What was Jed's rifle?

[pepperbelly]

I have read many posts about what rifle Danial Boone carried, what rifle was used in the movie LOTM, and other arguments about what rifle was used by who, but not this one.
What rifle style was Jed Clampett carrying?

Jim

 

[RADeO]

I think in the opening credits he was shown with a Trapdoor Springfield. :hmm: Not for certain sure though. Memory that far back is a little fuzzy.... .

 

[jtmattison]

Just looked up an episode on hulu.com. It clearly has a patchbox and is caplock. Looks like a Kentucky to me.

HD

 

[Tkendrick]

If ypu watch the opening credits, when ol jed raises is rifle up to shoot, you can see a distinctive hump just forward of the hammer. Bear in mind you are looking at the left side of the gun.

I could be wrong, but I'll bet a six-pack of Guiness it's a trap door springfield.

You'll see a lot of those out of place in a lot of old frontier and civil war movies.

My favorite worst movie gun screw-up is "The Man From the Alamo". San Antonio, Texas, 1836, a few days after the fall of the Alamo, and Glen Ford is packin a single action Army Colt and a 1892 Winchester.

SO WRONG!!!! :rotf:

 

[jtmattison]

I don't think it's a trapdoor. It has a large patchbox and it's a fullstock.

HD

 

[jtmattison]

O.K. now there's a twist. In the old B&W episodes he appears to be using a Kentucky rifle.
In the newer color episode he's carrying a trapdoor.
In the B&W he runs into the cabin without his rifle to tell Granny. In the color he runs in with his rifle and lays it on the table.

So I think we're right on both counts. Kentucky and Trapdoor, depending on which episodes you watch.

:v

HD

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Trapdoors came as fullstocks and were often fitted with patchboxes and other junk to make them look older. There was even a fake flintlock gizmo where the cock attached to the Trapdoor's hammer and fell forward when the gun was fired using black powder blanks. Jed carried one of these in the few episodes I saw.

 

[Pork Chop]

In at least one episode, he used a breakbarrel side by side...

 

[BenCoogle]

Seems back then it was reported to be an original muzzle loader, just like Crockett's was.

Granny carried a sideXside and Jethro and jed usually used Winchesters mostly, probably '92's

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I think he may have carried a real long rifle during the actual show. In the opening shots you can see the firing pin hump of a Trapdoor if you watch closely.

 

[mazo kid]

I've got an old movie prop "flintlock" made out of a Trapdoor, made for the Arabian-type movies. It has a brass flintlock cock-shaped hammer, barrel is tapped maybe 8" ahead of the chamber and a drum-tube like fitting comes back and turns outward where a pan would be on a real flinter. The buttstock is slimmed down, barrel and fore end extended (extra barrel band), painted in light pink and white to resemble mother of pearl from a distance. Thus, the rifle could be loaded with blanks and fired; some smoke would come out next to the lock. Fools 80% of the general public.

 

Trapdoors came as fullstocks and were often fitted with patchboxes and other junk to make them look older. There was even a fake flintlock gizmo where the cock attached to the Trapdoor's hammer and fell forward when the gun was fired using black powder blanks. Jed carried one of these in the few episodes I saw.

A small group of us were lucky enough if standing around with your finger up your ... never mind, have been in a dozen or so movies filmed by Columbia/Universal/TNT/as well as state historical societies.

I think we are slow learners after doing this... :rotf:

* 1976 CENTENNIAL Columbia/Estes Park, CO they used modified trap door carbines with blank loads of 45/70 and fake frizzen and flint hammers.

* 1978 THE MOUNTAIN MEN Universal/ Jackson Hole, WYO they use the same guns as the 1976 movie for the Indians.

* 1978 BENT'S & THE SOUTH PLATTE Colorado Historical Society/Bent's Old fort they used reproduction flinters and percussion guns. They tried to get it right, thank goodness.

* 1990 SON OF MORNING STAR TNT/Billings, MT trapdoors were used again and were correct, one for Hollywood.

:blah: :shake: :barf:

 

[Emet Huntsman]

Add to the list John Wayne's version of The Alamo. Trapdoors fitted with an aluminum "lock" to make them look like flinters. In the scene of Wayne manning the palisade you can see the "hump" on the rifle next to him.
I had one of those old castings for years -- but where it is now I don't know. Wish I had bought one of the rifles. After filming, they were offering them for sale at $70.00 a pop

 

[peterbh]

Jerry Koch of Guntraders in Redmond, Or. was a stand-in for John Wayne. He has lots of great movie stories and some of these flint looking trapdoors on the wall.

 

[sparky911]

Didn't Jed Clampett also carry a shotgun around the mansion a few times?

 

[jamesthomas]

Try the episode when granny goes skeet shootin'!

 

[Peter Stines]

I have read many posts about what rifle Danial Boone carried, what rifle was used in the movie LOTM, and other arguments about what rifle was used by who, but not this one.
What rifle style was Jed Clampett carrying?

Jim

The rifle was a prop using a Kentucky style stock, patchbox, etc but had a trapdoor breech action. Some were made up by the movie studios and others were rented through Stembridge an outfit that supplied prop guns for Hollywood. Another "fake lock" was a tip action single shot shotgun cut down to look like a "pirate" pistol. A fake flintlock was stuck on the side. Usually made of cast aluminum or even hard rubber. It looked like a flinter (sort of) but it didn't function like a real one!
But getting back to Uncle Jed, there was a time when the rifle used was a halfstock but it had the trapdoor breech. I think they used a real caplock Kentucky in a few episodes but not 100% sure. They might have used one of Dixie Gun Works belgian made copies. But you never saw Jed load the gun and you never saw him with a pouch or horn or flask. Kinda disappointing. But Hollywood claims that it was safer and more convient and faster to use these phony props. With the variety of repros available now you seldom see the "magic" flinters that fire with the frizzen open. (Watch Disney's TREASURE ISLAND with Robert Newton) and you'll see what I mean)

 

[Peter Stines]

Jerry Koch of Guntraders in Redmond, Or. was a stand-in for John Wayne. He has lots of great movie stories and some of these flint looking trapdoors on the wall.

Wayne used a real caplock in THE ALAMO but there is a close up of him firing a real flinter. There were other real flint and percussion guns in that film but the "Mexican" army used mocked up trapdoors and Remington rolling blocks. Richard Widmark carried an original Nock volley gun but a prop replica fired with an electrical cord was used in scenes where he fired it. Rented from Stembridge it now belongs to the NRA museum. Widmark hated carrying the original gun claiming it was too heavy. At 20 some odd pounds it was a bit cumbersome but sailors in the royal navy used them. There were a lot of fake Kentuckies in that one but they used what was available. The remake of the Alamo with Billy Bob Thornton as Crockett used mostly real flint and percussion repros. I suspect a lot of those were the India made copies.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Try the episode when granny goes skeet shootin'!

Or fly shoot'in. "We just put a dab of sorghum on the wall and shoot'em on the wing... "

 

[Peter Stines]

For what its worth when Buddy (aka George Russell) went to the Alamo with Davy (aka Fess Parker) he carried an original percussion rifle. The rifle still survives but is in bad condition. It's still owned by Buddy's family along with the fringed outfit he wore in the Disney films and the fancy suit and hat he wore on Beverly Hillbillies.