I remember cringing every time I saw him work the block without ever bringing the rifle to half cock first.
A friend who shoots Shiloh Sharps (I am a Highwall man) says that a guy name of Kirk Bryan doesn't half cock either. He owns the company so I guess he can get spare firing pins cheap.
I had an old Gun Digest with an article on western movie guns of the 1950s.
Nearly all were originals, no mass produced originals made at the time, although they proudly showed a fake Walker Colt.
SAAs were easy but not all actors could be bothered to learn how to shoot one, so there were double action revolvers faked up with dummy extractor rod housings, some even with butts remodeled to plow handle shape so they would look better in the holster.
Dummy flint cocks and frizzens were added to Trapdoors to produce "muskets."
Blanks were loaded to suit the scene, blast and smoke for daylight, flash for low light. That sort of stuff faked in post production manipulation now.
There was a chapter on special effects, many done with a big bore air gun firing ball bearings to break windows, capsules like paintballs full of "blood" or even dust for misses.
The prop man even had a barrel for the air gun that would launch a knife with a guard that filled the bore and a 1" blade. The actor to be hit with a "thrown" knife would wear a board under his shirt. Poof - plunk. Got to trust your prop man's aim on that one.