M240B

Tony, if you get your hands on one I might have to fly down there and demand to shoot it. I miss my M240G.

Also, I'm curious as to how you'll find a transferable 240B. The Bravo has a different gas regulator, a different buffer, a heat guard on the barrel, and a picatinny rail system. Are all those parts available for purchase so someone can make an old 240 into the newer Bravo version?
 
There are a number of m240Bs for sale. They're very rare. I was recently offered one for sale, but it was a NIB. I don't believe in having a safe queen. I buy to enjoy and shoot, not to invest.

As far as my understanding, all those parts are available for sale. The only thing i really need to buy is the registered side plate. The rest can be built. That's what I was told.

And Theo, you are always welcomed to shoot my guns. You provide a wealth of knowledge, and I always appreciate your input.
 
Let's not discuss price because it can be obscene to someone who is recently out of college and poor, like I was 13 years ago. Also, we will inevitably get the, 'it's just a $20 gun...because of some law...so stupid...I like my AR better...'
 
Thanks Tony!

Yeah, the 240 is a beast. It eats anything and keeps running. It's bigger and heavier than the M60, but it's built more solidly and has a beefy machined steel receiver.

The only real issue we had was sometimes the sear would wear down and we'd get a runaway gun because of it. But if you're going to have a malfunction with your machine gun, it's not so bad to have the kind where it won't stop firing, right?
 
When I get this gun (at a reasonable price), I will definitely get the proper paperwork and take it to Knob Creek. All the guys who regularly post in the NFA section will get to shoot it.

So far, though, no luck. I've sent out a few emails, but I've heard nothing back.

Theo, can the M240 be shot in the standing position? It doesn't seem balanced in a way that it would be very amendable to shooting from the shoulder. Thomas Hoel, author of the Civilian M60 Guide, says that you should never shoot a civilian transferrable M60 off the integral bipod because it eventually causes loosening of the trunion and barrel socket. I would think that the same advice applies to the M240. The military shoots it from the bipod because it can just throw it away and get another gun for $5000. We civvies can't do that.
 
Machineguntony said:
Theo, can the M240 be shot in the standing position? It doesn't seem balanced in a way that it would be very amendable to shooting from the shoulder.
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No, not practically at least. The M240 ejects brass straight down, so putting your support hand below the receiver will block ejection. So that means you need to put your support hand forward more, and the gun is just too long and heavy to make that a practical shooting position.

Also, putting your support hand forward of the receiver puts it on or near the gas piston housing, which gets ridiculously hot pretty quickly. On the M240B, you have picatinny mounting bracket that could also act as a handguard, but it would probably still get hot pretty quickly (I have no personal experience with the M240B, so that's just an educated guess). And either way, you'd need to be really strong to properly support the weapon that way.

I knew a few guys who told me about firing the M240G from the shoulder, but I've never done it or seen it done. We were taught to shoot it from the tripod whenever possible, or the bipod if necessary. Shooting from the hip using a sling was something done only in CQB, or when ambushed and moving out of the kill zone. Shooting from the shoulder was considered to be horsing around, and horsing around on a live-fire range is frowned upon in the Marine Corps to say the least.

Machineguntony said:
Thomas Hoel, author of the Civilian M60 Guide, says that you should never shoot a civilian transferrable M60 off the integral bipod because it eventually causes loosening of the trunion and barrel socket. I would think that the same advice applies to the M240. The military shoots it from the bipod because it can just throw it away and get another gun for $5000. We civvies can't do that.
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I don't know, all I can tell you is that the 240 is built like a tank and so is the bipod. And we shot ours from the tripod 95% of the time anyway.

The M240 is a bipod or tripod weapon only. If you want a shoulder-fired belt-fed machine gun an M249 SAW or M60E4 is a much better choice.
 
The only real issue we had was sometimes the sear would wear down and we'd get a runaway gun because of it. But if you're going to have a malfunction with your machine gun, it's not so bad to have the kind where it won't stop firing, right?
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That happened on a range I was helping run in ROTC.

One of the my nursing major girls had the gun runaway on her. And the Cadet who was playing A-Gunner twisted the belt in his hands to stop it.

Later that night I asked him who had taught him that trick and he said he had read it "Red Dawn" by Larry Bond.

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
 
I found a reputable lead. Now to examine the gun and discuss price.

I have decided that this thread is going to document my journey, from the initial search to form 4 approval. I hope to one day have an end pic, with me at the range with my gun.

Pics will come with this thread.
 
SPEMack618 said:
Later that night I asked him who had taught him that trick and he said he had read it "Red Dawn" by Larry Bond.

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
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Ha, I love it.

Yeah, twisting the belt either so it jams up or breaks is pretty much the only way to stop it. But we usually just kept it on target and let it run out of ammo.

One time I had a runaway after linking a few thousand rounds together just for the heck of it. That was the first time I tried twisting the belt instead of just letting it run out.

And pulling on the belt doesn't work; you can stand on it and it will still feed.

Machineguntony said:
I have decided that this thread is going to document my journey, from the initial search to form 4 approval. I hope to one day have an end pic, with me at the range with my gun.

Pics will come with this thread.
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Sweet! Keep us posted for sure!
 
You will have a little better luck looking for a transferable MAG-58. The 240 is pretty much an upgraded MAG.

I have heard rumors of transferable MAG sideplates but I have never seen one myself. I have not seen a transferable MAG-58 in six or seven years but I know they exist!

Once you find that you can likely have it upgraded to 240 specs.
 
Machineguntony said:
I have decided that this thread is going to document my journey, from the initial search to form 4 approval. I hope to one day have an end pic, with me at the range with my gun.
Click to expand...

Cool!

Tony, I live my non work related belt fed shooting dreams vicariously through your posts.

Theohazard said:
Ha, I love it.
Yeah, twisting the belt either so it jams up or breaks is pretty much the only way to stop it. But we usually just kept it on target and let it run out of ammo.
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Yeah, we did that in AIT once or twice, but if I recall correctly, on that specific day, we were shooting off the bi-pod and the gun was getting the best of the girl and might have become a safety violation.
 
Parties have agreed to terms for a legitimate gun. I won't disclose specifics, not yet.

Now to run the serial number and go examine the gun.
 
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