Popularized by Steve McQueen the original Mare’s Leg Pistol was a shortened .44-40 Winchester 1892 lever action rifle which featured in the ’50s TV series Wanted: Dead or Alive. Its distinctive design featured a cut down butt stock, shortened barrel and large cocking lever loop.
The Rossi Ranch Hand has a 12" barrel chambered in either .38 Spl./.357 Mag., .44 Mag. or .45 Colt. It is supposed to be a handgun and not a shortened rifle in a pistol caliber.
Thanks for sharing info about this quaint firearm; fans of westerns should find it very interesting. The low recoil is quite surprising...
Re: Mare's Leg Pistol
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:50 am
by Vikram
Doc, I have seen this type but never heard the name "Mare's Leg". One lives and learns.Thanks for posting.
Best-
Vikram
Re: Mare's Leg Pistol
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:36 pm
by The Doc
Thank you, gentlemen .
best,
Rp.
Re: Mare's Leg Pistol
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:08 pm
by dr.jayakumar
doc,
thanks for sharing,when as a kid i must have seen almost all cowboy action movies.
after that this is the first time i am seeing one.
why is it called mare's leg?
regards
Re: Mare's Leg Pistol
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:44 pm
by The Doc
dr.jayakumar wrote:why is it called mare's leg?
According to an article written by John Lachuk in the June 1959 issue of TV and Movie Western Magazine, when Steve McQueen first test fired the Winchester, which he personally nicknamed "Mare's Laig" the studio used full-power .44-40 blanks. "The first time I took the gun on location;' said Steve, "the gun was pointed toward the camera. The blast nearly knocked me down, blew the hat off of the cameraman's head, and knocked all of the pages out of the script girl's hands. After that, we attached a plastic shield to the camera and returned to quarter-powered blanks, even for outdoor scenes." It was after that experience that McQueen coined the Mare's Laig / leg name. "It's like a Hog's Leg, only it kicks harder."
