M240 Bravo: America Replaces the M60
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In 1977, the US military adopted the FN MAG as the M240 in vehicular configuration to replace the less-than-successful M73/M219 machine guns. The USMC would get an early start adapting the 240 to ground configuration (the M240G), but it wasn’t until 1995 that the Army formally replaced the M60 with the MAG in M240B layout. The M240B has a number of differences from the standard MAG:
- Single-position gas regulator, giving about 600 RPM
- Picatinny rail on the top cover for mounting optics
- Front heat shield over the barrel to prevent heat mirage
- Top cover can be closed with the bolt either forward or back
The M240B has since been adopted by the Marines as well, and served extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan. It I a quite heavy gun (24+ pounds) but very well liked by its users for being exceptionally rugged, dependable, and accurate. The one we have today is in pristine condition, and one of just 11 transferrable examples registered in the US.
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I was a 240b gunner in Iraq, very reliable and very accurate for a mg. The downside being the herniated discs in my back from lugging the thing around.
I never served and still have herniated discs so I think you got the better deal lolol
VA be like "not service related"
Angriest man on patrol, happiest in a firefight
@@brosefmalkovitch3121 I was a M249 and M240B gunner. My ankles, knees, and back are all jacked up seeing as how machine gunners typically carry more than their body weight. Then yep VA is like yeah we don't see how making you carry in excess of 150‐200+lbs all the time would hurt you like that... so my issues are not covered at all
I've always wondered how do you keep zero on optics when swapping between barrels? Or you just don't? Also how many rounds do the nylon pouches hold?
i really just realized that two men, Eugene Stoner and John Browning, have essentially equipped the entirety of the US military’s small arms. what’s even funnier is when we stray away from either of their original designs, we eventually go back to them because they just straight up work!
Oh it gets weirder, Browning + Fabrique Nationale = a big chunk of the World. 😄👍
St. John Moses Browning -- patron saint of machine gunners all over the world. Seriously, the man was a firearms genius, far ahead of his time.
And everyone else uses Kalashnikov.
Well they've moved away form the M4 now. I think the DGI operating system whilst being the most accurate and elegant design possible is now obsolete due to the military using silencers.
@@andrewallason4530 most of them don't. The AKM clones you see outside Warsaw Pact states are usually chinese guns. Some of them in fact original ones.
The upper guard was put in place to keep Marines from licking the barrel after a string of fire.
Keeps crayons from melting to the barrel.
Joke's on you, we took them off immediately!
@@lamberts01 lol
@@lamberts01 Ahhhh, *there's* the Marines I know and love!
@@lamberts01 > we took them off immediately! And then used them as protective cases for your crayon boxes so the cardboard wouldn't get creased (which would only unnecessarily piss off your DI and result in easily avoidable extracurricular physical activity), I presume? *_;-)_*
Wood doesn't necessarily make every firearm better but boy is it working well for this 240.
Doesn't make it better but makes it more classy.
@@1982rrose classy is better.
+10 to the cool stats. It not a shown stats because if you have to ask then it’s not cool.
Technically it is not a M240B if it's got wood....
There’s something about wood furniture guns with rails. An AK-74 with wood furniture and a railed dust cover looks similarly cool.
I was a team leader for a 240 gun team in the 82nd airborne, whenever I'm asked if I miss the army I always say I miss my 240 and jumping out of airplanes. Great video Ian
5 jump chump leg 240 team leader here. 100% agree, when in doubt 240 out.
What?!? You don't miss CQ or pulling PMCS on your vics in January in freezing rain, Sarn't? Dehydrated Pork Patty MREs? No? How about idiot butterbar ROTC 2LTs who honestly believe they're smarter and better at running your team than you - you *must* miss that! :P
I saw a guy jumping with the 240 during training 20 years ago. Short guy, basically the shortest guy in the chalk. And fully assembled, just strapped to his side somehow. The thing was almost as long as he was tall. I was flabbergasted wondering how the hell he was gonna land safely with that monster strapped to him. Then we jumped and it was every man for himself lol
H-MINUS
I feel like a stiner would work much better for this
The tripod is very much used in the field to this day. The tripod is essentially part of the gun. Assistant Gunners and Gunners commonly do emplacement and displacement drills for hours on end. Yes they aren't used often in reactionary settings, but anytime it is a planned objective or a defensive posture the tripod is most definitely used.
Came here to say this, unless we had our 240s vehicle mounted the tripods were always present.
The real ones know.
Yeaj
The feed mechanism is awesome. You could wrap the loose end of the belt around a tree, and it will pull the tree down.
We tied a pack off to the end of a belt and it pulled the thing towards the tripod. Amazingly reliable feed system.
As heavy and unwieldly as this weapon is, I loved every minute with it.
As much abuse as these guns get, it’s wild that it function flawlessly
I carried a C6 which is Canada's version of the mag it was a heavy bitch but I loved her all the same.
0331 all the way brother
@@rbrick3685 I've seen this gun described as "slightly less durable than a brick of adamantium"
@@SonicsniperV7 in my experience I could keep fire up sustainably on the C6(canadian FN MAG). On the C9(canadian FN MINI) it would start to jam up at around 75 rounds, I absolutely hated the C9.
