Posted: 3/3/2007 1:00:40 PM EDT
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So, every experience I've had with the M249 has been bad. Every single time I've fired one its jammed. twice I've had a round stuck, unfired, in the chamber. Other times i've had fired rounds stuck in the chamber, and I've also had times when the weapon wouldn't feed properly. So all around my experience has been bad. Now, My company is soon going to Iraq. I'm a fireteam leader, and I want to be able to instruct my Automatic rifleman (SAW Gunner) how to fix common problems, or even how to prevent them. So all of you who have deployed overseas, and are very familiar with the M249, give me some tips, besides regular and frequent cleaning and maintenance, to keep a SAW from jamming. |
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Tough sell. The weapons are wore out. Belt fed weapons should not be based upon a stamped sheet metal receiver. I carried one, but did not fire it regularly, so I can't give good advice. Keep it clean, keep the ammo clean (usually the latter is not given proper attention), and be careful with it. Don't throw it down, etc. Best thing is to make sure you know immediate action. As a fire team leader, I would treat it as a crew served weapon and put your rifleman with the SAW gunner to cover him while he clears a failure, much as the AG/AB does with a 60(showing my age, throw in 240 for the young pups). Tough to lose a trigger puller like that, but if you are counting on your SAW to provide suppression, you have to have a back up. Best of luck, if you break the code, let us know. SAW was a good weapon back in the 90s before they got wore out. They should replace them every few years. |
I never used them in conditions like you may find in Iraq. I found that the gas lever often needed to be in the opened up position to clean out the crap; they jammed more than I wnted, but not too much. I only used them in the mid to late 1990's, in a Marine Security Forces role, though they were never as reliable as I'd have liked, they worked. I do not think they were as good as the other light/medium machine guns we also used (M60E3 and M240G). Thanks for your service and Semper Fi! |
I agree that the M249 is nowhere near as good as the M240G, but when on a foot patrol I doubt we will be using the 240G. |
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You need a new SAW or you need a depot level rebuild on the one you have. Did you not get new PARA SAWs before heading to Iraq? The SAW is a good weapon if it isn't shot out. It needs to be wet to run well. Keep it wet with CLP and relatively clean. Inspection level cleaning will do more harm than good. Just keep it lubed up and you shouldn't have issues. If they won't give you a new SAW and won't get the one you have functional, you know what to do with it...it has to be TOTALLY beyond repair  I have seen SAWs go through 5k rounds in a day with zero malfunctions. That is the norm in my experience but our SAWs were all new. One thing I learned the hard way, the DOD gauges and concepts of what is still functional are totally wrong. They consider a weapon good to go even when it is failing constantly and beyond repair. Bean counters wrote those specs and they will get you killed. Kill the faulty weapon first. |