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(♪music♪
)
(gunshots)
(♪Tactical Arms♪)
Larry Vickers:
I'm Larry Vickers.
And this is Tactical Arms.
(♪Tactical Arms♪)
Larry: On this episode
of Tactical Arms,
we're gonna take a look
at 30-caliber, lightweight
belt-fed machine guns.
Now back in the day,
that would have been
the M60E3 or the M60E4.
But today,
that means the FN Mark 48.
That's the first up on our list.
Let's check it out
on the range.
(♪music♪♪)
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
Larry: This is the FN Mark 48,
7.62 millimeter,
belt-fed machine gun,
the death dealer
of Naval special warfare.
To quote Mark Lasky,
it just keeps shootin'
and the enemy just keeps dyin'.
The Mark 48
is based on the Mark 46,
which in and of itself
is a lightweight adaptation
of the M249 SAW,
chambered in 5.56 NATO.
The Navy Seals had fielded
a number of lightweight
machine guns
based on the U.S. M60 design
over the years
and they decided,
after seeing the success
of the Mark 46,
they wanted a 30-caliber
bigger brother.
And this is what they got.
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
Larry: The Mark 48
weighs 18 1/4 pounds,
approximately 20 percent lighter
than the FN-manufactured M240,
which is their 7.62
general-purpose machine gun.
It also has a length
of around 39 inches,
an 18-inch, quick-detach barrel,
fires from an open bolt,
full auto only
at around 730 rounds per minute.
The Mark 48 features
picatinny rails
on the top cover
and in the forearm area.
And although initially fielded
with the Navy Seals,
the weapon has been used
across the full spectrum
in special operations today.
Larry: I'm a big believer
in giving credit
where credit's due.
And in my opinion,
FN is the undisputed
world leader
in belt-fed machine guns.
Here to talk to us
abou
t some of the key features
in the Mark 48
is Clint Lynch,
from FN Manufacturing
in Columbia, South Carolina.
Clint if you would,
give us a brief overview
on how FN made this gun
such a lightweight
7.62 machine gun.
Clint Lynch: Sure thing.
We wanted to reduce
as much weight as possible
without sacrificing
the integrity
and a lot of
the components themselves,
or certainly the receiver.
So the engineering team
reduced weight
by adding lightning holes,
or lightning slots,
wherever possible.
The profile of the barrel,
a lot of weight reduced thee
without giving up
any performance.
And as well as the bipod itself,
which is primarily built
from titanium.
Larry: Unlike the M240,
the general-purpose machine gun,
bigger brother,
so to speak,
this is a stamped
sheet-metal gun,
is that correct?
Clint: That's right.
The receiver itself starts
as a stamped steel channel
and then other machine parts
are welded to it
and then further machining
is done prior to finish.
Larry: I also notice
a lot of aluminum's used
where necessary to reduce weight
but also where it has
adequate strength.
Clint: That's right.
The top cover in particular
as well as the modular
rail handguard system.
And also the housing
for the fire-control system
is aluminum.
Larry: Talk us through
the heat shield
and what that's all about.
Clint: Well the original
Mod 0 version
of this weapon system
featured an over-the-top,
or what we used to call
the dog-house style
modular handguard.
And what we found, actually,
from operator feedback
was that the excess heat
coming off the barrels
were actuall
y cooking
those modular lasers and lights
that they were adding
to the system.
And also,
it just wasn't feasible
to have a barrel
that couldn't be handled
after removal.
We were asked to give
the barrel-change handle
back on the weapon.
And we used the heat shield
from the M249
to fit on the gun itself.
Larry: A couple other things
I saw under
the feed-tray cover here
is this reinforcement plate,
which I know is relatively new.
That caught my eye immediately.
And the other
are these additional feed paws
for positioning.
A critical piece of kit.
Clint: It makes
a big difference.
It
allows the individual
who's operating
this weapon system
to load by himself.
He doesn't need
an assistant gunner to reload.
He can also reload a belt
without the benefit
of needing a starter tab
or something like that.
The reinforcement plate
does a couple things.
It helps strengthen,
not only the top cover
but the receiver,
from the torsion
or the twisting that occurs
when this bolt
reciprocates back and forth
with a lot of energy.
