Chuck Connors was the star. He portrayed Lucas McCain, a rancher in New Mexico territory who was known for his skill with a rifle. He shot a 44-40 Winchester Model 1892 that had a modified round lever, which allowed him to shoot in a rapid-fire style.
The rifle used on the set of The Rifleman, an 1892 Winchester caliber . 44-40 carbine with a standard 20-inch barrel, was an historical anachronism, as the show was set in 1881, 12 years before John Browning had designed the rifle.
What happened to Chuck Connors' rifle from The Rifleman?
That rifle, Connors' trademark from his TV show, The Rifleman, will be sold at auction with the rest of the actor's estate at C.B. Charles Galleries in Pompano Beach this weekend. Connors, who died at age 70 in 1992, used three of the rifles on the show, which ran from 1958 to 1963 and is still in syndication.
Fans of "The Rifleman" can now own a copy of his loop-levered Model 92 in . 44-40. In addition to customized springs, short-throw lever links and resultant faster action, the Comanchero features a hand-sewn, nonslip elk skin-wrapped buttstock and deer skin-wrapped lever.
Gallery owner C.B. Charles said one of the rifles is owned by another famous cowboy actor, Gene Autry, who put it in his museum in California. ``The Rifleman's' second Winchester was bought by former Nixon Cabinet member William Simon.
The make-believe town of North Fork was vividly realized on a CBS sound stage. However, most outdoor sequences were shot at the 20th Century Fox Ranch in Malibu Creek State Park and Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, Los Angeles.
The 1892 rifle with a 24″ barrel held 12 rounds in the magazine and 1 in the chamber. The 20″ barrel model held only 10+1, and the 16″ barrel model held only 8+1.
As demonstrated every episode in the opening credits, McCain could quickly fire his custom rifle — and give it a little flip in his right hand, thanks to the large loop on the lever. The Rifleman production used three prop guns.
The Rifleman - The Riflemans Rifle On Display - YouTube. An actual rifle used by Chuck Connors while filming the western tv series The Rifleman. This is on display at the NRA Museum in Northern Virginia.
Anachronisms. In this and many episodes, Lucas McCain is wearing Wrangler jeans as depicted by the W on the back pockets and the rivets on the pockets. While the series was set in the 1880s, Wrangler jeans were not invented until 1947.
As it turns out, the series' star was also the one who ended it all. He cited three primary reasons why The Rifleman ended its run. In a 1963 interview, Connors provided an Associated Press reporter with his list of grievances. Predictably, the network was at least partially to blame for the kerfuffle.
How old was Johnny Crawford when The Rifleman ended?
Johnny was 17 and receiving piles of fan mail when the series ended. He became something of a teenage pop-music idol as well, with four Top 40 hits. The most successful, “Cindy's Birthday,” reached No. 8 on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1962.
On the first season of the 60s TV show The Rifleman, Lucas Mcain says his small cattle ranch is 4400 acres. On a real life cattle ranch, how many cows or cattle would he probably have? Probably not as many as you might think. The fictitious setting for the McLain ranch is Northern New Mexico.
Lucas agreed: "Very hard to find, son". As it turns out, Lucas did not remarry during the run of the program. However, in the last season, he was for a time smitten by a beautiful hotel owner named Lou Mallory.
Denix Western M1892 Looped Lever Action Replica Carbine Rifle - Black Movie Version (1069-N) This M1892 lever action western carbine has been seen in many movies, but was first made famous in the Rifleman. The looped lever and blued finish of this replica gun are unique eye-catchers.
According to the interview, the original decision to use the rifle was made by The Rifleman producers, Arnold Laven, Jules V. Levy, and Arthur Gardner, in an effort to avoid the TV weapons cliche that many other Westerns fell victim to.
It was designed by Winchester and first marketed in early 1895 as one of the calibers available for the Model 1894. The original loading used a 160-grain softpoint bullet and 30 grains of smokeless powder. Thus the name 30-30 for 30-caliber bullet and 30 grains of powder.
Lucas' rapid fire is not explained by his strange hipfire, but rather his modified rifle. Lucas's lever has a screw that hits the trigger when the lever is closed (S3E14), so he gets to keep his finger out of the way.
There are always things that a true Model 70 snob can get wrapped around the axle about, but overall, Winchester is still turning out an excellent rifle. The Featherweight is a rifle that's generally true to its roots, and instantly recognizable for what it is.
His first inquiry was about the ranch where Lucas McCain and his son lived in the television western show – The Rifleman. The ranch was supposed to be located near the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico.
The film's story, written by Kevin Fitzpatrick, is inspired by Bernard Jordan, who at 89 years old did much the same thing on the 70th anniversary of D-Day in June 2014 when he snuck out of his care home in East Sussex and boarded a ferry to France and Normandy.
