Mare's Leg: Worth it or a waste?

[doc hamer]

Considering purchasing a mare's lwg like the one Steve McQueen carried in Wanted: Dead or Alie but I've heard it said this type of rifle was a waste of money b/c it wasn't accurate. Just curious if anyone here wouls buy a rifle such as this or pass.

 

[DMW1116]

I always thought they were a starter kit for a short barreled rifle. Just do the required engraving and send the $200 and your set after the wait.

 

[Steve Milbocker]

I never could see a use for one other than maybe how Josh Randall used it

 

[DMW1116]

I don’t see why they’d be inaccurate unless you compare them to an actual rifle, hence my SBR post above. A pair in 22 and 357 Mag would be pretty sweet.

 

[doc hamer]

I don’t see why they’d be inaccurate unless you compare them to an actual rifle, hence my SBR post above. A pair in 22 and 357 Mag would be pretty sweet.

I was told they were inaccurate in the same way a sawed off shotgun might be. b/c of the short barrel.

 

[jmorris]

If they have to be accurate to not be a waste of money, some of my most valuable firearms are a waste of money. That said, they keep going up in value year after year.

It's probably not barrel length that will be the deciding factor, in accuracy. I have XP-100/Contender pistols that are more accurate than lots of bolt action rifles.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Zoe Washburne carried one in the show Firefly. And looked good doing it too...

 

[Ohen Cepel]

If one put it into something like a Ransom Rest I think they would shoot well. Being hard to shoot well doesn't mean the firearm is inaccurate.

I keep pondering a Henry version in 44mag as a range toy. However, the SBR path could be interesting as well.

 

[chickasaw_hunter]

It answers a question that I've never asked.

 

[Archie]

If one put it into something like a Ransom Rest I think they would shoot well. Being hard to shoot well doesn't mean the firearm is inaccurate.

I keep pondering a Henry version in 44mag as a range toy. However, the SBR path could be interesting as well.

That is really the answer. They are (or aren't) intrinsically accurate, but they are horrible to hold and get a proper sight picture. Cool as all get out, but hideous to shoot.

 

[DMW1116]

I was told they were inaccurate in the same way a sawed off shotgun might be. b/c of the short barrel.

I don’t know that a short barreled shotgun is the proper comparison when looking at accuracy. I’m sure a SBS is just as accurate as any other shotgun if it’s set up properly.

Now, if you take a 25” barreled 870 and cut the barrel off with a hacksaw, we’ll you kind of asked for problems if accuracy is your goal.

I can only imagine the Mares Leg lever guns are hard to hold, don’t balance well, and are just plain tough to shoot. LOTS of practice, or building them into an SBR with a proper stock and sight adjustments should make them as accurate as any other lever gun.

12” barreled 45 Colt with a threaded barrel and suppressor sounds like a fun project.

 

[Jack Ryan]

Waste

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

IIRC Steve McQueen-something of a shooter-fired his, said he couldn't hit anything with it. It was meant as a prop to give the character a distinct image. Like the Buntline Special.

 

[CraigC]

They make absolutely no sense to me.

 

[Riomouse911]

IMHO, It’s a range toy to have fun with, pure and simple.

If you want one, I say go ahead and buy one. Only then will you know if it is a hoot, it’s okaaaay, or it’s a total waste.

Stay safe.

 

[N555]

That's a gate way gun to either an SBR addiction or a crippling 45colt addiction. Possibly both.

 

[Roverguy]

Lever guns are not famed for their accuracy. But that’s not why we love them.

It’s not for me, but who of us is to say it’s not for you.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I have always wondered the WHY of a mare's leg. They don't seem to appear in Old West history.

I imagine that, if you had a 1892 pistol caliber carbine with trashed buttstock, end of the barrel ruined, and lotsa time snowed in with a few tools, you might try to salvage it by redoing it as a trapper gun.

I think the name Mare's Leg originated with the TV show Wanted Dead or Alive. A riff off the old name Hog Leg for a big pistol. A Mare's Leg was used in the fantasy cowboy series Briscoe County. I believe Zoe Washburn of Firefly inherited the Briscoe County mare's leg.

Steve McQueen allegedly said he went thru a regimen of instinctive point shoot training and got pretty good with it. It's still a two handed hand gun and using the sights is awkward for me.

