8.1/10146 votes#1 - The Patsy
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 9/29/1959
A group of outlaws devise a plan to get rid of Lucas so that they can take over the town of North Fork.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 8.0/10161 votes
#2 - Bloodlines
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 10/6/1959
After Lucas kills a mountain man in a barrom brawl, his father arrives in North Fork determined to take revenge on Lucas and Marshal Torrance, once he breaks his other two boys out of jail.
Director: Arthur Hiller
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/10148 votes
#3 - The Blowout
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 10/13/1959
Newly arrived gunslinger Al Walker throws a mammoth party at the saloon, keeping acting Marshal Ben Waller busy until Lucas is forced to intervene.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/10141 votes
#4 - Obituary
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 10/20/1959
Newspaperman Byron Claremont specializes in profiles of famous gunmen. One of his stories was responsible for an old-time marshal's death; and his next subject is Lucas.
Director: Don Medford
Writer: N/A
- 7.9/10148 votes
#5 - Tension
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 10/27/1959
Gavin and Ezra Martin think that Lucas killed their son Clemmie while taking part in a train robbery, and Lucas refuses to tell them what really happened.
Director: Ted Post
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/10135 votes
#6 - Eddie's Daughter
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 11/3/1959
After the daughter of Lucas's friend the hotel clerk arrives in North Fork, two strangers threaten her life.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10144 votes
#7 - Panic
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 11/10/1959
Town character Brett Conway blackmails Lucas with the knowledge that a young couple Lucas rescued are suffering from yellow fever.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10144 votes
#8 - Ordeal
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 11/17/1959
When their wagon breaks down, Mark and an injured Lucas are stranded in the desert.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/10121 votes
#9 - The Spiked Rifle
Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 11/24/1959
Mark is kidnapped as he and his father try to protect Banker Hamilton's gold.
Director: John English
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/10133 votes
#10 - Letter of the Law
Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 12/1/1959
Lucas makes a life-or-death decision when Micah is held hostage and the kidnappers demand the release of a notorious outlaw.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: George W. George
- 7.7/10136 votes
#11 - The Legacy
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 12/8/1959
Lucas tries to do a good deed for the old town drunk but it backfires when the drunk's son believes he inherited Lucas' ranch.
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
Writer: N/A
- 7.3/10159 votes
#12 - The Baby Sitter
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 12/15/1959
A dance hall singer asks Lucas to care for her daughter in an effort to hide the baby from her self-righteous, bigoted father.
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Writer: Sam Peckinpah
- 8.3/10140 votes
#13 - The Coward
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 12/22/1959
Lucas becomes involved in a battle between an aspiring writer and a cocky, bragging trail boss.
Director: N/A
Writer: Clair Huffaker
- 8.3/10118 votes
#14 - Surveyors
Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 12/29/1959
Mark runs away from home after his father questions his story about overhearing a plot to rob the bank.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: Dale Eunson
7.4/10156 votes#15 - Day of the Hunter
Season 2 Episode 15 - Aired 1/5/1960
A famous buffalo hunter tries to goad Lucas into a shooting match.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: N/A
7.7/10169 votes#16 - Mail Order Groom
Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 1/12/1960
When a stranger arrives to marry the town spinster, two brothers who want her land try to discourage him with threats and a beating.
Director: Arthur Hiller
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10148 votes
#17 - A Case of Identity
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 1/19/1960
Mark finds himself in grave danger when two unscrupulous detectives searching for a man's long-lost son claim that it is Mark.
Director: N/A
Writer: Luci Ward
- 8.4/10159 votes
#18 - The Visitors
Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 1/26/1960
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.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 7.9/10134 votes
#19 - The Hero
Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 2/2/1960
After a young stablehand kills a notorious gunslinger, he is baffled by the hostility of the townspeople about giving him the reward.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 7.8/10116 votes
#20 - The Horse Traders
Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 2/9/1960
When a horse dealer transporting a prize stallion stops in North Fork, two saddle tramps try to use trickery to obtain it.
Director: William Claxton
Writer: N/A
- 8.0/10128 votes
#21 - The Spoiler
Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 2/16/1960
An elderly couple moves to North Fork under an assumed name to hide the fact that they are the parents of a vicious killer. The plan backfires when the son shows up at their home.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/10157 votes
#22 - Heller
Season 2 Episode 22 - Aired 2/23/1960
After foiling a girl's attempt to rob the general store, Lucas finds that she and her brother are plotting the murder of their abusive stepfather.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/10130 votes
#23 - The Grasshopper
Season 2 Episode 23 - Aired 3/1/1960
A condemned killer being transported by train murders a marshal and takes Mark hostage.
Director: Lewis Allen
Writer: N/A
- 7.7/10124 votes
#24 - A Time for Singing
Season 2 Episode 24 - Aired 3/8/1960
Mark discovers that the new preacher and his wife are impostors planning a robbery.
Director: John Rich
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/10139 votes
#25 - The Deserter
Season 2 Episode 25 - Aired 3/15/1960
Lucas and Marshal Torrance get into trouble with the Army when they try to help a wounded young soldier who deserted.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of The Rifleman Season 2
Every episode of The Rifleman Season 2 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Rifleman Season 2!
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...
Genres:Action & AdventureWesternFamily
Network:ABC
Season 2 Ratings Summary
"The Patsy" is the best rated episode of "The Rifleman" season 2. It scored 8.1/10 based on 146 votes. Directed by Joseph H. Lewis and written by N/A, it aired on 9/29/1959. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Bloodlines".