Working A Mare’s Leg

Let me see. Was it used by Chuck Connors to wipe out undesirables roaming the streets in The Rifleman? Was it first seen in Wyatt Earp, Western Marshall or Lawman or Gunsmoke or Rawhide? Maybe it wasn’t on TV after all. Maybe was carried by Rooster Cogburn while he charged across a huge field shouting at some creep in a black hat who was waiting on the other side, "Fill your hand, you sunofabitch!" No, to all the above.

You’d have to have been a fan of another action hero to be in on the first appearance of a Mare’s Leg. The hero’s real name was Steve Mc Queen. In 1957, he showed up on the small screen as bounty hunter Josh Randall in Trackdown. The show was retitled Wanted, Dead Or Alive and Josh Randall toted his leg-holstered lever action throughout the series TV run from 1958 to 1961. The series died, but the gun didn’t. It was in the film Wanted Dead Or Alive in 1987.

In Once Upon A Time In The West it was the weapon of choice carried by Woody Strode during his hunt down of Charles Bronson, and it was in on the defense of Mexican peasant farmers in The Magnificent Seven. The Mare’s Leg was most recently seen in a 2009 film Zombieland as the sole zombie eliminator of Woody Harrelson. Those of you who have seen the television shows or films mentioned here may recall the pistol is cocked by hanging on to the lever and rotating the rest of the gun by it like a yo-yo.

Yes, I said "pistol." Despite the fact it began life as a rifle and has a drastically shortened barrel—several inches too short to remain legally classified as a rifle—it can be 9 inch barrel only extends 6 inches beyond the forend of a Mare’s Leg. The gun is available in .45 Long Colt, .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum calibers. A .22 LR version lacks the brass receiver. All are listed and sold as lever action pistols. considered a pistol as long as it is openly carried in a holster.

I’ve had cause to wonder why it was called a Mare’s Leg. Why not a Stallion’s Leg or Bronco’s Leg? I can only guess the prop man/gun wrangler figured the Model 1892 he’d cut down the stock on and had a gunsmith fabricate a rounded lever for looked more like it would belong on a female horse. Another thing, that original pistol was made from a caliber .44-40 Model 1892. In the TV programs, Mc Queen’s belt was filled with .45-70 cartridges.

I reckon the actor felt the collection of big rounds he was packing would make Josh Randall a more fearsome character. Before going to work on the Henry Repeating Arms Mare’s Leg, a quick study of some of the screw heads in the pistol told me to reach for my thin blade Magna-Tip driver bits. They were added to my tool inventory way back when the Auto 5 Browning was having a resurgence of popularity. Even though the great shotgun was taken out of production, I didn’t take stupid pills and discard the bits.

It has turned out to be a wise decision as there remain dozens and dozens of A-5s to service. Besides that, a few of the screw head slots on a Mare’s Leg demand them and I’ve found the same to be true with other guns. Before tackling this very interesting throwback to Josh Randall, go through the usual drill. You know, make sure the magazine tube carries no cartridge, the chamber is empty and you have not overlooked donning your eyewear. Once positive the pistol is empty, cycle the action to cock

the hammer. Follow this by relieving the now tensioned mainspring (50). Hold on to the hammer, squeeze the trigger and ease the hammer forward to its fired position. Field Stripping Cycle the action far enough to cock the hammer. Hold on to the hammer, pull the trigger and ease the hammer all the way forward. You have just taken some tension off the mainspring. Open the lever (23) again, but this time only enough to clear both sides of the lever screw (12) from the receiver (1). Back out the screw.

The lever is taken out downward. Remove the bolt (16) to the rear. As a result, the ejector (31) and its spring (32) may tumble from their receiver slot as a unit. If they don’t, reach in with tweezers or a pair of mini long nose pliers. Maintain the ejector and spring as a unit, lift them from the slot and don’t lose them. The gun is ready to be basically cleaned in its present state. If that’s your decision, remember to operate from breech to muzzle with the barrel.

