m134/gau-17 minigun

Freeman25 · September 11, 2005, 03:45 PM

I've been doing some search on this weapon and I have a few questions.
which way are the barrels spinning?
what drives the delinking feeder, the electric motor or the rotor assembly?
does the delinking feeder eject the spent casings?
Any help is apprechiated,
thanks,
Max

CQBArms · September 11, 2005, 04:25 PM

http://www.motionpicturearmourer.com...ifications.htm

Casp_A · September 11, 2005, 05:38 PM

The barrels turn clockwise as seen from the muzzle end. The electric motor drives the barrel rotor, the barrel rotor drives the delinker. The disintigrating belt links are ejected from the delinker, the fired shells are ejected from the rotor housing between the motor and delinker.

Edit: Here's a diagram of the operating cycle I did in about 10 minutes. Please don't laugh.

This is from the breech end of the gun. It should be noted that an original General Electric mount has the gun mounted as seen in the picture. The new Dillon Aero mounts have the gun turned on it's side, as if you were to rotate this diagam 90 degrees clockwise.

The delinker pulls the feed belt in and wraps it around a spindle containing a group of six ramming piston things that push the cartridges forward, out of the belt, and throws them into the gun. It's timed to the rotor assembly so that the cartridges are thrown directly into the bolt paths. If it isn't timed correctly, it pushes them against the barriers between the bolt paths, jamming the gun and breaking the delinker.

As the bolts approach the top of the rotation, a camming track built into the rotor housing forces them forward to the closed position. At top of the rotation the bolts are fully closed and the cartridges are fired. As they come down the other side the bolts are drawn back, extracting the fired shells so they can be ejected at the bottom.

Freeman25 · September 12, 2005, 07:31 AM

its not that bad, moreover it's very good. thanks.
and thanks for the link CQBArms.
another question: does it have a mobile battery or something?
Max

Casp_A · September 12, 2005, 01:33 PM

Normally it would be powered from the electrical system of a running vehicle, however I'm told that it can run off of a 28vDC battery that weighed 60-something pounds. Then there's the weight of the gun, the massive amout of ammo it consumes, the mount the gun goes on, etc. I wouldn't exactly call that mobile, except maybe on a truck or something.

Freeman25 · September 12, 2005, 02:35 PM

and is there a power switch or something or just a trigger?

CQBArms · September 12, 2005, 05:42 PM

Control box

More detailed pictures of a minigun you will never find...granted a different one but a lot the same...

http://www.subgunvideos.com/gallery/...Charlie&page=1

Freeman25 · September 13, 2005, 06:10 AM

very good picture, thanks
this is an airsoft gun(1.pic).
Do you think that there is a real minigun out there/in the US military/ , with this "frame"(2. pic)?
Max

KREW3 · September 13, 2005, 11:53 AM

pffffft i have 2 or 3 of these laying around in my garage. .

Freeman25 · September 13, 2005, 03:01 PM

i mean is there a real 7.62 m134/gau 17 minigun in this form?
Max

Casp_A · September 13, 2005, 10:41 PM

Yes, there is. One. I think there are something like 7 or 8 Miniguns out on Form 4, and a while back one of them was modified to be fired off-hand from the waist by a Hollywood gunsmith. Rate of fire was reduced to 1600 rounds per minute (from the normal 2000/4000.) This was the gun that was used in The Predator and Terminator 2. The M-134 was never manufactured like that, that custom gun is one-of-a-kind. It was never even supposed to be used like that. It's a sixty pound gun that generates massive amounts of recoil when firing real ammo (as opposed to movie blanks.)

Freeman25 · September 14, 2005, 05:30 AM

ok thanks
so this type of minigun is in only films and pc games. but it would be possible to place a frame like that on a real GAU 17, dont you think.

shaggy · September 14, 2005, 09:50 AM

As CaspA has said, you could put a real M134 in that sort of frame, but it would probably seriously injure the operator if they fired it like that.

Just to give you an idea of the thrust the M134 puts out...

A friend of mine has a minigun (actually two...one is for sale IF you have a LE love letter, an SOT and about $60,000) - anyway, his gun is mounted to a modified M63 mount with a bicycle seat for the operator. I estimate the mount at about 80-90 lbs. My friend is a fairly big guy - about 200-210 lbs. The minigun weighs about another 20 lbs. Figure about 300 lbs sans ammo, battery, control system, feed chute, etc. He set the weapon up on a spot of ground covered with rough gravel. With less than a 50rds in a test belt, the force of the weapon pushed the weight of the entire mount (with him sitting in it) across hard gravel backwards approximately one foot...and again, that was less than 50rds in a single burst pushing about 300 lbs. against a very high friction surface.

