So, with that wonderful tax return check, I decided it was time to get back to the weapon I know and love.

The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon

While I was in the Corps as an Infantry man my first weapon I carried was exactly this. The M249. I hated it. Its heavy, jams often, heavy, did I mention heavy? The Rate of Fire was impressive for a Light Automatic Machine Gun, Whats not to love? But lets get to the meat and potatoes.

Here is a little overview of the Real Steel M249 SAW

The M249 is an air-cooled, gas-operated, fully-automatic-only firearm that fires from an open bolt position. It can accept belts of linked 5.56x45mm NATO (.223) ammunition through the top-mounted feed tray or M16-type magazines through the side-mounted port. The latter allows a SAW gunner to use riflemens' magazines in an emergency if he runs out of belted ammunition, though this often causes jams as the magazine spring cannot adequately keep up with the weapon's high rate of fire. Linked ammunition can be fed from either a loose belt or from a plastic box (6.92lb) (or cloth pouch) for 200 rounds, clipped under the receiver. The hard plastic box has issues with being insecurely attached and by producing noise with movement in its standard form. The M249 SAW features a built-in bipod and a tripod-mounting lug for supported fire, as well as a quick change barrel that helps prevent overheating during sustained fire. Barrels are engaged and disengaged by rotating the built-in handle, and a spare is normally carried slung in an "A-bag" by the gunner or his assistant. The forearm is designed to contain a small cleaning kit for field use, though it may not be stored there in practice.

The gun has good firepower for its size. The latest reports on failures of M249 SAW weapons in Iraq are sometimes attributed to the age of the weapons used, and sometimes to the dusty environment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of the current-issue M249s in U.S. Army are more than 10 years old, which is not excessively old for a service firearm, but can reduce reliability. There have been issues with its performance at other times, particularly earlier in its development.

For training exercises, the M249 is used with the M249 Blank Firing Adaptor (BFA), essentially a steel plug which screws into the muzzle and partially blocks it. (While standard blank firing adaptors for the M16 and M4 family of weapons will fit into the barrel of the M249 SAW, their use has been abandoned in favor of a SAW-specific BFA, due to the risk of catastrophic failure of the weaker rifle BFA, which is not durable enough for sustained automatic fire.) Gas-operated weapons rely on the projectile to trap gas pressure in the system as it leaves the barrel; without this, there will be insufficient pressure to cycle the weapon. U.S. M249s are sometimes fitted with the M145 MGO, a low-power optic that fits on via a top M1913 rail, when the rail is fitted. The regular M249 does not have a rail, however. The M249 mod kit increases the weight to 16.41 pounds.

United States military doctrine describes 3,600 m as the maximum range. Effective ranges include 800 m for a point target, 1000 m for an area target, and 600 m for suppression (suppression fire is attained by keeping the maximum height of the rounds no more than 1 m off the ground). Tracer ammunition burnout is at 900 m, however. The advised rates of fire are 85 rounds per minute with no barrel changes. With a barrel change every two minutes, this increases to 200 rounds per minute. For a barrel change every minute, the rate of fire can go up to 850 rounds per minute, which is approximately equal to the cyclic rate of fire, at about 850 to 900 round/min.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M249_Squad_Automatic_Weapon

Real Steel Specifics.

Manufacturer FN Herstal, FN Manufacturing
Unit cost US$4,087[1]
Variants See Variants
Specifications
Weight 16.5 lb empty
15.95 lb. (PARA model)
Length
SAW: 41 in
PARA: 36 in (stock extended), 30.5 in(stock compressed)

Barrel length 20.5 in (M249), 14.5 in (PARA model)
Cartridge 5.56x45mm NATO
Action Gas-operated, open bolt
Rate of fire 750 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity 915 meters/sec
Effective range 1000 m
Feed system

* M27 disintegrating belts from 200-round plastic ammo box or 100/200-round reusable soft packs
* Various STANAG Magazines.


An all around impressive weapon, especially when you consider its man portable and can sustain an excellent rate of fire. In the capable hands of a good SAW gunner, this weapon can put down a world of hurt.

