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The “U.S. Semi-Automatic Rifle, Caliber .30, M1” was a remarkable achievement. It was the first general issue semi-automatic rifle of any nation. But the rifle that went to war in 1941 wasn’t the rifle the U.S. Army adopted in 1936. And it was a rifle that the Army did not want the NRA to evaluate. What were they hiding? From adoption until the start of World War II, the U.S. Army and the National Rifle Association were at odds over the M1 rifle. Did NRA hate the M1 rifle? Why would the United States Army not talk to the NRA? These are questions that will be answered by American Rifleman Editor-in-Chief Mark Keefe in a presentation that addresses the biggest rift between the NRA and the Army Ordnance Department. Attend the American Rifleman Special Presentation,"NRA, American Rifleman and the M1 Garand Rifle,"at theNRA Annual Meetings & Exhibitsin Dallas, Sunday, May 6, 2018 (1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Room 141, 143 and 149) to find out. Regular session attendees know the seats fill up fast, often rendering the event Standing Room Only. In other words, get there early!
In 2024, former owner Gregg Ritz purchased Thompson/Center Arms. Now the company has introduced a modern take on its classic Contender/Encore concept: the ENCORE PROHunter.
While it's certainly a saturated marketplace these days, the AR-15 has never been more popular with American firearm enthusiasts, and many manufacturers are continuing to feed the need with new options loaded with new features.
Like any hobby or pastime that is in any way even vaguely related to machines or technology, firearms attract a (possibly) disproportionate number of “right-brained,” STEM-oriented personalities who like numbers.
Slingshots are fun, but they can also be a legitimate backup defensive tool—in 2023, a 13-year-old Michigan boy saved his 8-year-old sister from being kidnapped by using a $3 slingshot to fire a marble and a rock at the assailant, striking him in the chest and head.