The Rifleman
 

I just watched the intro to an old western, The Rifleman and it is amazing how he worked the lever of this winchester and fires almost full auto like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IVCwYPjFXc

There was a set screw in the lever that could be set to engage the trigger to produce rapid fire.

David.

Really? Never heard of it.

Sort of like a lever action version of firing a revolver with just the hammer?

There was a magazine back in the 80s named "Firepower", and they occasionally did articles on movie, and tv weapons. In one issue the covered a number of different weapons, including the Rifleman's Winchester. They had a poor photo of the rifle (this was before laser-printed magazines) showing the set screw arrangement. The set screw was at the base of the trigger guard, where it met the hoop. Tightening the screw would cause it to move up into the trigger guard, where it would catch the trigger whenever the lever was actuated. If you carefully watch the opening, you can see that his finger is nowhere near the trigger. If you tried that without some type of arrangement like that, then I imagine that you would end up impaling your finger on the trigger. :eek:

Michael Landon used to tell a story about Chuck Connors. They were good friends when "The Rifleman" became a hit, so he asked CC if he would come and put on a show for his Cub Scout Troop, as they all loved the show. CC agreed. The troop met in a school that had a stage, complete with curtain. ML told the the kids that he had a special treat for them...CHUCK CONNORS, THE RIFLEMAN! And nothing! ML went behind the curtain to find CC holding the rifle in one hand, and the blanks in the other hand. ML asked him what was wrong? CC replied that he didn't know how to load the rifle! Michael Landon said that here was a man that could make the rifle sing and dance, but they had never shown him how to load the rifle. So ML showed him how to load the rifle, and CC put on a great show for the Cub Scouts.

David.

Cool story! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the info, guys. I wonder would this kind of set trigger give people back in the late 1800s an advantage in a fight.

Presumably very little except at point blank range.

When I was a kid, wayyyyyyyyyy back in the 60s, I had a very large arsenal. One of the guns was a Mattel Shootin' Shell Winchester. The Mattel Shootin' Shells were brass casings with a spring in it. You loaded a plastic bullet into the casing, and the cartridge into the gun. When you fired the gun, the bullet would come out of the barrel. You could also put a cap onto the cartridge. The S.S. Winchester loaded like a real Winchester, and it even would eject the spent casings like one. It had a tab on the lever, that when folded down would engage the trigger. This allowed you to rapid fire the rifle, just like the Rifleman did! As I remember it, the accuracy in rapid fire was pretty poor, even at point blank range. :D

Could you imagine the screams if Mattel were to even try and market such toys nowadays? :eek:

David.

Actually today Nerf makes rifles with magazines to load and fire. Bolt action rifles for their toy guns and even scopes. I wish I had those when I was growing up.