So now.. lets look at the A&K M249 MKII


A&K M249 MKII Specifications

Gearbox Type: CA Type
Length: 1045mm
Accuracy: 120 feet
Muzzle Velocity: 310fps
Magazine Capacity: 300 rounds
Battery Pack Size: 8.4v 1100 Mah

Features:
Metal Spring Guide
Skeletal Stock
Folding Metal Bi-pod
Redesigned Gear Box
New Hop-Up Chamber Design
8mm Bearing Gear Box

It features full metal construction and a detailed finish In addition to the 2400 round box magazine the A&K M249 has the ability to use standard M4/M16 magazines (just like the Classic Army), so you have the ability to share magazines with the rest of your squad. The folding metal bi-pod and skeletal stock with shoulder rest make this SAW ready to lay down a base of fire.

Its sturdy, full metal construction is impressive. Actually only a few pounds lighter then the real steel. The folding bi-pod feels exactly like the real deal. moves and groves just like the real steel.

The whole weapon almost completely breaks down like a Real Steel M249, the barrel comes off by pushing the barrel release. Heat Guards just pull right off. butt stock is removed by pulling out a pin. Lift up the feed tray and it even has a feed tray guide underneath.

Over all the build in A&K M249 SAW MKII Is very impressive.

Firing.

I charged up the battery provided and slide it into place in the butt stock. Extremely easy to put the battery into place. Almost to easy compared to most airsoft battery placements.

Once the battery is in place its a simple matter of clicking off the safety located at the base of the pistol grip and pulling the trigger. First time I pulled the trigger I found it a nice and crisp pull immediate response from the gears. And it shocked me. The Sound it puts out is pretty impressive. Most people always complain about wanting their Airsoft weapon to be quiet. In my mind the SAW should be loud. And this one is. It screams intimidation just by the sound.

I next loaded up the hi-cap mag it came with with some .12 bb's I had laying around the house. And away we went.

Off the front porch I started shooting, and I was extremely impressed. Accuracy was very good at around 100 feet. I did notice some drift of bb's after 130 to 150 feet. but thats to be expected, as well as I was using .12 gram bb's. Utilizing the standard 3 to 5 round burst I blew through a hi-cap 300 rnd magazine in less then 1 minute.

Color me impressed. The full metal gear box is an extremely added bonus to this weapons system.

Today we had our skirmish in Casper. An excellent turn out. Great area to skirmish in.

I used my M249 All day. The Terrain was extremely wet and lush underbrush thickets and tree's. Slightly hilly with ravines running through the area.

First off I highly recommend getting a good fitting sling for your SAW. I made my own and love it. Sits just right and works like a charm. One of the other guys had the MkI and kept commenting on how much he wished he had a Sling on his SAW.

Battery life. Simply put I was concerned that the 8.4v 1100 Mah battery would die half way through the day. Nope. Come the drop dead time it was still going strong. Very impressive.

Function and Functionality. Simply put. NO issues what so ever. No jams, utilizing Crosman .20 gram bb's. Consistent feed rate from the Box Mag. One thing that is a must do, simply take some duct tape and tape off the battery/gear box area of the box mag. BB's can and will get into that area from the feed system and cause jams or mis-feeds. I did this to mine as soon as I received it and glad that I did.

Performance, Rate of Fire and Accuracy. Again wow.. I had reserved thoughts on this. This M249 Held its own against AEG's shooting at 400 FPS and higher hitting out to 150 feet. I was picking people off with solid hits at 100 feet, at roughly 340 FPS, and they stated they could feel the impact and heard the bb's whizzing by their heads.

This weapon system is an excellent suppression system. I saw it first hand, Some one who has an understanding of what a support weapon is supposed to be used for and a squad backing them that knows how to work with a Support Gunner, will greatly benefit in their skirmishing and operations.

We had one situation where two operators from the opposite force where behind a hedgerow and popping up and pinning our team down. I was able to not only pin them down from 150 feet but keep them from returning fire by applying three to five round burst at the top of the bushes in their general area,I was not attempting to actually hit them but the focus was to keep their heads down so my squad could, allowing my squad to flank them on the right hand side and not only take them out but make a kill shot on one of the winning objectives.

Over all. WELL WORTH THE MONEY! The A&K M249 MKII is a stable effect system and I highly recommend it to any one who has experience with heavy weapons and knows how to properly deploy in a support gunner position. One thing to note is that it does grow heavy over time but well worth it.

