M240B - Page 2

Machineguntony · May 19, 2015, 08:05 PM

Thanks, fellas. Now the long two part wait.

What is the point of the curved buttstock on the M240B? I thought it was a place to rest your head lower on the gun, but the servicemen in YouTube videos have their heads well above, and ahead of, the buttstock when shooting the M240B. Even if it is a place to rest your head lower, why have other buttstock designs not implemented the curved buttstock design?

Pictures will soon follow.

Theohazard · May 19, 2015, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Machineguntony

What is the point of the curved buttstock on the M240B?

It's so you can use your support hand like this:

That's how most people shoot it, and it helps stabilize the gun. Also, on a tri-pod you can push to one side (usually the right) to take out the play in the T&E mechanism.

I shot it just like the guy in the pic above, except I usually used my support hand in the notch in the bottom of the stock like this (but I was in the minority):

Machineguntony · May 19, 2015, 11:15 PM

Ah, I see. Thanks, Theo.

I will have a belt for you when I take it to Knob Creek, one day soon.

Theohazard · May 20, 2015, 10:05 PM

Awesome! One day I'll make sure to take you up on your offer!

Machineguntony · May 23, 2015, 07:00 PM

Where does one acquire an M122 tripod? I can't find one online. I'm going to baby this thing like it's a fragile infant, and never shoot it off the bipod. I already have its own safe, alarm, dog, and surveillance system ready for it.

Also, what type/brand of front grip is this?

In this YouTube video, this warfighter seems to have a different grip that is QuickDetach. Any idea what brand of grip is in this video? I'd like to have a QD front grip, versus the grip that requires a wrench/key.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xdj0lBklvM

Sharkbite · May 23, 2015, 07:29 PM

I dont know the brand, but it has a little bi-bod built into it. Lots of guys run em on M4's

Theohazard · May 23, 2015, 08:16 PM

Looks like a Grip-Pod, but I'm on my phone so it's hard to be sure. They have several different models:

http://www.grippod.com

Machineguntony · May 26, 2015, 05:09 PM

Theohazard · May 26, 2015, 05:48 PM

Dude.......

As pretty as she is, I only have eyes for the gun....

9x19 · May 26, 2015, 05:51 PM

Awesome!

Sharkbite · May 26, 2015, 05:57 PM

Hahaha

The gun is bigger then she is. Rock on little Lady

Machineguntony · May 26, 2015, 08:28 PM

The website thetruthaboutguns did a review of the M240B.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/201...0-machine-gun/

Theohazard · May 27, 2015, 01:15 AM

That Marine's review is spot-on and brings back memories. There's nothing like providing overhead fire using squad and then section talking guns for over an hour during company-sized assaults at CAX. It's a work of art.

The only thing that differed from my experience was his mention of blanks. Our 240s absolutely sucked with blanks. I can count on one hand the number of times I saw a 240 get off a full belt without multiple stoppages using blanks. Most of the time our guns wouldn't even fire more than one shot with blanks. Maybe it was the BFAs we were using, because he didn't seem to have that problem. But that wasn't a big deal, because our guns were unstoppable with live rounds.

Machineguntony · May 27, 2015, 11:57 AM

Redacted

603Country · May 29, 2015, 08:58 AM

Did you ever find a tripod for your new MG? If not, PM me and I'll connect you with a guy that runs a weapons museum. He's an old classmate of my wife and an old Vietnam combat Marine. The museum he runs is in Ruston, Louisiana, and has the most extensive collection of rifles and machine guns I have ever seen. He will likely know who you need to talk to. And he has a warehouse of guns and parts. I really enjoyed talking with him about where he got various weapons (Soviet MG's, AA guns, etc,) and other parts like tripods and such.

Machineguntony · December 30, 2015, 03:17 PM

I would like to bring closure to this thread.

