Early in World War II, the German Ordnance Department wanted a semi-automatic rifle for the military, and both Mauser and Walther submitted samples for what would become the G41. Walther's design would eventually be chosen, but there were restrictions placed on the design that only Mauser respected. The restrictions included: no gas port or holes in the barrel, no moving parts on the outside, and a bolt action had to be added in case the auto-loading mechanism failed. Thus, the result was an overly complex, unreliable and bulky gun. The G41 (M) was striker-fired, rotating-bolt locking and featured a traditional bolt/charging handle that automatically disconnected the bolt assembly from the recoil spring should the rifle be used in manual mode. Only about 6,000 G41 (M)s were made and it is one of the rare World War II small arms for collectors today. For more on the German G41 (M), watch this "I Have This Old Gun" segment from a recent episode of American Rifleman TV.
Join American Rifleman staff in this week's video to learn about a new version of the famed Beretta 92, a line extension that offers up single-action-only operation, optic-ready capability and more.
The Model 5946 duty pistol faithfully served police forces nationwide until it was pulled from production just before the turn of the millennium. Now, lots of these trade-in duty guns are available to commercial sales through distributors such as Aim Surplus, LLC.
From its Range Development and Operations Online Course to Range Conferences, the National Rifle Association is leading the charge to educate potential and current range owners and operators with range development information, environmental issues, safety and more.
Colt is the brand that's traditionally associated with the M1911, and in this Rifleman Review, we look at how they're paying homage to the classic design with the Gold Cup National Match model.