Wanted Dead or Alive!
Posted: 03 Feb 2015 17:14
Steve McQueen in this 1959 western series carries what appears to be a ranch hand. Looks like 45-70. This is a great series. He is a bounty hunter. Check it out on direct tv.
I watch it whenever I can. I think he's carrying the forerunner of the ranch hand. Here's a quote from Wikipedia:
The original Mare’s Leg was made by cutting down a .44-40 caliber Winchester Model 1892 rifle to a size that could be worn in a large leg holster and used with one hand. The barrel was cut down to a length of twelve (or possibly nine) inches,[1] and much of the butt-stock was removed. The designer was Kenny “Von Dutch” Howard.[6] McQueen, an experienced hunter and gun collector, was also involved in the final design, suggesting the duck-bill hammer and enlarged lever loop, and initiating a redesign of the custom holster.[1] The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms was not consulted before the program aired and producers had to pay taxes totalling $1100.[1]
During filming, three guns were actually made, each with an enlarged loop on the cocking lever. The first gun differed in the size of its lever enlargement, and the third gun bore an octagonal barrel instead of a round one. In a continuity oversight, a gun sometimes changed partway through a given scene. While the guns were chambered for the .44-40 round, McQueen wore more impressive looking .45-70 rounds in the loops of his gun belt. In season one, a doctor, after removing a bullet fired from the Mare's Leg from the back of a criminal, identified the removed bullet as a 30-30 round.[7]