Bob Carson and sidekick Grizzly take a job driving a stage for a line that is being repeatedly robbed. The culprits place a large box on the stage in which Runt can hide and steal the gold without the driver or guard knowing it. When Bob realizes what is happening, he replaces Runt in the box in hope of catching the outlaws.
Sheep raisers, resentful of old injuries from the cattlemen, bar the way to water when dry ranges force the cattle ranchers to drive their herds into the lowlands.
Tex and Ananias are sent by the government to capture some Santa Fe rustlers. Tex recognizes Hendricks as an outlaw, captures him and learns that Hendricks intends to meet a rustler named Dorgan. Tex goes instead and finds out that Dorgan plans to move rustled cattle through the ranch owned by Graham and his daughter Ruth. Dorgan has Graham Pass set to be dynamited to stop any pursuit.
The Colonel sends Fred Dawson and Doc Flanders to investigate a cattleman sheepman war. Posing as a two man medicine show, they quickly become involved. When Fred tries to bring the two sides together, Joe Allison is shot and Fred blamed. With Fred in jail and a lynch mob on the way, Doc tries to break his friend out.
When shifty cattlemen Belknap (Walter Miller) and H.R. Shelby (Gordon Hart) are caught shipping infected animals to Mexico, they frame inspector Gene Autry. Now Autry and his sidekick, Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette), must catch the bad guys in the act and set things straight. June Storey co-stars as rancher Martha Wheeler. Autry sings "I'm Gonna Round Up My Blues," "Moonlight on the Ranch House" and "Big Bull Frog."
Manuel and Carga are after the hidden map of a gold mine which is somewhere in the hacienda willed to Manuel's brother, Don Careta. Following the third midnight raid on his home, Don Careta is fearful for the safety of his daughter Wanda, and sends for Jack Martin to help him.
Sandy Doyle, gambler and political chief of a small border town, seeks to gain control of the Bar-X Ranch, owned by Rufe Rickson, to further some undercover activities of his own. He counts on Rickson's inability to stay away from gambling as the means to his ultimate success. Government investigator Oliver Shea and his assistant, Dan Haggerty, start a fight in Doyle's place when they see Rickson being cheated and are invited to the Bar-X where Oliver and Helen Rickson, Rufe's daughter, discover interest in each other and Dan finds himself pursued by Bell, the ranch cook. Sheriff Larson brings the prize money for the $5,000 race of the Rodeo Association, and that night it is stolen.
In California in 1848, Brunton through his stooge Sheriff is evicting the Mexicans from their ranches. Major John Freeman and his troops arrive to investigate. Keeping his troops hidden and appearing out of uniform, he takes up the fight against Brunton. He helps a rancher who has been evicted before his taxes were due only to find him murdered and this leads to the showdown between Brunton's men and the soldiers.
Kent wants the Allen ranch. So he has Steve and his men rustle their cattle using Pete as an informant. When the Trigger Pals Lucky, Stormy, and Fuzzy fight back, Kent frames Stormy for the rustling.
Outlaws Dale and Tucson quit Wolf's gang. Just as the two are about to rob the stage, Wolf and his gang beat them to it. Dale breaks it up saving the money and this gets him appointed Sheriff. But Wolf shows up and threatening to expose Dale, forces him to let his gang rob the express office.
Shirley Martin finds that Weylan has diverted the water from the valley and her cattle are dying. First she and her foreman Bob Lawson go to court. This fails when Weylan's men keep the ranchers from testifying. But Shirley has a second plan to return water to the valley.
The Lone Stranger is sleeping when his faithful, if overly caricatured, Indian scout sees stagecoach driver Porky being robbed by a bad guy. The scout summons the Lone Stranger, who rides to the rescue. The bad guy goes after him (and, briefly, the narrator). But just in the nick of time, the Lone Stranger recovers and conquers the bad guy. Meanwhile, Silver and the villain's horse have been having their own close encounter, and Silver returns with several little colts.
When it appears that Fred Jamison is a member of Red's gang, he is kicked out of the Rangers. But it's just a plot between Fred and the Ranger Captain. Fred then gets into Red's gang and makes plans that will enable the Rangers to bring them all in. But his message to the Captain is intercepted and the hoax revealed.
Foxes are mysteriously disappearing from fox farms and Agent Don has been sent to investigate. Brad and Pete are the culprits and they are using a dog that can climb the security fence to steal the foxes. Don brings a dog with him and when Carol sees a dog stealing a fox, she accuses Don.