Larry: And the other thing
I need to clarify here,
a weapon like this
in special operations
like in the Seals,
is generally run by one guy,
unlike in a regular
infantry unit.
With
an M240,
they have a machine gun crew
or assistant gunner.
Clint: Exactly.
So if he's starting
with a partial belt of ammo
or a belt that doesn't have
a starter tab,
he can lay the linked ammo
across this feed tray
without having to worry
about the ammo
slipping off the tray.
Larry: A real good
design feature
and to give FN
a little
bit of love here,
this is the kind of stuff
I'm talking about
when I see FN's products.
One last question, Clint.
I own a lot of FN weapons,
studied a lot of designs.
And I know FN loves
adjustable gas regulators.
Talk me through
why this has a fixed gas system.
Clint: Well one nice thing
about a military customer,
Larry, is they usually know
what types of ammo
they're gonna be using up front.
We were able to simplify
the gas system of the design
and ultimately lead to something
that's very reliable
and easier to clean
than having a multiple-part,
adjustable regulator,
like on the old M249 style.
All the new weapons
being delivered from FN
have what we call
mono-block gas block,
which is also non-adjustable.
Larry: Well I want to thank you
for coming with this gun
and I definitely enjoy
lighting this thing
up on the range.
(♪music♪)
c♪)
Larry Vickers:
As cool as the Mark 48 is,
the Russians have fielded
a lightweight 30-caliber,
general-purpose machine gun
in the PKM since the 1960s.
Serious students of small arms
will tell you this is
a very reliable and effective
belt-fed machine gun.
Our troops face it
on a daily basis
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And to find out more about it,
you gotta get
behind the trigger.
Let's head out to the range.
(♪music♪♪)
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
Larry: This is the PKM,
originally designed
in the Soviet Union
by Mikhail Kalishnikov
and his design team.
It was introduced in 1965
and it fires 7.62 by 54R,
Russian-rimmed 30-caliber round.
PKM is largely manufactured
from stamped sheet metal.
In 1965,
nearly four decades ago,
the Soviets fielded
a lightweight,
general-purpose machine gun,
a weapon that the United States
has just brought into service
within the last decade
in the Mark 48.
This weapon weighs
about 20 pounds,
including the bipod,
and has a 25-inch barrel.
Okay.
If you're watchin' from home
and you're lookin' at this,
you're probably thinking
double-feed time, right?
Because this weapon fires
from a rimmed cartridge,
it has to pull the case
out of the belt,
position it down
in front of the bolt
before it pushes
in to the chamber to fire.
Now Kalashnikov cracked this nut
in a real simple
and ingenious way.
He has a claw
on top of the bolt carrier
that grabs the next case.
As it pulls to the rear,
a spring-loaded positioner
in the feed-tray cover
pushes it down
and in line with the chamber
for the bolt
to strip it and fire it.
Real simple.
Kicks ***.
The PKM fires from
a nondisintegrating link bet.
And this particular salt box
has a hundred rounds in it,
which means it has
two 50-round belts
linked together.
Now this one will fall away
after 51 rounds are fired.
But it's a snag hazard
prior to that
in case you have to pick up
and maneuver.
And it's also
interesting to note
that most ambushes
in Afghanistan
last as long as it takes to fire
a 50-round belt out of a PKM.
In addition,
it's really a left-hander gun,
meaning it feeds from the right
and ejects left.
And the safety
is on the left-hand si
de
of the gun
where a right-handed shooter
would manipulate it
with his thumb.
A left-handed shooter
would manipulate it
with his trigger finger.
Overall, it's a real
left-hander friendly gun,
so shooters like me dig it.
The sights are both
windage and elevation adjustable
in the rear.
And what's interesting
to note is
is this is exactly
the same sight picture
that the Russian
or Soviet soldier
has been looking at
since the late 1800s
with the Mosin-Nagant rifle.
However, one notable difference.
In the PKM, the rear sight
is flipped around backwards.
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
Larry: The PKM has a reputation
of being extremely robust
and reliable.
