Signature Guns in Old Westerns

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

 

There can be no argument that in classic movie and TV Westerns, the "standard" guns were the Colt SAA and the Winchester 92.   So much so that when a character used something else, the whatever it was almost became as big a "star" of the movie/TV show as the actor who used it.   And sometimes it wasn't even a different gun, there was just something unusual about its configuration.

 

John Wayne may not have used one in EVERY movie he was in, but the large loop on a Winchester 92 is so associated with him that it is commonly referred to as a "John Wayne Loop."

 

There's a certain Jimmy Stewart movie titled, "Winchester 73."

Clint Eastwood often used various cap and ball cartridge conversions in his movies.

I am sure this happened on more movies, but the tropes was much more common on TV Westerns.   I think it was something they did to try and make the particular show stand out from the crowd.   For example...

Lucas McCain and his big loop, slam fire modified Winchester 92.

Josh Randall and the Mare's Leg.

Wyatt Earp and his Buntline Special.
 

Brady Hawkes and his Derringer.

 

It was long after the heyday of the classic Western, but Ethan Allen Chord's secondary gun was a 75 Remington.   His rifle was Hollyweird Henry made out of a Winchester 66 replica.

 

There was even a show, I can't remember the title, where the main character made a big point out of carrying a S&W American.   Smith and Wesson was supposedly so impressed by this that they looked through their parts bins and made him a brand "new" one as a thank you.

I am sure there are other examples, but those are what I remember off the top of my head.

Anyone remember anything else unusual?

[Dick Pinkerton SASS# 87592]

There's a movie called Bone Tomahawk that starts as a Western and ends as a horror movie, but there's several unusual revolvers in it, we even see a character reload his Merwin & Hulbert under fire.

 

It's an excellent movie with a great cast, but I'll warn you that it gets a little gruesome at the end

[Cotton Eye Joe]

I enjoyed the callouts to Ranger La Boeuf's sharps carbine in True Grit. I think he was using a Cimarron McNelly carbine, but I'm not actually sure. Maybe Cimarron made that gun after the movie. 

 

It made me spend a lot of years (and eventually money) on a 50-70 carbine from Shiloh. Never could get a McNelly in 50-70, just the 45-70 model. 

[Rough 'N Ready Rob]

Can't remember the name of the movie with Clint and Robert Duval were one bad guy had a broom handle auto loader. Clint's movie with the Scofield Kid. Wild bunce, 97 Mod. 12  Have gun will travel always had a hideout Derringer.

  Bone Tomahawk was a little creepy.

[Rye Miles #13621]

There was a tv series on for maybe one year and the star of the show had an over and under shotgun with one barrel a rifle caliber.

 

1961

 

 

 

People also ask

What kind of gun did Shotgun Slade use?

 

 

Slade's weapon is an over-and-under rifle shotgun combination that has a . 32-cal. rifle upper barrel and a 12-gauge shotgun lower barrel. It was based on European combo hunting weapons.

Edited July 17 by Rye Miles #13621

[I. M. Crossdraw, SASS# 8321]

1 hour ago, Dick Pinkerton SASS# 87592 said:

There's a movie called Bone Tomahawk that starts as a Western and ends as a horror movie, but there's several unusual revolvers in it, we even see a character reload his Merwin & Hulbert under fire.

 

It's an excellent movie with a great cast, but I'll warn you that it gets a little gruesome at the end

Have seen that movie, has a good plot but gruesome at the end.  Not bad western movie though.  Much like The Burrowers.

[Dick Pinkerton SASS# 87592]

1 hour ago, Rough 'N Ready Rob said:

Can't remember the name of the movie with Clint and Robert Duval were one bad guy had a broom handle auto loader. Clint's movie with the Scofield Kid. Wild bunce, 97 Mod. 12  Have gun will travel always had a hideout Derringer.

  Bone Tomahawk was a little creepy.

Joe Kidd was the movie with the broomhandle Mauser. Just this week I watched a ln amazing Italian Western called "The Great Silence" that also features a broomhandle Mauser and a snowy winter setting. Apparently the studio bought it but Zanuck hated the mega-downer ending so much that they buried it in the US and made Joe Kidd instead, which also features a broomhandle Mauser and a snowy setting.

 

The Great Silence and Django were both directed by the same guy and you can tell that they're Quentin Tarantino's favorite westerns

 

BTW unforgiven is the one with Clint and the Schofield Kid

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

2 hours ago, Rough 'N Ready Rob said:

Clint's movie with the Scofield Kid.

 

Hee hee hee.    It's been a LONG time since I've been able to this, so here goes.

This is a Schofield.



But this is a Scofield.

[Vail Vigilante]

Keifer Sutherland used a LeMat in a movie he was in. I remember the LeMat but not the name of the movie.

[Griff]

9 minutes ago, Vail Vigilante said:

Keifer Sutherland used a LeMat in a movie he was in. I remember the LeMat but not the name of the movie.

