When the Germans faced the well-trained riflemen of the British Expeditionary Force at Mons during the opening battles of the Great War on the eastern Front, they mistook British rifle fire (musketry) for machine-gun fire. The rifle that was used by the “Old Contemptibles” was the .303 Short, Magazine Lee-Enfield. Another rifle used to oppose the Germans was the French Berthier in 8 mm Lebel, a gun that started out with a three-shot clip. In the East, troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire used their Model 19895 straight-pull Steyr-Mannlicher rifle as they faced the legions of Imperial Russia armed with the “three-line” Model of 1891 Mosin-Nagant in 7.62x54 mm.
For more American Rifleman TV segments, go to americanrifleman.org/artv.
Infantry Rifles of The Great War: Enfields, Berthiers, Mannlichers and Mosin-Nagants
Latest
The Short, Happy Life Of The .40 Smith & Wesson
Despite the wide acceptance of the .40 Smith & Wesson defensive handgun cartridge in its early years, the round has since faded from armories around the U.S. and replaced by an older, smaller-caliber cartridge.
Zastava's ZPAP M72 RPK Is Now Shipping
Zastava USA announced it would be expanding its lineup to include an M72 "RPK" model. Now, in 2025, that model has finally arrived and is shipping to dealers.
Preview: Mesa Tactical Truckee Forend
A 12-ga. shotgun can be a devastatingly potent defensive platform, but even the tactical models often aren’t configured terribly well for installing accessories.
Gun Of The Week: Benelli Lupo HPR
Welcome to another American Rifleman Gun Of The Week, and on this episode, we’re taking a closer look at Benelli’s Lupo HPR, or High Precision Rifle.
The Armed Citizen® Feb. 21, 2025
Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.
Glock 49 Gen5 MOS: The Glock 9 mm Perfected?
Available as a TALO distributor exclusive, the Glock 49 Gen5 blends the the longer G17 slide with the comfortably compact frame of the G19, and it also includes Glock's MOS optics-mounting system.
Interests
SECTIONS
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
EXPLORE MORE NRA PUBLICATIONS
