McLaughlin is specialized in horse riding, weapon stunts, and cowboy performances. He doubled James Read and Patrick Swayze in the television mini series North & South (1985, starring Kirstie Alley, Jean Simmons, and Jonathan Frakes), Christopher Lambert in the comedy Why Me? (1990, with Christopher Lloyd, Michael J. Pollard, and Tony Plana), again Patrick Swayze in the drama Three Wishes (1995), Robert Redford in the drama The Horse Whisperer (1998), and served as stunt double in the The Practice episode Day in Court (1999, with Ed Begley, Jr., Paul Dooley, Mark Sheppard, and stunts by Noon Orsatti) and on the western drama South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000, with Noble Willingham, Matt Malloy, and stunts by Joyce McNeal, Mark Chadwick, and Jimmy Ortega).