The Rifleman

The Best Episodes of The Rifleman

Genres:Action & AdventureWesternFamily
Network:ABC

Every episode of The Rifleman ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Rifleman!

The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was...
Episodes
168
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  1. 8.8/10(208 votes)

    #1 - Two Ounces of Tin

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    S4:E21

    Sammy Davis Jr. stars as Tip Corey, son of a man allegedly murdered in North Fork.

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  2. 8.7/10(263 votes)

    #2 - The Sheridan Story

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    S1:E16

    Frank Blandon, a man with only one good arm, wanders on to the ranch. Lucas gave Blandon a job to ""hire him and Mark a clear conscience"". General Sheridan and his patrol wandered by and Lucas offered to let them stay the night at the ranch. Blandon pulled a gun on General Sheridan, as it turned out Blandon was a confederate soldier, who once had General Sheridan in his gun sight during the war. Blandon hung fire, but Sheridan did not hesitate and blew out Blandon's shoulder. General Sheridan shamed Blandon out of exacting his revenge, then lifted Blandon's spirit by praising Johnny Rebs' fighting spirit. Sheridan ordered that Blandon be taken to a hospital to have his shoulder properly mended, carrying out his Commander in Chief's last order to ""Bind up the Nation's wounds.""

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:Cyril Hume
  3. 8.5/10(462 votes)

    #3 - The Sharpshooter

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    S1:E1

    Lucas McCain and his son Mark arrive in North Fork, New Mexico. Looking to start a new life, they come across a ranch to their liking, which is for sale. Lucas enters a Turkey Shoot in hopes of winning the down payment for the ranch. Jim Lewis, the man who runs North Fork, has bet on Vernon, a young gun he brought in, to win. When talk of Lucas' reputation back in the Nations circulates around town, Mr. Lewis gets nervous and he makes trouble for Lucas by threatening Mark's life.

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  4. 8.5/10(170 votes)

    #4 - The Deadly Wait

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    S1:E26

    Dan Nowry, released from Yuma prison, arrives in North Fork intent on getting even with Marshal Torrance,who helped send him to jail.

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    Writer:N/A
  5. 8.5/10(176 votes)

    #5 - The Money Gun

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    S1:E33

    When his employer begins to suspect him of embezzlement, bookkeeper Asa Manning decides to hire a professional gunman to take care of the problem.

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  6. 8.4/10(310 votes)

    #6 - The Marshal

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    S1:E4

    Micah Torrance, a once famous lawman, is introduced as a drunken derelict, who stumbles into North Fork. Micah, nursing an arm crippled in a gunfight, is hired by Lucas to help out at the ranch. Three outlaws ride into town looking for revenge against Micah. When they kill the sheriff, it's up to Lucas and Micah to protect North Fork. Micah becomes North Fork's full-time Marshal.

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Rifleman

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  8. 8.4/10(221 votes)

    #7 - The Sister

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    S1:E9

    Rebecca Snipe is returning to North Fork after a long visit away. Before her stage left, she over hears a man saying he's going to North Fork to kill a big man with a big mouth. Upon Rebecca's arrival in North Fork, Mark is smitten with her and gets it in his head to play matchmaker between her and his pa. Thinking Lucas has intentions on their sister, the Snipe brothers come looking for Lucas to see if he measures up to their standard of being good enough for her.

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  9. 8.4/10(209 votes)

    #8 - Young Englishman

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    S1:E12

    Lucas accuses the young foreman of a neighboring ranch of rustling one of his calves.

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  10. 8.4/10(192 votes)

    #9 - The Indian

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    S1:E21

    U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart arrives in North Fork in search of renegade Indians suspected of the brutal killing of a Texas Ranger and his family, but the townspeople are suspicious of him when they discover that he too is an Indian.

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:Cyril Hume
  11. 8.4/10(166 votes)

    #10 - The Second Witness

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    S1:E23

    Lucas puts his life in jeopardy when he agrees to testify in a murder case where the first witness was killed before he could testify, and the killer is still at large.

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  12. 8.4/10(131 votes)

    #11 - Gunfire

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    S4:E16

    When an expected lawman doesn't arrive from Denver, several gunfighters arrive in North Fork and cause trouble.

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    Writer:N/A
  13. 8.3/10(303 votes)

    #12 - End of a Young Gun

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    S1:E3

    Lucas is forced to give refuge to Will Fulton, a young bank robber, who was injured while saving Mark's life. While staying at the McCain ranch Will gets a taste of a life better than the one he's been leading. He's met a girl and grows tired of a life on the run. Will this young man have a change of heart before his brother returns for him and the stolen money?

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  14. 8.3/10(210 votes)

    #13 - Duel of Honor

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    S1:E7

    When an Italian Count arrives in North Fork, his strange attire attracts the attention of Groder, a town bully. Groder trying to have fun with this stranger, destroys some of the Counts currency, mocks him, and tries to humiliate him. Eventually the Count challenges Groder to a duel and asks Lucas to be his Second. They meet at dawn and the Count, the offended party, brings his single shot dueling pistols, something Groder is unaccustomed to. Lucas as second must see that all rules of the duel are adhered to.

