The Rifleman

I don't know about an explanation, but a lever action is much easier to shoot with either hand than a bolt action.

It would be easy to speculate, but who knows the real reason, if there was one? Chuck Connors was left-handed, so maybe his natural tendency was to shoot left-handed and he would forget. Maybe he was tasked to shoot right- or left-handed depending on the camera angle during a scene. His character, Lucas McCain, was an officer in an Indiana infantry regiment during the Civil War. It would behoove most any soldier to be able to shoot with either hand when necessary. Maybe nobody was noticing which hand he shot with during filming, and it was an inside joke with him. Since he obviously had a reputation as a good-guy gunman on the show, maybe that was part of the reason for the notoriety: he was ambidextrous and good with either hand. You've seen Westerns where the gunman is shooting two revolvers at the same time from a double rig. Same deal.

I don't remember a lot of the episodes, I was very young (9 when the show was cancelled in 1963), and I haven't had the opportunity to closely watch re-runs when they're shown. I don't recall seeing him carry the rifle in a scabbard when on horseback, it seems like he was usually carrying it in his hands and walking, or in a wagon. Several promotional pictures I've seen show him holding it sort of port-arms, left-handed. I've never thought much about it, really.

I remember there was a toy rifle offered when I was a kid, it had the large cocking lever, and had a small tab on the lever that could be folded out and would catch the trigger when the action was worked, so you could rapid fire it just by working the cocking lever.

The Rifleman was a good show, always had a moral, and Connors' character as a single parent was groundbreaking. As for the gunplay, I still liked Steve McQueen and his Mare's Leg in Wanted : Dead or Alive better. More 'cool factor'.

There are several "quirks" about the rifle itself. Since the show was set in 1880 it exists fully 12 years before John Browning designed it (it was a Winchester Model 1892). The magazine could not hold 12 rounds, which is how many times the gun is fired in opening credits (and there is a 13th shot dubbed as the opening music starts) The blanks used in the show had smokeless powder, where the .44-40 was a black powder cartridge and the rapid firing would have filled the scene with smoke.

bangswitch said:

I remember there was a toy rifle offered when I was a kid, it had the large cocking lever, and had a small tab on the lever that could be folded out and would catch the trigger when the action was worked, so you could rapid fire it just by working the cocking lever.

Click to expand...

In the show, it did not have a tab that could be folded, it had a screw that could be backed out. Just tricks of the filmmakers trade.

Look closely and you can see it on the bottom of the trigger guard.



Got that picture from the following link, you will also notice regarding the OPs point, half of the pictures are left handed shooting/holding and half are right handed shooting/holding position.

http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/The_Rifleman




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Veteran of World War Two, professional athlete in three sports, "Lefty' Chuck Connors led a full and impressive life. Every Saturday morning AMC has episodes of the 'Rifleman,' and I'm there watching. Great show.

With the lever rigged and firing from the hip it didn't matter which hand he used.

But he was an accomplished athlete. He played on the very 1st Boston Celtics basketball team as well as on several semi-pro baseball teams. He never played, but was also drafted by the Chicago Bears.

Once again it's TV. Heck in one episode he lost his rifle to the badguys. Got hold of a revolver and fitted it with a "stock" made from a tree limb. And with that he was magically able to make accurate shots. Great story, but like most really weak on facts.

They had 3 Mdl. 92 Carbines on the set. I think one was a Spanish El Tigre. It was a task to maintain the timing on these actions. They were constantly jamming and having feeding properly.

I recall McCain mentioning on one episode about the screw in the lever. The character had it put there intentionally.

Chuck Conners was ambidextrous. The U. S. Marine Corps up to the time of the Korean War, did not understand about people being left handed. EVERYONE was right handed. (End of discussion.) I rather suspect the U. S. Army during the Second World War had a similar attitude. Not to mention shooting an M1 Garand or an M1 carbine from the left shoulder is - uh - inconvenient. So I imagine the late Mr. Conners learned to shoot right handed as a result.

As for the results? Guys, this is TELEVISION in the 1950s and 60s! Good guys were all excellent shooters and the good guys always won.

During preproduction, Connors was taught to handle the Winchester by placing his trigger finger inside the guard so when he cycled the action, he would hit the trigger with it and fire the weapon. An insurance agent wouldn't cover any injury to his finger if he accidently rammed it into the trigger, so the prop department rigged the rifles with that screw to trip the trigger.
A gimmick made necessary to please an insurance company, it was written into the show.

Great thread. Thanks for starting it and I may just have to tune in to some of the old episodes again.

