The BEST episodes of The Rifleman

Every episode of The Rifleman ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Rifleman!

Widower Lucas McCain can fire a round with his specially modified Winchester in three-tenths of a second. Added to his high moral code and resolve enable him to help Marshal Micah Torrance maintain order in town while raising his son, Mark, on a ranch near North Fork, New Mexico.

Last Updated: 8/29/2026Network: ABC (US)Status: Ended

15.00

2 votes

#1 - The Gaucho

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/30/1958

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.

Directors: Jerry Hopper

Writer: Bruce Geller

12.67

3 votes

#2 - The Boarding House

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/24/1959

Reformed card sharp Julia Massini now runs a respectable boarding house in North Fork, but Sid Fallon is threatening to reveal her sordid past unless she lets him turn the establishment into a saloon and gambling hall.

Directors: Sam Peckinpah

Writer: Sam Peckinpah

10.00

1 votes

#3 - 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.

Directors: John Rich

Writer: Harry Kronman

10.00

1 votes

#4 - 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.

Directors: Joseph H. Lewis

Writer: George W. George, Judy George

10.00

1 votes

#5 - 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.

Directors: Bernard L. Kowalski

Writer: Edmund Morris

10.00

1 votes

#6 - 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.

Directors: Sam Peckinpah

Writer: Jack Curtis, Sam Peckinpah

10.00

1 votes

#7 - 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.

Directors: James Neilson

Writer: Clair Huffaker, Philip Saltzman

10.00

1 votes

#8 - The 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.

Directors: Joseph H. Lewis

Writer: Dale Eunson, Katherine Albert

10.00

1 votes

#9 - Day of the Hunter

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/5/1960

A famous buffalo hunter tries to goad Lucas into a shooting match.

Directors: Joseph H. Lewis

Writer: John Dunkel

10.00

1 votes

#10 - 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.

Directors: Arthur Hiller

Writer: Gene Olson

10.00

1 votes

#11 - 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.

Directors: John Peyser

Writer: Luci Ward, Philip Saltzman

10.00

1 votes

#12 - 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.

Directors: Joseph H. Lewis

Writer: Albert Aley

10.00

1 votes

#13 - 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.

Directors: William F. Claxton

Writer: Jack Curtis

10.00

1 votes

#14 - 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.

Directors: Joseph H. Lewis

Writer: Harry Kronman

10.00

1 votes

#15 - 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.

Directors: Joseph H. Lewis

Writer: Christopher Knopf

10.00

1 votes

#16 - The Grasshopper

Season 2 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/1/1960

A condemned killer being transported by train murders a marshal and takes Mark hostage.

Directors: Lewis Allen

Writer: Pat Fielder

10.00

1 votes

#17 - The Sheridan Story

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/13/1959

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.""

Directors: Arnold Laven

Writer: Cyril Hume