What do you think the same short burst would do a 175-200 lb man firing from the hip?

Freeman25 · September 14, 2005, 12:54 PM

yeah, the man would fly like a jet

CobrayCommando · September 14, 2005, 02:27 PM

Use blackpowder instead of cordite and you would be the human squid!

Casp_A · September 14, 2005, 04:56 PM

Ya know, I always thought a GAU-19 with a frame like that would be cool.

.50 BMG at 1300 rounds per minute. Man, talk about recoil...

Slimjim · September 14, 2005, 05:18 PM

It seems that the m134 operates like an oversized gatling gun. The firing pins ride the cam block up and than drop through a slot at the top and slam home and fire the round. Its just not top fed and hand cranked. I wonder if dillion would build some rich guy a minigun...but instead of a motor a hand crank, so it would be legal

shaggy · September 14, 2005, 05:37 PM

Dillon will not sell miniguns (even post-samples to SOTs with LE love letters) or parts. If you know the right people, however, you can secure the parts you need - Dillon doesn't make all the parts, but rather subcontracts out some of the sub-assemblies.

If you've got the hankering for a hand-cranked minigun, Brass Cartridge is working on a rimfire version, both in a handcranked version, and post-sample version. IIRC, the hand-cranked version was suppossed to be priced at about $10k when it become available.

September 11, 2005, 03:45 PM	#1
Freeman25 Member Join Date: January 21, 2005 Location: New York, NY Posts: 98	m134/gau-17 minigun I've been doing some search on this weapon and I have a few questions. which way are the barrels spinning? what drives the delinking feeder, the electric motor or the rotor assembly? does the delinking feeder eject the spent casings? Any help is apprechiated, thanks, Max __________________ Everyone has to earn his title. Max

September 11, 2005, 04:25 PM	#2
CQBArms Senior Member Join Date: October 6, 2004 Posts: 192	http://www.motionpicturearmourer.com...ifications.htm __________________ Visit Us @ CQB Arms Free Gun Image Hosting

September 11, 2005, 05:38 PM	#3
Casp_A Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2004 Posts: 495	The barrels turn clockwise as seen from the muzzle end. The electric motor drives the barrel rotor, the barrel rotor drives the delinker. The disintigrating belt links are ejected from the delinker, the fired shells are ejected from the rotor housing between the motor and delinker. Edit: Here's a diagram of the operating cycle I did in about 10 minutes. Please don't laugh. This is from the breech end of the gun. It should be noted that an original General Electric mount has the gun mounted as seen in the picture. The new Dillon Aero mounts have the gun turned on it's side, as if you were to rotate this diagam 90 degrees clockwise. The delinker pulls the feed belt in and wraps it around a spindle containing a group of six ramming piston things that push the cartridges forward, out of the belt, and throws them into the gun. It's timed to the rotor assembly so that the cartridges are thrown directly into the bolt paths. If it isn't timed correctly, it pushes them against the barriers between the bolt paths, jamming the gun and breaking the delinker. As the bolts approach the top of the rotation, a camming track built into the rotor housing forces them forward to the closed position. At top of the rotation the bolts are fully closed and the cartridges are fired. As they come down the other side the bolts are drawn back, extracting the fired shells so they can be ejected at the bottom. __________________ Johnny was a chemist's son, but Johnny is no more. What Johnny thought was H2O was H2SO4. Last edited by Casp_A; September 11, 2005 at 07:25 PM.

September 12, 2005, 07:31 AM	#4
Freeman25 Member Join Date: January 21, 2005 Location: New York, NY Posts: 98	its not that bad, moreover it's very good. thanks. and thanks for the link CQBArms. another question: does it have a mobile battery or something? Max __________________ Everyone has to earn his title. Max

September 12, 2005, 01:33 PM	#5
Casp_A Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2004 Posts: 495	Normally it would be powered from the electrical system of a running vehicle, however I'm told that it can run off of a 28vDC battery that weighed 60-something pounds. Then there's the weight of the gun, the massive amout of ammo it consumes, the mount the gun goes on, etc. I wouldn't exactly call that mobile, except maybe on a truck or something. __________________ Johnny was a chemist's son, but Johnny is no more. What Johnny thought was H2O was H2SO4.

