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'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: