Spin and Flip cocking
- Thread starter '88Scrat
- Start date
BigMikey76
New member
I found a few videos of guys doing it with various rifles, but this one was my favorite because it has a slow motion replay so you can really see the technique. He is using a '94 with a regular loop. I don't see any cartrige being ejected, so I am fairly sure he is not actually cycling rounds, but it still looks pretty cool.
http://vimeo.com/20658310
http://vimeo.com/20658310
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Hollywood had lots of money for repair parts and gunsmiths...
Gunplummer
New member
If you watch the first "Rifleman" show, it is said that the lever closing fires the gun, not the trigger
Looks like he's spinning using one finger, never seen anybody do it that way. Strong finger.
On the Rifleman's 92, there was a set screw through the triggerguard that tripped the trigger when the lever closed. The lever didn't fire the gun, as such, it just pulled the trigger on closing.
That allowed Connors to get extreme speed without the danger of puncturing his trigger finger.
A 1961 magazine article on the gun stated Connors could actually run it that fast without the screw, but producers were concerned about a potential injury to his finger that could hold up filming, so the set screw was developed. Along with a plunger above the chamber to keep the blanks from dropping out during spinning.
Denis
On the Rifleman's 92, there was a set screw through the triggerguard that tripped the trigger when the lever closed. The lever didn't fire the gun, as such, it just pulled the trigger on closing.
That allowed Connors to get extreme speed without the danger of puncturing his trigger finger.
A 1961 magazine article on the gun stated Connors could actually run it that fast without the screw, but producers were concerned about a potential injury to his finger that could hold up filming, so the set screw was developed. Along with a plunger above the chamber to keep the blanks from dropping out during spinning.
Denis
Gunplummer
New member
The lever fired the gun on closing and was designed that way. It was not a bad sear or worn trigger. I know what happens when you have thick gloves on and try to cycle a lever action fast. You get the same affect until you take the gloves off. Talk about trying to re-invent the wheel.
The lever itself didn't fire the gun on closing & it was modified with the addition of that set screw to trip the trigger. The lever was not "designed" to fire the gun on closing.
The screw was turned in to engage the trigger when a series of fast shots was required for a scene & backed out to avoid engaging the trigger when a scene required single shots as with a normal gun.
Denis
The screw was turned in to engage the trigger when a series of fast shots was required for a scene & backed out to avoid engaging the trigger when a scene required single shots as with a normal gun.
Denis
BitterTait
New member
I know it's possible with practice to spin-cock the henry Mare's leg. Took me dozens of tries to get it right and there were bruises up and down my bicep from when I managed to thwack it with the front sight during a mis-spin.
Unfortunately (or fortunately for the safety of everyone in the area) it doesn't work when loaded. I tried (starting with birdshot, so at least the bleeding wouldn't be very arterial if I shot myself in the foot) it jammed every time.
Chuck Conners was able to do it with a full-sized rifle, however he was an ex-basket ball player, so he had the arms for it.
There were a couple of different shotguns used in the movie, some with the large loop, some without, for use in different scenes. Arnold almost broke his fingers when trying to spin-cock a standard lever model by mistake.
Unfortunately (or fortunately for the safety of everyone in the area) it doesn't work when loaded. I tried (starting with birdshot, so at least the bleeding wouldn't be very arterial if I shot myself in the foot) it jammed every time.
Chuck Conners was able to do it with a full-sized rifle, however he was an ex-basket ball player, so he had the arms for it.
There were a couple of different shotguns used in the movie, some with the large loop, some without, for use in different scenes. Arnold almost broke his fingers when trying to spin-cock a standard lever model by mistake.
BigMikey76
New member
Well, the character was Ethan Edwards, so I will guess either Ethan or Edward.
Gunplummer
New member
Dpris
On the show the lever was designed to fire upon closing. I was not on the set like you were, but did watch the first show. It was stated that the rifle functioned that way and a cowboy accidentally fired it by closing the lever on that show. I am sure that if the show had a Gunsmith in the town he would have used your explanation for the audience. Get a life.
On the show the lever was designed to fire upon closing. I was not on the set like you were, but did watch the first show. It was stated that the rifle functioned that way and a cowboy accidentally fired it by closing the lever on that show. I am sure that if the show had a Gunsmith in the town he would have used your explanation for the audience. Get a life.
Jim Watson
New member
There was a Mattel lever action with a trip cam on the lever, too.
But I don't think they made a large loop lever for spinning.
But I don't think they made a large loop lever for spinning.
I saw/read an interview with Connors in which he claimed to have modified the gun himself by adding a screw to the lever. It could be screwed in to fire the gun when the lever was closed or backed out so that the gun could be used as normal. The lever itself was normal--it wasn't a special design, and on the show, "The Rifleman" used the rifle as normal occasionally, indicating that it retained the capability to be used by pulling the trigger instead of by simply closing the lever.
Plummer,
You can easily do some Googling & find descriptions & photos of the gun & the set screw.