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    Writer:N/A
  15. 8.3/10(207 votes)

    #14 - The Safe Guard

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    S1:E8

    Floyd Doniger comes to North Fork, looking to start a new life. He's got a steady job as the guard at the new bank and he's entertaining ideas of settling down on a spread of his own. Also arriving in North Fork are three men who followed the bank's new safe, figuring any town needing a safe like that must have money to put into it. At the grand opening celebration of the bank, the three men discover the new bank guard is their old pal, Floyd. The three men try to convince Floyd to join them in robbing the bank, after all with a man working inside it should be easy.

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  16. 8.3/10(180 votes)

    #15 - The Gaucho

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    S1:E14

    Rumson, without even saying to whom he had sold his property, left the bill of sale with the bank and moved away from North Fork. Curge, who's highest offer was upped by $1,000.00 is upset because Rumson sold out to a ""peppergut"". The Argentez family who bought the place are from Argentina. Lucas arranges for Mark to hang out with Manolo, who teaches Mark to use the Bolas. Manolo is angered at anyone who shows interest in his sister, he believes she is only for a ""Caballero"". Her latest suitor, Ned Dunnell, has been found murdered and the townsfolk are quick to believe it was Manolo.

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    Director:Jerry Hopper
  17. 8.3/10(156 votes)

    #16 - The Hawk

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    S1:E29

    Young Mark manages to capture a hawk, but then falls into danger from a rattlesnake. When a stranger comes to his rescue, the grateful Mark invites the man home, unaware that he is on the run from the law.

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    Writer:N/A
  18. 8.3/10(178 votes)

    #17 - The Angry Man

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    S1:E31

    The McCains try to be tolerant of their embittered neighbor Abel MacDonald, who tels Lucas to keep off his land and won't allow his son to become friends with Mark, but they decide he's gone too far when he won't allow his injured boy to get medical treatment.

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    Director:Jerry Hopper
    Writer:N/A
  19. 8.3/10(155 votes)

    #18 - The Vaqueros

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    S4:E1

    A bandit imprisons Lucas and Mark.

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    Writer:N/A
  20. 8.3/10(133 votes)

    #19 - Sheer Terror

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    S4:E3

    Mark and Milly are held prisoner in her general store when two gunmen attempt a daring robbery.

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    Writer:N/A
  21. 8.3/10(139 votes)

    #20 - The Quiet Fear

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    S4:E17

    Lucas's old Army pal settles in North Fork with his deaf daughter.

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    Director:Gene Nelson
    Writer:N/A
  22. 8.3/10(153 votes)

    #21 - A Young Man's Fancy

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    S4:E19

    The pangs of first love are painful for Mark: the object of his affections has eyes for another.

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    Writer:N/A
  23. 8.3/10(124 votes)

    #22 - The Man from Salinas

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    S4:E20

    Banker Hamilton is closing up for the day when Rudy Gray persuades him to stay open for one more transaction - a withdrawal at gunpoint.

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    Writer:N/A
  24. 8.2/10(182 votes)

    #23 - The Angry Gun

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    S1:E13

    Lucas and Mark return from a cattle sale when their stagecoach is robbed by three outlaws led by sharpshooter Johnny Cotton (Vic Morrow). Lucas sends Mark on in the stagecoach while he goes after the outlaws on foot without his rifle.

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  25. 8.2/10(157 votes)

    #24 - The Pet

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    S1:E15

    Ward Haskins guns down Joe Flecker, who has evidence that could be used to blackmail him. Haskins thinks the information was given to Lucas, since he brought Flecker to the doctor before he died. Stirred up by Haskins behavior, Lucas goes through Flecker's things, finding a wanted poster for Haskins in the sole of Flecker's boot. He also finds Doc Burrage drinking. Doc is discouraged because three children have died of an anthrax epidemic that he has the new serum for, but nobody is willing to allow him to administer it in time. Haskins rides out to the ranch and is bitten by Flecker's horse, which is now believed to have anthrax. Mark overhears about how anthrax always causes death and is worried because he had bitten by Flecker's horse, also.

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    Writer:N/A
  26. 8.2/10(178 votes)

    #25 - The Photographer

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    S1:E18

    Abel Goss, the photographer who took Lucas' wedding photograph, is in North Fork doing a portrait of Mark standing in the street. When Goss sees Col. Whiteside and his sidekick Jamison, he recognizes them as the butchers who tortured him and others while he was captive in their prisoners of war camp. When Lucas stops him from killing them, Goss swears to kill those men. Whiteside planned to call Goss out, but he had Jamison shooting from the upstairs hotel window, as his insurance. When the shots are fired, Whiteside is dead, shot in the back, and his gun hadn't been fired. Goss is arrested and at the trial Lucas and Mark have different testimonies. Mark reenacts the scene in the street, and Lucas backs Mark's theory , using the photographic negative Goss had shot of Mark.

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A

Best Episodes Summary

"Two Ounces of Tin" is the best rated episode of "The Rifleman". It scored 8.8/10 based on 208 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 2/19/1962. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Sheridan Story".