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The Cimarron 1876 Centennial “Tom Horn” Rifle chambered in .45-60 is the ultimate addition to any western gun collection. Cimarron, and their affiliate company Texas Jack (TexasJacks.com), also offer other western-style guns and accessories like this Remington 1890 replica revolver which is the same type that was carried by Tom Horn ($624.48), Tom Horn hat ($514.00), and replica ammunition box ($6.30). (Photo by Mike Anschuetz)
Spoiler alert — You know the deal. You’ve been warned. Tom Horn was Steve McQueen’s penultimate film. Based upon a true story, the movie’s eponymous central character is a brooding loner with a dark past whose sense of frontier morality puts him in conflict with the progressive social ideals of the day.
In many ways Tom Horn is actually Steve McQueen and vice versa. The two men experienced tremendous hardship and tragedy but ultimately faced the end at peace.
The film Tom Horn is as much about a rifle as a man. While not necessarily historically accurate, the film narrative orbits around Tom’s unique Winchester. A massive Model 1876 chambered in .45-60, the unusual particulars of this weapon ultimately condemn Horn to death.
Most historians state that the real Tom Horn’s rifle of choice was a .30-30 Winchester, likely a Model 1892.
However, many historians claim that Horn did own a Winchester Model 1876 rifle and a recent discovery of a Winchester 1876 rifle, chambered in .45-60, which was acquired from a museum many decades ago, is now believed to have been owned by Tom Horn.
Some of the evidence includes a sling with “JC Coble, Bolser, Wyoming” carved on it — John Coble was the employer of Tom Horn.
Colbel also paid for Horn’s funereal costs and had a book published about Horn’s life. A cleaning rod found with the rifle was wrapped with an envelope which had the lyrics of Life’s Railway to Heaven written on it, a song sung at Tom Horn’s funeral.
The song was written by Glendolene M. Kimmell, a schoolteacher that Horn was romantically connected with. Did Horn stash the rifle with his girlfriend? Was it used in the murder Horn was convicted of? Did someone else use his rifle? There are still questions unanswered.
Adding more confusion to the riddle is the fact that Horn had three rounds of ammunition on him when he was arrested: a .38-40, a .30-40 Government, and a .45-60 (this was in addition to his .30-30 rifle and ammunition).
In any case, the Winchester 1876 used in the film has a great deal more character than a Model 1892. Cimarron offers a beautiful spot-on replica of this very rifle chambered in the quirky but powerful .45-60 cartridge.
The Gun
The Model 1876 Winchester was called the Centennial Model as it was released coincident with the American Centennial Exposition. Where the previous Models 1866 and 1873 were chambered for pistol cartridges, the beefed-up Model 1876 was designed to handle the big game rounds of the day.
The Cimarron Model 1876 Winchester in .45-60 is shown along-side a vintage original 19th century Model 1873 chambered for the .44-40 pistol round. The differences between the two actions are obvious.
Winchester produced four versions of the 1876 in at least three different chamberings. The Carbine sported a 22-inch barrel, the Express Rifle had a 26-inch tube, and the Sporting Rifle reached out 28 inches. The Musket had a massive 32-inch barrel, before the Model 1886 supplanted it the production run totaled 63,871 copies.
Oliver Winchester was a master marketer. His standard rifles had a blued finish, while the deluxe variants were casehardened. Winchester also offered his famous One of One Hundred and One of One Thousand grades, seven of the former and fifty-four of the latter. The Model 1876 chambered for .50-95 Express was the only lever action rifle to see widespread service among buffalo hunters.
The Canadian North-West Mounted Police bought 750 Model 1876 guns in .45-75 in 1883. The Texas Rangers used the same rifle. President Theodore Roosevelt used a Model 1876 on some of his hunting forays out West and raved about it. Teddy’s copy sported a pistol-gripped stock, a half-length magazine, and extensive engraving. When the famed Apache chief Geronimo was captured in 1886 he was carrying a Model 1876 Winchester.
