction though. Modern production methods would make it cost about the same as any other lever action from what I can see. I doubt anyone will bother though. Everyone knows the Winchester and Marlin action and stick too it for the most part. Seems to be the same problem back in the day too.

What an awesome rifle, and indeed what a shame.

BUT YOU DIDN'T DISASSEMBLE IT AND SHOW US HOW IT WORKED?!?!?

Better than a Winchester and a Marlin? Well I'll be...

I believe I am related to the family

Should have been in Red Dead Redemption 2.