Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled Shooting the Mighty M60 and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/shooting-the-mighty-m60/.
In my experiences with "light" machine guns many, many years ago in a place far away, I often wondered why the military didn't look at the .22WRM as a cartridge as the basis for a platform. Seemed to make sense given (at least in jungle conditions) that most rounds mostly cause fear rather than injury and that injury is often preferable to causing death as it ties up more resources even during an encounter be it fire fight or battle.
Given the much smaller and much lighter cartridge, the cyclic rate could have been much higher as well. Given the spray and pray attitude in that galaxy far away, a squad automatic weapon like that could have solved many problems.
Good luck getting ammo when you run out. Hey, throw me some extra nondescript ammo you have laying around while you blaze away with the 5.56 and .308 at the VietcongIn my experiences with "light" machine guns many, many years ago in a place far away, I often wondered why the military didn't look at the .22WRM as a cartridge as the basis for a platform. Seemed to make sense given (at least in jungle conditions) that most rounds mostly cause fear rather than injury and that injury is often preferable to causing death as it ties up more resources even during an encounter be it fire fight or battle.
Given the much smaller and much lighter cartridge, the cyclic rate could have been much higher as well. Given the spray and pray attitude in that galaxy far away, a squad automatic weapon like that could have solved many problems.
Funny, I never had a problem carrying a 60 with 300 rounds -- but then again I wasn't foolish enough to carry my ammo over by shoulders in a Pancho Villa impersonation. When I carried the gun it was serious business, so I had a single 300 round belt connected to the gun. But I was an 11E so I didn't get four extra guys to help me with my 60 like those 11B's did.Ugh, 22 pounds is not light enough when you're in "full battle rattle" carrying an additional 200 rounds slung over your shoulders. It is fun to shoot though from bipod or Rambo style.
They did -- they call it the M249 SAWIn my experiences with "light" machine guns many, many years ago in a place far away, I often wondered why the military didn't look at the .22WRM as a cartridge as the basis for a platform. Seemed to make sense given (at least in jungle conditions) that most rounds mostly cause fear rather than injury and that injury is often preferable to causing death as it ties up more resources even during an encounter be it fire fight or battle.
Given the much smaller and much lighter cartridge, the cyclic rate could have been much higher as well. Given the spray and pray attitude in that galaxy far away, a squad automatic weapon like that could have solved many problems.
For one thing, we don’t call people names in this forum.What moron "loaded" the M60 that we see starting at 1:10 in the video?!?
Oh, I forgot to mention the 60-pound pack on my back, but thanks for sharing.Funny, I never had a problem carrying a 60 with 300 rounds -- but then again I wasn't foolish enough to carry my ammo over by shoulders in a Pancho Villa impersonation. When I carried the gun it was serious business, so I had a single 300 round belt connected to the gun. But I was an 11E so I didn't get four extra guys to help me with my 60 like those 11B's did.
The M249 is a very accurate machine gun.They did -- they call it the M249 SAW
They did -- they call it the M249 SAW
For one thing, we don’t call people names in this forum.
The only version of that I have ever encountered was chambered in 5.56 rather than .22WRM and much heavier than I envisioned. The only drawback I considered is that, at most, it was a 150 yard weapon, but in many jungle circumstances that would have been enough. While I haven't been there, I don't imagine it would have a lot of use in the Middle East situations today.
The M249 is a very accurate machine gun.
Oh, I forgot to mention the 60-pound pack on my back, but thanks for sharing.
It even made me look like an "Expert" gunner.No question. The M249 is much more accurate than 99% of the gunners using it.
No worries. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an Infantryman and don't claim to be. The experience I quoted was from military school, and reinforced my decision to join the Field Artillery. The most impressive Infantryman I've seen are the ROK Soldiers from South Korea. The mortarmen carried their mortar tubes, baseplates, and rounds strapped to their packs along with other basic items like rifles, machine guns, and basic issue of small arms ammo.Sorry, I rarely saw infantry with packs. We only worked alongside infantry from 1st ID, 25th ID, and 1st CD.
No question. The M249 is much more accurate than 99% of the gunners using it.