South African Army vet here - all the good points Ian points out (weight, accuracy, reliability) go for the machine gunners in the SA Infantry as well. Well liked weapon.
Christ, the sound of that safety being thrown alone would make me seriously rethink some stuff if I were in the wrong side of it.
I had one in Afghanistan in 2012. I hated it but I was 130 pounds so it weighed over one sixth of what I did. After I matured some abs got up to 175 I appreciated it much more.
Weird flex... but OK.
Ah, the ol' "give the little guy the machine gun" gag. A classic.
I mean, it is a problem. A .30 cal machine gun really doesn't need to be 25 pounds unloaded if you design it right.
@@hjorturerlend I was reading the comments in Ian's video about the Negev about the difference between the 7.62 NATO version and the FN MAG. The Israeli "Negevist" said that while everyone appreciated the lightness of the NEGEV-7...you had to take care of it in ways that one didn't with the FN MAG. That riveted sideplate receiver with its huge front and back trunnion blocks guaranteed it chugging along in a way that its modern stamped-sheet steel cousin just couldn't guarantee.
sorta the same with my M1 garand when i got it at 13.... i thought id NEVER be able to carry it 100s of yards out hunting . today... im 6 foot 5 and 200 pounds..... its a feather . but after using the M1 a lot.... gets close to the end of hunting season..... still got tags to fill i switch to the trusty old Ruger M77 MK2 in 308...... . and man!!! Picking up said Ruger is like.......when you think a cup is full of water.... but its empty.... so you life it WAY higher/faster than you need to like that
My cousin served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was a 240B and 249 Gunner. He has a tattoo of the 240B on his right calf. To say he loved that gun is an understatement. He's told me many stories of how great that gun is in a fight.
I mainly fired the 249. The thing that amazed me with both was the accuracy you could get out of them with the insanely long sight radius from rear to front sights. Easy single tap targets at up to 500m on iron sights. Was nuts. With the added weight.. you're talking almost half hit accuracy on long burst fire at the same range.
It is the greatest war implement devised after the MG42
And he’s absolutely right! But it absolutely SUCKED to lug around in the dirt box. Small price to pay though looking back on it all. Man it sucked then tho…
Did he also killed some afghan civilians? Or maybe he raped some civilians? hm cant decide
As a note, the Abrams does not use the M240C. The "Chuck" is right hand feed and goes in the Bradley. The M240 is left hand feed for the Abrams, as it's on the right of the breech (next to the gunner) and the belt drapes over top of the breech and into a hopper, which is the loader's job to manage
Same with the loader's skate-mounted M240, although they so rarely gave us any rounds so it was easy to forget it even _took_ a belt...
@@superhakujin it's more useful as a spare coax anyway
1:00 Ian: "1977 ... as a vehicular mounted gun" ... me: as a 'coax' [coaxial] for the M60s and M-1 tanks, and M-1 loader's skate rail - not a 0:42 'cupola ... ' (that was a .50cal). Ian barely says the word 'coaxial' but cupola is wrong. The M-73 and M-219 (7.62mm, not .30cal) were mounted on the M48A5 and pre-1978 M-60 series tanks as a coax gun. The cupola M-85 .50cal was on the M60, M60A1, M60A2, M60A3 tanks - and the LVTP-7.
@@N_Wheeler The only one of that era of vehicular guns that was worth a damn was the M85, and then ONLY if it was turned upside down. Otherwise the thing would jam like a cheap printer. The M73 and M219 worked a little bit better if you poured cherry juice over the ammunition in the banana box.
240c is such a pain in the butt to mount and load in a Bradley.
Interesting, never knew that the other versions of the FN MAG had different gas settings or even a fixed setting. In Sweden we designate our version as the "KSP M/58" litterally "Machine gun Model no 58", and we have a 9 digit setting on our gas setting, where 3 is the standard or normal position. If your gun gets dirty or suffers from clogging due to heavy use, you just pop the setting up a grade or two and keep firing. As one would suspect, during basic training, there is always someone that understands that more is more, not less, and cranks the setting to 7or 8 by default. Hence the gun sounds like a sewing machine instead of a soft going fishing cog. Anyway, thanks for the fantastic content Ian, hats off as always!
There are multiple designs of gas plugs, for different uses. On armoured vehicles etc.
I was on an 240 team and can confirm, we cranked the gas regulators up to max as well. More is better. Especially when you have to carry the ammo.
Nah, low setting so you can feel each round in the shoulder 💪😅
There is 2 never ones, the C and the D, the C has options for scope/reddit and the D is the same but a little shorter and lighter, I do not know if every B is modified to C standard, I think the A or more "blank" was the first ones for the 6.5x55, those barrels was used for a long time but only as blank firing, until the 6.5 ammo was depleted in stock, and it only used 7.62x51. The S-Tank (strv 103) had 2 of these mounted coaxial with the tank I think they where at the left side remotely fired. We used it for anti aircraft on the high tripod, and of course on the roof on our trucks 4x4 and 6x6, even the smaller "jeeps" had a mount for it.