If there is anything close to looking like a build up on the firing mechanism, which is still attached to the trigger guard plate (2), you may decide to carry the field stripping further. Henry Repeating Arms has gone beyond many by including a complete drawing of the firing system in the schematic. You’ve also noticed the pictured stock of the rifle therein hasn’t been cut off. The reason is simple and to your advantage.

The action of a Mare’s Leg is the same as that of Henry’s Big Boy lever action and the parts interchange. The one exception might be the lever itself. Having a Mare’s Leg lever on a full stocked rifle could require considerably more dexterity and skill to function than it does when the stock has been drastically shortened.

I hopefully presume, however, that an owner with a driving urge to perform 360 degree spins in cocking a full length carbine or rifle would set him or herself enough dry practice sessions to safely satisfy that urge. You might have decided to pass beyond field stripping and attend to the dirty trigger guard and trigger assembly. Let’s do it. Four screws (45,46,47 and 48) unite the plate with the receiver and its contents. Take all of them out.

The plate is a snug fit but doesn’t call for brute strength in getting it to let go. Now, remove the tang screw (49). Pull the stock off to the rear. By the way, be a bit careful with sharp tools and the receiver. The latter is Prior to field stripping, the hammer must be fully forward to relax some tension on the mainspring. solid brass, not merely brass plated. I’m told no American-made rifle since the original Henry wears as much brass as the Mare’s Leg. You scratch it, you need to polish it out. Got the idea?

Keep the gun inverted and look down into the receiver. Locate the locking bolt (35). Lift it out and don’t lose its spring (59) in the process. Turn the receiver on its side. When you removed the carrier screw (46) it was very likely the carrier assembly dropped out. If it remains in the receiver there might be a possibility a carrier component requires replacement. In such a case, you can insert a talented finger through the ejection port to free the carrier (27), its dog (28), dog pin (29) and spring (30).

Otherwise, you can leave the carrier assembly unmolested. For now, the same truth applies to the hammer assembly with its transfer bar safety system. More about the hammer set up later. In the meantime focus on the front end of the pistol. With the muzzle facing away and you looking down on the barrel you can remove the inner magazine tube (34) with a twist to the right and mild pull. Set the inner tube aside. A replacement is available but only as a complete unit. Turn out the barrel band screw (53).

The band (52) slips over and off via the front sight. Remove the forearm (55) toward the muzzle. There’s still the outer magazine tube (37) to deal with. It is attached to the barrel with a tube support (42). The support, in turn, is dovetailed and pinned. You have to drift out the support pin (43) from the left with the muzzle pointed away from your belly button before you can move the support out of the dovetail.

A Uh oh. The outer tube still doesn’t come off? The reason is an 8×32 conical pointed set screw (44). It’s located in the receiver just under where the forward end of the trigger guard used to be. The screw has had blue Loctite applied to its threads. Light to medium heat may be required to break the bond. I chose an alternate means to a naked flame and found it most satisfactory. I sawed off a threeinch length of drill rod matching the head diameter of the set screw.

After resting one end of the rod on the screw, I heated the opposite end while holding the rod in place with long nose pliers. It wasn’t long before enough heat had traveled down the rod and warmed up the screw enough to defeat the thread bond. I made a note to apply fresh Loctite to the screw during reassembly.

In retrospect, I think I’d have achieved the same result by applying the smallest tip of an electric soldering iron An ill-fitting drift punch has been placed through the assembly to keep parts loosely aligned. to the screw head before pulling the trigger. Either way, avoid contacting the brass receiver or guard plate with a torch. Trigger Group Disassembly To free up the hammer (3) back out its screw (45). Lift out the hammer.

