Questions re: "Marine Sniper"

STLRN:

It was common for our Scout/Sniper teams to take the weapons to the field, although who in training wants to carry a heavy thing like that if you don't have to?

When they first arrived in my battalion the armorers said in an after-action report that they fired 8,000 rounds through them without a single jam. Try that in an M-60E3!

Additionally, since it replaced the M-60, it was the crew-served machine gun for many of the Heavy Guns units and others tasked with operating crew-served weapons. I liked it, and most others did as well.
 
Q-Man,
I have seen scope mounts that were fabricated to go on the feed tray cover. IIRC GYSGT Hathcock had one made in a shop. You can also mount one offset on the dovetail mount that is just in front of the handles in your picture. This mount is there for a mortar sight so that you can employ the M2 in the indirct fire mode.

Chapter 11 of Peter Senich's The Complete Book of U.S. Sniping has several illustrations of different mounts on the M2.

HTH

Jeff
 
EOD, the button (lever?) in the middle IS the key to single shot fire - your memory is correct there.

The deal is you have a latch that hold the button down. In this position, pressing the butterflys results in full auto fire. When the latch is released, the button pops up and you now get single shot fire. The button must be depressed for the bolt carrier group to go forward. If it's up, the round chambered will fire, the action will cycle, but the bolt will remain to the rear. Push the button down, the bolt group goes forward, now you can press the trigger (butterfly) and get another single shot. Flip the little latch thingy over the button so that it stays down, and you get full auto.

I may be misremebering what the center button actually holds on to internally, but I'm quite sure of the function I described.


Okay, somebody will now quote some authoritative source to show I'm wrong! :D
 
One thing I found particularly interesting was how they took Gunny Hathcock's idea, and used it throughout their sniper units.

The book indicated that they had a number of such mounts made, and left a scope attached. When a sniper joined another unit for an operation, he took not only his rifle, but also the extra scope and mount with his gear. Then, when he arrived at the unit, if they had an M-2, then the sniper attached the mount / scope, zeroed the weapon, and they were ready to employ the M-2 for sniper duty. A pretty slick idea I thought.

Thanks for all the information above. More to learn ...

Regards from AZ
 
Adventurer_96

Which Battalion were you with? I never saw a Scout Sniper teams on the East coast (I worked with all 3 regiments, and deployed with 3/2) carrying M240G, since the M240 in those Battalions belonged to the weapons platoon of each company and the Scout Snipers to the Intel section of the H&S company and an SL3 complete gun weights 58.5 lbs . Why would BN Heavy guns use the M240G, since by definition they are medium guns and the heavy gun plts are the only ones with the M2 and Mk19s. Or was it used in an in CAAT teams, as the suppressive element.

captainHoek
That turns the weapon into a single shot, open bolt weapon. The ROF of the M2 is so slow that that is not really necessary, all you have to do is tap the butterflies, and you will fire single rounds.
 
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Jeff, I want to clarify some Highpower info you
rve received here. NRA Highpower Rifle is divided into two distinct groups. Service Rifle, and Match Rifle. In Service Rifle, you're required to have either an M1 Garand, an M14 (or M1A), or an M16 (AR-15) that appears to be the same as issued. The sights are not anymore complicated than standard sights, but are typically built to have finer motion increments, and smaller apetures. With Service rifle, everyone is held to a pretty even ground, and the difference in accuracy is usually the shooter, not the equipment. Match rifles are the complicated ones. They are open to almost any type of modification. IMHO, Match Rifle is an equipment race, whereas Service Rifle is a shooter competition. Highpwer is shot Standing/Slowfire at 200, Sitting/Rapid at 200, Prone/Rapid at 300, and Prone/Slowfire at 600 yards. We have a great time, and there are clinic matches in almost all states throughout the summer. Feel free to email me if you have an interest. I should be able to point you in the right direction for your state contacts.
 
I looked at some pictures from an exercise I was on a few years back (I was with 1/25) and I saw most of the guys carrying the SAW. Then, I thought about it and tried to remember exactly when I saw them carrying an M-240G and I couldn't remember a single specific moment other than on the weapons range. So, I guess I must have misspoke, because the photos I have are suspiciously devoid of any heavy MG's... Senile before 30, thanks for the reality check.

We had M-240's issued to the HQ Platoon for COC defense. Some of them were also mounted on vehicles, like the BV-206 transport we used in cold weather ops. I can't remember what the CAAT teams used for weaponry on their vehicles, as I usually only talked to them on the radio.

Now, I tell my "co-workers" about my previous life and they laugh and point at me and tell me what an idiot I was, since now the biggest hassle at "work" could be the cable going out!


Check Six.
 
A lot of guys are debating the idea of taking a M249 SAW out with a S/S team. I've never seen anyone take a M240G, I've never even heard it proposed. The pig is just too heavy. Plus it's designed for deliberate suppressive fire, not something you're ever going to do with a 4 man team, baring some sort of remember the Alamo last stand futility. Currently, I'd like to see 4 M4/M203 combos for a S/S team, about 8 HEDP, 2CS, 2 Illum per man, but that's just me. Semper Fidelis...Ken M
 
Absolutely, to call up Steelrain's crew and get real firepower on target, but that takes time. The M4's,M203's and M249's, etc are there to keep us alive long enough to get the message out. S/F...Ken M
 
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