Economics of the Thing

tetvet

Banned
M-60 Fired about 500-600 rounds a minute slow compared to the German M-42 which fired 1200 rounds a minute , in Vietnam each grunt carried a hundred rounds of 7.62 so 11 grunts 11 hundred rounds or about 2 1/2 minutes of sustained firing . :9mm::hide:
 
How much sustained firing was there though, I am not sure about others but we were told to stick to 3 second bursts otherwise accuracy went out the window.
 
That's what you'd be told now, Monty. After all, if you're just sending bullets down range, you're not going to hit a damn thing you're aiming at.
 
M-60 Fired about 500-600 rounds a minute slow compared to the German M-42 which fired 1200 rounds a minute , in Vietnam each grunt carried a hundred rounds of 7.62 so 11 grunts 11 hundred rounds or about 2 1/2 minutes of sustained firing . :9mm::hide:

If I recall Tet didn't the M-60 take some getting used to?
It had quite a bit of kick.
 
That's what you'd be told now, Monty. After all, if you're just sending bullets down range, you're not going to hit a damn thing you're aiming at.

Which is why when the L1A1 SLR, the British version of the FN FAL was issued it was semi automatic only. It was one of the best battle rifles ever issued to the British, very reliable, accurate and hit hard. Very good rifle.
 
I was an Instructor on the M-60 at Ft. Benning GA for 7 months until they gave me a me an M-60 and shipped my ass to Vietnam ,quite a bit of the M-60 was copied off the MG-42 , you had to have a feel for the M-60 it was not the easiest weapon to qualified with you were taught to fire the thing in 6 round bursts to keep from burning out the barrel .
 
Which is why when the L1A1 SLR, the British version of the FN FAL was issued it was semi automatic only. It was one of the best battle rifles ever issued to the British, very reliable, accurate and hit hard. Very good rifle.

That's the same reason the standard M16 assault rifle is semi-auto. Accuracy is always better to wasting munitions.
 
Deliberate: Against small or indistinct targets at long range. Five rounds per minute accurate fire

Snap Shooting: At short ranges with short exposures (like urban) Two rounds per exposure for assault rifles and three to five rounds for machine guns.

Rapid Fire: Used for or against assaults. Twenty rounds per minute.

Intense Fire: To defeat Rapid Fire and gain fire superiority. Thirty to forty rounds a minute and aimed if possible.

Full Auto: If you want to break out of an ambush and gain immediate fire superiority. Eight to ten round bursts from Machine guns. Virtually everything you got.

Is basically what I use.
 
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Like anything, there is a time and a place for everything. I think Kesse pretty much summed up my philosophy (and my militaries doctrine) with when to escalate your rate of fire.

I've been in a lot of "TICs"(troops in contact) in three deployments to Iraq and I can count on one hand the times I have had to just mash my finger down on the trigger of my rifle numerous times to get the burst to look more like full auto. On one instance, I didn't care about accuracy at the time I just needed the enemy(who was in the next room) to stop shooting at me or at least less accurately so me and a buddy could get the hell out of the room. It was a sudden realization(if you ever find yourself in that situation you will KNOW what I mean) that I had about 2 seconds to do something...anything...or me any my buddy would have certainly been killed. I have absolutely no doubt about it. So in this instance it was just a massive display of firepower and violence to buy us a few more seconds to back out of the trap we had walked into.

Outside of situations like that I'm more prone to follow the Wyatt Earp saying "fast is fine, accuracy is final..."
 
Like anything, there is a time and a place for everything. I think Kesse pretty much summed up my philosophy (and my militaries doctrine) with when to escalate your rate of fire.

I've been in a lot of "TICs"(troops in contact) in three deployments to Iraq and I can count on one hand the times I have had to just mash my finger down on the trigger of my rifle numerous times to get the burst to look more like full auto. On one instance, I didn't care about accuracy at the time I just needed the enemy(who was in the next room) to stop shooting at me or at least less accurately so me and a buddy could get the hell out of the room. It was a sudden realization(if you ever find yourself in that situation you will KNOW what I mean) that I had about 2 seconds to do something...anything...or me any my buddy would have certainly been killed. I have absolutely no doubt about it. So in this instance it was just a massive display of firepower and violence to buy us a few more seconds to back out of the trap we had walked into.

Outside of situations like that I'm more prone to follow the Wyatt Earp saying "fast is fine, accuracy is final..."

Oh, I agree. I've been in similar situations as an engineer. As a tanker, you've got two options. Pepper them, or blow them to kingdom come.
 
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