Sometime around February, 2015, I started a search for a transferable M240. Part of my search was posting a query in various forums, including this forum. As you can probably guess, transferable M240s, no matter if they're FNMI, which are the rarest, or DLO or MAG58s, are all exceedingly rare, maybe one of the rarest transferable MGs available. So it took a lot of digging, a lot of false leads.

Eventually, I found a transferable factory M240 for sale.

The prior owner had two, the number 1 gun and the number 0 gun that came out from the FNMI factory. I convinced the representing agent to sell me both, so that I could keep the guns together, rather than separate them. I argued that keeping the guns together would make sense from a historical and collectors perspective. Sequentially serialed FNMI M240s is about as rare of a pairing in the gun world, period, MG or not MG.

After much thinking, the agent, who had already bought the 1 gun for himself, decided to sell me both guns, so that they would stay together.

The number 1 gun is unfired, and still has the factory cosmoline on it. I have that one wrapped up and will never shoot it. The 0 gun is my range gun.

Here are the guns together.

Here is one of the M240 on an M192 Lightweight Ground Mount. I do not shoot my beltfeds off the bipods, ever (see Thomas Hoel's article as to why). The gun in front is my Maremont M60 upgraded to E6 configuration. The M60E6 is actually a lot smaller than the M240. The perspective of the two guns makes the M60E6 appear bigger than its real size.

Here's a better picture of the size comparison, from a top perspective.

I would like to thank all the members of this forum for your help, guidance, and information along the way. A big shout out to guys like a Sharkbite and Theohazard (the zen master of silencers).

Sharkbite · December 30, 2015, 03:49 PM

OMG!!!!!

You not only found one to buy...but a sequential Pair??!!?!?!?!

When i grow up i want to be YOU!!!!

Dude, seriously, well done. Congrats on the new twins

9x19 · December 30, 2015, 04:46 PM

Simply awesome... congrats on a great find!

johnwilliamson062 · December 30, 2015, 08:17 PM

Congrats.
Does this qualify me as posting regularly?

Theohazard · December 30, 2015, 11:47 PM

Tony, you've made my day! Amazing!

dakota.potts · January 1, 2016, 01:12 AM

Tony,
Without sharing personal details about your purchase, would you mind sharing the approximate value of a standard transferrable 240B? Obviously yours are mint or near mint and sequentially numbered so I don't expect you to share the value of your acquisition, but I wasn't even aware there were any transferable 240s so I'm pretty curious what a standard one would bring if you could find a seller.

Machineguntony · January 1, 2016, 12:26 PM

There are three types of transferable 240/MAG58 class guns available: DLO, Mag58, and FNMI M240s.

The 'B' designation is an upgrade and kit, like the U.S. Ordnance E6 is an upgrade for the M60. All versions of the M240 can be upgraded to the B designation.

The problem with pricing is that there aren't enough transactions to develop a reliable market average. The machine gun price guide states that the M240/MAG58 had in 4Q 2013 an average selling price of $160,000. The problem is that the MGPG doesn't differentiate between the type of 240, presumably this means that the MGPG is lumping in all three types.

Also, the MGPG stops at 2013 for the 240. No one has reported a transaction since 2013. We can't use the same inflation/appreciation rate for the 240 that we would use for an M16 or HK sear, for example. MG families don't all appreciate at the same rate, for various reasons.

I believe that the pricing hierarchy is as follows...

The most desirable are the FNMI M240s. No one knows exactly how many exist, but estimates range from 6-12, according to what I've been told by various dealers. Those are priced the highest, and can average for around $200,000. Key word: average.

The next most desirable are the MAG 58 guns. I've never personally handled a MAG 58 stamped gun. I am currently in the market for a MAG 58 stamped gun. In my opinion, based on what I've been told, and from what I have seen, the MAG 58 stamped guns are worth about 60-75% of the M240 stamped guns.

