Why John Wayne's Winchester Is Smarter Than You Think

Why John Wayne's Winchester Is Smarter Than You Think video from GunRank.

Summary:

John Wayne's famous Winchester in Stagecoach (1939) was the wrong model for the movie's Old West setting. Hollywood knew it, and kept choosing the Model 1892 for half a century anyway.

And the National Firearms Museum's own catalog quietly breaks the most repeated story about Wayne's rifle.

Hank Mercer runs the Winchester Model 1892 through the Prop-Room Test, GunRank's five-question framework (Era, Supply, Blank, Hand, Frame), to show why the "wrong" rifle was the smart choice for a working film set. You'll learn how to tell a Model 1873 from a Model 1892 in a clear freeze-frame, what museum records say about Wayne's large-loop Winchesters from Stagecoach to True Grit, and where the famous stories run past the evidence.

Stay for the end: the federal registration detail the museum records on the Stagecoach rifle, and what a published two-rifle account adds to the story.

No load data, no prices, no sales, no modification instructions.

Inside: The anachronism collectors spot · The Prop-Room Test · Supply and the five-in-one blank · John Browning's thirty-day promise · 1873 vs. 1892 spotting guide · The large loop and its disputed origin · Wayne's Winchesters in museum records · The "one rifle" legend · The two-gun account · The Rifleman parallel · KEEP IT HONEST · Verdict

The famous John Wayne Stagecoach twirl:

John Wayne On John Ford Directing Him In STAGECOACH

John Wayne On John Ford Directing Him In STAGECOACH video from the American Film Institute.

Summary:

In this clip from the documentary DIRECTED BY JOHN FORD (by Peter Bogdanovich) John Wayne talks about John Ford directing him in STAGECOACH.

Two Incredible Yakima Canutt "Stagecoach" Stunts

 Two Incredible Yakima Canutt Stunts From John Ford's "Stagecoach" (John Wayne, 1939)

Summary:

"Stagecoach" would be John Wayne's starmaking picture.

His friend, actor/stuntman Yakima Canutt, was the film's stunt coordinator.

Yakima personally performed one thrilling stunt in particular...

...which would famously inspire a similar one in "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

And then there's the next one...

Yakima Canutt would win an honorary Oscar award in 1967. 

A Short History of Hollywood’s Ironic Gun-Control Fetish

Above, John Wayne and his Winchester 1892 lever-gun with wide loop in Stagecoach (1939).

Guns and Hollywood have gone hand-in-hand since the silent movie era.

Many gun models (rifles and pistols) have been featured in motion pictures for decades. Some gun models are so popular that many of those guns have seen sales skyrocket, such as Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Smith & Wesson Model 29 in .44 magnum.

America's First Freedom has posted an article that is a short history of Hollywood's gun control fetish.

It begins with:

We often use Hollywood as a pejorative in these pages. Many film executives have been asking for this treatment.

It is, after all, one thing to ignore the anti-Second Amendment politics of an actor who stars in shoot-‘em-up action films, but it is quite another to shrug away anti-gun political messaging fronting as moral goodness in a TV drama or film.

Nevertheless, we do.

We shake our heads and sigh when our national storytellers aren’t just peddling weak falsehoods about America’s more than 100 million gun owners but also are so intellectually lazy or so immersed in their anti-gun bubbles that they get basic things about guns and the laws that regulate them wrong.

Admittedly, there can be a tinge of cathartic pleasure in voicing honest criticisms of Hollywood actors, writers and producers who ignorantly attack this right—this is very much like when an audience cheers after President Donald Trump (R) points to the back of a rally and calls the “journalists” standing there behind their cameras and microphones “fake news.”

Still, those are only the obvious things to say about the complex relationship between America’s millions and millions of lawfully armed citizens and the juggernaut we refer to as Hollywood.

To read the full article, go here. 

HOW TO MODIFY THE WINCHESTER "94" TO SPIN-COCK AND FAN (Video)

Western fans are familiar with the introduction of John Wayne as the Ringo Kid in Stagecoach (1939) spin-cocking his Winchester 1892.

