If you could have only one belt fed machine gun what would it be?

I'll take a GE mini-gun
minigun.jpg

Sing along with me, Puff the magic dragon, lived by the sea...

Chuck
 
The first time I saw Puff in Viet Nam I was awe struck. Hells fire took on a new meaning. There is no describing the actual occurrence. This thing will shred a jungle to little pieces in seconds. I've heard a good gunner could put down a field of fire that would cover the length and width of a football field with a bullet every square foot. Legend? Maybe. But I'm a believer.
DW
 
I'm not much for machine guns but, in my day the M60 was reasonably popular so I guess I would go with one of them.

I too have watched the wrath of Spooky during a few balmy SEA evenings. The arcing red flame and steady roar was comforting to us USAF types watching from the flightline hangers.

Tet '68 at Nha Trang.

LTC
 
Having a fair amount of trigger time on one, an M249. Lightweight, quick-change barrel, sexy-looking, and you have your choice of using a linked belt or an M16 magazine. But of all MGs, a Lewis, with no hesitation.
 
After putting about a million rds. thru one, I'd have to go with the M60. Not much it could do that I haven't seen before.
But, I'm still liking the MG42 also.
 
Tet 68 also, a puff save our butts, we were at Cam Ly Air Field at Da Lat with the 14th Aerial Port Squadron Detachment #8. I am not a fan of machine gun once you fire a burst all the incoming fire is directed to your postion.
 
I'm quite content with my DWM MG 08. It's los of fun to shoot. Bullets aren't cheap, though. Ma Deuce sure sounds interesting.
 
GAU-8 Avenger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

but it would be a bit costly to keep fed.

eta; oops, after further research, it is not belt fed. the shells ride in a continuously looped track, kind of like an 8-track tape and the shells in front are pushed there by the shells behind them, like a traditional firearms magazine.
 
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It is a little hard to pick just one. Definitely an M60. Also a Rheinmetall MG3. It is an improved version of the MG42 using 7.52 NATO with the M60's disintegrating link belt. Last, a US Model 1904 machine gun. It is a Maxim design made by Colt.
 
Having used quite a few machine guns over the years, both on the range and in combat (all courtesy, and at the expense of, Uncle Sam), my hands-down choice is the M-2HB .50 caliber machine gun. All the rest are just ammo wasters. The .50 cal is actually very accurate, and you can really reach out and touch someone. It also has a real impact on whoever is on the receiving end. I was particularly fond of the Quad-50 we liberated, err, borrowed, from an ADA unit. We mounted it in the bed of a deuce-and-a-half, and would roll into a hot area and use it to clear a perimeter in the jungle - round and round, everything just splintered and blew up, with trunks and twigs flying through the air. Charlie was always watching, and everything in our general vicinity would be pretty quiet for a few nights after such an arrival. Gave us time to set up a good concertina and Fugas perimeter defense (the Fugas is another story, I had a MSgt working for me who absolutely loved to watch, using a starlight scope, Charlie get about 4-5 on each canister, trying to dig it out for their own use, only to trigger it when the maximum number of bodies were above or very close to it. I just couldn't get him to turn off the Starlight scope first, he fried quite a few of them with the sudden bright flash of light from the erupting flaming naptha). My second choice would have to be a M1919-A4, a very well-built gun, followed by the M-60; however, neither was nearly as reliable as the M-2, and the range and power of the M-2 is far beyond that of the .30 Cal rounds. More modern stuff? Nah, the 5.56mm round is not, in my experience, a good combat caliber, far too light for truly effective use on the enemy. Of course, the machine gun is primarily a psychological weapon, used to keep the enemy's heads down and immobilize them. Of course, both sides have them, and use them for the same purpose. No matter what MG, though, I want somebody else paying for the ammo!
 
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