 

[Show Me]

Waste compared to other stuff on this site? No , some buy firearms just to have. I like them but don't need one. Target firearm ? Depends on how big and how close the target is

 

[trackskippy]

Personally, they arent my thing, but if they float your boat, why not.

I would think if you took the time to figure out how to shoot them realistically, they probably wouldn't as bad as you're told, to shoot and/or accuracy wise. The biggest hindrance and your experiences there, would be similar to the Shockwave type shotguns, and that being "movie vs reality" in how they are shot.

Gabe Suarez and a couple of others took that on with the Shockwaves and pretty much straightened people out on that. If you want to shoot the Mares Leg like Steve McQueen did on TV, then you likely wont do too well. Follow Suarez's lead, and you'll probably do better.

Short barrels themselves aren't a hindrance to accuracy, they just tend to put more pressure on the shooter to shoot them well, and a lot of that has to do with whats being used to aim them.

 

[hso]

Considering purchasing a mare's lwg like the one Steve McQueen carried in Wanted: Dead or Alie but I've heard it said this type of rifle was a waste of money b/c it wasn't accurate. Just curious if anyone here wouls buy a rifle such as this or pass.

Only as a range toy.

 

[TitanicTortilini]

I have always wondered the WHY of a mare's leg. They don't seen to appear in Old West history.

They were invented entirely for TV/Movie use to be "cool" looking.

An anecdote. I was in a local shop that has a shooting range out back, and a guy is at the counter getting setup to go shoot. He's got a mare's leg on the counter, is telling anyone in earshot how awesome it was, chambered in 45-70, he got an "awesome deal" on it from some sucker, blah, blah, blah. Guy at counter tells him 'that things going to be hard to shoot', guy tells him he's full of it. He heads out back to shoot it. Before I got all the way around the shop, he's back inside complaining about how much it sucked to shoot. Impossible to aim, hurt his hand, etc. Also complained about how expensive 45-70 ammo was. Conversation turned to selling the thing to the store, they made their offer, it was below the "awesome deal" he paid for it, got ticked off and left.

I think of that mess everytime I see a Mare's leg.

 

[Jim Watson]

Since the McQueen "Mare's Leg" was cut down from a real rifle, there was a legend that there had to be a Fed on the set. Which does not make sense but I wonder if the prop department had done the forms and paid the tax or if it had been rendered blank-only.

Of course the new ones are made as "pistols".

 

[Hookeye]

Im not a lever gun fan.
Have owned a few over the years.
Just not a fan.

The idea of a lever gun, as a handgun..............no thanks.

HOWEVER..........if its a gun ya want (for whatever reason), then buy it.

Life is short, have fun.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Considering purchasing a mare's lwg like the one Steve McQueen carried in Wanted: Dead or Alie but I've heard it said this type of rifle was a waste of money b/c it wasn't accurate. Just curious if anyone here wouls buy a rifle such as this or pass.

The rifle may be accurate..., how well you can shoot it may be another matter, due to the shortened stock.

It was one of a series of "gimmick guns" used for TV westerns.

Josh Randall (McQueen) had a mare's leg in .45-70, which was complete balderdash, as with that length of barrel and ammo tube, it might hold two cartridges in the tube with one in the chamber, giving three shots, as the spring in the tube needs room to compress too... but McQueen would often fire more than three shots... Note in the publicity photo there are no sights on his rifle.... OH you might also look at .44 mag, but use .44 Special or even perhaps .44 Russian would work?
I doubt you could find one made in .32-20, but that might give the authentic firepower that the gimmick gun should have...



So although he would buy .45-70 cartridges and wear them..., he was probably shooting .45 Colt blanks which were and are popular in Hollywood. Probably better to use one in .45 Colt, and then load it with .45 Schofield to get the most rounds, but you still might have trouble getting more than six shots before a reload. In that case a standard Colt Army with 7.5 " barrel would work the same, OR you could go for the long barreled Peacemaker carried by Hugh O'Brian in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp...



Another "gimmick gun" was the LeMatt revolver built for the series, and used by Johnny Ringo played by Don Durant, and the not so odd shotgun carried by Johnny Yuma in The Rebel, played by Nick Adams...


Last but not least would be the Over/Under .32 Winchester Special / !2 Gauge rifle-shotgun carried by Shotgun Slade, the private detective in the Old West, played by Scott Brady



LD