Photo Gallery
The Cimarron Tom Horn Rifle
The Model 1876 from Cimarron is a splendid rendition of the gun used in the movie. Featuring a 28-inch octagonal barrel and a 49-inch overall length, this massive lever action tips the scales at just over ten pounds. The steel is blued, and the stocks are a deep stained walnut.
Tom Horn’s name is engraved across the receiver. In addition, a removable Marble tang rear sight affixes behind the action and perfectly replicates the setup in the movie.
While the actual hero gun used in the film was an original 1882 vintage Model 1876 firing .45-75 WCF — some sources state that this caliber was chosen by the movie production due to availability of .45-70 blanks which would work in the rifle. The Cimarron rifle runs .45-60 in keeping with the movie’s narrative.
The removable Marble tang sight is a spot-on replica of the one used in the film and gives the big gun plenty of character.
The Cimarron replica is absolutely gorgeous. The fit and finish are flawless, and the action runs like greased glass. At more than four feet long this gun projects authority. For anyone with an interest in period Western firearms the Tom Horn Centennial Model 1876 from Cimarron pegs the awesometer.
How Does She Run?
The Tom Horn Model 1876 Centennial is a monster of a firearm. Just hefting the thing will bounce a guy’s serum testosterone up a few notches. The rounds are as big as your index finger, and the elegant angles exude a near-sensual vibe.
Lifting the rifle to your shoulder settles it in place like an old friend. The graceful curved buttplate locks into the human form, while the gentle drop orients the sights right where they should be. The big action runs smoothly and comfortably. However, it did take a few rounds before the action loosened up, and it must be run authoritatively. Lube the firing pin a bit for optimal reliability.
The massive action is designed to accommodate large-bore cartridges like the .45-60.
The rear sight is an adjustable ramp, but that’s not the one you’ll use. The Marble tang sight incorporates an aperture for precision and a vernier adjustment for range. The mechanism folds out of the way when it isn’t needed and slides free for storage.
The sight adjusts to compensate for the drop of those big fat lead bullets, but there are no graduations. A man running a rifle this awesome knows his iron well enough not to need them.
.45-60 ammunition is available, but be prepared to pay $50 – $80 for a box of 20.
The rounds are big, but the gun is bigger. That means the shooting experience remains recreational. This portly rifle rocks back under recoil and cycles as fast as the operator’s rheumatism might allow. The long heavy barrel keeps those big slugs nicely under control.
The Cimarron Model 1876 Winchester Tom Horn rifle hits like a freight train downrange. This fifty-yard group could likely be tighter with some younger eyes behind the gun.
Ancillary Iron
Sundry other characters wield Model 1892 Winchester rifles that are period correct for a movie set in 1903. Actor Slim Pickens’ character carries a long-barreled side-by-side 12-bore with exposed hammers. McQueen uses a similar coach gun liberated from a cattle rustler to put paid to another ne’er-do-well.
A variety of rustlers pack the obligatory Colt Single Action Army in several different configurations. Colonel Colt’s Peacemaker is the archetypal Western revolver. Cimarron offers a wide array of these iconic wheelguns.
Horn loses his favorite horse to a brigand armed with a heavy .44-caliber Colt Walker revolver. The Colt Walker was designed in 1846 as a collaborative effort between Texas Ranger Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker and Sam Colt. There were only 1,100 original guns produced, 1,000 of which went to the military. Sam Walker died wielding a brace of his eponymous revolvers while fighting in the Mexican-American War in 1847.
The .44-caliber Walker Colt was the most powerful handgun in the world in its day. (Wikipedia)
One of Horn’s adversaries wields a Smith and Wesson Model 3 Schofield revolver. This single action top-break wheelgun debuted in 1870 and was the first cartridge-firing handgun adopted by the US Army. Bob Ford used a Schofield Model 3 to kill Jesse James in 1882.
Déjà vu
Tom Horn bears a strange resemblance to my personal favorite Western, Quigley Down Under. In fact, Steve McQueen was initially approached about starring in Quigley in the 1970’s. The exigencies of show business intervened, and the movie was not made until 1990 with Tom Selleck and his Shiloh Sharps .45-110 rifle in the lead roles.
There is a pervasive melancholia about Tom Horn. McQueen’s character does some bad things, but he has a good heart. The viewer wants him to prevail.
However, the Cattleman’s Association, a timeless personification of faceless greed, ultimately takes his life unjustly. A special gallows was constructed that was activated by Horn’s own weight, no one in attendance being willing to throw the lever.
Tom Horn seems oddly similar to the Tom Selleck classic Quigley Down Under. (Moviestillsdb.com)
Tom Horn hit theaters in March of 1980. Steve McQueen died of malignant mesothelioma eight months later at age fifty. The cumulative effects of a terminal disease and McQueen’s Hollywood lifestyle were beginning to take a toll during the making of the film. This toxic combination likely contributed to the movie’s gritty edge.
Denouement
The historical Tom Horn, like the character in the movie, was a frontier Renaissance Man. He served as a civilian scout for the US Cavalry, a ranch owner, a Pinkerton detective, a deputy sheriff, and a “Range Detective.” In the latter role he was essentially a paid assassin who meted out frontier justice to cattle rustlers in exchange for a stipend for every dead outlaw he could produce.
Tom Horn is a Hollywood classic coming at the end of the golden age of Western films. The movie is avail-able to stream for free on Vudu. (Moviestillsdb.com) (Moviestillsdb.com)
Unlike the film’s title character, the real Horn was more morally complex. He likely killed at least seventeen men, the first in a duel over a prostitute.
It was his conviction for the murder of a 14-year-old boy named Willie Nickell near Iron Mountain, Wyoming, for which he was hanged the day before his 43rd birthday.
The film was inspired by his autobiography The Life of Tom Horn: Government Scout and Interpreter as told by Himself that he wrote while in jail while awaiting execution.
Steve McQueen was in his time the highest paid actor in Hollywood, and he carries a gravitas to which other lesser actors still aspire. The tale of Tom Horn has all the elements of ruggedness, passion, and justice ill-served that make for a compelling Western. Tolerate a few commercials and you can catch it for free on Vudu.
Cimarron Tom Horn Winchester 1876
- Caliber: .45-60
- Barrel Length: 28-inch octagon
- Frame: Blued
- Stocks: Walnut
- Magazine Capacity: 11+1
- Overall Length: 49 inches
- Weight: 10.05 pounds
- MSRP: $1,864.17
- Contact: Cimarron Firearms, (877)-SIXGUN1, Cimarron-Firearms.com
An Interview with Actor Mel Novak
Firearms News Editor, Vincent DeNiro, asked me to reach out to his friend Mel Novak as he acted in the movie Tom Horn.
Mel Novak is the veteran of fifty-four movies. A legendary martial artist, he’s died twenty-three times on screen and worked alongside the likes of Yul Brynner, Isaac Hayes, Sybil Danning, and Chuck Norris. He fought Bruce Lee’s character to the death in Game of Death as “Stick” and lived to tell the tale. He was also a friend and spiritual mentor to Steve McQueen.
Mel’s real calling is to serve those society finds the most unlovely. An ordained minister, Mel has for more than thirty-six years led services in prisons and skid row areas reaching the homeless and the incarcerated for Christ.
Starting out with a stint playing professional baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates, that was cut short by a severe shoulder injury, he has gone on to a long career in movies and along the way reached countless souls for Jesus.
A perennial villain in dozens of familiar action movies, martial arts legend Mel Novak has devoted his life to Christian ministry. (Wikipedia)
WD: Tell me something memorable about Steve McQueen. What was he really like up close?
MN: Steve was a real down-to-earth kind of guy. One day I was out trap shooting with Stephen Spielberg, Ken Hyman, and John Milius when up walks this guy with really long hair and a full beard.
Once I saw those bright blue eyes I realized it was Steve. This was maybe seven months before he died. I had first met Steve McQueen, through his karate instructor Pat Johnson, years before at a birthday party.
Coppola and Milius were making Apocalypse Now, and they wanted Steve to play the part of LTC Kilgore. They offered him $2 million on the spot for one week’s work in the Philippines, and he turned him down cold.
Steve didn’t have anything else going on at the time, but he just didn’t feel like leaving the country.
WD: Hard to imagine “Charlie don’t surf!” and “I love the smell of napalm in the morning!” coming from anybody but Robert Duvall, but apparently that was almost Steve McQueen. Share with us a memory about making the movie Tom Horn.
MN: The movie was already cast, but Steve fired the director Steve Guercia right after filming began. He got rid of several of the cast members and said he wanted me in the film. I got a call from the producer Fred Weintraub at 3pm telling me I needed to be on a plane for Arizona at six.
The next morning, I went through wardrobe and makeup but still had not seen a script. On the drive out to the set, they told me I was getting a different role with a lot of dialogue, and I still hadn’t seen any of it. As soon as I got there they were ready to shoot.
I said a quick prayer for help, and the new director announced unexpectedly that it was time for a lunch break. I skipped lunch and went back to my trailer to learn my lines. When it was all over Steve was happy with it.
Mel Novak was a friend and spiritual mentor to Steve McQueen. Here is seen on the movie set of Tom Horn. (Photo courtesy of Mel Novak)
WD: Tell us about Steve’s last months.
MN: He had a horrible cancer, but I know Steve McQueen is in glory with the Lord. Billy Graham went down to Mexico to meet with him. I was once giving him some scriptures and he told me,
“Mel, you sound just like my pastor.” We both laughed, and I said, “Well, Steve, we read the same book.” I was blessed to know him and to minister to him. He’s someone that you never forget.
Shot down in a hostile landing zone, blasted apart, and stabbed through the leg, Gary Wetzel still fought his way back to an M60 machine gun. What happened next earned him the Medal of Honor and made his Vietnam story almost impossible to believe.
Gary Wetzel’s Medal of Honor Fight Began in a Huey
Gary Wetzel was born in 1947 in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1965, he was an 18-year-old soldier working in ordnance. He enlisted for three more years to serve as a door gunner on UH1 Huey helicopters in Vietnam. Wetzel was assigned to the 173d Assault Helicopter Company near Ap Dong An.
A group of four Australian helos flew into Wetzel’s firebase and got badly shot up for their trouble. Most of the hostile ground fire they had taken originated a mere kilometer from the perimeter.
Realizing the imminent threat this represented, Wetzel’s commander put together a quick reaction mission to seek out the local VC force and eliminate it. On January 8, 1968, PFC Wetzel climbed aboard his Huey and charged his M60 machine gun. They took off as a flight of fourteen aircraft. Ten were American UH1s. The four Australian helicopters took part as well.
The Guns Gary Wetzel Carried Into a Vietnamese Killing Zone
By 1968, Vietnam was a mature war zone. That meant weapons were absolutely everywhere. The M16 was and is a solid combat rifle. However, at 39 inches overall, it is a bit bulky for the confines of a tactical helicopter.
The XM177E2 was the stubby carbine version of the M16 that was just seeing widespread issue to Special Forces troops. It would yet be a while before there were enough carbines to filter down to aviation units. In the meantime, Wetzel and his mates scrounged whatever they could find.
The US gifted untold tons of WW2-surplus ordnance to the South Vietnamese. Among these weapons were huge numbers of vintage M3 Grease Guns as well as M2 carbines and Thompson SMGs. Many of these weapons ended up available for barter among American troops.