Always wondered if the movie "Branded" had any relationship to the Rifleman show?

I looked up his bio. One interesting thing was "He was the first NBA player to shatter a backboard; he did it while playing for the Boston Celtics in 1946."

The bio indicated he could use either hand equally.

Also, Connors is one of only 12 athletes in American sports history to play in both the NBA, for the Boston Celtics, and Major League Baseball, for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs.

A shame he didn't try to make the Bears after they drafted him. He would then be one of a kind. In WWII he was a tank warfare instructor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and West Point for three years, and got in plenty of time honing his shooting skills. A remarkable life.

Chuck Connors is the main reason I have a lever-action. The Rifleman and Sky King were my favorite childhood shows, and I can't afford an airplane.

I'm also left-handed, but always shouldered a long gun to my right side. I just figured that's where they go. The first firearm I ever shouldered was a .22 autoloading rifle. I did try to shoot it once or twice off the left, but the hot cases going down my shirt put the kibosh on that real quick.

However, I shoot handguns left-handed.

I do catch an episode once in a while; I'll have to pay some closer attention..

22-rimfire said:

Always wondered if the movie "Branded" had any relationship to the Rifleman show?

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Dunno about the movie, but after the Rifleman, Chuck Connors starred in the TV series, "Branded".

They also added a plate on the top of the rifles so the shell wouldn't fly out when he spun cocked the thing. He did sometimes use a saddle scabbard that had the rifle butt sticking out behind his saddle.
After the series ended Chuck kept one of the rifles and had it at his home until he died. Johnny Crawford who played the son has said that Chuck was like a second father to him.

Chuck Connors also starred in a short lived series called Cowboy in Africa. That series was based on the adventures of Jim Fowler (Marlin Perkins sidekick on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom). About live capturing animals for zoos using cutting horses and lassoing them like they were cattle.

On the IMDB site there are a couple of quotes from Conners.

[comparing his baseball and acting careers] So why not be a switch hitter with the rifle, too? Let's learn both ways.

[regarding his baseball career] I was a switch-hitter, remember? At most things, I'm a good with one hand as the other.

Over the course of my adult life, I've done about 20% of my rifle shooting left-handed. Similar with pistol. Killed a couple of deer that way also, due to unique circumstances where the right handed shot was obstructed, but the left handed shot was available. Some of the NRA Qualifications require shooting with the non-dominant hand also. For me, it just makes sense for a proficient rifleman to have some level of capabilities with both hands.

Thanks for the reminder. I bet we could all stand a bit more practice with the non-dominant hand.

Branded was a tv series about a supposed deserter from Custers army.
Rifles had a spring plunger to keep ctg in place while spinning.
Connors also starred in a brief series about vampire hunters.
He was supposed to host American Shooter/Shooting USA but died before production began.
I was such a fan I had a 92 made into a Rifleman rifle. Still have it. Learned the hard way that a 5' 10" guy with normal arms can't or shouldn't spin a 24" barreled rifle. (Did not make it carbine length). Try explaining to your doctor how you got an ivory bead embedded in your shoulder.

jeepnik said:

Once again it's TV. Heck in one episode he lost his rifle to the badguys. Got hold of a revolver and fitted it with a "stock" made from a tree limb. And with that he was magically able to make accurate shots. Great story, but like most really weak on facts.

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That was one of my favorites. Vic Morrow was the bad guy.

Not that I doubt Chuck's ambidextrousness, many southpaws in that era and even later were forced to live in a right handed world, but hollywierd has been known to invert film on occasion.

"Anything is possible in an animated cartoon." Bugs Bunny.
Is on TV too.
"...did not understand about people being left handed..." Nobody did. My Ma(born in 1911. Figure she started school in 1916.) was tortured by nuns until she wrote right handed.
"...was ambidextrous..." Real men use both hands, naturally without the influence of a military force. Just that one works better than the other. That's why you get two. Used to pour drinks while working in bars with both hands. Neither an M1 Rifle or Carbine is particularly difficult or awkward to shoot left handed either. Nor is any other firearm. Didn't actually laugh at the militia kid overheard telling his buddy how it was impossible to shoot a C1A1(CF FAL) left handed. Just asked him how I managed to shoot expert with one. Oh a C1A1 is operated with the left hand. Safety is on the left side.

Connors was widely credited with being ambidextrous & able to run the gun equally well with either hand.
No further explanation required.

And "the" rifle he used was not the one JW used in Stagecoach.
The Stagecoach carbine was much shorter.
Denis