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Old June 11, 2015, 07:48 PM   #1
603Country
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Favorite machine gun

Got to admit that I never had a favorite, since I only shot a couple of them. But, we were with a friend this evening and he was talking about time spent in Iraq. We were talking about mostly weapons I had not fired , since they were new...and I was Old Corps. After some back and forth, he said his favorite was the Browning 50 Cal, with second place going to the SAW. I asked why the M2 was his favorite, and he said that it always kept shooting, even if you fed twigs and leaves with the ammo belt. And the SAW was in next place due to weight of the gun and weight of the ammo.

What say you fellows? I am interested in your thoughts.
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Old June 11, 2015, 08:41 PM   #2
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If I could have any fully auto that is transferable it would be a Thompson. I Know they are not very ergonomic and they jump a lot but I am a sucker for history. My grandfather carried one in WW2 so it also has a sentimental value to me.

ID also like to shoot one of those AA12s but there is no chance I can ever own one.

I shot a Fully auto 1911 many years ago and it was fun but ran dry in about .25 seconds.
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Old June 11, 2015, 08:46 PM   #3
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I have only shot two full auto's. I really enjoyed the AR with full and 3-round, very controllable and accurate. the uzi, not so much, although still a lot of fun.

there's a couple places in town that have all the sub-guns, like kriss, Thompson and even a glock 18. someday I might make a visit and give the kriss and the AUG a run.

as for owning an auto, even if I had the cash, it's not something I am particularly interested in, but they are awesome
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Old June 11, 2015, 10:28 PM   #4
James K
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I once worked with an Army captain, a beautiful little blonde who looked a bit like Meg Ryan and who had an expert badge in just about everything the Army had in the way of small (and not so small) arms. Also black belts in many martial arts. One day, I mentioned the "Ma Deuce" (.50 HB M2). Her reply was, "Oh, I like them, they're cute!"

The only person I have ever known who called a .50 MG "cute".

Jim

P.S. I have often wondered what would have happened if some BG had decided to attack that "helpless little female". AFAIK, none ever did.

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Old June 11, 2015, 10:31 PM   #5
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I've only ever shot 2, the M2 .50 and the M-14s we used for shark watch. Thoroughly enjoyed the M2 (hey I didn't have to pay for ammo) and despised the M-14. When I was Stationed in Naples I had a chance to watch the Carabinieri use the Beretta 93R, now that looked fun to shoot.

If I ever had the money to spend on one (let alone the money for ammo) it would probably be a suppressed Sterling, for some reason they've always interested me.
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Old June 11, 2015, 10:38 PM   #6
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Definitely the Mk19, second would be the M2 then the M240. Never liked the 249 all that much. Too fast a cyclic rate.

If we include subguns the MP5 tops the list. Followed closely by the Uzi. Very easy to control
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Old June 12, 2015, 12:19 AM   #7
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Havent shot a huge amount of machineguns.
A sten, a mac in 45 and a mac in 380, the uzi, the mp5, car 15, a stemple in 45, which is like the s&w m76, the ak 47, a full auto saiga 12, a voere 22, a ruger 10/22 full auto, and an fn mag 58, which is the m240.
The mp5, the mac 45, and the stemple were also fired suppressed.

You just gotta like the mp5. The uzi isnt bad, except for the jump when the bolt first moves forward throwing off the aim.
The little mac in 380 is just plain fun.
The stemple suppressed, even though a 45, has almost no recoil, not much to dislike there.

The ak and saiga are a bit more of a ride, but you can definitely tell you are unleashing a beast. Its clear you wouldnt want to be in front of them.
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Old June 12, 2015, 10:13 AM   #8
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This question is hard to answer. It's like asking, which is your favorite child? They're all awesome.

Speaking from a civilian/nonmilitary and purely recreational perspective...

I will say that everyone I have ever given an MP5 to has been very ecstatic about shooting the MP5. There seems to be universal love of the MP5. The MP5 is light and easy to hold, yet the recoil is amazingly soft (gun weight is very important for small statured shooters). Add a suppressor, and it's like shooting a BB gun.

Finally, the gun just looks cool. You see it in movies, you see the cops and SWAT using it, but in real life, you never ever see one, much less be able to handle one in real life. Then out of the case pops a selection of MP5s. To a person who has only seen an MP5 in the movies, it's like seeing a unicorn in real life. And when they get to shoot it, the soft shooting nature and controllability of the gun just makes the shooter fall in love with the gun.

I think if everybody got to shoot and handle an MP5, we might...MIGHT...have a chance to overturn the Hughes amendment. Most people just don't know what's been taken from them; and they must be shown what has been taken.

Belt feds...I love 'em, but they tend to look a bit scary to some people.
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Old June 12, 2015, 10:44 AM   #9
James K
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For some reason, maybe more personal experience, I have a warm spot for the STEN and the M3A1. The STEN has often been called unreliable, but the ones I fired never failed. No beauty, no aesthetics, just a plain practical killing machine. And they are surprisingly accurate.

The M3A1 (the M3 had too many problems with the cocking handle) was given a lot of thought by the designers and also, in my experience, was quite reliable. (The M3/M3A1 construction inspired Bill Ruger in the design of his .22 automatic pistol.)

In one respect, the TSMG and many modern guns are better. Both the STEN and M3A1 use double column single feed magazines. That makes gun design easier, but can cause feeding problems and requires some sort of magazine loader, not needed with the TSMG and similar magazines.

Jim
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Old June 12, 2015, 11:07 AM   #10
bandaid1
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GAU 17/A is my all time favorite, then MK19, M240, and lastly the P90. Ripping it up with a full auto always makes me smile and there is nothing that compares.
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Old June 12, 2015, 11:37 AM   #11
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Besides a Thompson...I would prefer a Sterling L2A3. I own a Sterling L2A3 Type ll semi-auto carbine in 9mm, though the stock is a wee bit short for my tastes.
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Old June 12, 2015, 06:01 PM   #12
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Way back in the dark ages when MGs were still being made for sale to mere citizens (early 80s), I had the chance to fire an American 180 in .22LR.