Here's the scene if you have never seen it:

 

If one want to give it a whirl (pardon the pun), here's how to do it with a Winchester 94:

From Daniel Mink (Rhinestone Roper):

Join Dan Mink, The Rhinestone Roper and multiple Wild West World Champion, as he teaches HOW TO SPIN-COCK AND FAN THE WINCHESTER "94" and explains the modifications to the gun that make these Classic Western moves possible.  Some of us remember Lucas McCain in THE RIFLEMAN and ROOSTER COGBURN as they spun their rifles in one hand take care of the bad guys.  This video shows how any Cowboy, Cowgirl or other frontier enthusiast can handle their rifle in the same way.

Personally, I've never tried spin-cocking my Winchester 94 myself. It needs a bigger and wider loop. Knowing my luck, I'd probably shoot my foot off (or worse).

John Wayne's "Stagecoach" Rifle

Above, John Wayne in Stagecoach with his Winchester 1892 rifle. 

Ever wondered what lever-action rifle model John Wayne used in the 1939 western classic, Stagecoach? 

According to the Internet Movie Firearms Data Base:

Henry "The Ringo Kid" (John Wayne) uses a Winchester 1892 "Saddle Ring Carbine" with a large lever loop. It is the shorter "Trapper" model that was often the weapon of choice for the actor throughout many of his films.  

The large lever loop allows for one-handed reloading that the actor would make famous in numerous Westerns.

For more on the Winchester 1892 and other guns featured in Stagecoach, go here.

Lever-Action Rifle Spin-Cocking

In the meadow shootout scene above in True Grit, Wayne spin-cocked his rifle twice.

Gun experts say not to spin-cock a lever-action rifle because one is liable to shoot himself/herself in the process. It is best to do so with an unloaded rifle.

Owners of lever-action rifles probably won't admit to doing it, but many will try doing so at least once. No, I have not tried it with my Winchester 94.

John Wayne and Chuck Connors used to spin-cock lever-action rifles. Wayne, in Stagecoach (1939) and True Grit (1969) and Connors in the television show, The Rifleman.

Wayne primarily used a Winchester 1892 carbine with an extra large cocking lever loop in his movies.  

In the video below, J.  Wheeler shows how he spin-cocks his Winchester 1892:

Navajo Nation Moves To Purchase Gouldings

Above, the original Goulding's Lodge and trading post in 2022. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The nearly 100-year-old Goulding's Lodge near Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park may be purchased by the Navajo Nation. 

Goulding's Lodge was founded by Harry Goulding in the 1920s and served Hollywood, especially director John Ford, starting with the 1939 classic, Stagecoach, starring John Wayne and Claire Trevor. 

According to the San Juan Record:

The nearly 100-year-old iconic Goulding properties in Monument Valley are moving closer to changing ownership to the Navajo Nation.

Members of the Navajo Nation Council approved legislation on October 17 to approve the purchase of Goulding’s Monument Valley Lodge for $59.5 million.

The legislation was sponsored by Council Delegate Herman Daniels, Jr. Delegate Daniels represents Tsah Bii Kin, Navajo Mountain, Shonto, and Oljato chapters on the Navajo Nation Council.

“The purchase of Goulding’s is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Navajo Nation and has the backing of the Oljato Chapter who passed a resolution supporting the purchase,” said Daniels.

While the agreed purchase price for the property is $59.5 million, the Nation shares it is $13.9 million below the appraised value of the property. The property will be purchased using money from the Navajo Nation Land Acquisition Trust Fund.

A presentation given to the Navajo Nation Council in July estimated the Navajo Nation would generate an annual return of $7.4 million, a return of investment of 12.45 percent for the tribe.  

Included with the purchase of the property are assets that include 670 acres of land, a Monument Valley Tour business, an RV campground with rental cabins, the gas station and convenience store, grocery store, the airstrip, and all existing utilities. 

Above, my 2016 Goulding's Lodge Campground campsite. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I have stayed at Goulding's Lodge Campground twice, in 2016 and, most recently, in October 2022. Both times I have taken their tours of Monument Valley.

If the sale to the Navajo Nation goes through, I hope they keep the Goulding's name.

To read more, go here.