While Sheriff Andy Taylor was the "Sheriff Without a Gun," Deputy Barney Fife had no such reservations.

Barney's gun handling became one of the most memorable running gags on The Andy Griffith Show. He loved to show off his authority by carrying a gun, but after accidentally shooting walls, windows, and even his own foot, Andy made a strict rule: Barney could carry only one bullet, tucked safely in his shirt pocket.

Whenever a situation called for that bullet, Barney would inevitably fumble as he nervously tried to load it into his gun. The gag became one of the defining traits that made Barney Fife such an unforgettable TV character.

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Fans loved Barney and his famous single bullet so much that Don Knotts ended up with an unusual collection of his own. 

In his book Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show, Daniel de Visé wrote that fans often brought Knotts a single bullet when they met him.

Actress Dodie Brown, who worked with Knotts onstage, recalled that fans "would line up along the hotel, three blocks, and wait in line to get an autograph from him. They would come up and say, 'I'm your best fan.' Every single person would say that. Every policeman would bring him bullets."

According to de Visé, Knotts never quite knew what to do with the unusual gifts.

"Don never knew what to do with the bullets... Hundreds of them rattled around the drawers of his Century City condo," de Visé wrote.

Sheriff Taylor probably wouldn't have approved if Barney had decided to carry all of those gifts in his shirt pocket.