"guns sounds like a sewing machine" So he converted his FN mag into a Shilka XD
I had the distinct privilege and honor of being a 0331 Machine gunner carrying a M240G crossing the LOD into Iraq during the push in 2003. It will always have a special place in my heart.
Look who it is! I was telling my coworkers about your interview with a warfighter segments. They liked the story where the guy climbed on the tank and yelled "Here's a coconut for you monkeys". I love your channel.
@@themischeifguide Appreciate it brother!
It would be cool if you and Ian did a collaboration video one day
Why am I not surprised to see you here? Ian must be stoked to see your post.
As a former 240 gunner I am certain it also has a special place in the pain in your back lol
27lbs of hate. I lugged one of these all over North Dakota for the Air Force. Good times.
Those prarrie dogs are dangerous 😁
This gun produces the sound of freedom at 650 rounds per minute. Thanks for your service Whiskey Greg (domestic service counts too)!
My pal had to carry one around bandit country like a rifle for six months. He came back from that tour looking swoll haha
@@1982rrose I mean, they do dig holes that can ruin a herd of cattle. Farmers used to pay us to come out with a .22 and shoot the prairie dogs. We called them Dakrats (dakota rats).
That's funny 😂
In the British Army these are called Jimpies. From General Purpose Machine Gun or GPMG.
this little fact just made my day
A few of my older friends were "on the jimpies" as they say, I love that the 249 is called a minimi
In Canada, it is usually referred to as "the Gimpy."😉 While carrying one of these beasts through the boonies is definitely an unpleasant chore, it's also a great thing to have on your side!😉
I love British Army nicknames for their guns. Recently learned that they called the Browing Hi Power the “ nine milley”.
"I am general using this machine gun with a fucking purpose"
A note about the tripod mount, it is also used to attach the 240 to a vehicular mount which is used quite frequently.
Quite true. Having the mounting built in adds minimal weight and its nice to not need a specialty version for static positions or vehicle mounting.
I carried it in Iraq 2006-2007 and the weight is not noticeable when it’s mounted on a turret of a M-1114! Lol
Lol👍
Gracias para tu cerveza.
@@SquareHeadSlacker i too am grateful for beer man 🙏
@@eyeamstrongest signome, den katalavenno anglika.
Our 240B gunner was quite the popular guy during OIF. I was always impressed by that specific weapons system in terms of volume of fire, accuracy and reliability.
The 240B will make any enemy question how much they really want to be in a firefight. Monster of a weapon.
@@jasonmedcalf2707 Absolutely man. I can’t tell you how many times you would hear the 240 talking and it gave you a sense of relief to a degree.
There is nothing forgotten about this sweet thing. I had this in my HUMMV turret for months in Iraq in 2005. It is an OUTSTANDING machine. Reliable - never malfunctioned. Accurate - single shot accuracy like a .308 rifle, hundreds of meters out. Tough - dropped in the dust as we loaded up, the mechanics sprayed it off with compressed air and it worked perfectly. Tactical - just as easy (ie f'ing brutal) to carry around on a shoulder sling as an M-60, which I toted back in the 90's. The only weapon I liked more than this was the M249, which is my secret waifu. Jim G, OIF3, 2005
I absolutely loved firing the M240 while I was in the Army. I was a little sad when we switched from the M240B to the M240L model in late 2011, but it is still an iconic weapon system
Civilian here, I would’ve thought the 240L would be more popular since it’s lighter. Would you be willing to elaborate?
@@Michael_OBrian I did enjoy the weight reduction of the M240L, but there is just something about the feel of carrying a big gun around that could ruin someone's day
@@chadedick7911 Thanks!
After seeing an m240l,it just doesn't look right,it looks incomplete.
Literally lighter and same performance. You smoking diks
A small note about the iron sights you missed: if you stand the rear sights up they go out to 1800 meters, and they are definitely accurate out to that distance.
Bro the human eye can't even see beyond 30fps, how are you supposed to see at that distance?
@@superdogmeatmeat those extra sights are only really useful when used in conjunction with the tripod. These guns in the SF role are capable of firing rounds indirectly out to at least 2.4km and directly up to 1.8km. Precision isn't that important with machine guns at those distances.
@@burnyburnoutze2nd Wouldn't they mount a scope at that range? I already struggle with irons at 300m
@@superdogmeatmeat Nope. Just the iron sights. In the SF role, you have a 2 person team and your firing points are pre determined by your gun commander and the bearing and elevation for your C2 sights (a seperate optic intended for indirect fire use, hence the coordinates) recorded. The idea being, when you are ordered to, you punch in the target coordinates into your C2 sight (which uses a seperately placed laser post as a reference point), and then you move the gun until the C2 sight meets the laser pointer and the bubble is leveled. This theoretically allows consistent repositioning on multiple pre recorded targets. You pretty much only use the iron sight to get the gun at the correct angle for the distance needed, i.e. you have valley between two hillsides at 1500m away, amd you'd set the sight accordingly before you lay the gun on target and record the bearing and elevation on your C2 sight. This works even at night. Remember, GPMGs are AREA weapons and aren't intended for sniper level precision on individual enemy troops at those distances.
