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In the Fall 2020 Issue of the Winchester Collector Magazine an advertisement on page 52 showcases the Rooster Cogburn “True Grit” Winchester Carbine.
So, my question is, prior to Hollywood making up guns for various film productions were Large Loop Levers ever encountered by collectors on older production Winchester Rifles and Carbines ?
I’ve never seen a Large Loop Lever ever referenced in any of the older Winchester catalogs or promotional material.
I’m guessing a few might have been produced as a custom gunsmithing item.
(Obviously Post-64, Commemoratives and current Miroku production are not part of this question).
As I remember it, The loop was made for John Wayne and Chuck Connors since they hand big hands and could more easily operate the gun. There is no history of the large loop handle before those movies.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
1873man said
As I remember it, The loop was made for John Wayne and Chuck Connors since they hand big hands and could more easily operate the gun. There is no history of the large loop handle before those movies.Bob
In Wayne’s case, not merely to “operate,” but to swing it around like a twirler’s baton, as he did in “Stagecoach,” where it was first used. Among the many books written about Big John, I’d not be surprised to find some account of who’s idea it was, who made it, etc. Possibly it had first been invented for one of the Wild West Shows touring the country before WWI.
As I recall it was a stuntman that suggested the modification.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
I would think it unlikely it existed prior to the days of Hollywood. Which makes sense. Why would it exist otherwise? Unwieldy, impractical, and more prone to catch on objects.
1873man said
As I recall it was a stuntman that suggested the modification.Bob
Wayne’s close personal friend from his earliest days in the movies, Yakima Canute, was the most famous stuntman in H’wood–the one who jumped up the lead horses when they stampeded in Stagecoach. At least one bio of him has also been written.
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