Quote:
Originally Posted by JJ_BPK
IN 1970, my platoon carried 2 M60's. We did not have problems with the mechanics nor ammo. Daily cleaning of all our weapons kept the dirt and rust to a minimum. Contact was a couple time a week..
When we were rotated into the FB,, maybe every 4-5 weeks(??), we would have Mad Minutes at night where we would fire everything into the wood-line to discourage Charley. The guys would link 4 or 5 belts together, in a neat pile, and sandbag the barrel and let it rip. There were mini-contest to see who could fire the longest belt. We also did the same with the M16, They would truly glow after 10-12 20 rd mags.
No Problemo..
Now it was heavy and mechanically complicated so I would vote for something like the MG3/MG-43,,, belt fed,, 7.62x51..
Belt fed and 7.62 cal,, the bar the 5.56 can't reach..
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I'm pretty sure that my platoon had those same two M60's in 1992.
You can't beat a 7.62 belt fed machine gun. As many with more experience than me have pointed out, the sound of a M-60 firing drowned out the SAW's, letting everybody know that some serious lead was going downrange. You also can't beat the improved penetration and damage a 7.62 round does.
All that said, the M60's we had, although well loved, had a a bad habit of shooting themselves to pieces. The buttstocks would vibrate off, leaf springs constantly falling out (although tied down), etc. It was not uncommon to start off a company SBF position with six M60's firing and end up with one or two left trying to shoot through everyone else's ammo.
I've never fired a new M60, but the M240 sure seems to me like a better weapon.