It had a 177 round drum that sat atop the action and ran great. We powdered cinder blocks with it and that was a lot of fun... but loading the mags sucked.

Still, I think it's my all-time favorite.
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Old June 12, 2015, 07:41 PM   #13
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M-60 !! Great weapon lots of fun! Had one in nam wish i could afford one here!!!
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Old June 13, 2015, 01:31 AM   #14
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My personal favorite is Ma Duece. The Browning M2HB (and its other variants).

Absolute king of the hill and closing in on a century of service.

Thanks to Uncle Sam, and my MOS I have personal experience with a number of full auto weapons, both operation and repair to direct support and general support levels (basically everything except replacing recievers) was part of my job. Also I had an interest in full auto guns before going into the Army, and have kept the interest since.

The M3, M3A1, Tommygun, M14, M16A1, M60, M73, M73A1, M219, M85 and M2HB. Also got to use the MP5, Sterling, FAL, G3, MG1 (.308 MG42), browning .30 (Canadian). I was shown the M240 shortly before I got out of the service, but other than seeing some impressive tests, don't have hands on experience with that one.

The best of them all is Ma Deuce! And its not just the size. The design is not terribly complex, rugged as all hell, and generally works quite well. You can screw them up, and you can break them, but they rarely do it themselves.

The Browning .30 (1917/1919, etc) is nearly as good, being very close in design. The worst of our GPMGs is the M60. Good gun if you are selling them, and spare parts to the govt, a nightmare to keep fixed in the field. Unlike the Browning designs, they simply aren't intended to last, and sometimes don't last as long as they are intended to.

The M73/73A1/M219 is a total loser, horribly over complicated, and the design changes during the series never fixed the real problems.

The M85 should have been a winner, same .50 cal as the M2, smaller, and lighter gun, but when the M60 tank passed away, so did the M85, while the M2 is on the M1 series tanks today.

You can't realistically point to a single weapon and say it "won WWII", but if you could, my vote would be for Ma Duece. If it flew, drove, crawled, floated or swam and was big enough to physically mount an M2, it got one, or more.
And if it walked, it got the M2HB and tripod. not fun to carry around, but well worth it when needed.

THE PRIMARY arm of our fighter planes and bombers, AA and anti material gun for tanks, trucks, boats, ships subs, jeeps, half tracks, Ma Duece got around.

Our enemies had nothing like it, in terms of versatility or widespread use. 13mm & 12.7mm machine guns in some aircraft, otherwise, usually going to a 20mm cannon when going above regular rifle caliber, but nothing like our .50 cal Browning, which even outperformed/out ranged some 20mm cannon.

The M2 has some drawbacks, compared to more modern designs, but NO modern design has proven enough better (so far) to replace the venerable Browning.

The two most common causes for a Browning designed firearm to stop shooting are, #1, the shooter releases the trigger, or #2, it runs out of ammo.

Ma Duce is also a very accurate machine gun. Scary accurate until the barrel wears. Rifle accurate. Actually too accurate for best "cone of fire / beaten zone" results, so a large tolerance was built into the ammo to compensate for this. AND the M2 is also a selective fire weapon. And, it can be set up to feed from either side. And it is fairly simple to mount optics. And, and, ...
Show me another gun that is that versatile, if you can!
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Old June 13, 2015, 05:30 AM   #15
Grizz12
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mini gun in any caliber or a Tommy gun
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Old June 13, 2015, 05:34 AM   #16
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Sterling and FAL.
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Old June 13, 2015, 08:13 AM   #17
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Cobra 20 mm cannon... I had the pleasure of firing them while in the MC.
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Old June 13, 2015, 08:42 AM   #18
AK103K
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Ive always had a thing for the MP40's and the Swedish M45's. Old school for sure, but lots of fond memories.
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Old June 14, 2015, 06:01 PM   #19
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If I could only have one, it would be a Bren.
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Old June 15, 2015, 09:40 AM   #20
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FN P-90,,,

A local store/range had one for rental,,,
IMHO it is the perfect full-auto weapon for personal self defense.

Not that I've fired more than 6-7 types,,,
M-16, AK-47, Thompson, M-2, Uzi, M-3, and the P-90.

Aarond

.
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Old June 15, 2015, 01:10 PM   #21
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10 years later and I'm still pretty darn happy with my AC556. Rock solid receiver; parts sets are becoming available; barrels can be replaced and I like the stock I have it in (SCAR). I actually would prefer to have it over an M16. I wouldn't mind having a Thompson SMG, however.

The larger caliber Machine guns are just too expensive to shoot. The submachine guns don't as much intrigue for me, except the Tommy Gun.
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Old June 16, 2015, 10:11 AM   #22
pete2
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.50 BMG.
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Old June 16, 2015, 10:57 AM   #23
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Mac 10

My favorite is the only one I have, mac 10 in 9mm.

Although I would REALLY love to have one of the Norrel trigger packs for the 10/22
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Old June 16, 2015, 01:33 PM   #24
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We did a post sample 10/22.
Its ok. The total lack of recoil is nice. The only hicap mag that will keep up with it is the ruger factory 25rd, the gun was unreliable until those came out. However, its just so fast, that there isnt much fun time to it. Even after i put a retarder in it.
If the norrell pack is slower, that would be better.
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Old June 19, 2015, 05:55 AM   #25
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I've never shot a full auto, or even seen one in person, but I'm a bit of an H&R fan so I'm going to say the Reising in 45 ACP.
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