M13 Links question

M

Machineguntony

New member
I just made some belts using M13 links. Questions...

When feeding the ammo belt into an M60, does it matter which side is face up? Is the open side, in which you fit the round, supposed to face upwards or downwards, if it matter?

Also, how many times can I reuse these links? These are once fired.

Is there a danger/downside/problem to using worn out links?
 
Not absolutely sure I am clear on the first question but I'll try anyway.
The belt on the 60 loads with the metal links up only.
Is that what you mean?
The cartridge is stripped from underneath. The gun could not feed them with the links down.

As to use, as long as you don't step on them :rolleyes: they are going to last a long time.
Eventually, a few can get a little weak on the extraction groove tab.
When that happens, the cartridge will slide forward or back in the links slightly and just stop the gun by hitting on the feedtray.
Even that usually only happens when the belt is bouncing and swinging around and has no support into the gun.

You will feel the weak links (no pun intended) when assembling the belts.

I have had that happen with a few brittle war2 8mm belts, so now I mostly use the NATO DM-1 belts made for the MG3/MAG.

Shrike owners are looking for the opposite. A way to loosen the links slightly in an effort to get them running consistently.
It is pretty hard to polish and buff the interior of the disintegrating links! LOL!

If anything, I found the M13 links a little stiff.
I bought and use the German improved NATO DM-6 links when shooting .308 with the proper top cover on my 42.

Here is a link for them you might check out.
http://www.robertrtg.com/store/pc/DM-6-LINKS-100-PACK-WITH-STARTER-17p2573.htm
Robert and his wife only sell the best.

They do link up much more smoothly and the starter tabs are handy.

JT
 
Machineguntony said:
When feeding the ammo belt into an M60, does it matter which side is face up? Is the open side, in which you fit the round, supposed to face upwards or downwards, if it matter?
Click to expand...
Just remember "brass to the grass"; meaning the open side with the most brass showing is down towards the ground. It won't work the other way.

Machineguntony said:
Also, how many times can I reuse these links? These are once fired.

Is there a danger/downside/problem to using worn out links?
Click to expand...
We rarely loaded our own belts, we just collected up our brass and links and turned them in. But I can't imagine a worn or over-used link would produce anything more than a stoppage.
 
I have re-used links in my MM 23E seven times so far. They don't seem as stiff to link up but they still hold together just fine. These are M27 links but they are pretty much the same as a M13 link but smaller
 
Starter tabs are used by belt feds that feed through the side of the receiver like the HK 21 or the Stoner type belt fed AR-15. They are needed when there isn't easy access to the feed tray.

bbof.jpg

(image from http://www.rjmilitaria.com)

That is a belt of ammo with a starter tab. The gunner would fish the tab through the receiver to get the belt to the feed pawl.

You don't need starter tabs for your M60.
 
You see starter tabs most often on belts that are not disintegrating link. They are most useful in situation were you do not have room to fully open the feed cover (like the cramped conditions inside an armored vehicle, for one example).

You could use them on an M60 belt, but as far as I know, they are not a standard feature of the system.

There is a proper way to load each gun. And its different with the bolt forward, or the bolt back.

I once spent half a day trying to "fix" an M73 coax gun, which looked fine, in the shop, but "don't work" on the firing line (and that's all the help I got from the loader "It don't work"..,.

After the THIRD time he brought me the gun, saying "it don't work", and tearing it down to frame and checking everything, and not finding anything visibly wrong, I was a bit ticked. So, I said "show me!".

went to the track, mounted the gun, on the line, and watched as the loader loaded it. When they tried to fire it, it was jammed. "see! its f***ing broke!"... Then I loaded the gun, the right way, leaned on the manual trigger plate, and ran through the entire belt without a stoppage..
"Looks ok to me!" I told them. Insufficient Operator headspace.

Starter tabs can be useful, but most useful is knowing how to run your gun!
 
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