Is it possible to make a rifle work like Lucus McCaine (Chuck Connors) did on the old TV show "The Rifleman"? Has anyone
ever seen one that worked like that or owned or shot one?
Anybody have any info on what kind of rifle it was?
Just wondering. Goose

I believe the rifle he carried was a Winchester 1892 in 44-40.
A rifle modified to function the way that rifle did would have no practical application, and would in fact be quite dangerous. At least, that's how I see it.
The 1892 is one of the most handsome rifles ever made. I wish I had an original 1892 Trapper in 44-40. Originals in excellent condition are priced out of my league..way out.


-Jim

A Winchester M-92 in .44-40. They altered the lever to be large, like John Wayne did on one and Josh (Steve McQueen) did on, "Wanted: Dead or Alive." A stud was added to trip the trigger as the lever is worked smartly. This screw/stud can be backed out to avoid firing on closing the lever.

It's just a fancy stunt designed to inflame the imaginations of TV fans. I wouldn't alter a rifle that way.

I actually took the lever from my Marlin 39A to shop class in about 1963 with the idea of drilling and tapping to add a screw that would allow me to fire it like old Lucas. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and I never actually did any drilling.

__________________
Georgia On My Mind

When Chuck Connors was firing that rifle, I don't recall any cartridge cases being ejected.

John Wayne did it better.



John Wayne as The Ringo Kid. From the 1939 movie Stagecoach

__________________
LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Since the modification consists of replacing the factory lever with an oversized one with the screw, it is a simple matter to restore the rifle to its original configuration.
I recall an article by one the gun writers-he said when he handled one the guns used on the show he realized he needed to be 6"5" and have long arms like Chuck Coonors to handle it properly.

Early experiment in stealth technology.

__________________
Oh well, what the hell.

Here is one I had in 44 wcf. It was made in 1902 and came off a indian reservation in the dakotas. Unfortunatly, it was stolen along with a bunch more from my house in 2003. See it, let me know! Its hot!

As I recall, the idea was that you could shoot it with one hand, a difficult feat at best with a standard lever-action rifle. Supposedly Lucas McCain used it for rapid fire, having been a gunman before he settled down to raise a kid. Hard to imagine how you could get any kind of accuracy with the thing. John Wayne should have saved his, it would have been handy in Rio Bravo when one of his arms was disabled and he had to go into a gunfight.

I remember having a toy version when I was a kid. There was a little flip down lever in the trigger guard that would pull the trigger when you brought the lever up. You could also push it down against the inside of the guard so it didn't contact the trigger. It didn't have the big loop like McCain's, but you could fire as fast as you could jack the lever. Kind of like fanning a pistol hammer. Looks cool on the screen but not of much practical value.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I had one of those!!!

An excellent point. I once handled Conan's sword. Arnold S. is much larger than me. I could barely manuever it safely.

I also tried on the combat vest that he wore in, "Predator."
It was significantly too large for me.

had the same gun! I remember it have 'cases' and 'bullets' and they were springloaded so the bullets shot out the barrel and the cases ejected.

Last summer I got a Rossi 92 in 357. More fun, like beer vs root beer.

Is that the one that came with "cartridges" you could load through the gate and which would eject through the top of the "receiver," just like a genuine Winchester? I believe I still have two or three of those shells, a little corroded now, but the rifle is long gone.

You could put a little hinge fold out lever on the lever part of the action this would trip the trigger every time the lever was cranked. The toy rifle mans rifle has it that way. This lever was a cam on an angle. I had one too. I should of read the whole post first.

Good article on this gun and others from the old westerns in this years Gun Digest

The rifle was a "Flip Special", a modified Winchester 1892.

Here is a short article about it:

The Rifleman Chuck Connors

and this:

Riflemans Rifle photos, The Riflemans Rifle

Riflemans Rifle, Authentic Rifleman replica, The Riflemans Rifle

BTW, there is a comment in one of the articles about how if you try to operate a Model 92 a little too fast at rapid fire you "could" get your finger caught between the fixed trigger and lever and get cut. Having tried that a few times at cowboy action shooting and bloodying my Miroku made Winchester 1892 in 45 Colt, I can attest to the fact that it is regrettably true.

__________________
" I said, good DAY! "

When I was a kid (about 1961) I got to see Chuck Connors when he did a show at Old Tucson, AZ. That rifle was loud and fast.

A John Wayne commemorative Winchester similar to the one he is pictured with above hangs on the wall in one of the local pawn shops. I don't know when it was made but it's been there for many years.

I had one also. Looked real good with my Mattel Shootin' Shell Frontier set.

CW

__________________
μολὼν λαβέ

Chuck Connors actually did do the stunt with hie rifle and was proficient at it. He did a demonstration back in the late 80s where he did the famed twirl and shot bullseye with every shot he fired. If anyone here remembers the Christian Broadcasting Network? his demo was shown there and also incorporated into his commentary while introducing reruns of the series-back in the day when you could see 4 episodes in a 2-hr block.

As for the Ringo Kid in: Stagecoach--feast your eyes on the gif:
When I find the one posted somewhere above--ill add it. However, this is from the same movie as well as a few others you might enjoy:

I watched a movie one time that starred Chuck Conners and I think he was a hit man of some kind. I saw it sometime in the late 70's or early 80's. He was driving a big Lincoln or Cadillac. He needed to make some tricky shots at the other guy's and when he went to the trunk of the car to select the proper weapon from 4 or 5 cases, one that he opened had that rifle in it. He picked it up, shook his head, put it back in and grabbed some kind of Uzi or something. My Wife and I wondered how many viewers actually saw that one.
Peace,
Gordon

__________________
better have that checked

I think we had the same shop teacher.

I just finished watching an episode of the rifleman...

Its on metv

Anyhow they put up the official web site

The Rifleman

http://smith-wessonforum.com/newrepl...=1&p=137343179

__________________
... --- ... ..- ... .-

Winchester Spin Cock.mov - YouTube

__________________
... --- ... ..- ... .-

See how fast he was!?

Chuck Connors was a very good athlete, one of very few people to play two professional sports - basketball and baseball, before he became an actor.

Only in the movies

__________________
... --- ... ..- ... .-

What about Schwarzenegger in T2 when he was chasing the big rig on the Harley...looks awesome

How does the old saying go? Load it on Sunday and shoot it all week. When watching a Rifleman episode tonight, I counted him shoot 13 times. I did not realize they held that many bullets.

__________________
Miss Buddies crsides & fat tom

Yeah but he played for the Cubs.


One of the two Model 92 John Wayne used in Stagecoach as well as a few more movies, a 32-20 Win. Trapper with a 15 1/2-inch barrel for spinning. sold for $113,000 at Little John’s Auction Service in Anaheim, Calif. in 2007.

__________________
LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Many years ago...............70's or early 80's someone wrote in to one of the gun magazines with an article, pictures included, on how he created a Rifleman Rifle............

That is my total recollection on the subject.

On one of the websites mentioned in this thread, there's an explanation of that. It says the rifle held 11 "bullets" and that Connors "fired" 11 times. However, the sound was added later, and the sound guys put in 13 bangs.

http://youtu.be/cM-URFKIZU4
http://youtu.be/jNqPB3LVmcI
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD