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Guns on TV: Top 12 Shows

By NRA Staff (RSS)

July 15, 2012

Television technology may have changed dramatically since the early days of grainy black & white broadcasts, but American culture has always been influenced by its content—much of which prominently features firearms. AmericanRifleman.org Shooting Editor Paul Rackley took a look at TV programming past and present to select his favorite shows that regularly feature firearms.
No. 1—The A-Team
No. 2—NCIS
No. 3—Charlie’s Angels
No. 4—The Andy Griffith Show
No. 5—The Rifleman
No. 6—Walker Texas Ranger
No. 7—Miami Vice
No. 8—The Lone Ranger
No. 9—24
No. 10—The Unit
No. 11—Hawaii Five-O
No. 12—Boston Legal
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62 Responses to Guns on TV: Top 12 Shows

MGB RIC wrote:
June 21, 2011

As I remember this was my fathers and my favorite show, I can't remember the story lines but I remember watching it with dad

Al - Cape Coral wrote:
May 20, 2011

The most impressive guns were those that never had to be reloaded. From Gunsmoke and the Lone anger to the A-Team and Miami Vice, Six shooters seemed to be good for 30 or 40 rounds and an AR with what looks like a 20-round mag always keeps going for a hundred or more shots. That could be part of why the anti-gunners are so down on "high capacity" magazines - the illusion created by TV and movies?

Mike H wrote:
April 17, 2011

What about "Burn Notice". A current show based in Miami about a burned CIA agent and his ex-Navy Seal sidekick and ex- IRA operative girlfriend. Kick'n show with plenty of weapons, both common and exotic.

Pete wrote:
April 08, 2011

The best part was Jack did not care what kind of firearm he used. Started with a SIG, went to an HK, and when he was on his own it was a Glock.

Pete wrote:
April 06, 2011

Terrible show...allegedly has caused more than one juror in a police shooting trial to ask the officer, "if you have an expert pistol rating, why didn't you just shoot the gun out of his hand?"

Pete wrote:
April 06, 2011

A magic gun...it had a screw that would depress the trigger and fire the rifle when the lever was closed...but somehow that screw magically was never engaged when Lucas-boy did his famous spin cock or flip cock...

A-Team Watcher wrote:
April 05, 2011

To be fair, they mostly used AC-556 fully automatic Ruger machine guns, not mere Mini-14s.

ScottFromNH wrote:
April 05, 2011

Perhaps no one ever got injured in the A-Team because they never, EVER used the sights or unfolded their stocks on their firearms... Aiming helps kill bad guys...

Ed Kalil wrote:
April 05, 2011

Why on tv shows with rifle scopes they don't show the crosshair in the scope

Mike wrote:
April 05, 2011

24 featured more current small arms than any show. It should be #1.

Ken Johnson wrote:
April 04, 2011

NCIS?!?! Their gun technique is so abysmal that I've had to leave the room I'm laughing so hard. I stopped reading this article after seeing that. How about an article about TV shows that feature good gun technique?

John Hill wrote:
April 04, 2011

Another gun-friendly TV that is quite good is "Blue Bloods", about a family who have multi-generational members in law enforcement...Great Show!

David wrote:
April 04, 2011

I don't know how a list of the top 12 gun shows could list Andy Griffith but not Roy Rogers which opened each week with a gun fight on horse back. What a travesty.

K Gilbraith wrote:
April 04, 2011

How in the world is Chuck Norris not number one? You better watch your backs lol.

J Walton wrote:
April 04, 2011

What about "Combat" Great WWII based tv show from the 60's. Had everything from the Thompson and M1 carbine to the M1 Garand and BAR in that squad.

Robert S wrote:
April 04, 2011

The best part was that no one ever got hurt???? No, that was the LAMEST part!

Glockslinger wrote:
April 04, 2011

What? No "Man From U.N.C.L.E." with their modified Walther P-38 "Speicals?"

Miami Whammy wrote:
April 04, 2011

What's the deal with George Peppard looking one way and aiming at the camera? At least the other guy aims at what he sees.

