AR186 1914: The Guns Of August, Part I A century ago, the world was engulfed in a conflict greater than was even imaginable. This week we start our look at the standard bolt-action battle rifles of the Great Powers at the outbreak of the “War to end all Wars.” Affordable, accurate .22 Long Rifle bolt-actions have a new bar to meet—one that is set by the Ruger American .22 Rifle, which we evaluate this week. The Thompson Submachine Gun is one of the greatest designs of all time, but with the need to produce them faster in the darkest days of World War II, they needed to speed up production. The result was the M1A1 Thompson.