the Mare's leg this is a term for the customized shortened Winchester Model
1892 it's become a bit of a Hollywood legendary firearm
adding flash to several tough guy or girl characters in the Western genre
the gun was first made famous by Steve McQueen's character Josh Randall in the
series Wanted Dead or Alive though the weapon was first seen before this in the TV series
track down from the late 1950s you got a name for that well I call it a Mare's leg
kind of like a Hog's leg only it's not quite so mean kinda big isn't it I guess
it was the single episode that inspired the spin-off Wanted Dead or Alive where
the Mare's leg would basically become a co-star of the whole production sometimes the weapon
is referred to after McQueen's character being called The Winchester Randle or Randall special
you make a move and I'll open you from the scalp down now listen I wasn't on his side you didn't
move far to prove it don't kill me please okay big man the weapon was custom designed by Kenny Von
Dutch Howard an artist and gunsmith the barrel was cut down to at least 12 inches and most of
the buttstock was removed this allowed for the Mare's leg to be worn on a large leg holster and
used with one hand which is rather convenient for dramatic use of the weapon while filming [Music]
you know you men don't seem to understand
interestingly the gun is chambered in 44-40 but for even more dramatic effect as if the gun
wasn't already dramatic enough larger 45-70 rounds are worn on McQueen's belt yes I know thank you
McQueen uses the gun frequently as a one-handed prop to express himself in every episode the large
lever Loop allows for Liberal use of the weapon without fingers getting twisted or stuck the large
loop also lends itself to the popular Hollywood extravagance of the spincock now do you understand
spincaulking has been around in cinema for a very long time John Wayne first did it with
the Winchester 1892 and Stagecoach from 1939 and again in True Grit
spin caulking was again made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2. this time using
a Winchester 1887 shotgun also sawed down like the Mare's leg interestingly several real and
fake variants of the gun were used while filming including versions without the enlarged lever
Loop while Arnold was learning to spincock the gun he accidentally attempted this with
one of the shotguns without the enlarged lever Loop and nearly broke three fingers
of course spin caulking is a method for caulking is not really a safe practice even though a round
isn't fully chambered until you fully run the lever it's just good practice to be in control of
where your Barrel is pointed at all times it also puts strain on the moving components of the gun
but don't let old Johnny poop on your party if spin caulking is your thing
it does look cool at least I'm the party pooper
it should also be noted that spin caulking or flip caulking shown
here the terms are often interchangeable can dump around right out of the chamber
onto the ground on many unmodified lever action rifles something further to consider
[Music]
are there any advantages to the Mare's leg configuration well obviously it's going to be
more comfortable and concealable to carry around over a regular rifle it's also going to be easier
to use in a confined setting McQueen's frequently ambushing people from behind doors with it
used outside or at range however it's not a very stable platform for accuracy
as the stock is basically non-existent so it's mostly fired from the hip or one-handed on TV
you mean that shot yeah that shot well it wasn't bad but it's not that I haven't done with a
bad hangover in 30 different dive towns across the West oh is that right that's exactly right
caliber-wise there's no real advantage to the Mare's leg there were pistols at
the time available in the same 44-40 cartridge the 44-40 was popular for Winchester rifles so
manufacturers like Colton Smith and Wesson offered pistols in this caliber which was
really convenient for anyone wanting to share ammunition between a rifle and a pistol Smith
and Wesson made the model 3 in 44-40 called also offered their Single Action Army in 4440 called
The Cult Frontier the Mare's like does have a longer Barrel than these pistols but the same
ammunition capacity at six rounds and though the Mare's leg can be operated single-handedly
due to the enlarged lever this design slows down its potential maximum rate of fire lever
actions can otherwise be blazing fast Chuck Connors from The Rifleman for example uses
a modified trigger set to fire each time the weapon is cocked you've done something
with that trigger haven't you that's right fires automatically each time you cock the lever [Music]
though unmodified lever action models can be both safer and faster in the right hands
today these guns remain popular though there have been certain legal complications in
producing Mare's legs particularly if the firearm is built by shortening the barrel
of an already existing firearm as such many companies rather than shortening Winchester
rifles have produced variants as original Productions classifying them as handguns so
there are some interesting variants on the market if you're wanting to look as cool as Steve McQueen
I wear this thing and there's some nearsighted Joker might take me for you that's right
all right I'm Johnny thanks for watching this little video on
the Mare's leg hope you have a nice rest of your day and we'll see you next time