Finally, the DLO guns, completed, are worth about 40%-50% of the FNMI stamped guns. Some of the DLO guns require a lot of work to get into factory spec, and can cost tens of thousands to get them operational (what I was told by a gentleman who has a very nice DLO gun). A completed DLO gun will run about $80,000 to $120,000, depending on condition. DLO plates that are not complete guns can run from a low of $50,000 to $80,000, average.

jmorris · January 1, 2016, 01:43 PM

Cool find. I like the M249 for a plinker though, you can actually run them offhand OK.

SC4006 · January 1, 2016, 04:57 PM

Now that's just so awesome that you were able to get your hands on TWO M240's. I think next you need to find an M2 .50 Cal to play around with.

I was an M240 Assistant Gunner for my first year in my National Guard unit, and really enjoyed the trigger time I got with it. The thing is just about unstoppable with live rounds, blanks could be finicky though. Most of the time it was due to BFA's not being tight enough.

Pond, James Pond · January 2, 2016, 04:28 AM

Quote:

OMG!!!!!

You not only found one to buy...but a sequential Pair??!!?!?!?!

When i grow up i want to be YOU!!!!

Good grief, this made me laugh.... not the least because it was exactly what I had been thinking!!

MG-tony.... well done. What more can be said than very, very well done!!

May 19, 2015, 08:05 PM	#26
Machineguntony Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2013 Posts: 1,277	Thanks, fellas. Now the long two part wait. What is the point of the curved buttstock on the M240B? I thought it was a place to rest your head lower on the gun, but the servicemen in YouTube videos have their heads well above, and ahead of, the buttstock when shooting the M240B. Even if it is a place to rest your head lower, why have other buttstock designs not implemented the curved buttstock design? Pictures will soon follow. __________________ Sent from Motorola DynaTac 8000x

May 19, 2015, 11:15 PM	#28
Machineguntony Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2013 Posts: 1,277	Ah, I see. Thanks, Theo. I will have a belt for you when I take it to Knob Creek, one day soon. __________________ Sent from Motorola DynaTac 8000x

May 20, 2015, 10:05 PM	#29
Theohazard Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2012 Location: Western PA Posts: 3,829	Awesome! One day I'll make sure to take you up on your offer! __________________ 0331: "Accuracy by volume."

May 23, 2015, 07:00 PM	#30
Machineguntony Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2013 Posts: 1,277	Where does one acquire an M122 tripod? I can't find one online. I'm going to baby this thing like it's a fragile infant, and never shoot it off the bipod. I already have its own safe, alarm, dog, and surveillance system ready for it. Also, what type/brand of front grip is this? In this YouTube video, this warfighter seems to have a different grip that is QuickDetach. Any idea what brand of grip is in this video? I'd like to have a QD front grip, versus the grip that requires a wrench/key. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xdj0lBklvM __________________ Sent from Motorola DynaTac 8000x

May 23, 2015, 08:16 PM	#32
Theohazard Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2012 Location: Western PA Posts: 3,829	Looks like a Grip-Pod, but I'm on my phone so it's hard to be sure. They have several different models: http://www.grippod.com __________________ 0331: "Accuracy by volume."

May 23, 2015, 07:29 PM	#31
Sharkbite Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2013 Location: Western slope of Colorado Posts: 3,679	I dont know the brand, but it has a little bi-bod built into it. Lots of guys run em on M4's

May 26, 2015, 05:09 PM	#33
Machineguntony Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2013 Posts: 1,277	__________________ Sent from Motorola DynaTac 8000x Last edited by Machineguntony; May 26, 2015 at 05:36 PM.

May 26, 2015, 05:48 PM	#34
Theohazard Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2012 Location: Western PA Posts: 3,829	Dude....... As pretty as she is, I only have eyes for the gun.... __________________ 0331: "Accuracy by volume."

May 26, 2015, 05:51 PM	#35
9x19 Senior Member Join Date: October 15, 1998 Location: Sherman, TX USA Posts: 3,750	Awesome! __________________ Make mine lean, mean, and 9x19!

