Secrets Of TV’s The Rifleman: More Than Just Guns And Good Times

Surprisingly after its long and wild ride, the television show was almost remade in 2011. Director Chris Columbus was set to be the executive producer and Willie Nelson and child actor Jacob Tremblay were in talks to star. However, just a few months after they announced the show’s rebirth, it was canceled before the pilot was even created.

Johnny Crawford later played a sheriff in the series The Big Valley. In one of the episodes, he made a particularly symbolic gesture by handing a rifle to an outlaw who was pretending to be a returned sheriff. The moment was significant because the rifle looked very similar to the one that his character’s father, Lucas McCain, from The Rifleman used. McCain’s rifle was an 1892 .44-40 Winchester. The American western series The Big Valley aired from 1965 to 1969 and starred Barbara Stanwyck as the wealthy, strong and tough widow of a 19th century rancher in California.

When The Rifleman premiered, westerns were very common on TV. Producers wanted to make the series would stick out, so they modified a Winchester Model 1892 rifle with a large ring lever drilled and tapped for a set screw. This modification allowed Connors to cock the rifle by spinning it around in his hand. Also, the screw could be positioned so the actor could depress the trigger each time he used the lever. This made it possible for Connors to be able to fire rapidly and empty the magazine in under five seconds during the show’s opening credits, which occurred on North Fork’s main street.

The Rifleman took place in the 1870s and 1880s; however, Lucas McCain’s rifle was actually from 1892. Producers tried to make the show as real as possible, but it was far from 100 percent accurate (sometimes you need to modify things for television). McCain carried around his pretty neat modified Winchester model 1892. Gunsmith James S. Stembridge modified two Model 1892s specifically to use in regular and close-up filming. There was also a Spanish-made Gárate y Anitúa “El Tigre” lever action, which was nearly identical to the Model 1892, that was modified for use as a knockabout gun. They were the only three guns used by Connors on the show.

While the infamous rifle appeared in every single episode of the series, it was not always fired as part of the show. Sometimes, McCain didn’t use his rifle at all. Some of the episodes did not include a solution that required the use of the firearm (such as the episode involving Mark’s new teacher). McCain tried to solve many of the situations on the program without using his gun; however, he wound up killing 120 villains during The Rifleman’s five-year run. McCain relied heavily on his rifle, using it as his weapon of choice. He very rarely carried a pistol.