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The Best Episodes of The Rifleman

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

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...

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  1. 8.8/10(209 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(267 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. 8.7/10(158 votes)

    #3 - Death Trap

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    S3:E33

    Lucas recognizes Dr. Simon Battle as an ex-gunslinger with whom he once traded shots.

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  4. 8.7/10(177 votes)

    #4 - Death Never Rides Alone

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    S5:E5

    A gunslinger rides into North Fork for a meeting with Lucas.

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    Writer:N/A
  5. 8.6/10(464 votes)

    #5 - 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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  6. 8.5/10(170 votes)

    #6 - 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
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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Rifleman

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  8. 8.5/10(179 votes)

    #7 - 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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  9. 8.5/10(111 votes)

    #8 - The Fourflusher

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    S2:E32

    A sharecropper enters his colt in a horse race, hoping to win enough money to buy his farm from the owner, who has bet on Mark McCain's entry.

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    Writer:N/A
  10. 8.5/10(170 votes)

    #9 - Face of Yesterday

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    S3:E19

    Lucas thinks he has seen a ghost when a young man, eerily similar to a man he killed in the Civil War, challenges him to a gunfight.

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    Writer:N/A
  11. 8.5/10(185 votes)

    #10 - Stopover

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    S3:E31

    Trouble brews at Lucas's when a whisky salesman and a gunfighter fall for the same woman.

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    Writer:N/A
  12. 8.4/10(311 votes)

    #11 - 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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  13. 8.4/10(221 votes)

    #12 - 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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  14. 8.4/10(210 votes)

    #13 - 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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  15. 8.4/10(193 votes)

    #14 - 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
  16. 8.4/10(175 votes)

    #15 - The Visitors

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    S2:E18

    Lucas is drawn to a young widow passing through town on her way to claim an inheritance, but others who covet it are trying to kill her.

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    Writer:N/A
  17. 8.4/10(153 votes)

    #16 - Woman From Hog Ridge

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    S3:E2

    Lucas shoots a horse thief who turns out to be a member of the Boyle clan, and now Ma Boyle is after him.

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    Writer:N/A
  18. 8.4/10(132 votes)

    #17 - Dead Cold Cash

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    S3:E9

    The widow of a bandit killed by Lucas plots a grotesque revenge.

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  19. 8.4/10(143 votes)

    #18 - The Wyoming Story (2)

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    S3:E21

    Mark heads for Wyoming to search for Lucas, who's on the trail of a gang illegally selling weapons to the Indians. (Part 2 of 2)

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    Writer:N/A
  20. 8.4/10(151 votes)

    #19 - Closer than a Brother

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    S3:E22

    Lucas looks for answers when recovering alcoholic Micah Torrence returns to the bottle—and turns in his badge.

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  21. 8.4/10(132 votes)

    #20 - 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
  22. 8.4/10(178 votes)

    #21 - The Most Amazing Man

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    S5:E9

    Fast-draw artist Wade Randall is less than anxious to display his prowess.

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    Writer:N/A
  23. 8.3/10(304 votes)

    #22 - 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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  24. 8.3/10(211 votes)

    #23 - 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
  25. 8.3/10(210 votes)

    #24 - 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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  26. 8.3/10(167 votes)

    #25 - 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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Best Episodes Summary

"Two Ounces of Tin" is the best rated episode of "The Rifleman". It scored 8.8/10 based on 209 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".