1800 meters with M240 iron sights isn't quite as optimisitc as the 2000 meters adjustment on a Mosin 91/30
I have a friend who is a Marine that had to lug one around on his deployments. While he liked its performance he despised carrying it. Once he got promoted and was in charge of the guys carrying them he was so relieved.
Everyone hates to carry MG. It's an universal rule.
Lol machine gun team leaders have to carry the tripod And ammo No one on a machine gun team is happy Except the gunner And only during a firefight The ammo bearer probably smiles a little too
Better the MG than the radio with that antenna sticking up saying "SHOOT ME!".
@@XtreeM_FaiL incorrect, as a former gunner. The best job in the platoon is the gunner because all you have to carry is the gun. Everyone else has to carry all your shit.
@@XtreeM_FaiL Can confirm, even carrying our PKM from the SPG to lunch sucked lmao
Hey hey I know this one. I was a 240B gunner. Fun fact; some American 240B had the 3 position gas regulator. Also we did use the tripod in combat primarily in overwatch positions. Of course this was just my experience so it doesn't count for much.
Mine assured did but this was early 1990's. I used the 240B, 240C and the 240E1 as well as the old M60 (pig).
Yeah, the Army switched to a single gas setting gas regulator during GWOT… I think 2009 timeframe. Too many soldiers were turning it all the way to full adverse setting to get a higher rate of fire (me included). But not enough of those Soldiers were controlling their fire enough and too many barrels were getting destroyed. So big Army removed the option for everyone.
Your experience counts for plenty. 👍
@@pb7087 One of those "this is why we can't have nice things" moments, huh?
@@pb7087 that's the time I was in and I remembered the change over. We kept our adjustable regulators but we also kept then set on the slowest setting. Shooting faster sucks when you got to hump every bullet in.
I love this thing. Every time I get to go out and use it is a good day. Cleaning is sometimes a pain, especially the carbon build-up, but man it’s a dream.
I used to carry a British GPMG a in the late 1970’s as a TA L/Cpl and my gun had a couple of differences that were really useful. First the uncluttered barrel was a really good hand warmer on a freezing night (after firing a few blanks through a BF barrel). Secondly the gas regulator on my version fully unscrewed to take it apart for cleaning, remembering not to lose the split collars! When you reassembled the gas regulator the manual stated that you fully closed the gas regulator and then opened it “six clicks”, which was the standard setting. However I had got the chance to “balance” my gun and thus I opened mine “twelve clicks” as this allowed the gun to fire as slow as possible, which in turn allowed me to single shot. I have had a few arguments over the years that “you can not single shot a GPMG” but I did - I have only met one other guy who when I mentioned it was able to do the same except his gun opened a different amount (I can’t remember if it was 11 or 13 clicks) and he had also always been told it couldn’t be done!
"You can try to replace John Browning...." Possibly the greatest statement ever made about John Moses Browning. Wish I had said it first.
Was in the Marines 2016-2020, the 0331 machine gunners I worked with almost always carried the tripods within the mg squad, they used them all the time.
We had dual 240B on the ship. Just having them against your shoulders made you feel like a badass. I love this machine gun.
Carried the 240G in the 90’s, it was about unstoppable. Superb gun.
A lot of modern 240s within US armory don’t have the top heat shield for the barrels and now have a collapsible stocks. But shooting one of these is amazing.
So, the US Navy also uses this beauty pretty vastly too. The tripod mounts are used for “flowerpots” or mounts that go on small boats for Harbor Patrol. It’s used pretty regularly
USCG appears to use it on the harbor boats we see in Puget Sound as well.
That "tripod mount" has been used for just about every possible configuration of mounted gun, including coax guns lol
Yup I was a navy gm and we even had dual mounts for these
Cool gun used it a couple times, wish ours had the wood stock
Yes. 👌
Benefit of a wood stock in this situation?
@@jon4715 It just looks cool
@@jon4715 Practical reasons? None. Style reasons. Plenty.
@@MrFlyinghellfish As good a reason as any.
I like to think that I had a very small part of the Army adopting the M240B as the M60's replacement. I was an LT and acting S3 at Fort Bragg in 1986. Our former battalion commander had moved down the street to become Delta's Support Squadron commander. That unit was apparently looking for an alternative to the M60, and he knew that we had M240 coax MGs (I was in 3/73 Abn Armor - Sheridan Bn). He called and asked if they could borrow two or three for a couple of weeks. Since they were not far away in the old MP Brigade headquarters, that was pretty easy to arrange. He must not have had an issue with getting shoulder stocks and longer pistol grips fabricated - I imagine that wouldn't be a problem with their priority. In any event, they were returned about a month later as I recall, with a huge thank you to us for making it happen so quickly. While I don't know this, I have a feeling that the reviews were good enough to pass along to SOCOM and Ft Benning.
We used them in the CG. We has 3 gas settings; fired at 650, 750 and 950 rpm. This was to be used when the gun gets dirty too keep rpms up, too fast, the gun would jam. We used to keep it it setting 2 (750 rpm). Not sure if this is still the case, but it was when it was adopted until I left in 08.
