XBradTC

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XBradTC

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The Pig

Say it with me, “fire a burst of six to nine.” I was fortunate that I only got tapped to serve as a machine gunner a couple of times. Unlike the USMC where Machine Gunner is a specific MOS, in the Army, every 11B is a potential gunner (or, worse job, the Assistant Gunner, who…

Say it with me, “fire a burst of six to nine.”

I was fortunate that I only got tapped to serve as a machine gunner a couple of times. Unlike the USMC where Machine Gunner is a specific MOS, in the Army, every 11B is a potential gunner (or, worse job, the Assistant Gunner, who gets to carry the spare barrel and the tripod).

 

For those who have fond memories of the M60 machine gun, the fact is, it wasn’t a very good gun. The rate of fire was just a bit low. Worse, it was very easy to reassemble the gas system incorrectly, and end up with a single shot weapon. And worst, it had a very unfortunate tendency for the trigger assembly leaf spring to fall off, which would inevitably lead to the pistol grip trigger assembly falling off. I’ve spent more than a couple hours searching the woods for a trigger that some unfortunate gunner didn’t notice had dropped away.  The M60’s replacement, the M240B, might weigh a skosh more, but it is a far more reliable weapon.

Still, it was pretty fun to shoot. And for all the hoopla about 1ooom sniper shots, hitting a man sized target at 1100m with the M60 was not very hard at all with a burst of six to nine.

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Responses to “The Pig”

  1. ultimaratioregis

    The M60B was a half-decent weapon. The lighter, more “portable” M60E3 was a frigging disaster. The M240G is a far superior weapon. More reliable, more accurate, more rugged. But still. Cool vid.

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  2. Esli

    Agree with most of your drawbacks on the M60, but the gas piston thing was as easy as tipping it back and forth, and I actually prefer the rate of fire of the M60 to the 240. Overall, though, hands-down, the 240 is a far better MG.

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  3. Quartermaster

    I remember the article on the M60 VS FN MAG in the book “Small Arms of The World.” As I recall, the M60 actually performed better than the MAG. IIRC the M240 is an improved MAG.
    I go to play with an M-60 in OCS and I liked the piece. I didn’t have to worry about disassembly or cleaning, though, and from what I’ve heard, that could be a pain if you didn’t get it right. Fun toy, though.
    The M-60 performed well in Vietnam.

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  4. robbo

    Hey hey hey, my mighty pig, humped that bad boy for over 2 yrs in the Corps, 75/77 as long as you kept it clean and your ammo clean it would run great I loved it.

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