User blog:Alockwood1/Battle of the Rifles - Lucas McCain Versus Matthew Quigley





The rifle - a long-barreled firearm known for being able to hit targets at great distances. Those who use them are known as riflemen, and some are called sharpshooters. Lucas McCain and Matthew Quigley are two such men, who use their rifles in order to keep alive, killing those who try to kill them, or those they care about.

Now, let's see just which one is the better shooter.

Lucas McCain
Lucas McCain is a rancher living in the town of North Fork. A veteran of the Civil War, McCain makes his primary living by raising cattle, and caring for his son Mark. That being said, he has also served as a deputy, and will always aid the law, fighting alongside of the Marshal.

Despite his size and strength, McCain tends to be friendly and tolerant of those he meets, unless they prove to not be friendly in return. Known for having a fast-firing rifle, which has been modified to allow him to take rapid shots, he has a reputation that has him being called "The Rifleman", and numerous challengers, gunslingers, and criminals have tried to challenge him as a result. However, all have fallen, in one manner or another.

Lucas McCain's Weapons
Lucas McCain uses the following weapons to fight:

Long Range: Customized Winchester Model 1892 - Modified at the lever and trigger, a pin allows McCain to both cock and fire his rifle at the same time. Said pin can also be removed to let him fire the rifle in the regular manner. Carries 15 .40-40 rounds, lever-action.

Medium Range: Colt Single Action Army - McCain normally avoids using a pistol, preferring to use his rifle. However, when he's forced to use to use another firearm, the Colt Single Action Army revolver is fairly common for him to use, and he's fairly good with it. Carries up to 6 .45 metallic cartridge rounds.

Close Range: Roofing Hammer, Wrestling, and Improvisation - When McCain is forced to not use firearms, he has shown to be fairly resourceful with what he has on hand, such as the time when he turned a T-shaped bone from a porkchop into a shank to kill some renegade ex-Confederates that had taken him prisoner. On another occasion, he used a roofing hammer to disarm a gunman that had been threatening him. On still another occasion, he use the barrel of his rifle to knock a foe off of his horse, to keep him from harming Mark and the lawman he was with. Then there was the time that he used a shovel to take care of a bandit that was making him dig his own grave, plus other such instances where he used an improvised weapon. Also, he's fairly good when it comes to wrestling and other such unarmed fighting methods, and has a fairly strong left arm.

Matthew Quigley
Matthew Quigley was a sharpshooter from Wyoming, who was hired by one Elliot Marston, a rancher in Australia, to fend off "dingoes". However, upon finding out that he was really hired to kill Aborigines, Quigley explained to Marston, with his fists, that he wasn't interested in committing murder for no real reason. Marston manages to get his men, a bunch of Irish convict-types, to beat Quigley almost to death. Thankfully, Quigley is rescued by Aborigines, who nurse him, and a woman named Cora, back to health. When Marston's men attack the Aborigines, Quigley aids the natives with his Sharps rifle, and soon wages a one-man war on Marston and his men.

Overall, Quigley is a fairly friendly person, polite to the elderly and women, as well as those who don't try to harm him. As for those who decide to harm him and those he cares about, they soon find out just how good Quigley is with his rifle, among other things.

Matthew Quigley's Weapons
Matthew Quigley uses the following weapons to fight:

Long Range: Customized Shiloh Sharps 1874 Long Range Rifle - As Quigley's quote states, his Sharps is highly modified - .45-110 cartridges, double-set triggers for easy firing, and can shoot accurately at over a thousand yards. A single-shot block-action rifle, Quigley is quick with the reloading, and firing, of his weapon.

Medium Range: Colt Model 1860 - Quigley never has much use for handguns, but he knows how to use them well, and is both quick on the draw and the firing, and is deadly accurate, with them, as Marston found out to his cost, when the Australian gunfighter-wannabe decided to duel Quigley, thinking that the American didn't know how to use them - he was dead wrong about that. Uses 6 .44 caliber rounds, and uses percussion caps.

Close Range: Bowie Knife, Rifle Butt, Boxing, and Traps - When fighting gets real close, Quigley uses both a Bowie Knife and the butt of his rifle. He is also fairly strong, and has no problems punching his foes real hard, as some of Marston's men found out when they first met him. He is also skilled at the building and utilization of traps, as more of Marston's men found out during his assault upon the ranch.

X-Factor Chart
Okay, let's face it - these guys are so good, it's hard for me to compare them without favoritism, as I just like both fighters. So, I'll just show of their respective s/kills.

Lucas McCain's Kills

Lucas McCain mainly uses his rifle's ability to fire quickly, and repeatedly, for him to win his fights. That being said, he tends to be accurate, is calm under fire, and will use any means to secure a victory, and tends to be aware of his surroundings.

Matthew Quigley's Kills

Matthew Quigley mainly uses his rifle's ability to fire at extremely long distances for him to win his fights. He is very accurate, very calm under fire - such as when he was halfway under a pipe, and calmly reloading his rifle, while Marston's men fired at him - and he will also use any means to win, such as when he made a number of traps to fight a large number of Marston's men.

Battle Info
The situation is thus:

Matthew Quigley, having returned to the United States, and avoiding Australian justice over the deaths of Marston and his men - the deaths were self-defense, but the local law was friends with Marston - meaning that Quigley, and his new wife Cora, can head to wherever they want to, and decide to head to New Mexico, eventually stopping just outside of North Fork.

At the same time, Lucas McCain and Mark return to North Fork, after a hunting trip that lasted a few weeks, only to find out that a gang of Australian criminals has taken over the place, having locked up Micah as a means of keeping the people from driving them out. The criminals soon recognize McCain as "The Rifleman", and abduct Mark. The gang leader, having heard about McCain's reputation, and having heard about a certain other rifle user, who is just outside of town, makes McCain the type of offer that can't be refused; McCain has to kill Quigley or Micah and Mark's lives are forfeit.

Will McCain be able to save his boy's life? Will Qugley be forced to kill a man trying to keep his son safe? That is up to you, the voters.

Looking for a minimum of 5 good sentences, comparing both the warriors and their weapons, not to mention their different methods of combat. If you need any help, there's plenty of "The Rifleman" episodes on Youtube, along with clips from "Quigley Down Under" - look especially for the one Quigley shows off his rifle, as well as the one where he duels Marston.

Voting goes until March 15.