Michael Costello wrote:
April 04, 2011

Uh - Bounty Hunter?

Tim Little wrote:
April 03, 2011

Mark Harmon is listed as being an active foe of the second ammendment by the NRA. Seems odd to endorse his television show.

no one wrote:
April 03, 2011

What part of fun do you guys not get? Chill out and realize the Internet is for many people and many OPINIONS, which is what this is.

Riz wrote:
April 02, 2011

The NEW Hawaii Five-O should be on here, not the old one. The new one has state of the art firearms, all used correctly. They even had the new Taser x-12 shotgun by Mossberg! Great gun work in the NEW Hawaii Five-o

Riz wrote:
April 02, 2011

One error however, he carried it in a Jackass Leather rig. This later became Galco, and after being modified, renamed the Miami Classic. they are currently making a Jackass rig again, which carries the gun at more of an angle.

Rikkor wrote:
April 01, 2011

I'm sorry, but Barney Fife?

Rich wrote:
April 01, 2011

What? Where's "Have Gun, Will Travel"? Paladin was an Icon! Lose Sonny Crockett.

Jerry in AZ wrote:
March 31, 2011

What happened to Wyatt Earp (Brave, courageous and true) and his Buntline Special, Have Gun - Will Travel, Gunsmoke, and Johnny Rebel? And don’t over look Lash laRue. He may not have carried a gun, but his bull whip sure disarmed a lot of bad guys.

Higgybaby wrote:
March 31, 2011

Don't foget Tom Selleck as both Magnum P.I. and as Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone.

Neio Cook wrote:
March 31, 2011

Excellent

david wrote:
March 31, 2011

mostly i don't agree with your picks, you left out a lot of older shows that were much better than these, like the old westerns.

Sam wrote:
March 31, 2011

"Have gun will travel" ?

Al wrote:
March 31, 2011

Great show, good morals. I don't think even the gun haters would complain too much about this family show.

Al wrote:
March 31, 2011

Who doesn't like Jack

Al wrote:
March 31, 2011

What's hotter than Jacqueline Smith with a gun.

Al wrote:
March 31, 2011

Very funny show. You have a special forces team that gets out of any jam, have great weapons and more ammo than our forces, but yet all they can hit are tires.

Al wrote:
March 31, 2011

Great show. You have the team leader who is a Marine sniper.

Kevin wrote:
March 31, 2011

I was dissappointed that "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." series was included. The gun used on the show ("the UNCLE special") was so popular that it actually received it's own fan-mail.

hurricane charlie wrote:
March 31, 2011

rat patrol jeeps with the belt fed in back were awesome the gallant men history channel miltary channel and gun ight on outdoor channel all evening

Paul wrote:
March 31, 2011

Why the snide last sentence? This show was pro-gun, even having an episode where Blane is teaching and drilling his daughter on the range with a 1911. This was a good show and undeserving of the backhanded insult.

Spencer wrote:
March 31, 2011

Don't forget Magnum P.I. where gun-friendly Tom Selleck used a 1911.

Doc Corbin wrote:
March 31, 2011

Nice choices. I was disappointed that Steve McQueen's "Mare's Laig" wasn't included.

Gregory J Cummings wrote:
March 31, 2011

How about Combat, The Gallent Men, Alias Smith and Jones, The Big Valley (Audra has a nice pair of 38's), and Hogan's Heroes?

Tim from Austin wrote:
March 31, 2011

A great show for all the reasons the Shooting Editor mentions. It also showed the reliability and firepower of the Mini-14. I bought two of the stainless steel Minis in the 1980s and have loved them ever since.

cigarman wrote:
March 31, 2011

Gunsmoke, Gunsmoke, Gunsmoke. Need I say more

Danny Moorefield wrote:
March 31, 2011

I really liked your list of shows, but you left off "Wanted Dead or Alive" starring Steve Mcqueen, who carried a mighty potent weapon as a bounty hunter.