May 26, 2015, 05:57 PM	#36
Sharkbite Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2013 Location: Western slope of Colorado Posts: 3,679	Hahaha The gun is bigger then she is. Rock on little Lady

May 26, 2015, 08:28 PM	#37
Machineguntony Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2013 Posts: 1,277	The website thetruthaboutguns did a review of the M240B. http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/201...0-machine-gun/ __________________ Sent from Motorola DynaTac 8000x Last edited by Machineguntony; May 26, 2015 at 09:36 PM.

May 27, 2015, 01:15 AM	#38
Theohazard Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2012 Location: Western PA Posts: 3,829	That Marine's review is spot-on and brings back memories. There's nothing like providing overhead fire using squad and then section talking guns for over an hour during company-sized assaults at CAX. It's a work of art. The only thing that differed from my experience was his mention of blanks. Our 240s absolutely sucked with blanks. I can count on one hand the number of times I saw a 240 get off a full belt without multiple stoppages using blanks. Most of the time our guns wouldn't even fire more than one shot with blanks. Maybe it was the BFAs we were using, because he didn't seem to have that problem. But that wasn't a big deal, because our guns were unstoppable with live rounds. __________________ 0331: "Accuracy by volume."

May 27, 2015, 11:57 AM	#39
Machineguntony Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2013 Posts: 1,277	Redacted __________________ Sent from Motorola DynaTac 8000x Last edited by Machineguntony; May 27, 2015 at 12:08 PM.

May 29, 2015, 08:58 AM	#40
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	Did you ever find a tripod for your new MG? If not, PM me and I'll connect you with a guy that runs a weapons museum. He's an old classmate of my wife and an old Vietnam combat Marine. The museum he runs is in Ruston, Louisiana, and has the most extensive collection of rifles and machine guns I have ever seen. He will likely know who you need to talk to. And he has a warehouse of guns and parts. I really enjoyed talking with him about where he got various weapons (Soviet MG's, AA guns, etc,) and other parts like tripods and such.

December 30, 2015, 03:17 PM	#41
Machineguntony Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2013 Posts: 1,277	I would like to bring closure to this thread. Sometime around February, 2015, I started a search for a transferable M240. Part of my search was posting a query in various forums, including this forum. As you can probably guess, transferable M240s, no matter if they're FNMI, which are the rarest, or DLO or MAG58s, are all exceedingly rare, maybe one of the rarest transferable MGs available. So it took a lot of digging, a lot of false leads. Eventually, I found a transferable factory M240 for sale. The prior owner had two, the number 1 gun and the number 0 gun that came out from the FNMI factory. I convinced the representing agent to sell me both, so that I could keep the guns together, rather than separate them. I argued that keeping the guns together would make sense from a historical and collectors perspective. Sequentially serialed FNMI M240s is about as rare of a pairing in the gun world, period, MG or not MG. After much thinking, the agent, who had already bought the 1 gun for himself, decided to sell me both guns, so that they would stay together. The number 1 gun is unfired, and still has the factory cosmoline on it. I have that one wrapped up and will never shoot it. The 0 gun is my range gun. Here are the guns together. Here is one of the M240 on an M192 Lightweight Ground Mount. I do not shoot my beltfeds off the bipods, ever (see Thomas Hoel's article as to why). The gun in front is my Maremont M60 upgraded to E6 configuration. The M60E6 is actually a lot smaller than the M240. The perspective of the two guns makes the M60E6 appear bigger than its real size. Here's a better picture of the size comparison, from a top perspective. I would like to thank all the members of this forum for your help, guidance, and information along the way. A big shout out to guys like a Sharkbite and Theohazard (the zen master of silencers). __________________ Sent from Motorola DynaTac 8000x Last edited by Machineguntony; December 30, 2015 at 03:56 PM.

