My dad really loves westerns. As a child of the 1960s and 1970s, westerns were a big deal. When I was a kid, if we were home and he was watching T.V., we were watching TV Land, namely old westerns. I grew up watching Bonanza, Wanted: Dead or Alive, and of course, The Rifleman.
The Iconic Rifle from The Rifleman
Every episode of The Rifleman started with Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain shooting his lever-action 1892 rifle rapidly. It is iconic. The Rifleman came out in a crowded market of westerns. Each show was trying to have some flair to it, something that set it apart, and that was usually the weapon. Chuck Connors wielded the 1892, which meant he was a time traveler since the show was set in the 1880s.
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The lever-action rifle was not exactly original, but the speed at which Chuck Connors fired the rifle was the little thing that set the Rifleman apart. Plus, Chuck Connors was six feet five inches; that is tall now, so imagine how he towered over people in 1958.
The Rifleman’s rifle was the key here. It was not your plain Jane Winchester 1892; it was customized to allow for an extreme rate of fire.
The Rifleman’s Rifle
The Rifleman’s rifle was the gimmick that set the show apart, and to do so, the rifle was customized to max out how fast Chuck Connors could fire it. The gun had a large ring lever that was drilled and tapped for a set screw. The large ring was not designed for speed but to allow Connors to cock the rifle by spinning it around his hand.
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The set screw was the key to the gun’s speed. The set screw could be positioned in or out of the ring. When in, the gun would fire as soon as the lever closed. The set screw allowed Connor to fire as fast as he could cycle the action, giving the lever-action a slam-fire effect. That was the key to the rifle’s insane speed.
The idea was to keep Connors from hurting his finger when cycling the action and pulling the trigger. The screw was not always used; it was simply for times when the gun needed to be fired rapidly.
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Chuck Connors’ fancy spin cocking of the Winchester proved difficult. The 1892 is a top-ejecting gun, and this spin move could cause the round to fall out of the top of the gun. The armorer added a plunger to hold the round in place when spin cocking the gun.
At Its Core
The rifle was a Winchester 1892 chambered in .44-40 with a standard 20-inch barrel. Again, they must have gotten it from the future since the show took place in 1881. Multiple guns and levers were used over the course of the show. It started with the D-style loop and then transitioned to a flatter lever later on.
The Rifleman production used gunsmith James S. Stembridge to modify standard Winchesters for the show. There were two initial rifles used in regular and close-up shots. An additional, made-in-Spain El Tigre lever-action was used. The El Tigre was a clone of the 1892 and was a fair bit cheaper. This Spanish lever gun was used for stunts and rough work.
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It often rode in the saddle and was used for stunts where the rifle was thrown to the ground or used to buttstroke a bad guy. The Rifleman did not want to break their precious Winchesters, so the El Tigre took the abuse.
If you watch the famous opening scene, you might notice Connors shoots 12 rounds from a rifle that holds seven rounds. Blanks are a bit shorter than loaded cases. If you remove the projectile, it is just a crimped case. This could allow you to hold more rounds in a tubular magazine. I am not sure how many blanks it can hold, but it is certainly more than seven.
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There are two cuts for the opening scene: one with five shots fired and one with seven. Who knows how they cut the scene to fit and just how many blanks the rifle could hold.
The Rifles Today
So what happened to The Rifleman rifles? They seem lost to history. It is known that a man named Moe Hunt made two 1892 rifles for Connors. These were produced as gifts, and currently, one of those rifles is at the World Golf Hall of Fame.
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Why the Golf Hall of Fame? Chuck Connors hosted a charity golf match, and Arnold Palmer was the honorary chairman of the event. Chuck Connors gave Arnold Palmer one of the rifles. The three used in the show likely sold after Stembridge Gun Rentals went under in 2007, or they might have gone to Independent Studio Services, where some of the arsenal landed.
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