The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon or SAW is one of the most iconic crew-served weapons in current use. Designed in 1976 by FN Herstal, the M249 SAW has seen use in the Gulf War, Somalia, and the current War on Terror. The design has been modified slightly over the [Read More…]
Sitting on Santa’s lap as an adult is a completely different experience from when you were a young kid. Back then you had no money, completely dependent on your parents for any sort of commercially available goods and services. As a grown-up, you have the means and [Read More…]
The Ministry of Defense of Georgia and the US Embassy in Georgia have published news articles telling about a US-funded program of equipping the Georgian Defense Forces with 600 M249 SAW light machine guns. The program includes a two-week weapon familiarization course [Read More…]
FN America have confirmed that the US Army has awarded them a contract to deliver an unspecified number of new M249 Squad Automatic Weapons. The contract is due to be fulfilled by 2025 with deliveries set to begin soon. The M249 has been in the US Army service for [Read More…]
The U.S. Army reports that for the first time an additively manufactured item has been qualified and provisioned for production. While not as cool as a suppressor or other 3D printed accessories, the humble M249 Sight Adjustment Tool is an important milestone. Moreover, [Read More…]
In previous Photos Of The Day articles we have taken a look at the Idaho Army National Guard reference style pictures of the M107 Semi-Automatic Long Range Sniper Rifle and the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System. Today it is time for the M249 Light Machine Gun.(FN [Read More…]
In fact, it isn’t an M249 SAW at all. It looks like a SAW, probably sounds like a SAW when fired, operates similarly to a SAW, but it isn’t one. What you are actually looking at is an RPD derivative that has been externally modified to fit the overall [Read More…]
So far the only U.S. civilian legal semi-automatic version of the venerable M249 Squad Automatic Weapon was from the same company that makes the actual machine gun, FN Herstal. However, we recently learned about another semi-automatic M249, from Utah based Machine Gun [Read More…]
One of the more interesting new gun announcements of 2016 was the M249S rifle from FN America. The gun was a semi-automatic rifle version of the M249 light machine gun (aka squad automatic weapon or SAW.) Unfortunately, the M249S is now being recalled by FN America. The [Read More…]
Ladies and Gentleman – I stand here before you today and eulogize our dear friend Suppressor. Suppressor was the strong and silent type. Suppressor was a great Silencerco SWR can, who devoted his whole life to the protecting the ears of our beloved shooters. His [Read More…]
After over 30 years of using the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, it seems the US Army may be moving away from the concept of squad-level belt-fed automatic firepower in favor of a lower-capacity but more precise (and probably magazine-fed) weapon. In a recent Special [Read More…]
Last year some of the most-talked-about guns were the three in FN’s new Military Collector Series, and the darling of the trio was the M249S civilian SAW. For 2017, FN is expanding the line to include the FN M249S Para, the SAW designed for paratroopers. In [Read More…]
With more TFBTV coverage of SHOT Show’s Industry Range Day, James checks out the FN USA tent for the scoop on FN’s newest addition to its “Military Collector” line – the FN M249S “Para” version. The Para is similar to the civilian version of the M249S [Read More…]
FN America just released their 2017 catalog. It’s a very tempting catalog to read, with a lot of nice firearms and pictures. There’s also the LE and Military section, what dreams are made of. One of the news, for consumer and law enforcement buyers – [Read More…]
Jim Grant of Burst Review just posted a video showcasing the manufacturing process of the FN M249 SAW. Nothing much more fun than dumping loads of ammo through a belt fed automatic weapon.
The much-hyped M249S (S for “Semi-Automatic”) is finally starting to make it out to the wild after being the showpiece for many a tradeshow. One of the first to get one in their hands is Copper Customs, Military Arms Channel’s sister company, which [Read More…]
Since first seeing the M249S at the NRA show, I have been waiting to try one out. That wait was finally over today…kind of. Believe me, a LOT of people wanted to try this one out, and so it was a little bit more of a wait. Settling into the gun, many things [Read More…]
FNH USA has announced a new semi-auto variant of the M249 series that will be available this fall. James got to take the new semi-auto M249S for a spin at SHOT Show’s Industry Day at the range. TFB writer Rusty S. previously broke this story as follows: “This morning I headed over to the FNH [Read More…]
Picatinny Arsenal took a look at the M249 and experimented with reducing its hefty weight of 17.5 lbs down to 9.2 lbs. They also gave it a new name: Cased Telescoped Light Machine Gun, or CT LMG. To achieve this impressive weight loss, they did not use exotic [Read More…]
FNH USA has announced a new semi-auto variant of the M249 series that will be available this fall! As far as I know, this is the first time a major manufacturer has released a belt-fed semi-auto to the general public. From our newest writer Rusty S reporting from the [Read More…]
Down in the lower levels of the SHOT Show is where you’ll usually find newer and smaller companies. While I was browsing I stumbled upon a booth from Flashco who were showing off their new M249 SAW conversion kit for the Ruger 10/22. It’s made of both metal [Read More…]
No, you did not read the title incorrectly. My friends at Strike Industries recently got to inspect U.S. Machine Gun Armory’s new “Featureless” Cali-legal SAW. They plan on offering semi-automatic SAWs to California residents with either a pistol [Read More…]
The US Machine Gun Armory have developed a set of kits to convert the MK46 / M249 SAW into a range of 7.62mm calibers including the 7.62x39mm, 7.62x40mm Wilson Tactical, .300 AAC BLK and 7.62x51mm. All that is required is swapping out the top-cover, barrel and a few [Read More…]
Military.com reports that the Marines will be replacing the M249 SAW with the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle. Marine infantry squads will replace their M249 light machine gun with a highly accurate, auto rifle geared for fast-moving assaults. In late May, Gen. James Amos, [Read More…]
Kit Up has an amusing story about Army Black Hawk pilot, and former infantryman, who decided that his M4 and M9 did not offer his enough firepower, so he swapped them for a M249 Para (with custom mods) and a M203 (with FD-203 standalone conversion). I like this pilots [Read More…]
AAC’s Mike Mers took a break from his busy schedule to show off the latest in Tactical Sweater Vests. According to Mike, a man with impeccable taste, this season the ultimate accessory for any green sweater vest wearer is an M249 chambered in .300 AAC BLK and [Read More…]
Vortex Optics’ submission to the US Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons – Fire Control procurement program has been selected and is set to become the XM157 NGSW-FC. The optic will equip the winning submission from the US Army’s Next Generation [Read More…]
The Czech Ministry of Defense has announced on 12/21/2021 that it will be purchasing 949 FN Herstal manufactured Minimi Light machine guns in a CZK1.12 Billion ($50.73 Million) deal with the Czech company, CB Servis Centrum SRO. This deal also includes optics, armor [Read More…]
Sometimes the only thing that is missing from our current collection is a couple of good shooting accessories. Whether that means bipods, bags, lights, chronographs, vertical foregrips, or whatever else you feel like you need, sometimes buying a new gun isn’t [Read More…]
The FN Minimi on full-automatic fire is always a pleasure to see in pictures, not to mention in real-life. Developed by Ernest Vervier, it is widely adopted and used by more than 75 countries. The U.S. Army calls it the M249 SAW light machine gun. The Para version, with [Read More…]
