All episodes Season 3 S03E30 1961-04-18 30 min 1950s ABC

The Rifleman

The Mescalaro Curse

TV Flash files “The Mescalaro Curse” as hour 106 of 168 in the TV Flash guide — The Rifleman (1958–1963) on ABC, season 3, episode 30, aired 1961-04-18, 30 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S03E30: listed hour 106 of 168 in the The Rifleman guide, hour 30 of 34 in season 3. It aired 1961-04-18 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “The Score is Even” (S03E29). Next is “Stopover” (S03E31).

The Rifleman still

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

After Lucas receives a curse while attending then hanging of a murdering Indian, he goes on a hunt to find out who or what is behind the so-called curse. Guest Stars:Ralph Moody, Charles Watts, Larry Chance, Jackie Searl, Joe Brown, Jr., and Michael Pate

Viewer FAQ

Where does The Mescalaro Curse sit in the The Rifleman guide?

S03E30 is listed hour 106 of 168 — hour 30 of 34 in season 3, season 3 episode 30.

When did The Rifleman S03E30 air?

The Mescalaro Curse aired 1961-04-18 and is listed at 30 minutes.

Where should I start?

Start with Connors and Crawford as the ranch pair — the rifle is the visual, fatherhood is the engine. Early episodes carry the Peckinpah-era craft lore.

In the series

Why this series still plays

The Rifleman is a widowed dad, a boy, and a rapid-fire Winchester: Chuck Connors's athlete-to-star path, Johnny Crawford as Mark, parenting as much as gunplay. Watch it in 2026 as the family western that made a customized rifle toy-aisle history — frontier justice with a moral center and a lever-action snap.

ABC window: 1958–1963. **168 episodes, five seasons.** Chuck Connors as widower Lucas McCain, Johnny Crawford as son Mark, Paul Fix as Marshal Micah Torrance. Product: a family western that centered parenting as much as gunplay, a modified rapid-fire Winchester as the toy-aisle SKU. Arnold Laven created it; Sam Peckinpah was among early writers and directors. Violence came quick; lessons came quicker. Rex can keep the frontier hymn. This is a prop, a fatherhood premise, and a five-season window.

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Filed against

Also in season 3

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