"Forsaken"

Edited July 16 by Griff

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Oh yeah, what was the one with the guy who had a cartridge converted LeMat?

[Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L]

In Big Jake , Christopher Mitchum (playing son Michael McCandles) carries a Bergman Bayard pistol. Looks similar to a Broomhandle Mauser. 

[Dusty Sights, SASS # 2782]

7 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

There was even a show, I can't remember the title, where the main character made a big point out of carrying a S&W American.   Smith and Wesson was supposedly so impressed by this that they looked through their parts bins and made him a brand "new" one as a thank you.

 

Dualist1954 mentions this in his video "The Guns of Hannie Caulder".

Robert Culp uses a S&W number 3 that he'd previously used in his series "Trackdown" that he requested S&W help him acquire. 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

1 hour ago, Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L said:

In Big Jake , Christopher Mitchum (playing son Michael McCandles) carries a Bergman Bayard pistol. Looks similar to a Broomhandle Mauser. 

I always did think that was rather cool.   But if you look carefully, it's actually a disguised Walther P-38.

[Slow Poke]

Lonesome dove is the reason I own a 1860 henry. Its heavy, but damn i fell in love with it after watching that movie.

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Dan Suggs had an 1858 Remington Revolving Rifle in Lonesome Dove.
I've owned a few after watching that movie, because of his character.

Arthur Hunnicutt as "Bull" shot a Colt Revolving Rifle in  El Dorado 

and James Caan shot a 12 gauge cut & carried in a Pistol-Sized holster.

 

David Dukes as Edward Janroe shot David Carridine as Duane Kidston with a LeMat revolver in Last Stand at Saber River

 

[Rip Snorter]

4 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

I always did think that was rather cool.   But if you look carefully, it's actually a disguised Walther P-38.

Big Jake.  Yes, a mock up prop master job - but his brother Patrick did the saloon shoot out with it!  Great old flick!

[Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439]

11 hours ago, Rough 'N Ready Rob said:

Can't remember the name of the movie with Clint and Robert Duval were one bad guy had a broom handle auto loader. Clint's movie with the Scofield Kid. Wild bunce, 97 Mod. 12  Have gun will travel always had a hideout Derringer.

  Bone Tomahawk was a little creepy.

Joe Kidd

[Trailrider #896]

How about the Evans carried in one movie (can't recall the actor or the movie title).  Spencer carbine in "The Unforgiven". "Windage and elevation, Mrs. Lowe. Windage and elevation!"

[watab kid]

13 hours ago, Dick Pinkerton SASS# 87592 said:

There's a movie called Bone Tomahawk that starts as a Western and ends as a horror movie, but there's several unusual revolvers in it, we even see a character reload his Merwin & Hulbert under fire.

 

It's an excellent movie with a great cast, but I'll warn you that it gets a little gruesome at the end

i saw this - i didnt care much for it but your right - its gruesome 

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

I wonder if some of the actors who used the gimmick guns, like Steve McQueen, thought the guns were cool or dumb but since they were new actors they didn't have any say in what the used? Being inexperienced they might not have thought about it much at the time.

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

I really like them 27 shot Pistols with no reloads .

[Rye Miles #13621]

10 hours ago, Rooster Ron Wayne said:

I really like them 27 shot Pistols with no reloads .

I’ve been looking for one of them for years! No luck! 🙄

[Rye Miles #13621]

Wilford Brimley (playing Joe Gill) carried an Evans Repeating Rifle in the movie Crossfire Trail. It is a rare, late-19th-century lever-action firearm famous for its unique rotary magazine design that held 28 rounds, which Brimley famously jokes about in the film. 

[Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439]

Who else believes that Johnny Crawford asked Chuck Connors if he could “borrow” one of the Winchester “D” loop 92’s so Robert Mitchum could use it in El Dorado?

[Dantankerous]

On 7/16/2026 at 10:15 AM, Dick Pinkerton SASS# 87592 said:

There's a movie called Bone Tomahawk that starts as a Western and ends as a horror movie, but there's several unusual revolvers in it, we even see a character reload his Merwin & Hulbert under fire.

 

It's an excellent movie with a great cast, but I'll warn you that it gets a little gruesome at the end

 

Excellent movie I thought, and yeah it gets wildly unnerving at one point. The firearms in the movies were unique, as were the characters. John Brooder was certainly effective and his dark past explains his effectiveness. Sheriff Hunt's Schofields were certainly eye catching. I think he used a Wells Fargo model in at least a couple scenes. Might even been cut down a might shorter. Interesting choice. 

[Rye Miles #13621]

31 minutes ago, Dantankerous said:

 

Excellent movie I thought, and yeah it gets wildly unnerving at one point. The firearms in the movies were unique, as were the characters. John Brooder was certainly effective and his dark past explains his effectiveness. Sheriff Hunt's Schofields were certainly eye catching. I think he used a Wells Fargo model in at least a couple scenes. Might even been cut down a might shorter. Interesting choice. 