Jim Sanders wrote:
March 31, 2011

The best show on TV. We never miss it. The actors all seem to know how to handle their weapons in the correct manner.

eth77 wrote:
March 31, 2011

Add "In Plain Sight," "Burn Notice," "White Collar," and "Ultimate Marksmen" to the list.

dasmith wrote:
March 31, 2011

For #12 don't forget the AR7 that he kept in his office.

Mayberry Deputy wrote:
March 31, 2011

If you go to youtube and put in The Andy Griffith Show The Lucky Letter (3-3). You can see that Barney's revolver is a Colt Official Police. By the way so was Andy's.

Snark06 wrote:
March 31, 2011

Ok, I'll go with "The Rifleman" and "The Lone Ranger". But most of the best shows that featured guns and gun handling were in the 50s and 60s. There was "Have Gun Will Travel", "Wyatt Earp", "Daniel Boone", "Combat", "Rat Patrol" "Gunsmoke", "Wagon Train", "Johnny Rebel" even "Alias Smith & Jones" which were far better portrayals of armed people than some of your choices. As a matter of fact some even included bits of firearm safety (e.g., The Lone Ranger and Combat).

Pete wrote:
March 30, 2011

You picked the single best scene –the famous “Maybe you won’t even flinch…”

Pete wrote:
March 30, 2011

The NRA and the American Rifleman used to regularly excoriate this show for anti-firearm bias, poor firearm handling, and for mis-information (the ubiquitous revolver with silencer that all the thugs used).

Pete wrote:
March 29, 2011

Now we can all start listing the ones you missed... The Man from U.N.C.L.E.-- People are still duplicating and trying to produce a functioning version of the modified Walther P-38 with accessories to make it a carbine. Wanted Dead or Alive -- famous cut down Winchester that is now being legally sold as a pistol. Johnny Ringo -- Colt SAA with a 12 gauge shotgun barrel added under the standard barrel (LeMat revolver style).

Ernest wrote:
March 28, 2011

Thanks to this show, a S&W M-4506 was the first handgun I ever shot.

Ernest wrote:
March 28, 2011

There was one episode when Barney's self-esteem was really down, and Andy and Thelma Lou went with him and he shot the pistol at a target, one of the few times it was a full cylinder, I believe. Don Knotts, I heard, was a very good shot. And in another episode, Andy used a Winchester pump shotgun to catch some crooks (had never seen that episode until just recently).

Gordon Earp wrote:
March 28, 2011

#13 Would have to be Stargate SG-1. Jack O'Neil did something that McGyver would never do - use a firearm. I guess Jack thought he needed to make up lost time - The Col. used a Baretta 9MM, MP-5, P-90, SAW, Shotgun, and even a Sniper Rifle.

Larry wrote:
March 28, 2011

I question this pick. Jack Lord was very anti gun!

John Hill wrote:
March 28, 2011

Two other shows I like that are gun-friendly: "The Closer" and "Bones".

Mark Adams wrote:
March 28, 2011

I believe Flashpoint would be a good candidate for the list and would Top Shot.

Dan Downing wrote:
March 28, 2011

"Have Gun, Will Travel" seems to me to be quintessential for this list. The theme of the show, its title, and the wonderful opening scene with Paladin drawing and quoting a line from the show all make this a 'gun show' if ever there was one: worth it if only for the close up of the beautiful Colt and hostler at the start of the show. AND he dispensed good gun advice now and then.

Mark from Jersey wrote:
March 28, 2011

What about the 60's WWII show Combat with Vic Morrow? Then we have the late 80's early 90's Vietnam TV show Tour of Duty. C'mon guys, Charlie Angels, REALLY? And with the A-Team I think there was one episode when people were actually shot, I think it was when they went back to Vietnam. Not sure if it was a movie of them or an episode.

Mark Woods wrote:
March 28, 2011

Hey what about gunsmoke I was sure that would have ranked in the top 12

Tom Kelly wrote:
March 28, 2011

Come on...stainless mini 14's? Pieces of crap if you ask me. Oh but they look good. lol