December 30, 2015, 03:49 PM	#42
Sharkbite Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2013 Location: Western slope of Colorado Posts: 3,679	OMG!!!!! You not only found one to buy...but a sequential Pair??!!?!?!?! When i grow up i want to be YOU!!!! Dude, seriously, well done. Congrats on the new twins

December 30, 2015, 04:46 PM	#43
9x19 Senior Member Join Date: October 15, 1998 Location: Sherman, TX USA Posts: 3,750	Simply awesome... congrats on a great find! __________________ Make mine lean, mean, and 9x19!

December 30, 2015, 08:17 PM	#44
johnwilliamson062 Junior member Join Date: May 16, 2008 Posts: 9,995	Congrats. Does this qualify me as posting regularly?

December 30, 2015, 11:47 PM	#45
Theohazard Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2012 Location: Western PA Posts: 3,829	Tony, you've made my day! Amazing! __________________ 0331: "Accuracy by volume."

January 1, 2016, 01:12 AM	#46
dakota.potts Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2013 Location: Keystone Heights, Florida Posts: 3,084	Tony, Without sharing personal details about your purchase, would you mind sharing the approximate value of a standard transferrable 240B? Obviously yours are mint or near mint and sequentially numbered so I don't expect you to share the value of your acquisition, but I wasn't even aware there were any transferable 240s so I'm pretty curious what a standard one would bring if you could find a seller. __________________ Certified Gunsmith (On Hiatus) Certified Armorer - H&K and Glock Among Others You can find my writings at my website, pottsprecision.com.

January 1, 2016, 12:26 PM	#47
Machineguntony Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2013 Posts: 1,277	There are three types of transferable 240/MAG58 class guns available: DLO, Mag58, and FNMI M240s. The 'B' designation is an upgrade and kit, like the U.S. Ordnance E6 is an upgrade for the M60. All versions of the M240 can be upgraded to the B designation. The problem with pricing is that there aren't enough transactions to develop a reliable market average. The machine gun price guide states that the M240/MAG58 had in 4Q 2013 an average selling price of $160,000. The problem is that the MGPG doesn't differentiate between the type of 240, presumably this means that the MGPG is lumping in all three types. Also, the MGPG stops at 2013 for the 240. No one has reported a transaction since 2013. We can't use the same inflation/appreciation rate for the 240 that we would use for an M16 or HK sear, for example. MG families don't all appreciate at the same rate, for various reasons. I believe that the pricing hierarchy is as follows... The most desirable are the FNMI M240s. No one knows exactly how many exist, but estimates range from 6-12, according to what I've been told by various dealers. Those are priced the highest, and can average for around $200,000. Key word: average. The next most desirable are the MAG 58 guns. I've never personally handled a MAG 58 stamped gun. I am currently in the market for a MAG 58 stamped gun. In my opinion, based on what I've been told, and from what I have seen, the MAG 58 stamped guns are worth about 60-75% of the M240 stamped guns. Finally, the DLO guns, completed, are worth about 40%-50% of the FNMI stamped guns. Some of the DLO guns require a lot of work to get into factory spec, and can cost tens of thousands to get them operational (what I was told by a gentleman who has a very nice DLO gun). A completed DLO gun will run about $80,000 to $120,000, depending on condition. DLO plates that are not complete guns can run from a low of $50,000 to $80,000, average. __________________ Sent from Motorola DynaTac 8000x Last edited by Machineguntony; January 1, 2016 at 04:17 PM.

January 1, 2016, 01:43 PM	#48
jmorris Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2006 Posts: 3,077	Cool find. I like the M249 for a plinker though, you can actually run them offhand OK.

January 1, 2016, 04:57 PM	#49
SC4006 Senior Member Join Date: June 27, 2012 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 525	Now that's just so awesome that you were able to get your hands on TWO M240's. I think next you need to find an M2 .50 Cal to play around with. I was an M240 Assistant Gunner for my first year in my National Guard unit, and really enjoyed the trigger time I got with it. The thing is just about unstoppable with live rounds, blanks could be finicky though. Most of the time it was due to BFA's not being tight enough. __________________ I don't always go to the range, but when I do, I prefer dosAKs. They say 5 out of 4 people are bad at math.