The next improvement was the development of the Gewehr 98 rifle by Paul Mauser. Paul Mauser did not invent the bolt-action rifle but rather he refined the design, allowing controlled round feeding, a stripper clip for fast loading, and a strong action with the ability to withstand high pressures generated by the new smokeless powders. The rifle design would go on to become the most common and successful rifle design in the history of firearms. During World War II most Axis and Allied nations, with the exception of the Americans (M1 Garand), British (Lee–Enfield), and the Russians (Mosin–Nagant) used rifles based on the Mauser 98 action. Today this is still the most popular rifle design and is used by Heym, Holland & Holland, Mauser, Rigby, Westley Richards, Winchester, and several other gunmakers. The Mauser 98 action provided the consumers and gun makers an inexpensive alternative to the double- and single-shot rifles which until that time predominated the dangerous-game hunting scene.