What you could find, if you bothered, would be facts about the gun, not whatever the writers may have included on film in the first show.
With a little effort you might even find a copy of the 1960 GUNS Magazine article written by Rodd Redwing, a Hollywood gun coach involved with the gun's development. I have one here.
The lever was built in two versions during the run of the series, first the rounded "D" shape & later a more squared shape.
The modifications to the levers included adding additional material to the "loops" to enlarge them, and the set screw, as mentioned.
Nothing to fire the gun internally on closing, the inclusion of the set screw accomplished that.
I have no idea what your reference to a bad sear or a worn trigger has to do with the subject.
Get a life?
If you're going to jump into a thread with erroneous info & insult people who know more about the subject than you do, you may expect to be corrected.
I'll get you started, in fact, to make it easier for you.
www.riflemansrifle.com
There's enough material on that site to give you a pretty good history of the Rifleman's Winchester & how it worked.
Denis
You can easily do some Googling & find descriptions & photos of the gun & the set screw.
What you could find, if you bothered, would be facts about the gun, not whatever the writers may have included on film in the first show.
With a little effort you might even find a copy of the 1960 GUNS Magazine article written by Rodd Redwing, a Hollywood gun coach involved with the gun's development. I have one here.
The lever was built in two versions during the run of the series, first the rounded "D" shape & later a more squared shape.
The modifications to the levers included adding additional material to the "loops" to enlarge them, and the set screw, as mentioned.
Nothing to fire the gun internally on closing, the inclusion of the set screw accomplished that.
I have no idea what your reference to a bad sear or a worn trigger has to do with the subject.
Get a life?
If you're going to jump into a thread with erroneous info & insult people who know more about the subject than you do, you may expect to be corrected.
I'll get you started, in fact, to make it easier for you.
www.riflemansrifle.com
There's enough material on that site to give you a pretty good history of the Rifleman's Winchester & how it worked.
Denis
Gunplummer
New member
Neither one of you know what you are talking about. I don't care who made what. The show stated that the rifle functioned as I described and was used in that manner. Nobody cares how the props were made to fudge the action shots. That would really make for a good show. "Hey, wait a minute while I adjust my setscrew so I can empty my gun on you". Do you really think everyone on this forum is so stupid that they need an explanation from you to watch a T.V. show? If you are sitting around, how about Batmans car? I was always curious about how they propped that out.
If the lever did not fire the rifle, why would they add something to it? There is usually a difference between T.V. and reality. In this case not. Get a life.
If the lever did not fire the rifle, why would they add something to it? There is usually a difference between T.V. and reality. In this case not. Get a life.
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Plummer,
It was you who brought up the issue of how the gun fired & worked.
"Nobody cares how the props were made to fudge the action shots"?
There actually are far more people than "nobody" who are interested in that gun & how it really worked, as opposed to how the story claimed it worked, but apparently you & I are coming from different locations.
I have no idea where you are.
Even your TV version that it fired because the lever was modified to do so every time it closed was nonsense on the part of the writers, since it was also used repeatedly in normal single-shot mode during the run of the show.
"If the lever did not fire the rifle, why would they add something to it?"
You've totally lost me with whatever it is you're trying to say.
Denis
It was you who brought up the issue of how the gun fired & worked.
"Nobody cares how the props were made to fudge the action shots"?
There actually are far more people than "nobody" who are interested in that gun & how it really worked, as opposed to how the story claimed it worked, but apparently you & I are coming from different locations.
I have no idea where you are.
Even your TV version that it fired because the lever was modified to do so every time it closed was nonsense on the part of the writers, since it was also used repeatedly in normal single-shot mode during the run of the show.
"If the lever did not fire the rifle, why would they add something to it?"
You've totally lost me with whatever it is you're trying to say.
Denis
http://www.riflemansrifle.com/the_riflemans_rifle.htm
Another feature of the rifle was a screw pin attached to the large loop lever which was positioned so as to trip the trigger when the ring was slammed home, thus allowing Lucas to rapid-fire the rifle, similarly to a semi-automatic pistol. ... Of course Chuck could also back the screw a few turns out of the trigger guard and the special rifle functioned normally.
I didn't watch every single episode, so I can't say for sure what they said about the rifle. I can certainly tell you that the rifle wasn't always used in the rapid fire mode, it was fired on occasion normally. That is, it was cocked normally and then the trigger was pulled to fire the gun. If it was ever stated on the show that the gun always fired when the lever closed, that was a fairly major screwup on their part.
Gunplummer
New member
Anybody that can look at that picture and tell me the lever is not firing that rifle is in way over their head. Either way, watch the very first show. I have had enough ignorance. Later Dude.
The screw fires the rifle. It's an important distinction because the screw can be backed out and the rifle can be fired normally.
Both of us knew exactly what we were talking about, and the proof is that the picture shows exactly what we said was true.
The lever did not fire the rifle, the screw they added fired the rifle.
The rifle was also sometimes used as a normal rifle, which would be impossible if the lever, itself, operated the trigger.