And one thing
that helps with that
is the fact
that all the openings
to the receiver
are springloaded,
which means
there's springloaded doors
that keep the feed-tray cover
and the ejection port closed
except only
when it has to be open.
One of the most
interesting things
about the PKM
is the three-position
gas regulator.
Larry: It's located
right up here
towards the fron
t of the gun.
Now what's really cool about it
is when the gun
gets too hot to handle,
you can take a rim
of a 7.62 by 54R cartridge case,
put it in the "T" slot
at the bottom
and adjust it as necessary.
Larry: Absolutely ingenious.
Make no mistake.
The PKM could definitely stand
a facelift.
There's no good way
to mount optics,
the folding bipod
acts as a very poor forearm
and the bipod legs themselves
are a little bit too long
for my taste.
But from an engineering
and design point of view,
in many ways,
this is Kalashnikov's
best weapon.
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
(♪music♪)
Larry Vickers: Okay.
My buddy Monty and I
have got a little demonstration
for you here.
Mark 48.
SCAR Heavy SSR.
We're on T12
on U.S. Training Center.
Now, here's what
we're looking to do.
Show you the difference
between suppressive fire
and precision fire
with the two most common
7.62 weapons
on the battlefield today:
the belt-fed machine gun
and the sniper rifle.
Monty, what's your take
on suppressive fire
versus precision fire
with belt-fed or sniper
rifle?Monty Leclair: Well,
I definitely think
there's a place
for both of 'em.
I'd say with the 7.62
belt-fed weapon
with larger forces
with a high volume of fire,
it allows you
to put fire down there
to keep the enemy's head down.
It's gonna allow you
to bring our guys back up
to put effective fire
on the ene
my
as well as allow yourself
to get some movement
and to get out of the area.
Larry: Another interesting twist
that is often overlooked
is the fact that obviously
with a belt-fed weapon,
you got a lot more rounds
before you have to reload
but the reload process
takes longer with this weapon
than it does with that.
Monty: It does.
This thing definitely has
its own little niche.
You go through the rounds
a lot quicker.
But the catch is
as you're puttin'
rounds on target
hopefully every time
you're having
a harder effect on the enemy.
Larry: Roger that.
Well you and I both agree
that sometimes the lines
between these two guns
are a little bit blurred.
But that has its role
and this has its role.
For instance, vehicle mounted,
then you can detach
get down on the ground,
use it off the bipod
as a ground-mounted machine gun.
Really not applicable
to the sniper rifle,
but far more precise shots
can be taken with that
than wit
h this.
Okay.
We figure the best way
to show you this
is we have steel down range.
We're gonna fire
from this position.
The Mark 48 and the SSR.
Monty's gonna be shootin'
the sniper rifle,
I'll be shootin' the belt fed.
We have individual steel targets
and even a grouping of targets.
We're gonna attempt to engage
all of them
and see which weapon
has the greatest effect
on that given target.
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
Larry: Okay.
Obviously today,
on this course of fire,
against these steel targets,
the SSR reigned supreme.
It doesn't mean
there's not a place
for the Mark 48.
But out here today,
that's the big dog.
Monty, why don't you put on
a little show
for the folks at home
and see if you can clean
those six plates
on the left-hand side
of the range down there.
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
Larry: Punch through the wall
and knock him down.
Goin' hot.
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
Larry Vickers: Okay.
We're about ready
to have a little
side-by-side comparison.
Mark 48 versus PKM.
A series of tests.
I'll explain each one
before we do it.
We're out here on T10,
U.S. Training Center.
Now this is unscientific,
so save the hate mail.
But I promise you this,
it's gonna
look kick *** on T.V.
Okay.
Our first test
is our accuracy test.
We're looking
for group dispersion
down range.
Ten-round burst
with both weapons on an MGM
steel, full-silhouette target.
And we'll go down
and count the number of hits
we got out of
that 10-round burst.
PKM is up to bat first.
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
Larry: Yeah, baby. Yeah.
(♪music♪)
Larry: Alright.
Let's do a little
CSI Tactical Arms.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight
and nine.
I'm gonna go ahead and say
we got all 10 on target.
That 10th may have went through.
We won't know for sure
until we review the tape.
Let me tell you something.
That was way cool
from where I was at.
