How many bullets did that damn thing hold, anyway? I counted eight shots in one Youtube clip.
His aim improved due to his stint pitching for Dodgers.
I loved it too. Every week, he’d face a problem that could best be handled with the judicious use of a rifle.
One for every letter in the title.
The Model 92 holds 15 in the tube.
The prop department probably did provide a Model 92, as it was the go to rifle for TV westerns of the era. IIRC, and I probably don’t, in the context of the show it was supposed to be a Winchester 73. Even then, 8 rounds from the old. 44-40 would have been realistic.
I was rather amazed to see that Johnny Crawford became a big-band vocalist and leads a dance orchestra in Southern California these days.
One of my holy grails of TV will air tomorrow night. The episode* Honest Abe *has Pick Temple, the TV cowboy I watched when was a little kid, in a bit part.
It’s perhaps not the most likely thing, but there were several units of sharpshooters in the war as well. They would have been armed with damn near anything. I imagine making the jump from the Henry to the Winchester wouldn’t have been that bad.
Speaking of particular episodes, one that sticks in my memory from when I watched the show as a kid: Some bad guy actually manages to steal McCain’s rifle. McCain tracks him and there’s a shootout where the bad guy is up a hill (with the rifle) and McCain is at the bottom, armed with only a revolver. McCain takes a few shots and misses, and the bad guy taunts him about how McCain’ll never be able to hit him, since a handgun just doesn’t have the range/accuracy (don’t really remember which or if it was both; hey, it was years ago) of a rifle. McCain spots a very convenient board nearby, just about the length of a rifle, with a convenient knothole near one short end. So he sticks the butt of the gun into the knothole, puts the other end of the board against his shoulder, and now he’s got a makeshift rifle! And then he successfully shoots the bad guy.
As I recall, that seemed a bit far-fetched, even to me as a kid.
I remember that episode. I may be mistaken, but I think the bad guy was Vic Morrow, Sgt. Saunders on “Combat!”.
The Colt .45 really was not terribly accurate, and it was effective really at close range. Whether this was because of the relatively short length of the barrel or because you just can’t aim as well with your free hand as you can when the weapon is tucked in snug against your shoulder, I can’t say.
FWIW, the German Mauser was a pistol that could be fitted with a shoulder stock. I suspect it was more accurate when used that way (just like those special P38 Walthers Solo and Kuryakin used on “The Man from UNCLE”).
Did they ever say what branch of the Army Lucas was in? If he was in the cavalry, he must have carried a carbine (a Sharps?).
I don’t think any rifle of the Civil War was repeating; I wonder how many breech-loaders there were?
There was both the Spencer and Henry repeating rifles. Their use was rather limited but they were used.
Wikipedia says he was a lieutenant in the 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment,
19th Indiana were issued Springfield muskets during the war. Doubtful Lucas would have much experience with repeaters until afterwards.
I love the show, but that kid must be the must traumatized child in all of fiction, considering all of the times he’s been kidnapped or witnessed someone being shot, sometimes both in the same episode.
All I can add is what others have said. He was a Civil War vet. I believe one show mentioned that his wife died in the Indian Territory.
“Well, I also ranch.”
Is that all he did, steal the rifle, and McCain kills him?
He was a mean son of a bitch, just looking for someone to kill.
“Look, Mark! That guy’s wagon is painted funny!”
all they needed is a hook to make a show on. he was in the war, he used a gun. people didn’t become obsessive tv weenies until Star Trek.
My Model 1892 Cowboy II holds 10 rounds of .357 magnum, so I kinda doubt his would hold 15 of anything other than .22.
Well, I would think he’s a built in safety feature for the natives.
If anyone difficult comes around, you just steer them in his direction and the problem takes care of itself.
With his track record of murders, it’s not like anyone local is going to say anything bad about him or testify against him.