The M60 was and still is a piece of crap. When I was in the Air Force I had to qualify on it off and on for the first twelve years of my career. Anything that's not safety wired on it is guaranteed to break or loosen up on it. Whenever we'd go out to qualify on it we would usually have to bring 3 or 4 extra ones with us to keep on standby in case we had had a gun go down. This happened quite frequently and we would either cannibalize parts from the extra guns or use the whole gun. I've seen just about everything break on the M60. Oprods, firingpins, firing pin springs, recoil springs, bolts, trigger sears (A "Runaway gun" can really raise the pucker factor) The Air Force eventually got rid of the M60's and replaced them with the much more reliable M240 machinegun. Today I wouldn't take an M60 if someone gave one to me for free. They're junk and should have been scrapped a longtime ago.
M-60 question
- Thread starter 4v50 Gary
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The only mechanical failure I ever had with any of the M60s I carried was a broken extractor once (caused by some monkey dry firing it too much in the arms room) I have had a run away a few times with the M60. It depended on how much ammo was left on the belt on if I would grab and twist. To me, the M60 is like any old car, you have to know the little tweaks and tricks to keep them humming along. I liked the M60 all the years I carried one.
backbencher
Member
It sounds like folks who got new M-60s really liked 'em, and folks who got really old M-60s really hated 'em. Having humped a M-60 @ OCS, I far preferred that to humping a M240. I wonder if the stoppage problems w/ the M-60 that led the Army to the M-240 had more to do w/ the relative age of the weapons than any fault of the M-60 design?
kBob
Member
I liked it better than the FN MAG as the british used it, the French AA1 GPMG, and MG-1 through MG3 all of which I had hands on and rounds down range experience with.
As a GPMG I liked it better than a 1919 Browning though as a heavy as in from the tripod (and if I did not have to carry it) the 1919 was better.
Our A gunners carried a Spare barrel bag (besides the spare barrel this had the asbestos glove and the cleaning gear,and the T&E mechanism) a tripod with the mount on it, a pair of bolt cutters (don't ask), his personal gear and an M1911A1. My unit SOP was that the holster was on the left side and so reversed as in butt forward carry.
-kBob
As a GPMG I liked it better than a 1919 Browning though as a heavy as in from the tripod (and if I did not have to carry it) the 1919 was better.
Our A gunners carried a Spare barrel bag (besides the spare barrel this had the asbestos glove and the cleaning gear,and the T&E mechanism) a tripod with the mount on it, a pair of bolt cutters (don't ask), his personal gear and an M1911A1. My unit SOP was that the holster was on the left side and so reversed as in butt forward carry.
-kBob
Dave Rishar
Member
We were still using the D model right up into the early 00's in some commands. They did not often shake loose but it happened occasionally. I seem to recall all the very important fasteners being secured by lockwire or (in the case of the trigger housing), a flat spring. Depending on the condition and age of the weapon, the spring didn't always work as well as it should have.
And yes, they could be quite accurate, particularly when prone. Between the weight, buffer, and low rate of fire, recoil was a gentle, minor push. It was even possible for a big fella to shoot one accurately off the shoulder, but one had to be fairly strong to hold it up for any length of time due to the weight. Again, the recoil wasn't an issue.
Theoretically, one of the issued two barrels would have a weird zero; the front sights were not adjustable and the rear sights weren't on the barrel, meaning that only one of two barrels would be zeroed at any given time. In practice it didn't seem to matter much.
This may or may not apply to the story in question. I'm not sure how much the D differed from what was used in Vietnam but as I understand it, they were pretty similar.
And yes, they could be quite accurate, particularly when prone. Between the weight, buffer, and low rate of fire, recoil was a gentle, minor push. It was even possible for a big fella to shoot one accurately off the shoulder, but one had to be fairly strong to hold it up for any length of time due to the weight. Again, the recoil wasn't an issue.
Theoretically, one of the issued two barrels would have a weird zero; the front sights were not adjustable and the rear sights weren't on the barrel, meaning that only one of two barrels would be zeroed at any given time. In practice it didn't seem to matter much.
This may or may not apply to the story in question. I'm not sure how much the D differed from what was used in Vietnam but as I understand it, they were pretty similar.
Big Al Mass
Member
The M1919A4 (which is what you are most likely referring to) was a closed-bolt gun. However, the South African Vektor-made copy, known as the MG4, was modified to fire from an open bolt.
MaterDei
Member
I was on OCS instructor for 4 years and taught hundreds of people how to properly deploy the M-60.
Jeff is right, the proper thing to do with a runaway is to snap the belt by twisting it and letting the gun feed and fire the last few rounds.
With regard to the OP's question, I've never seen one fall apart due to heat. I have seen barrels get red hot though. We taught and enforced a 6 - 9 round burst rule but during final protective fire (FPF) drills, there is no such thing as bursts. You run until told to stop or your ammo runs dry.
Jeff is right, the proper thing to do with a runaway is to snap the belt by twisting it and letting the gun feed and fire the last few rounds.
With regard to the OP's question, I've never seen one fall apart due to heat. I have seen barrels get red hot though. We taught and enforced a 6 - 9 round burst rule but during final protective fire (FPF) drills, there is no such thing as bursts. You run until told to stop or your ammo runs dry.
I had a M60 run away on me in training at Fort Leonardwood Mo, in basic training back in 1963.I was prolly the tenth guy in line to fire a 100 round belt in the M60.My turn came and the first burst went fine,the second try and it just kept fireing.I glanced up at the Range Officer and he just smiled and let it go.The M60 was smoking hot. hdbiker
Flfiremedic
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We were taught to break the belt with a runaway 60...but not to grab the bolt...
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