Yea I liked it but it sure was different. 🙄

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

1 hour ago, Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 said:

Who else believes that Johnny Crawford asked Chuck Connors if he could “borrow” one of the Winchester “D” loop 92’s so Robert Mitchum could use it in El Dorado?

 

Not me.

Compare Chuck's rifle to Mitchum's.   The shape of the lever is very different.

Also, Chuck didn't own the "his" rifle.  It was a studio owned prop, and he didn't get to keep it when the show ended.

I am more likely to believe that story that the Chuck's rifle is the same one John Wayne used in Stagecoach.   I'm not 100% certain, but the resemblance is there.  The documentary evidence is contradictory though.

[Rip Snorter]

Somewhere there is an article on John Wayne's stagecoach rifle, and another about Connors' if not in older Cowboy Chronicle. in gun mags.   My recollection is that they were not the same gun, and the time between the movie and the TV was considerable. I doubt a prop would have survived the period without damage or retrofitting.

[Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439]

1 hour ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

Not me.

Compare Chuck's rifle to Mitchum's.   The shape of the lever is very different.

Also, Chuck didn't own the "his" rifle.  It was a studio owned prop, and he didn't get to keep it when the show ended.

I am more likely to believe that story that the Chuck's rifle is the same one John Wayne used in Stagecoach.   I'm not 100% certain, but the resemblance is there.  The documentary evidence is contradictory though.

First, I was kidding

Second I know there were 3 rifles, 2 Winchester and one El Tigre that would get thrown on the ground

Third I believe someone did give Chuck Connors one

Fourth, Robert Mitchum did have a D lever, with the screw, when he throws it to John Wayne you can plainly see it, John Wayne’s is his style. 
So normally HK I am on your side but not this time. Thought this was supposedly a fantasy post, more about whimsical observations. But I would be willing to bet that it was borrowed from The Rifleman prop dept. However it is not that important to me and I have packing to do for my move. Have a nice Sunday. 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

4 hours ago, Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 said:

First, I was kidding

Second I know there were 3 rifles, 2 Winchester and one El Tigre that would get thrown on the ground

Third I believe someone did give Chuck Connors one

Fourth, Robert Mitchum did have a D lever, with the screw, when he throws it to John Wayne you can plainly see it, John Wayne’s is his style. 
So normally HK I am on your side but not this time. Thought this was supposedly a fantasy post, more about whimsical observations. But I would be willing to bet that it was borrowed from The Rifleman prop dept. However it is not that important to me and I have packing to do for my move. Have a nice Sunday. 

In all fairness, it's been over a year since I saw Rio Bravo, so I may be misremembering the details. 

Keeping track of all the Hollywood weirdness is...   

Very difficult.

 

I never seen anything like these in an old Western though.
 

[Stump Water]

Mal's Henry in Silverado.  Although in some scenes a yellow boy was used.

 

Not a gun, but the one 45-70 round in John Wayne's gun belt was pretty iconic.

[Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439]

1 hour ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

In all fairness, it's been over a year since I saw Rio Bravo, so I may be misremembering the details. 

Keeping track of all the Hollywood weirdness is...   

Very difficult.

 

I never seen anything like these in an old Western though.
 

El Dorado, not Rio Bravo, Dean Martin had a double rig. Robert Mitchum had a single rig but in the church gunfight seemed to be firing a Colt New Service. 
I have always wondered who designed the large loop that John Wayne uses I believe(first in Rio Bravo) and have never heard the story, even asked here. And again I believe the rifle used in Stagecoach was the “D”. I didn’t have enough money to have a replica done with a Winchester .44-40, there was someone doing the Rifleman rifle either on the customer’s rifle for around $1k or around $2k if the gunsmith doing it provided the rifle. Then he stopped doing them. I would like one now and while I am at it have Nate Kiowa Jones take my Rossi Ranch Hand and turn that into a more realistic Mares Leg like has done. And the only reason I watch Rio Lobo is my wife’s step uncle’ nephew is Jorge Rivera. 
I have both the 1894 and 1892 JW Commemorative rifles, shoot when I was more active with the 92. Plan on starting up again in September with the group that shoots in Sebastian FL. 

Anyway that’s all I got, if someone knows the story of John Wayne’s large loop would love to hear it!!  Have a good evening

[Dantankerous]

In Wild Wild West I'm sure everything was weird, exotic or bizarre. 

[Stump Water]

On 7/16/2026 at 1:11 PM, Dick Pinkerton SASS# 87592 said:

Joe Kidd was the movie with the broomhandle Mauser.

 

Can't forget the bolt action, scoped rifle... that he shot left handed.

 

https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Joe_Kidd#Canadian_Ross_Model_1910_.28custom.29