The TV Show "Wanted Dead or Alive"

Mare's Leg.

It’s a mare’s leg and a product of the show. His gun belt has 45/70 ammo in it which wouldn’t do him much good.

https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/mares-leg/

It's a pistol

While there may have been someone back in days of yore who carried such a cut down rifle I've never seen a documented case. I believe his rifle pistol was a Hollywood invention. Cool if you want the Steve McQueen look, but not very practical for any purpose.

It would have been useless. I can't think of a single reason why someone would prefer that over a real revolver. So much of what we think of the old west was pure Hollywood invention. They created a world that never existed.

If there wan't one then there is one now. For many years Henry USA Repeating Arms has been offering a cut down lever action "mares leg" rifle in five different calibers.
https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/mares-leg/

Lucas McCain was way better with his Winchester than Josh Randall ever was with that abomination he used!

Alte Schule said:

If there wan't one then there is one now. For many years Henry USA Repeating Arms has been offering a cut down lever action "mares leg" rifle in five different calibers.
https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/mares-leg/

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Just more proof of Henry and their faux history with a faux rifle. What purpose could such a thing be? Maybe there is?

Rossi also makes (made?) one based on their Winchester '92 replica rifle.

As far as "Wanted- Dead or Alive", if you'd stuck a daisy in Steve McQueen's holster he'd still have been cool.

frogfurr said:

It’s a mare’s leg and a product of the show. His gun belt has 45/70 ammo in it which wouldn’t do him much good.

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Why not? Was his gun not a 45/70?

A picture in the OP post would have been cool.

Brubz said:

Yeah with all due respect to Yul Brynner Steve carried the original Magnificent Seven.

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I beg to differ. Eli Wallach as Calvera carried the plot. Even when he was not on screen, folks were talking about him. McQueen was consciously trying to steal scenes, Wallach wasn’t.

And a good argument could be made that Elmer Bernstein’s sound track made the movie. Without the music in the background the movie would be terribly slow.

But I am nitpicking. It is probably my favorite western of all time.

And to keep this about guns, Wallach carried a Bisley Colt, and McQueen carried an historically incorrect Model P with a brass grip frame. Just showing that I have watched the movie countless times since first seeing it in an honest to gosh movie theater in 1961.

Hugh O'Brian, who played Wyatt Earp in the TV series "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" carried a Colt SAA with a 15 inch barrel. This pistol is called a Buntline Special.





This article, and many like it, claim that Ned Buntline never sent any long barreled Colts to Old West Gunslingers, and looking at Hugh's holster, you can see that the long barrel would be in the way. But, it looked neat. Now, was anything in those Western Shows real? The actors and their clothes are impossibly clean. They did not have running water back then.

I would like to find where this guy got his rig. I want one.

DustyGmt said:

Why not? Was his gun not a 45/70?

A picture in the OP post would have been cool.

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The gun in WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE was a cut down Winchester 1892. The 92s mechanism would never accept 45-70 cartridges, the rifle was in what we call pistol cartridges. .44-40, .38-40, .32-20 cartridges were the type of rounds it would come in. Oh, maybe .25-20..... there might be another, but keep in mind that the length of the rounds the 1892 used were all very similar in length. The .45-70 was just too long.

The rounds in McQueen's belt were for show, only.

Brubz said:

Those members of a certain age may remember a TV show that ran from 1958 to 1961 called Wanted Dead or Alive starring Steve McQueen.

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And there was a movie of the same name, where Rutger Hauer played Nick Randall, a descendent of Josh, where he is a modern day (1980s) bounty hunter. Just picked up the blu-ray copy of it a few months ago. Bunch of cool guns in that one.

Steve McQueen, the king of cool. I've fired a gunsmith made replica of Steves mares leg, in 45lc. It was fun once, but the novelty wears off quickly. Oh, and that holster that Steve/ Josh wore...

I was at Osan AFB in Korea when the Wild Bunch came out. Watched it on base, then went downtown Osan and watched it in a Korean theater. Nothing like listening to it in Korean, no closed captioning. What a hoot.

PWC said:

I was at Osan AFB in Korea when the Wild Bunch came out. Watched it on base, then went downtown Osan and watched it in a Korean theater. Nothing like listening to it in Korean, no closed captioning. What a hoot.

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How many people on earth can say they did that? Lol.

I found the show running on the internet. I watched it for ole times sake. In the first episode the bad guy is Michael Landon, he get killed. Josh Randall gets cold cocked and the mare's leg taken away from him. That seemed to happen in most of early episodes. I don't remember him ever using that mare's leg, and sure didn't ever see him load those big ole 45/70's in that 92 either. I finally gave up after a few episodes.

Heck, I watched “Wanted Dead or Alive” just this weekend. It comes on one of the cable channels.
I had a toy Josh Randall mare’s leg and holster when I was a kid.

Brubz said:

And the best thing about those Hollywood westerns is they never ran out of bullets! I don't think I ever saw anyone reloading a pistol not even John Wayne

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Yea watch the ending shootout scene in Open Range, Kevin Costner shot about 15 times with that 6 shooter before shoving anymore ammo in it. Most westerns were like that they had them 30 round cylinders in them ole revolvers. LOL