I agree Ian, a beast to carry but I loved this weapon. I had the British version for the 1st Gulf War and carried it in the sustained fire role so we had the tripod and C2 sight. It was incredibly reliable and puts down some serious firepower.
Hated carrying and cleaning it. But accurate gpmg fire when needed is a battle winner
FN did a great job, these are very well made and rugged.
It's set up on tripods fairly often in posts, set it up and then have a range card with designated targets so you set the T&E then hold tight, right and down.
Operated Browning pattern small arms my whole career. I still got to fire a M60 during my first deployment to Iraq, and I got to see firsthand why the Vietnam Era guys were so broke up about giving up the M60. Shoots brilliantly from the shoulder and is quick to getting there. Taking it apart and cleaning it is also another matter entirely! The 240 family is good in my book, saved my butt numerous times in the different vehicle configurations.
I served in the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s. Had a love-hate relationship with the Pig (M60). When in good condition and properly maintained, they were awesome, and easy to carry. When you got a clapped out old cow, they could tuen into a 23 lbs straight pull rifle, only not nearly as accurate as an 1895 Steyr Mannlicher. 🤣
I carried the Pig in the 1980’s. I loved that damn thing.
You had one in Iraq, I'm surprised they were still in service. What branch an/ or component were you in?
My favorite memory from my time in the army was doing a live fire exercise in the California desert with this thing. Except it was mounted on a humvee and we were doing 40 through the sand. It was amazing, lol. Definitely my favorite weapon system.
Loved my GPMG.....10,000s of rds through it. From using it as a coaxial mount, to banging round sandy countries on top my wmik....you know youre safe when this thing is banging away!
Love the FN MAG. Been draging it all around the country, its a heavy beast but a sturdy friend in a firefight! Our fn mags called KSP58 was purchased in 1958 and pretty much all of them are still in use. Our M249s where purchased in late 80s or early 90s, and they are pretty much wore out.
It was back in 97 or 98 when the powers that be decided to start fielding the 240B to regular army. I was in one of the first units to receive it for testing purposes. Our first live fire training with this weapon was on a night engagement near ambush range. When we initiated the ambush I heard the company commander yell out " Melt the barrel Griff!". Griff had the barrel white hot but it continued to function. The weapon and it's pintel are heavier than the M60 , but it's easier to operate and conduct barrel changes.
I was in the Marine Corps in the 90’s, my only complaints about the M240 was that it only came with 100 round box mag
I've actually seen some pictures of a kind of backpack ammo pack for these, with a sort of sleeve(?) leading from the backpack to the gun, feeding in a belt of rounds. I don't know if that was some kind of experimental thing, but i don't think such a thing was ever adopted
@@gohunt001-5 I've seen that too, the grunts came up with it (obviously), but the problem was that the ammo feed they chose (the "sort of sleeve thing" you mention) was originally from I think a helicopter's door gunner position and we simply weren't making enough of those to be able to field something using them to the regular infantry. Also, as expected, it's the Marines that came up with it. If you want to learn more about it, go look up "Iron man ammunition backpack". I'm personally more interested in what they could do with a 5.56 NATO version of that. Even if it was just combined with an M249 it would be a pretty sizeable force multiplier. But it might be possible to further develop the system. For example, combine it with an XM-214 Microgun (aka "minigun but 5.56 instead of 7.62"). and then add a laser to the gun so you can actually aim it while firing it from the hip, and you would have what's probably the ultimate in mobile suppressive fire. Now, I can already think of 2 things that might kill that idea, but I think I have some solutions to those problems. First problem: Recoil of firing that many rounds that quickly (even if it is "just" 5.56). There's a lot rounds going downrange, and Newton's laws are going to have something to say about that. Second problem: The overall weight of the system might render it incapable of being wielded by a single person unless they're built like Arnold Schwarzenegger (Apparently, in the Terminator 2 scene where he does wield a Minigun, it was incredibly hard for him to keep his footing, despite him "only" firing blanks for movie filming purposes, and IIRC they also reduced the rate of fire of the minigun to make it more apparent that it's a machine gun and not just a laser beam of death, which means that the true recoil force of the M-134 with live ammo must be far superior to what any "average" human could be expected to hold on target). However, I have at least partial solutions to those two problems, as I said above. Step 1, modify the XM-214 from a 6 barrel to a 3 barrel design (this reduces weight of the gun, as well as reducing rate of fire given that the barrel assembly still spins the same speed). Step 2, (if needed) further reduce the rate of fire by using a different motor and/or gearbox optimized to rotate the barrel assembly at a slower speed. This might also allow you to reduce the size of the battery pack needed to spin the barrel assembly as well. Now don't get me wrong, an XM-214 microgun modified in those two ways is still going to be both heavier and higher recoil than any other man-portable firearm currently fielded by the US military, but it does still offer a superior volume of fire compared to currently issued options. The weight problem is I think the hardest problem of those two to solve, but what if the above modifications don't solve the weight problem sufficiently? Well, the US military has been working on powered exoskeleton legs to help soldiers carry around even more weight, we could equip the soldier with that to help bear the load. If you want a nearer-term solution that is probably also more expensive, we could switch many of the parts of the XM-214 to high-strength Titanium alloys to reduce weight while retaining the required amount of material strength (obviously parts that slide against each other can't be made of titanium, but they can be made of titanium with steel inserts to take the wear, similarly to how a Glock pistol has a polymer frame but the slide moves against steel inserts that retain the slide). And if I can think of all this with under an hour's thought on the matter, think of what someone who's actually educated on the subjects involved could do (On top of my high school education and auto repair vocational training, I'm entirely self taught on most of these subjects, IDK how completely I understand the subjects involved, but I know that I don't understand them as well as someone who went to school for them).