Among aircrews, folding stock Kalashnikovs were prized but hen’s-teeth rare. I have heard of captured cut-down RPD belt-fed machine guns being used as well, but they were about as common as Bigfoot or fiscally responsible Congressmen.
Flight crews not infrequently tucked an M79 40mm grenade launcher into their birds for a little serious thump. However, WW2-vintage .45ACP submachine guns were not uncommon. Wetzel packed a Tommy Gun himself.
The Thompson really was a niche tool. Those big, fat .45ACP rounds lost energy quickly at long ranges, and the thing was heavier than Aunt Edna’s prize Christmas fruit cake.
Additionally, the ergonomics were all wrong, so it took some attention to technique to run the gun accurately and well. However, for a generation raised on Saturday afternoon gangster movies, the Thompson carried some undeniable sex appeal.
RPG Impact: Gary Wetzel’s Huey Falls Into a Kill Zone
Standard Operating Procedure had Huey gunships in the lead to sterilize the landing zone with machine gun fire and rockets.
However, in this case, the gunships inexplicably fell behind. Wetzel’s slick was one of the first aircraft into the LZ. As they were on final approach, VC streamed out of the jungle like ants and opened fire. Wetzel noticed the RPG-2 rocket just before it impacted his aircraft.
I used to fly Army helicopters myself. They are amazingly capable machines. However, they were never designed to withstand hits from anti-tank weapons. The RPG struck the Huey solidly in the left front. Wetzel’s pilots got the stricken bird to the ground more or less intact, but they were in a world of hurt.
One of the pilots had his legs shot to pieces. Wetzel and his crew chief wrestled the stricken officer out of the aircraft and took cover behind the disabled machine. At that moment, one of the VC threw a Combloc grenade that exploded among them.
The blast liberally peppered Wetzel with shrapnel and shattered his left arm, leaving it dangling uselessly at an unnatural angle.
One Arm Ruined, Thompson Roaring: Wetzel Fights Back
So, imagine the scene. One moment, you’re making a low-level approach into a hostile LZ. Next, your aircraft is shot to pieces, and your pilot is bleeding to death. Then the VC blows your arm off. Most normal guys would have just rolled over and quit. However, Gary Wetzel was no normal guy.
The VC soldier who threw the first grenade was now readying a second. Firing his Thompson one-handed, Wetzel stitched the man up, causing him to drop his primed grenade. The little sputtering bomb exploded among the attacking VC and caused a brief lull in the incoming fire.
Wetzel and his crew chief took advantage of the respite to get tourniquets on the legs of the grievously wounded pilot. Then Wetzel noticed half a dozen VC struggling to remove his M60 from its pedestal mount on the side of the crashed helicopter. Once again, taking his Tommy Gun in his one remaining good hand, the badly wounded gunner took out all six with a long full-auto burst.
Despite their best efforts, the young pilot bled out and died. This was more than Gary Wetzel had signed up for this day. Now simply angry, he stuffed his useless left hand into his pistol belt so it wouldn’t flop around while he ran, stood up, and charged back over to the smoldering aircraft.
Back to the M60: Gary Wetzel Charges Through Enemy Fire
The VC had not been idle throughout all of this. They marshalled in the treeline and prepared for a massed attack.
The enemy well appreciated that the greatest strength of the American military was its essentially unlimited close air support. If they had any hope of defeating the American assault, they had to get in close, too close for helicopter gunships and fast mover jets to lay down effective supporting fires. What happened next would determine whether Wetzel and his buddies lived or died.
Under suffocating enemy fire, Gary Wetzel charged across the open rice paddy toward his pedestal-mounted machine gun. Communist bullets sleeted across the space by the hundreds. Then one of the charging VC stabbed him through the leg with a bayonet, knocking him to the ground.
I saw an interview with Gary Wetzel where he related what happened next in his own words. His left arm was essentially shot off, and he had just taken a bayonet to his leg.
