Shooting the Sturmgewehr

by
posted on October 29, 2014
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
stg44.jpg

For an all-new season of American Rifleman Television we have been busily filming guns—here in Fairfax, Va., and in Louisiana, as well as the actual battlefields in Belgium and Luxembourg—used during the Battle of the Bulge. We have new cameras, including one that shoots really, really high-speed footage. And that means we need new footage for many guns that appeared on the show before.

The battle that raged from December 1944 though January 1945 was the largest land battle ever fought by the United States Army. And it was the first time that American troops encountered large numbers of Sturmgewehrs. The StG 44, chambered in 7.92 mm Kurtz, was the world's first true assault rifle, and it was capable of either semi-automatic or fully automatic fire. It's fed from a 30-round detachable box magazine. While the shorter 7.92 Kurtz didn't have as much range as, say, the U.S. .30-'06 or 8x57 mm Mauser, what it did have was tremendous firepower. In the video below, American Rifleman Television contributor Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas fires the StG 44 on full automatic. Look for more on the StG 44 and other World War II infantry arms when American Rifleman Television makes its debut the last week of December 2014.

The StG 44 shown above is on display at the December 44 museum in La Gleize, Belgium, and is but one of the guns used 70 years ago during the Battle of the Bulge. In January 2015, ARTV will devote four episodes to the battle and the guns used during it.

Latest

Hearing Healthy
Hearing Healthy

Summer Suppressor Deals On Now

Whether it is a BOGO deal from SIG or free tax stamps from Guns.com and Silencer Central, there's plenty of hearing-safe savings to be had this summer.

Rifleman Report: Defending Freedom For 250 Years

"Anyone who claims not to understand the plain and simple intent of the Second Amendment—especially if that person happens to be a constitutional law professor, Supreme Court justice, congressman, senator or president—is likely hiding nefarious intent: to strip individual liberty from American citizens for the express purpose of making them susceptible to a tyrannical government."

Book Review: 2025 Traveler’s Guide To The Firearms Laws Of The Fifty States

Newly updated for 2025, the 29th edition of the Traveler’s Guide To The Firearm Laws Of The Fifty States is packed with all the need-to-know information for cross-country trekkers seeking to bring their arms along with them and remain legal in all localities.

Springfield Kuna: A PDW For The Masses

Small, yet fierce, the namesake of Springfield Armory’s latest large-format pistol is a revered forest dweller in the land of its Croatian manufacturing partner, HS Produkt. The new Kuna is poised to be just as welcome in America.

The Armed Citizen® June 30, 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.

Book Review: Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers Of Elisha Collier & Artemas Wheeler

The result of a decade of research, Clockwork Basilisk is a comprehensive, two-volume history of the rare revolvers that preceded the development of the well-known Colt guns of the 1830s.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.