@@44R0Ndin can’t believe I actually read all that lol good 👍 comment
@@44R0Ndin With lessons learned in the wars of the 21st century, the military is straying away from volume of fire doctrine for suppression. This is seen with the Marines replacing the M249 with the M27 and M38. They are all equipped with LPVOs or 4x optics as they see a high number of precise shots improving hit probability over high numbers of lead being slung downrange. Plus, I don't reckon the military would ever take a concept where the infantryman hip fires without cover seriously. Its still a fun idea tho.
@@KarsenKeith I can already see it showing up in the next Call of Duty or Battlefield game (if there's another Battlefield game after the disaster that was BF2042)
The M240 was (maybe still is) used by the US Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Squadron (HITRON). From USCG site "HITRON armed these helicopters with M-16 5.56mm rifles and M240 7.62mm machine guns for warning shots and self-protection, and the RC50 laser-sighted .50 caliber precision rifle to disable the engines of non-compliant suspect vessels. "
I served on a 240 Lima gun crew as an AB for part of my time in the 101st. I went through basic with a 240 Bravo. Some things I'd like to note. Currently, buttstocks are configured with a 3 position collapsing stock similar to an M4. I was never deployed, but we used the 240 almost exclusively on a tripod during training.
We had 240 limas which were lighter in weight and though I never deployed to combat the numerous live fire training exercises I've done with them I can say they are as reliable as it gets, these things just work. Interesting what Ian said about the heat shield prevents obscuring the gunner because we always ripped those things off because of how finicky the thing is when its mounted on the barrel. If it slides just a hair closer to the chamber it prevents the locking of a new barrel so we just rocked em without.
Hey, it’s my baby. Had a lot of good times with the M240B.
6:40 to 7:09 To anyone who watched Ian's videos on the FN BAR Model D / DA1, you might notice that the FN MAG / M240 uses a similar barrel change / carry handle method.
I was a 19 kilo as of recently and we used the 240 Charly. It was a crew served weapon on the M1 tank and the Bradley's. No stock, no handgaurds and used butterfly triggers with a cable to charge the weapon. As long as it was properly cleaned it ran like a champ. We made hybrid versions for the loader by putting a Bravo stock on it.
In Canada we call that the C-6, and it’s every crewman’s best friend. I have fired countless rounds down it as both a gunner and crew commander, and the only stoppages I have ever had was belt hang related. Incredibly reliable! (With proper maintenance and handling) One of the best weapons the Queen ever gave us!
The heat shield over the barrel is mostly to avoid soldiers burning themselves when maneuvering, just like the shield on the M249.
Carried one for a year. Love it.
What a gorgeous gun. In Australia, we called it MAG 58. We had it alongside the old M60 and the Bren. Good times.
Nice little trip down memory lane, I was a Bradley Gunner and we used the vehicle mounted one. Thanks for the video and memories
In UK service since the late '60s, it's known as the GPMG - General Purpose Machine Gun - the "Jimpy" - and it's excellent. Using a tripod and some cunning maths, you can set up map predicted fire out to an area target at long range, far beyond tracer burnout. Tripod kit comes with a bag of 2 x spare barrels.
The gun I did my cadre on in 2008 was from the 60’s.
I carried the Jimpy in GW1 and had the tripod and C2 sight you're describing.
Late '50s.
I would never complain about carrying the M240 because once you get to use it your the happiest man in the platoon
I work on these as a Small Arms Repairer for the Army and have some input you and others may find interesting. First, I wanted to mention the anecdote I heard that some NCOs had used a thermal camera and noted that the heat shield would reduce heating of the barrel during firing by ~30% (allegedly, it draws air over the barrel through convection or some other magic force beyond my understanding). Next, it is worth noting that the grip/fire control group is copied nearly directly from the MG-42. Part of me wonders if the dimensions are close enough that you could swap the parts. The stock that is mostly in use now is not the plastic version, but instead a new collapsible design (same as on the 249), which I like quite a lot. You mention that the tripod mounting holes are seldom used, however, you would be surprised by how often the infantry employ use of the Capco M192 tripod (lightweight due to titanium construction). I have used this tripod to effectively engage targets at 1000m with iron sights, it's a major force multiplier for how light it is. Take care, thanks for the video.
I was a 240 gunner and assistant gunner when I was an infantryman, and I loved every second of it. When I became the gunner/team leader, it actually motivated me to hit the gym more to offset it’s weight. However, as you outlined in the video, the weight is a minor trade-off considering it’s reliability, performance, and accuracy.
