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On December 17, 1944, the German armored spearhead of Kampfgruppe Pieper overran the U.S. 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion at a crossroads in Belgium during the opening of the Battle of the Bulge. The lightly armed Americans—mostly with M1 carbines—were quickly overwhelmed and forced to surrender. The name of the field they were herded into will live in infamy. It was there, at Malmedy, that 86 American prisoners of war were executed by the Germans. In this American Rifleman Television segment we are at that hallowed ground, and we continue on to the exact spot that Kamfgruppe Pieper was stopped by the men of the U.S. 30th Infantry and the 82nd Airborne Divisions.
Despite being early adopters of several semi-automatic rifles for military use, the French army took several decades to work out a standardized semi-automatic rifle for general service use. The rifle that finally came to being was the MAS-49.
"An armed society is a polite society," goes the famous quote, which is also the inspiration behind Polite Society Industries, a new suppressor manufacturer that now has a complete line available to consumers.
Iconic American firearms maker Smith & Wesson will join NRA-ILA on the road as nation's leading firearm group turns out voters ahead of the 2026 midterm.
The 2026 National Firearms Survey conducted by William English of Georgetown University estimates that armed citizens in America use their guns 2.2 million to defend themselves or others.