Were some of the rifles on Bonanza a bit...

[Andy Griffith]

Well...strange?

I saw an episode las night where there was what looked to be an 1892 cobbled up to look like a Henry!
Removed the forearm, put a magazine or a shield with a cut in the bottom of it with a Henry style follower and some sheet brass on the front of the receiver.

I can understand a bit because there weren't reproductions available then...but I'd a figured they could have come up with a real Henry or something else from the time frame.

 

[The Last Standing Knight]

Well...strange?

I saw an episode las night where there was what looked to be an 1892 cobbled up to look like a Henry!
Removed the forearm, put a magazine or a shield with a cut in the bottom of it with a Henry style follower and some sheet brass on the front of the receiver.

I can understand a bit because there weren't reproductions available then...but I'd a figured they could have come up with a real Henry or something else from the time frame.

Every western I have ever seen you had to suspend belief to a certain extent.
How many times have you seen Matt Dillon reload...he opened the loading gate after firing WAY more than five or six and merely shook the casings out. Sorry, Matt...the single actions I've worked with you just couldn't do that.
Or the firearms being out of time....how many Model 94' were seen in shows that were set in the 1880's.

The list goes on.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Again, it's just entertainment. How about Gail Davis as "Annie Oakley" with her Colt Official Polices dummied up to look like SAAs. Much the same way most Civil War movies made before the 1980s were, as reenactors would say, pretty "farby".

 

[Jellybean]

Every western I have ever seen you had to suspend belief to a certain extent.
How many times have you seen Matt Dillon reload...he opened the loading gate after firing WAY more than five or six and merely shook the casings out. Sorry, Matt...the single actions I've worked with you just couldn't do that.
Or the firearms being out of time....how many Model 94' were seen in shows that were set in the 1880's.

The list goes on.

In "The Frisco Kid", Gene Wilder did that to a cap and ball revolver. He opened it up, shook it a couple of times and showed the round balls in his hand.

 

[Faulkner]

The TV show Bonanza kind of handled the timeline and firearms in a odd manner anyway. The show was supposed to take place in the late 1850's, before the Civil War. Though you'll see a lot of Winchester's and Colt SAA's, if you'll notice none of the gunbelts on the show had cartridge loops, I guess as a nod to the fact that cartridge guns were not in widespread use at that time.

 

[Wheelgunner840]

Bonanza was one of the worst when it came to firearm authenticity. Great show, but not so period correct. I recall one episode where the character of Mark Twain (called Samuel Clemens in the show) made an appearance. There was, of course, a gunfight, and Hoss swings out the cylinder of his SAA to reload it!

Like I said, great entertainment but you have to overlook a lot of stuff!


WG840

 

[tennexplorer]

Wasn't Dan Blocker scared to death of firearms?

 

[ltcdoty]

Again, it's just entertainment. How about Gail Davis as "Annie Oakley" with her Colt Official Polices dummied up to look like SAAs. Much the same way most Civil War movies made before the 1980s were, as reenactors would say, pretty "farby".

When I was about eight years old I used to have great dreams about Gail Davis.....I also used to feel sorry for her boyfriend, she was always saving his behind.

 

[cowart]

Many of the guns appearing in Hollywood productions are rentals from Stembridge
a place to look at the HISTORY of Stembridge Gun Rentals

They have to use whatever is available at production time. Many of the guns (even muzzleloaders) are modified to use commercially available blanks.

 

[Muley Gil]

I believe it was John Wayne's 1960 "The Alamo" where the Mexican Army was armed with Remington rolling blocks.

 

[Evil Dog]

Can't remember the movie title right now but it featured more than just a few "trapdoor" flintlocks !!! Easier to load the blanks I guess.