So, in watching the old westerns I'm always looking at the equipment used. Has anyone else noticed the rifle and size of the loading gate, versus his cartridge belt and ammo.

I posted this almost a year ago, I asked if Winchester made a 45.70 back then. You she a lot of Mexican with two bandelors (spelling). Filled with rifle cartridges with only a pistol.

Dramatic effect. The big .45-70s look imposing in a cartridge belt even when you are carrying a pistol caliber Model 1892

I thought somewhere I read or saw it was a 1894 30 30.
Correction, it is supposed to be an 1892 44 40, but the bullets he is carrying look way too long.

Yep, it was all for Hollywood "optics." I don't remember if McQueen's rifle was a .44-40 or maybe a .38-40. Maybe, just maybe, it might have been a .32-20, but that's a guess. Whatever, it shot the five-in-one blanks used in all western pistols and lever '92 rifles. I haven't watched the show in many years but I do not recall seeing McQueen ever trying to load a .45-70 into his rifle.

L.W.

A sawed off rifle that shoots pistol bullets would be just silly for a savvy, hard-bitten manhunter like Josh Randall. In the magic of stories, it was a sawed off 45/70 that held more than three shells. He said things like "blowing you in two" from time to time.

Oh, it's a movie title.

You boys need to become familiar with IMFDB


Movie Firearm Data Base

Yes, as a 10 year old kid the discrepancy was obvious ...

Hollywood never gets a thing right or authenic when it comes to firearms...

can't remember what the wife was watching, but I came in and watched part of it, and she got perturbed when I started laughing so much...

it was about WW 1.. and I am sure someone in the prop department was having a good time at the directors expense....

The German Troops were carrying Krags....

The British Troops were carrying Springfields

The Americans were carrying Mausers....

it was something about some nurse and falling in love with a patient, or one of the Chick Channel things...
Lifetime or one of those....

Seafire, I've seen the same thing on History Channel documentaries. The one I saw had German troops carrying SMLE's. One of the biggest hoots I got was when, again on the History Channel, they had a Mountain Man setting a coil spring trap. I'm not sure when coils came out but I don't believe they were available in 1830.

If I remember correctly, I don't believe the "5 in 1" Hollywood rounds would fit in the 32-20. I want to remember they would only chamber in the 38-40 and 44-40. The head and rim of the 32-20 is a lot smaller.