Had a intresting conversation about m249 SAW

[mif_slim]

So, last weekend we went out to play a game of airsoft. I had purchase myself a m249 to play the roll of Support for my team. Anyways, as we were standing in the staging area a kid about his 18's-20's was talking about my m249. He said it was awesome and ask how fast is it shooting.

I said its shooting under 385fps as per field rules. He said some field lets the m249 shoot faster fps to be more realistic. I asked how does making a m249 shooting faster fps make it more realistic? His answer was, "Because the real m249 shoots almost twice the distance a real M4"....I literally busted out laughing...

I asked how does a 2900fps bullet coming out of a m249 fly double the distance a m4 with the same bullet speed? His answer, because they shoot diffrent rounds.....

I swear these kids know what their talking about sometimes...I lost this battle. haha

[Untamed1972]

Wonder if he is confusing "rate of fire" (ie rounds per minutes) with projectile velocity?

Saying a M249 shoots faster because it can fire more rounds per minute thna an M4 would be correct. Saying the bullets move faster.....not so much.

[gadjeep]

Unless he was thinking of a 240G. 7.62x51 has a greater effective range but still not double.

[MXRider]

..."Because the real m249 shoots almost twice the distance a real M4"....

While the round is the same, the M249B does have a max effective range of 910m while the M4 has a 500m max effective range. Not sure why this is, possibly has to do with the sights and rate of fire making it easier to walk the rounds on target.

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Maybe he had the .223 FN Minimi (US M249) confused with the .308 FN Mag 58 (US M240) as they are only 9 meaningless numbers off. It's funny how the US military is using so many foreign designed small arms. Even some of our ArmaLites are being made by FN as Colt lost the contract in the 1980's.

[xibunkrlilkidsx]

While the round is the same, the M249B does have a max effective range of 910m while the M4 has a 500m max effective range. Not sure why this is, possibly has to do with the sights and rate of fire making it easier to walk the rounds on target.

Accuracy by volume?

Volley fire vs aimed fire?

[cbaer5]

OK here was your problem. thinking a kid airsofter knew something about it in the first place.

[SuperSet]

I'm guessing there were no M249 gunners here?
The M249 has an effective range of 800-1000m primarily due to the fact that it's typically operated from a tripod and T&E (Traversing and Elevation) mechanism. So, it is technically almost twice as effective as the M16A2 (500m or so, cant remember now).

[wjc]

That's funny stuff right there, OP!

[Spaceghost]

Talking real steel with airsofters is worse then getting firearms advice from gunshop employees...

[Massan]

"What do you mean it only holds 30? Mine has over 200!"

[MrPlink]

though Im sure it is not what he meant, IIRC FN has made minimi variants in 7.62nato

I dont play airsoft, but I do play xbox and some of the crap I hear there about guns is really something else.

My fav being a kid who insisted the Desert Eagle is chambered in 50bmg

[Turo]

Wonder if he is confusing "rate of fire" (ie rounds per minutes) with projectile velocity?

Saying a M249 shoots faster because it can fire more rounds per minute thna an M4 would be correct. Saying the bullets move faster.....not so much.

That sounds like the most plausible explanation, especially when phrases like "shoot faster" are used. Without proper context "faster" could mean quite a few different things. Combine that with someone who wouldn't know an AR-15 from a S&W 500, you'll get some weird conversations.