A very beloved weapon system by many countries military. It was widely used when I did my military service in 2005 in Sweden. Right around that time we had the "minimi" on trial.
Loved my 240…if only there was something that allowed us to own whatever firearm we wanted…
Ah, that pesky 2nd Amendment...
There is,....they call the stuff 'money'. Bring a lot of it if you want this gun!
If only my bank account would agree...
Abolish the NFA and GCA!
@@CurtHowland what do you mean?
Ian, Tripods are the primary means of firing the weapon in a trained weapons squad inside an current army Infantry platoon. Crews are drilled to setup on bipod and provide covering fire while the 2nd gun goes to tripod and then visa versa. When coming off tripod you just do it in reverse. Assistant gunners have their packs setup with the tripod mounted to a quick release and are drilled for proficiency. The newer lightweight tripod (m192, 11lbs) is easier to transport and maneuver with. If your weapons squad isn't using their tripods it's time to have a chat with that WSL.
The Australian army has (or had, we trained with them in the late 1990's) a tripod configuration for using this as indirect fire support. It was as fascinating for us to watch it being used that way as it was for them to see us deploy 60mm mortar system. They only had 81mm without the sound deflecting horn.
This gun was beloved in my army experience.
For anyone who was having a crisis of faith like I was. This *is* an M240B. Someone has placed a 3 position plug on it and it has the old G lower handguard. But it is a Bravo, just an early one at that. Also don't use that handle to carry the gun. If the barrel is hot it will eventually warp and break if you put all that weight on it. We did, and still do, use the tripod for employment. The Marines especially due to how we use it.
what about marine doctrine involves regular tripod use? im curiois
I went to boot camp for the Marines in the early-mid 1990s. For that and Marine Combat Training, we were still being trained on the M60E3. I still remember from USMC publications about the Corps replacing the M60E3 with the M240.
The gas regulator on that particular gun is multi position, they usually have single position one from the factory to my knowledge. I just happened to notice the 1 is on the side, and it has a triangular shape where it locks in which indicates 3 positions. Great video Ian, keep doing the lords work!
Never gets old jumping and vaulting with this thing in games. 🙃
Hey Ian, a lot of the 240s do have adjustable gas blocks. That one actually does as well, and you can see the numbers for the different settings in the video.
If for no other reason, the M240B is a finer and easier weapon to live with, due to its spring-loaded bearing guide. That it is a beautiful looking light machine gun, I am sure, allowed its victims some solace. I'm glad you pointed out the unusual top barrel shroud, as it makes this model distinctive.
I worked on M240s in the army back in the '80s. They were co-ax machine guns on M60A1, M60A3, and the brand new m1 tanks. They all had the 3-position gas regulator in them. It was only supposed to be adjusted if the gun was so dirty it started slowing down, but some DATs liked to turn it all the way up to make the gun run faster. I really liked that you could close the cover on a closed bolt, then cock it. I had to fix a couple M60s where grunts did that instead of following proper procedures. "If it doesn't work, pull harder!" Sometimes it seems like they were trying to break stuff. The M240 was closer to being idiot proof.
This was by far the most revered, respected weapon system we had in the USMC circa 2010 Afghanistan. Extremely reliable even in all that moon dust.
Nothing will ever replace the M60
I carried the pig with the 82nd. Great weapon. 🇺🇸
@@762cat nope
Loved it on op.
It just did
Been looking forward to this since the fn mag review. I remember shooting one of these at basic training an starting a brush fire with the tracer rounds.
Fun fact, the hydraulic buffer in the stock also keeps the rate of fire relatively low. If you install spade grips, like the one used by the 240H helicopter door gun, it doesn't have a buffer, and the rate of fire is a bit higher as a result. If you shoot a 240H back to back, first in ground configuration (pistol grip and stock) then converted to mounted configuration (spade grip with trigger module) you will notice a dramatic rate of fire change. Part of the qualification process for crewchiefs and door gunners is to first shoot the guns in both configurations on the ground. Shooting a machinegun with spade grips and no stock off of a bipod is quite funky lol.
in the IDF we used the FN MAG, surprised how accurate at range and under sustained fire!
From the limited number of guys I've spoken to, everybody loves having it around but nobody wants to carry the damned thing.
Never get into a fight with a US section at the end of a patrol because there is a gunner who has been carrying his M240 all day and is more than a bit ornery.
In sweden we have had the fn mag since 1958. It is insanely reliable, very accurate up to 800m or so, good blow through on unarmored targets, chews up light cover and just works. Adjustable firerate depending on the situation. Loved this gun when I served.
In August of 1984 I attended the First Infantry Division Unit Armorer Course at Fort Riley, Kansas--and the six tank-mounted machine guns were the M2-HB, the M85 (another .50 caliber), the M73, the M219--and the M240 and M240C. The "C" was set up to feed from the right side because some tank models needed machine guns to feed from the other side. The MAG58 is a contemporary of the M60, but due to NIH (Not Invented Here) the tests were configured to give the M60 a pass. When the Marines needed to replace worn-out M60 machine guns, the US Army was downsizing its tank fleet and had surplus M240 machine guns--so the Marines bought kits to convert the tank guns into infantry machine guns. That conversion worked so well, US Army Rangers and Special Forces adopted their own versions. The Big Army figured out that the M240 was both less expensive and had superior performance compared to the M60 and standardized the M240G. I hear that there's a replacement belt-fed machine gun adopted as an M240 replacement.