I'm sure at home
that looked good.
If you didn't
think that was cool,
feel free to go ahead
and
change the T.V.
to the badminton channel.
Now it's time
for the Mark 48, baby.
Bring it on.
Okay.
Next is the Mark 48.
Now I'm gonna shoot this
left-handed,
even though
that's not recommended.
I'm left-eye dominant
and I see
the front sight clearer
with my left eye.
I'm gonna tuck my right arm
up under
neath the buttstock
so as to avoid getting hit
by the ejected brass.
See how it goes.
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
(♪music♪)
Larry: Alright.
Time to check it out.
(♪music♪)
La
rry: Oh yeah, baby.
Okay.
Let's see if we can count
the number of hits.
We got one, two, three, four,
five, six ...
I don't know if I lost some off
but it rocked back
and then fell forward.
Neutral observers on sight
felt that the group
might've even been tighter.
It's probably
gonna have to be a draw
between the two guns.
The fact
the target's falling down
adds a little bit
of a wild card into this.
Regardless, I would not
want to be at a hundred meters
catching a 10-round burst
from either the PKM or Mark 48.
Bad day.
Okay.
No
w we have
a little reload drill.
I'm gonna run
a four-round burst
out of the PKM.
Then I'm gonna reload the weapon
using the starter tab,
as it's designed to be reloaded.
Get it back in action.
We'll get a time on that.
Then I'm gonna do the same thing
on the Mark 48,
runnin' the way
a special operations
single operator
would run it,
without a starter tab.
We'll see how it goes.
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
(♪music♪)
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
(♪music♪♪)
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
(♪music♪)
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
Larry: A little bit faster
than the PKM.
Of course,
I'm more used
to the loading setup
of a gun like this.
Okay.
Next comparison
between the Mark 48 and the PKM.
We have a short cinder block,
loosely stacked wall.
Four high, two deep.
We got a pepper popp
er,
which is simulating
an enemy soldier
on the knee
hiding behind
a cinder-block wall.
I'm gonna see how few shots
I can fire
and punch through the wall
and knock him down.
Goin' hot.
(gunshots)
Larry: Up here,
that looked pretty cool.
Put the gun down
and check the hits.
Okay.
Fourteen shots out of the PKM,
7.62 by 54R,
to eat through
our little
cinder-block wall here.
Now we're gonna
take this pepper popper,
put it over there,
try the same stunt
with a Mark 548.
Stand by.
(gunshots)
Larry: Lookin' good, baby.
Okay.
Essentially the exact
same result with the Mark 48.
Fourteen rounds to penetrate
the cinder blocks,
knock down
the Taliban pepper popper.
Now, no surprise in the result.
They're both 30-caliber,
full-size rifle cartridge,
7.62 by 54R for PKM;
7.62 NATO for Mark 48.
Last test we got for you,
a little burst accuracy test
on the three swingers.
Total of 12 rounds.
My intent is to put
a four-round burst
in the vicinity
of each target
and we'll see how the hits go.
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
Larry: Okay.
I was a little high
on the middle target.
That was on me.
Got good bursts on the first one
and the last one.
Remember, those targets
have a tendency
to turn and twist,
much like the enemy does
when bullets
are goin' through him.
Overall, though,
I'll take the hits down range.
Not bad with the PKM.
Let's try it with a Mark 48.
(♪music♪)
(♪music♪)
(gunshots)
(♪music♪)
Larry: Okay.
Overall not bad.
When I switched
to my left shoulder,
because I'm left eye dominant,
got a much better sight picture
and better hits.
Overall, accuracy's
probably about the same.
The miss I had with the PKM
I'll put on me.
But burst dispersion
with both weapons
about the same.
I would not
want to be down range
from either one of these guns.
(♪music♪♪)
Larry: I must admit,
I had a blast
filming this particular episode.
I got some trigger time
behind a Mark 48,
a gun I did not have
a lot of time on
and really grew to like.
(♪music♪)
Larry: And I reacquainted myself
to the classic PKM,
a gun that I've had
an appreciation for
for years.
(♪music♪)
Larry: What's not to like?
Two belt-fed 30 cals?
What more can I say?