Have Gun Will Travel got it's start on television on September 1957 and ran until 1963. The radio show debuted November 1958, over a year after the television show.  In the beginning, the radio show scripts were adapted from the TV show, staying in sync with the episode that aired on TV that week. Later on, the show started airing original scripts.

Stories revolved around gun-for-hire with principles, Paladin (his real name was never revealed). Though Paladin, played on the radio by John Dehner, preferred to try to work out problems without violence if possible, he worked for people who he felt were wronged and could pay.  Occasionally, if he felt people who couldn't pay were in a really hard situation with bad guys, he worked for free. If, during the course of his work, he discovered his employer turned out to be shady, Paladin would turn on his employer.