Currently use a 240b in the marines and gotta say i love the thing. Id much rather take this than haul the 50 or the mk19 around any day. Also as for the tripod we use them like that a lot in the marines but mainly because we do a lot of support by fire
There are many worse ways to spend an afternoon than listening to Ian talk about a machine gun while unpacking my _Pistols of the Warlords_ shipment. This book is _massive!_ The UPS guy remarked on how dense the box was. :)
I remember getting bitched at by an NCO for using the carry handle. Granted, I was using it as designed, but apparently a lot of joes had messed up barrels because they’d try to ram it into the carry position without depressing the trigger on the carry handle. So it resulted in a lot of barrels that didn’t have positive lock-up along with the “that is what he was told” line of reasoning. Fortunately, I was my platoon’s armorer and I literally showed him the TM. No longer got yelled at for using the weapon as it was designed.
We use these in the USCG and I love them. Their very simple to use and basic maintenance and can deliver good accurate fire on target. One thing I love is the quick barrel change is very nice.
Also works wonders when used in a counter-sniper role
Love the M-240B
me too, I even remember the date of my MAG 1963
Worked for a private military contractor in South Texas 10 years ago and we had a half a dozen of those. We used them for training all kinds of govt agencies. Since I was also an armorer, we had to clean and test fire a can of ammo after each training evolution.......damn it! REALLY a sweet little gun.
love the work you do Ian plz keep doing this
I loved this gun! it shoots so smooth you can hit targets way way way out there. A lot of machine guns just jump around spray bullet everywhere, this gun is so accurate. When my unit would go to the range I would always try to get time on this gun. so fun to shoot
You have to take the barrel off then twist off the callor and pull out the regulator and then you got your three positions, pick put it back together. They updated them I believe in the 2000’s with the single position regulator . Cause it’s too dam hot to change the setting and if you got time to take it apart cold then you got time to clean it
They switched in the late 2000s to the single setting. But the reason was because Soldiers were turning it to the full adverse setting with a clean gun to increase rate of fire. Too many barrels were burning up.
@@pb7087 the earliest signal setting I seen was late 06 but I’ve heard of that too many burnt barrels thing, but in all the units I was in till the switch over the old breed always stomped on the gunners if they were on the back lines and heard the brrrt. Iraq i remember always running on the middle position.
The tripod lugs are also the attachment point to vehicles, both in coax positions and up top
I trained with the Canadian Armed Forces C6 variant of the mag. I distinctly remember my first time behind the gun I was told to shift targets, it moved my shoulder weld and I had a 5 round burst tenderize my throat. I loved that gun. Unlike my poor experiences with the C9/ M249 (ammo box constantly fell off due to terrible box retention springs, it was easy to jam the feed tray if you were rushing a reload, it hated running magazines, it hated running blank firing adapters, etc.), I never felt like it would fail to function and would always do exactly what the shooter needed it to do.
As crew on a UH-60 we used an H variant. So much fun to use.
In the USAF Security Forces, we had these mounted on tripods at towers overwatching entry checkpoints. At least on the one deployment I was on.
Fond memories of the M240, was in the brown water Navy when they started replacing the M60s with the M240Ns and was quickly converted to loving everything about them. It was machine-gunning on easy mode.
Best thing about lugging the MAG58 about the place? As soon as you get into contact, your purpose in life is finding the first piece of suitable real estate, setting up shop and pouring down fire support while a your mates have to crawl around and do a that exhausting grunt shit. And the thing never ever let's you down
That is an adjustable gas plug on that bravo , carrying that in Iraq everyone on patrol would bunch up around you bc they knew that thing was a wall of fire if somebody wanted to get froggy
I hit 10 years of service next week, in all my years this is the weapon I’ve sworn by. No other weapon I’d rather have in combat, accurate, hard hitting, and damn reliable. Literally have bet my life on it.
Some additional trivia ... the M240B was significantly heavier than the desired capability but it was so much more reliable than its competitor it was adopted despite being overweight. The titanium receiver M240L was developed to take the weight down without otherwise sacrificing performance for the dismounted infantry role. The vehicle-mounted M240 and M240C (right hand feed) did retain the three-position gas block (or did ... it's possible a later ECP eliminated it). Tankers eventually got dismount kits so they could employ the loader's M240 in a dismounted role is needed, as an ersatz M240B. With the M240H replacing M60s in aircraft use, the M240 family is now the entire US Army 7.62mm machine gun arsenal (excepting miniguns in SOF service).
I had once during a night exercise the opportunity to dump 600 blanks through the swedish version of the FN mag, the ksp 52. We were supposed to swap barrels every 250 rounds but I figured wood bullets wouldn't do much to the barrel. I was right, the barrel was quite ok with it. The wood chipper mounted at the end though glowed white in the dark 😀
Ksp 58 ofcourse, fingers to fast.