Remove the trigger/rocker link (15), the transfer bar pin (14) and the mainspring yoke pin (60). The transfer bar (13) can be picked from the body of the hammer. This is followed by the rocker (6) and rocker spring (8). You’re faced with two differing diameter pins. The trigger and sear pins (10) mike out at 0.094. The lever detent and trigger lock pins (11) measure 0.078. Removing the trigger pin lets you separate the trigger (4) from the sear (5). After the sear has been taken out, drift out the rearmost #11 pin.

Follow with removal of the trigger lock (7) and its spring (9). The other #11 pin maintains the lever in its closed position by the pressure it puts on the lever plunger (24) and spring (25). The little lever plunger pin (26) secures these very small parts inside the lever (23). A

Further Bolt Disassembly The front and rear halves of the firing pin (17 and 18) is retained by two roll pins (21 and 22). These two pin have been OEM installed via the bottom of the bolt (16). Keep them moving in the same direction to drift them out. They retain a bit more than the split firing pin. Specifically, the firing pin spring (20), the extractor (19), extractor plunger (57) and extractor spring (58). Be alert for small flying objects.

Reassembly Tips Fundamentally, the Mare’s Leg is reassembled in reverse order but there Henry Repeating Arms Big Boy "Mare’s Leg" (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 1 Receiver 2 Trigger Guard Plate 3 Hammer 4 Trigger 5 Sear 6 Rocker 7 Trigger Lock 8 Sear/Rocker Spring 9 Trigger Lock Spring 10 Sear/Trigger Spring 11 Lever Detent/Trigger Lock Pin 12 Lever Screw 13 Transfer Bar 14 Transfer Bar Pin area few things to keep in mind.

First, to avoid any interference between the guard plate and the receiver the link end of the trigger/ rocker link (15) must fully seat in the assembly. If the link fights you going back in, try flipping the trigger/rocker end for end. Second, the tab on the lower front of the hammer must fit under the rocker. Third, the transfer bar (13) only fits inside the hammer body one way and must be seated there below the centerline of the rear firing pin half.

Fourth, when reinstalled in the bolt both halves of the firing pin plus their spring must 15 Trigger/Rocker Link 16 Bolt 17 Firing Pin-Front 18 Firing Pin- Rear 19 Extractor 20 Firing Pin Spring 21 Firing Pin Retainer Pin, Front 22 Firing Pin Retainer Pin, Rear 23 Lever 24 Lever Plunger 25 Lever Plunger Spring 26 Lever Plunger Pin 27 Carrier 28 Carrier Dog 29 Carrier Dog Pin 30 Carrier Dog Spring 31 Ejector 32 Ejector Spring 33 Mainspring Yoke Assembly 34 Inner Mag. Tube 35 Locking Bolt 36 Barrel 37 Outer Mag.

Tube 38 Mag Tube Follower 39 Mag. Tube Spring 40 Mag. Tube Knob 41 Mag. Tube Knob Pin 42 Mag. Tube Support 43 Mag. Tube Support Pin 44 Mag. Tube Retaining Screw 45 Hammer Screw 46 Carrier Screw be aligned. Finally, the front firing pin half has a flat on its leading end. Do not let it rotate during reassembly. One way to assure this is to form a chisel end on a wooden stirring stick and slip the "wedge" between the pin and inner side of the bolt. This is not difficult.

Just insert the wedge into the receiver slot usually occupied by the lever. You know, all that’s needed to transform a Mare’s Leg into a legally carried and serious weapon would be a rather expensive leg holster, but the carrying couldn’t possibly be considered concealed.

AG 47 Trigger Guard Plate Screw 48 Trigger Guard Plate Support Screw 49 Tang Screw 50 Mainspring 51 Mainspring Seat 52 Barrel Band 53 Barrel Band Screw 54 Buttstock Assembly 55 Forearm 57 Extractor Plunger 58 Extractor Spring 59 Locking Bolt Spring 60 Mainspring Yoke Pin 61 Front Sight 62 Rear Sight 62A Rear Sight Elevator