The Rifleman: Season 3
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of The Rifleman Season 2.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
Trail of Hate
Sep 27, 1960 · 30 min
Lucas is out for vengeance when Mark is used as a pawn in a bank robbery scheme.
Woman From Hog Ridge
Oct 4, 1960 · 30 min
Lucas shoots a horse thief who turns out to be a member of the Boyle clan, and now Ma Boyle is after him.
Seven
Oct 11, 1960 · 30 min
Seven condemned murderers escape and take over the town of North Fork.
The Pitchman
Sep 18, 1960 · 30 min
When Mark finds gold on their property, a fast-talking salesman who tried to sell Lucas a new lightning rod offers instead to buy the ranch's mineral rights.
Strange Town
Oct 25, 1960 · 30 min
Lucas tracks an escaped prisoner to a town that turns out to be run by the gunman's brother, notorious for shooting people in the back.
Baranca
Nov 1, 1960 · 30 min
When an outlaw leader lures Marshal Torrance out of town, Lucas is the only one who can stop him from lynching a local man who killed one of the members of his gang.
The Martinet
Nov 8, 1960 · 30 min
A former army captain comes to North Fork to kill the man who shot down his son in a gunfight - Lucas McCain.
Miss Milly
Nov 15, 1960 · 30 min
A new store owner upsets the town by demanding that all credit accounts be paid off.
Dead Cold Cash
Nov 22, 1960 · 30 min
The widow of a bandit killed by Lucas plots a grotesque revenge.
The Schoolmaster
Nov 29, 1960 · 30 min
Mark and his friend become trapped in an old mine.
The Promoter
Dec 6, 1960 · 30 min
A con man and his fast-gun friend come to North Fork. Lucas enters a target shooting contest.
The Illustrator
Dec 13, 1960 · 30 min
Lucas encourages a drunken artist charged with murder to use his talents to identify the true killer.
The Silent Knife
Dec 20, 1960 · 30 min
Lucas and Mark try to persuade a persecuted young mute to return stolen money.
Miss Bertie
Dec 27, 1960 · 30 min
A lively old lady arrives in town hot on the trail of a notorious bandit—and the reward money for capturing him.
Six Years and a Day
Jan 30, 1961 · 30 min
A doctor seeks revenge on the man he blames for ruining his practice.
Flowers by the Door
Jan 10, 1961 · 30 min
Lucas unmasks a killer posing as a door-to-door seed salesman.
Long Trek
Jan 17, 1961 · 30 min
Lucas and Marshal Torrance run in trouble transporting a captured killer back to face trial.
The Actress
Jan 24, 1961 · 30 min
A deathbed request from an old friend sends Lucas to a neighboring town in search of the man's long-lost sweetheart.
Face of Yesterday
Jan 31, 1961 · 30 min
Lucas thinks he has seen a ghost when a young man, eerily similar to a man he killed in the Civil War, challenges him to a gunfight.
The Wyoming Story (1)
Feb 7, 1961 · 30 min
Lucas agrees to take a job as a federal undercover agent and goes to Wyoming to investigate rumors of sales of arms to renegade indians. His life is endagered by the town drunk who
The Wyoming Story (2)
Feb 14, 1961 · 30 min
Mark heads for Wyoming to search for Lucas, who's on the trail of a gang illegally selling weapons to the Indians. (Part 2 of 2)
Closer than a Brother
Feb 21, 1961 · 30 min
Lucas looks for answers when recovering alcoholic Micah Torrence returns to the bottle—and turns in his badge.
The Lost Treasure of Canyon Town
Feb 28, 1961 · 30 min
In a ghost town, Lucas, Mark and Micah tangle with the Newman family and learn the secret of the town's 20-year-old mystery of a lost gold mine.
Dark Day at North Fork
Mar 7, 1961 · 30 min
Blinded in an explosion, Lucas fights despair as he prepares for a meeting with a gun-toting enemy.
The Prisoner
Mar 14, 1961 · 30 min
Two ex-Confederate officers seek revenge on Lucas, who served as prison guard during their internment.
Short Rope for a Tall Man
Mar 28, 1961 · 30 min
Lucas, accused of horse theft, struggles to clear himself before a lynch mob catches up.
The Clarence Bibs Story
Apr 4, 1961 · 30 min
A janitor-turned-gunfighter whose reputation hangs on one lucky shot—and a lot of gall.
The Score is Even
Apr 11, 1961 · 30 min
Lucas tries to get help when he is shot after witnessing a murder.
The Mescalaro Curse
Apr 18, 1961 · 30 min
Lucas is marked for death: he was foreman of a jury that convicted an Apache.
Stopover
Apr 25, 1961 · 30 min
Trouble brews at Lucas's when a whisky salesman and a gunfighter fall for the same woman.
The Lonesome Bride
May 2, 1961 · 30 min
Two pranksters write away for a mail-order bride, using Lucas's name.
Death Trap
May 9, 1961 · 30 min
Lucas recognizes Dr. Simon Battle as an ex-gunslinger with whom he once traded shots.
The Queue
May 16, 1961 · 30 min
A Chinese man and his son fight prejudice as they try to open a laundry in North Fork.