His chest was thoroughly ventilated with shrapnel, as was his remaining good arm. He claimed he had no idea how he cleared the distance to the downed helicopter. He just said that the bayonet wound knocked him to the ground and that the next conscious memory he had was behind his gun.
The aircraft was dead, but Wetzel’s pig was just fine. He also had access to plenty of ammunition and was savvy enough to run his gun one-handed. Despite multiple horrific wounds, PFC Wetzel poured fire into the enemy emplacements. He eventually suppressed and then destroyed the VC gunners that had taken them under fire.
Bleeding Out, Wetzel Still Dragged His Buddies to Cover
With the major threat eliminated, there was still plenty to do. The VC kept shooting into the LZ, and there were scads of American wounded. Despite having his arm blown to pieces and having taken a stab wound through the leg, PFC Wetzel dragged injured American troops across the slippery mud of the rice paddy so that the medic could work to stabilize them. He lost consciousness several times due to his own bleeding, but refused to stop until his fellow soldiers were behind cover.
PFC Wetzel was eventually medevac’d. He lost his left arm but saved an LZ full of GIs. Here is his Medal of Honor citation:
Gary Wetzel’s Official Medal of Honor Citation
“Sp4c. Wetzel, 173d Assault Helicopter Company, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp4c. Wetzel was serving as door gunner aboard a helicopter which was part of an insertion force trapped in a landing zone by intense and deadly hostile fire. Sp4c. Wetzel was going to the aid of his aircraft commander when he was blown into a rice paddy and critically wounded by two enemy rockets that exploded just inches from his location. Although bleeding profusely due to the loss of his left arm and severe wounds in his right arm, chest, and left leg, Sp4c. Wetzel staggered back to his original position in his gun-well and took the enemy forces under fire. His machine gun was the only weapon placing effective fire on the enemy at that time. Through a resolve that overcame the shock and intolerable pain of his injuries, Sp4c. Wetzel remained at his position until he had eliminated the automatic-weapons emplacement that had been inflicting heavy casualties on the American troops and preventing them from moving against this strong enemy force. Refusing to attend his own extensive wounds, he attempted to return to the aid of his aircraft commander but passed out from loss of blood. Regaining consciousness, he persisted in his efforts to drag himself to the aid of his fellow crewman. After an agonizing effort, he came to the side of the crew chief who was attempting to drag the wounded aircraft commander to the safety of a nearby dike. Unswerving in his devotion to his fellow man, Sp4c. Wetzel assisted his crew chief even though he lost consciousness once again during this action. Sp4c. Wetzel displayed extraordinary heroism in his efforts to aid his fellow crewmen. His gallant actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.”
Source: Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Gary George Wetzel recipient record and official citation.
Gary Wetzel Comes Home: A Medal of Honor Legacy
Gary Wetzel returned home to Milwaukee after he recovered to take a job as a heavy equipment operator. This guy is a freaking animal, the kind of amazing American hero who made America what it is today. This one-armed military machine would not quit when quitting was the only reasonable thing to do. In so doing, he showed us all what it truly means to be a man.
Will is still trying to figure out what he really wants to be when he grows up. However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation.
Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o’clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times…always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains.
Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. Turn-ons include vintage German machineguns, flying his sexy-cool RV6A airplane, Count Chocula cereal and the movie “Aliens.”
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Manly Stuff
He led a reconnaissance team during a mission near Phú Lộc, Vietnam, in 1967. During the engagement, Capers sustained multiple wounds while directing his men and coordinating their evacuation under intense enemy fire. His actions were instrumental in saving the lives of every member of his team.
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Pity it took so long to get it to him! (Almost 60 years!!) But that’s the problem with the Blue Max. In that sometimes you get it ASAP & other times it’s almost too late. I say that it’s just pure BS and a few officers need a blow torch pointed at them. Grumpy