The Restless Gun is an American Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is an idealistic person who prefers peaceful resolutions of conflict wherever possible. He is gregarious, intelligent, and public-spirited. The half-hour black-and-white program aired 78 episodes (including the pilot episode in which the John Payne character's name is Britt Ponsett, the name of James Stewart's character in the 1953-54 old-time radio series The Six Shooter, upon which The Restless Gun television series was originally based). The Restless Gun theme song (officially titled "I Ride With the Wind") begins: "I ride with the wind, my eyes on the sun, and my hand on my restless gun..."

Episodes

Season 1: 1957–58

Season 2: 1958–59

Selected guest stars

• Claude Akins • Trevor Bardette • Jeanne Bates • Bea Benaderet • Robert Blake • Dan Blocker • Leslie Bradley • Henry Brandon • Edgar Buchanan • Anthony Caruso • Peggie Castle • Andy Clyde • James Coburn • Iron Eyes Cody • Johnny Crawford • Royal Dano • George Dolenz • Jack Elam • John Ericson • Paul Fix • James Gleason • Don Grady • Dabbs Greer • Alan Hale, Jr. • Charles Lane • Ruta Lee • Ewing Mitchell • J. Carrol Naish • Hank Patterson • William Phipps • Denver Pyle • Roy Roberts • Irene Ryan • Olan Soule • Onslow Stevens • Glenn Strange • Regis Toomey • Rip Torn • Lurene Tuttle • Guinn Williams

Home media

On March 1, 2010, Timeless Media Group released a three-disc best-of set featuring 24 episodes from the series. On April 23, 2013, Timeless Media released Restless Gun: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. The 9-disc set features all 78 episodes of the series.