The end of an era :(

[MaterDei]

Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

 

[240GMAN]

I have shot this weapon. It's the only thing I've ever shot that triggered errrr....um....arousal!

 

[rero360]

I love my MA DUCE, I just wish I could own one personally, I can armorer level disassemble them (sshhh, don't tell top) I think the only other weapon system I've shot more rounds through is my 10/22. maybe M16s/M4s/AR15. I want a CROWS with one mounted.

 

[MAKster]

Don't hold your breath. The military will replace the M2 shortly after the much talked about replacement of the M-16 and the Beretta.

 

[woodybrighton]

does the US use the quick change barrel?

 

[LJ-MosinFreak-Buck]

I think I'm going to cry...
like stated before, they should de mil them to be able to fire semi only.

I'd take out a loan just to save one or fifty of these babies.

 

[Pigspitter]

What happened to the XM307/XM312 as the M2 replacement?

The DoD suspended their funding for the project due to it's limitations as a machine gun/grenade launcher. They determined that the 25mm grenades wouldn't work with STANAG policy and didn't have the versatility of the 40mm grenades. The .50BMG version was scrapped because its cyclic rate of fire was 260rpm. Unless we plan on adopting the DshK, I think Ma Duece will be barking in the name of America for a good long time.

 

[moooose102]

i dont know if replacing the m2 altogether is the right idea, but an additional lightweight version could certainly be deployed in certain places. i know that technology has made leaps and bounds, but it is hard to beat anything John Browning designed! think about what he could do with today's technology, tooling, and heat treat options. it would be AWESOME! lets face it, the man was a genious! a man like him comes along once in a lifetime, or less. kind of like Einstein. and in some cases, that is a good thing!

 

[High Planes Drifter]

I saw the prototype on Weaponology. It is a sweet looking gun. Mac was shooting it, and it didnt appear to have very much recoil.

 

[Hardware]

Didn't they already try this with the original .50 cal (M-85) that was used in the M60 MBT commander's cupola? As I recall the Israelis scrapped that and figured a way to mount the Ma Deuce in there instead.

 

[ozwyn]

if the replacement showed up on a discovery/history channel type program... it's probably doomed to fail.

replacing the m2 completely will probably prove it be incredibly expensive and chances are it will still be in widespread use.

few firearms in any military do their job(s) as well as the M2. it has extreme versatility and proven itself on land, sea and air more times than I can imagine.

rememebr, right up to the f86 we still used them as a the main gun on aircraft. Also coast guard/navy forces will probably keep using them.

I also suspect the marines will have a hard time giving them up.

 

[LtShortcut]

Macpherson wrote:

" They won't be able to replace it. It'll take years and hundreds of millions of dollars and in the end they'll realize that they already have the best design. "
I'm not going to agree with that best design statement.

The M240B is a modern machinegun that operates with ease. An excellent replacement to the M60 (that I used to carry).

The M2 is an excellent weapon, but we have the ability to design a superior weapon. Headspace and timing? Come on, Soldiers shouldn't have to be a mechanic to get their machineguns to work properly.

 

[buzz_knox]

The M240B is a modern machinegun that operates with ease. An excellent replacement to the M60 (that I used to carry).

The M240 is an Americanized FN Mag 58, which is a contemporary of the M60. It's not an issue of a modern design replacing an older design, but of a better design replacing an inferior design.

And it's not an issue of whether we have the ability to design a better weapon, it's whether the vendors actually do so. Many an advanced product has failed because it couldn't meet the requirements or couldn't do so in such a significantly superior way to justify the cost of dumping the old one.

 

[siglite]

We can buy them here.

I know a place where they still are available, with no special permit (juste lik a handgun)..

the only problem.. they ask 5000$ than I dont have...

I'd absolutely pay $5k for a legal M2. Right now.