September 12, 2005, 02:35 PM	#6
Freeman25 Member Join Date: January 21, 2005 Location: New York, NY Posts: 98	and is there a power switch or something or just a trigger? __________________ Everyone has to earn his title. Max

September 12, 2005, 05:42 PM	#7
CQBArms Senior Member Join Date: October 6, 2004 Posts: 192	Control box More detailed pictures of a minigun you will never find...granted a different one but a lot the same... http://www.subgunvideos.com/gallery/...Charlie&page=1 __________________ Visit Us @ CQB Arms Free Gun Image Hosting

September 13, 2005, 11:53 AM	#9
KREW3 Member Join Date: August 17, 2005 Posts: 34	pffffft i have 2 or 3 of these laying around in my garage. . __________________ Racingsouthwest

September 13, 2005, 03:01 PM	#10
Freeman25 Member Join Date: January 21, 2005 Location: New York, NY Posts: 98	i mean is there a real 7.62 m134/gau 17 minigun in this form? Max __________________ Everyone has to earn his title. Max

September 13, 2005, 10:41 PM	#11
Casp_A Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2004 Posts: 495	Yes, there is. One. I think there are something like 7 or 8 Miniguns out on Form 4, and a while back one of them was modified to be fired off-hand from the waist by a Hollywood gunsmith. Rate of fire was reduced to 1600 rounds per minute (from the normal 2000/4000.) This was the gun that was used in The Predator and Terminator 2. The M-134 was never manufactured like that, that custom gun is one-of-a-kind. It was never even supposed to be used like that. It's a sixty pound gun that generates massive amounts of recoil when firing real ammo (as opposed to movie blanks.) __________________ Johnny was a chemist's son, but Johnny is no more. What Johnny thought was H2O was H2SO4.

September 14, 2005, 05:30 AM	#12
Freeman25 Member Join Date: January 21, 2005 Location: New York, NY Posts: 98	ok thanks so this type of minigun is in only films and pc games. but it would be possible to place a frame like that on a real GAU 17, dont you think. __________________ Everyone has to earn his title. Max Last edited by Freeman25; September 14, 2005 at 07:45 AM.

September 14, 2005, 09:50 AM	#13
shaggy Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2004 Posts: 1,519	As CaspA has said, you could put a real M134 in that sort of frame, but it would probably seriously injure the operator if they fired it like that. Just to give you an idea of the thrust the M134 puts out... A friend of mine has a minigun (actually two...one is for sale IF you have a LE love letter, an SOT and about $60,000) - anyway, his gun is mounted to a modified M63 mount with a bicycle seat for the operator. I estimate the mount at about 80-90 lbs. My friend is a fairly big guy - about 200-210 lbs. The minigun weighs about another 20 lbs. Figure about 300 lbs sans ammo, battery, control system, feed chute, etc. He set the weapon up on a spot of ground covered with rough gravel. With less than a 50rds in a test belt, the force of the weapon pushed the weight of the entire mount (with him sitting in it) across hard gravel backwards approximately one foot...and again, that was less than 50rds in a single burst pushing about 300 lbs. against a very high friction surface. What do you think the same short burst would do a 175-200 lb man firing from the hip?

September 14, 2005, 12:54 PM	#14
Freeman25 Member Join Date: January 21, 2005 Location: New York, NY Posts: 98	yeah, the man would fly like a jet __________________ Everyone has to earn his title. Max

September 14, 2005, 02:27 PM	#15
CobrayCommando Junior member Join Date: November 21, 2004 Posts: 1,631	Use blackpowder instead of cordite and you would be the human squid!

September 14, 2005, 04:56 PM	#16
Casp_A Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2004 Posts: 495	Ya know, I always thought a GAU-19 with a frame like that would be cool. .50 BMG at 1300 rounds per minute. Man, talk about recoil... __________________ Johnny was a chemist's son, but Johnny is no more. What Johnny thought was H2O was H2SO4.

September 14, 2005, 05:18 PM	#17
Slimjim Junior Member Join Date: May 17, 2004 Posts: 9	It seems that the m134 operates like an oversized gatling gun. The firing pins ride the cam block up and than drop through a slot at the top and slam home and fire the round. Its just not top fed and hand cranked. I wonder if dillion would build some rich guy a minigun...but instead of a motor a hand crank, so it would be legal

September 14, 2005, 05:37 PM	#18
shaggy Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2004 Posts: 1,519	Dillon will not sell miniguns (even post-samples to SOTs with LE love letters) or parts. If you know the right people, however, you can secure the parts you need - Dillon doesn't make all the parts, but rather subcontracts out some of the sub-assemblies. If you've got the hankering for a hand-cranked minigun, Brass Cartridge is working on a rimfire version, both in a handcranked version, and post-sample version. IIRC, the hand-cranked version was suppossed to be priced at about $10k when it become available.