Forgotten my butt, I carried this pig for over 2 years every FTX. Never forget the pain and agony involved. And then cleaning it to the satisfaction of the armorer to turn it in was another pain in the butt.
well, it was weigh like 23 pounds. but it worked very well if you took care of it. and it was accurate too. or at least the ones I used back in the day. never did the "rambo" thing with it, but I have shouldered it a few time (young, strong, stupid) and I did hit the target too. used to swear I had groves in both shoulders from both the alice ruck and m60 used to carry like 2-4 hundred rounds too when carrying the damn thing. but if you need to shoot thru shit, it was hard to beat. chopping trees was easy with it. the downside was a soon as you open up with, you got a LOT OF RETURN FIRE COMING AT YOU. you had to move every burst unless you where behind something solid.
23 lbs,unloaded. Add a 100 rd assault pack, about 28 pounds..... for the 1st 100 meters...it inexplicably gained weight every 50 meters thereafter.
6 major groups (stock, buffer, trigger,receiver, iperating, and barrel groups) and our NCOs required each machinegunner to be able to detail disassemble and reassemble in the dark, simulated by blindfolds...probably why i still remember all this crap after 30 years since picking one up ...I hated how much noise b the bipod made when walking patrol.... our armorers also wired the gas plug in place to keep it from loosening... it helped significantly in keeping the pig firing. Agree cleaning was laborious and tedious, but, it was our light MG.... worked with what we had.
Not claiming to be an expert machine gunner but long association with the pig starting in basic. Seems that some zero screwed up range assignments so we had to change ranges just as I got to the line. We had to double time to the other range carrying them at port arms - it was 'only' about a third of a mile :-( Over a few decades I somehow managed to get enough trigger time to be able to fire one shot bursts - amazing how accurate you could get from a bipod.............
Noticed the negative responses are from noncombat users. I enlisted in 1960, assigned to the MP's in West Germany. We were assigned the .30 caliber Machine Gun, which was a "bitch" to clean or change barrels. When issued the M-60's we were like kids at Christmas time. I later had a change to use the "60" in combat (3 tours in Vietnam) and tach the weapon at the MP School at Ft. Gordon. During it's time the M-60 was a terrific weapon, steps above it s predecessors. So to all non-combat users, don't condemn a weapon until you have used it in actual combat.
Forgotten my butt, I carried this pig for over 2 years every FTX. Never forget the pain and agony involved. And then cleaning it to the satisfaction of the armorer to turn it in was another pain in the butt.
ReplyDeleteback in the day, we used carb cleaner to make it spotless !
DeleteThe only question is which method - one-handed John Rambo style or Walter White's key fob
ReplyDeleteThe approved US Army method of course😂😂😂
DeleteUnrelated to this post, I'd just like to say fuck Gropey Joe Biden
ReplyDeleteA fine sentiment anytime.
DeleteWho could forget this! Not anyone who ever carried and used one.
ReplyDelete--generic
well, it was weigh like 23 pounds. but it worked very well if you took care of it.
ReplyDeleteand it was accurate too. or at least the ones I used back in the day. never did the "rambo" thing with it, but I have shouldered it a few time (young, strong, stupid) and I did hit the target too. used to swear I had groves in both shoulders from both the alice ruck and m60
used to carry like 2-4 hundred rounds too when carrying the damn thing. but if you need to shoot thru shit, it was hard to beat. chopping trees was easy with it. the downside was a soon as you open up with, you got a LOT OF RETURN FIRE COMING AT YOU. you had to move every burst unless you where behind something solid.
As an infantryman from back then, that was my favorite weapon in our inventory.
ReplyDelete23 lbs,unloaded. Add a 100 rd assault pack, about 28 pounds..... for the 1st 100 meters...it inexplicably gained weight every 50 meters thereafter.
ReplyDelete6 major groups (stock, buffer, trigger,receiver, iperating, and barrel groups) and our NCOs required each machinegunner to be able to detail disassemble and reassemble in the dark, simulated by blindfolds...probably why i still remember all this crap after 30 years since picking one up
...I hated how much noise b the bipod made when walking patrol.... our armorers also wired the gas plug in place to keep it from loosening... it helped significantly in keeping the pig firing. Agree cleaning was laborious and tedious, but, it was our light MG.... worked with what we had.
A coworker told me about his time in the Army in the 80's. Pros, stationed in Hawaii! Cons, humping his M60 up and down the hillsides.
DeleteNot claiming to be an expert machine gunner but long association with the pig starting in basic. Seems that some zero screwed up range assignments so we had to change ranges just as I got to the line. We had to double time to the other range carrying them at port arms - it was 'only' about a third of a mile :-(
ReplyDeleteOver a few decades I somehow managed to get enough trigger time to be able to fire one shot bursts - amazing how accurate you could get from a bipod.............
Missed it - Combat Engineer. We had Ma Deuces. 122 lbs with tripod plus two extra barrels and tool kit.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the nickel in front of the gas piston. Speeds that pig up like a spider monkey hopped up on Mountain Dew
ReplyDeleteMy CWII in Germany told me with big grin that the VC really respected our M60.
ReplyDeleteNoticed the negative responses are from noncombat users. I enlisted in 1960, assigned to the MP's in West Germany. We were assigned the .30 caliber Machine Gun, which was a "bitch" to clean or change barrels. When issued the M-60's we were like kids at Christmas time. I later had a change to use the "60" in combat (3 tours in Vietnam) and tach the weapon at the MP School at Ft. Gordon. During it's time the M-60 was a terrific weapon, steps above it s predecessors. So to all non-combat users, don't condemn a weapon until you have used it in actual combat.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Echo-3 version.
ReplyDelete