What's the Best Platoon Machinegun?

[poghmahone]

What, in your opinion, is a better machinegun for platoon use -- the SAW or the new M60?

[lima33doc]

Actually...if you are referring the the 240G...a platoon technically has both. Every sqaud has a SAW gunner, and ever company has at least 2 240G teams to re-enforce the platoons.

[Trapper]

Right. You could have up to 9 SAW gunners in your platoon, that is if you have the full three squads with three fire teams in it. The rounds are bigger on the M240, and the gun is heavier. It is crew served while the SAW in single man carried. The SAW is a light machine gun and the M240 is a medium. Either one is a fast way of getting lead down the range.

[lima33doc]

Right. You could have up to 9 SAW gunners in your platoon, that is if you have the full three squads with three fire teams in it. The rounds are bigger on the M240, and the gun is heavier. It is crew served while the SAW in single man carried. The SAW is a light machine gun and the M240 is a medium. Either one is a fast way of getting lead down the range. And there is almost nothing sexier than the sound of 2 well trained Machine Gun Crews doing "Talking Guns"...lol

[marine4life]

And there is almost nothing sexier than the sound of 2 well trained Machine Gun Crews doing "Talking Guns"...lol

Except for the burp of heavy machine gun firepower wreaking havoc on the enemy

[hankhoffman]

Except for the burp of heavy machine gun firepower wreaking havoc on the enemy

Nothing like MA-Duce yelling!! What a gun and talk about fire power!!

[Trapper]

Nothing like MA-Duce yelling!! What a gun and talk about fire power!!I only got to see one fired. I did not get to fam fire one 'cuz I wernt a 31...

[lima33doc]

I only got to see one fired. I did not get to fam fire one 'cuz I wernt a 31...
Since I was Weapons Platoon Doc, they let me play with one when we went to the Range. That was one of the fun parts..."Hey Doc, wanna give this a try?" Of course my answer was always "HELL YEAH"...lol I miss playing with the big guns.

[Davidncf]

The Current Weapons Platoon has 6 M-240G/B Machinegun teams. Trying to Compare a M-249 to a M-240/M-60E4 is like comparing apples and oranges. The SAW is the Squads automatic weapon, while the M-240 is the Company commanders heavy weapons. The teams can be dispatched out to 2 guns per platoon, or they can be kept in general support which is usually more preferred by the machinegun section leaders.
You have to take a lot of consideratin when comparing the 2 weapons, the M-240 weighs 24.5 lbs (w/o the tripod, T&E and the flex mount and spare barrel) compared to the M-249's 14 lbs. The range and rate of fire are different also, a M-240 has a rate of fire of 900 rds perminute while a saw is 750-1000 (depending on gas regulator selection and now type of barrel). The M-240 range is 1800 meters wjile a SAW is 1000 meters. The 7.62mm round will do a lot more damge than the 5.56mm rd. Being a former 0331, I prefer the 7.62mm rd.
But if you compare a M-60E4 and a M-249, I would take the M-60E4, it is a more reliable weapon and can use the same ammo as the m-240. It does weigh a bit more then the M-249 (18.5 lbs compared to 14 lbs) but after carryng a M-60E3 and a M-249, I would rather have the M-60 since it can punch thru more. I have seen video of the M-60E4 and I have handle the US Navy SEAL Mk-43 (I believe this is the right designation) and I do like it alot. So the M-60E4 for me.

[Trapper]

Nice job breaking that down, Davidncf. Thanks for the 31 insight.

[Davidncf]

That's what I get for being a 0331 for 6 years. Also, the M-240/M-60 are not normally part of a USMC rifle platoon. Dependent upon the mission, the platonn can have 2 MG's atached to them or the whole MG section. When we used to do raids, we usually got our whole section attached to a platoon for a base of fire.

[gunga55]

now if you had a rat patrol type thing with some quad 50's on a vehicle running around shooting up things


oh wait I think that we do have something like that. The whole 0352 guys are pretty much doing that

[poghmahone]

Since I was Weapons Platoon Doc, they let me play with one when we went to the Range. That was one of the fun parts..."Hey Doc, wanna give this a try?" Of course my answer was always "HELL YEAH"...lol I miss playing with the big guns.
Dave,

I don't know where you live, but Reno Nevada and a sh*t load of places down South have semi-annual machinegun shoots, featuring both the BIG boys (I fired and scored a direct hit with a 1939 Finnish 20mm anti-tank gun, fired the M1919, and five other submgs, including my favorite, the H&K. Consecutively put 28/30 shots in center mass. Light and easy to carry and accurate as hell.

Not sure where the locations are down South, but some are in Kentucky and elsewhere. If you get a chance to attend one, you'll have a blast (if you'l excuse the pun).

SF,

:rolleyes:

[poghmahone]

now if you had a rat patrol type thing with some quad 50's on a vehicle running around shooting up things


oh wait I think that we do have something like that. The whole 0352 guys are pretty much doing that

I think the German FlakPanzers were pretty cool -- four 20 mm cannons mounted on a revolving platform mounted on a Panzer IV chassis.

:rolleyes:

[Marine_wannabe]

Does anyone know if the Marines will adopt the 7.62 MK 48 Mod 0?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mk_48_Mod_0_machine_gun#M249_variants

(scroll down until you find MK48 Mod 0)