Being a SAW Gunner, unless your setting up an Ambush, you will not be getting a lot of kills with this system if utilized properly. You should be focusing on keeping the enemy's head down while your team flanks them, or Advances on their position. It works. I did it all day today. Just having one SAW on the field DRASTICALLY Changes the the method and style of skirmish. Every one on the field was impressed with the Weapon and how it was utilized.

Semper Fi, and Carry on!
Lex
Death Dealers Airsoft.

Very nice review!

Externals? Internals? Pics? Did you chrono it? Asthetics? Groupings? First impressions?


The longest part of the review is the real steel section... I think you'll need a little more than just an opinion of how it shoots...

I am going to move this to the proper section. Ohh and some pictures would really complete the review.

Choffman and NJSniper pretty much said everything I had in mind. Try paragraphing the review in different areas. Take pictures of targets you shot at, and give us specifications about it: range, BBs used etc.
Try to field strip the gun and take some pics from inside. Take pics also from interesting external parts.

So, with that wonderful tax return check, I decided it was time to get back to the weapon I know and love.

The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon

While I was in the Corps as an Infantryman my first weapon I carried was exactly this. The M249. I hated it. Its heavy, jams often, heavy, did I mention heavy? The Rate of Fire was impressive for a Light Automatic Machine Gun, What’s not to love? But lets get to the meat and potatoes.

Here is a little overview of the Real Steel M249 SAW

The M249 is an air-cooled, gas-operated, fully-automatic-only firearm that fires from an open bolt position. It can accept belts of linked 5.56x45mm NATO (.223) ammunition through the top-mounted feed tray or M16-type magazines through the side-mounted port. The latter allows a SAW gunner to use riflemens' magazines in an emergency if he runs out of belted ammunition, though this often causes jams as the magazine spring cannot adequately keep up with the weapon's high rate of fire. Linked ammunition can be fed from either a loose belt or from a plastic box (6.92lb) (or cloth pouch) for 200 rounds, clipped under the receiver. The hard plastic box has issues with being insecurely attached and by producing noise with movement in its standard form. The M249 SAW features a built-in bipod and a tripod-mounting lug for supported fire, as well as a quick-change barrel that helps prevent overheating during sustained fire. Barrels are engaged and disengaged by rotating the built-in handle, and the gunner or his assistant normally carries a spare slung in an “A-bag”. The forearm is designed to contain a small cleaning kit for field use, though it may not be stored there in practice.

The gun has good firepower for its size. The latest reports on failures of M249 SAW weapons in Iraq are sometimes attributed to the age of the weapons used, and sometimes to the dusty environment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of the current-issue M249s in U.S. Army are more than 10 years old, which is not excessively old for a service firearm, but can reduce reliability. There have been issues with its performance at other times, particularly earlier in its development.

For training exercises, the M249 is used with the M249 Blank Firing Adaptor (BFA), essentially a steel plug that screws into the muzzle and partially blocks it. (While standard blank firing adaptors for the M16 and M4 family of weapons will fit into the barrel of the M249 SAW, their use has been abandoned in favor of a SAW-specific BFA, due to the risk of catastrophic failure of the weaker rifle BFA, which is not durable enough for sustained automatic fire.) Gas-operated weapons rely on the projectile to trap gas pressure in the system as it leaves the barrel; without this, there will be insufficient pressure to cycle the weapon. U.S. M249s are sometimes fitted with the M145 MGO, a low-power optic that fits on via a top M1913 rail, when the rail is fitted. The regular M249 does not have a rail, however. The M249 mod kit increases the weight to 16.41 pounds.

United States military doctrine describes 3,600 m as the maximum range. Effective ranges include 800 m for a point target, 1000 m for an area target, and 600 m for suppression (suppression fire is attained by keeping the maximum height of the rounds no more than 1 m off the ground). Tracer ammunition burnout is at 900 m, however. The advised rates of fire are 85 rounds per minute with no barrel changes. With a barrel change every two minutes, this increases to 200 rounds per minute. For a barrel change every minute, the rate of fire can go up to 850 rounds per minute, which is approximately equal to the cyclic rate of fire, at about 850 to 900 round/min.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M249_Squad_Automatic_Weapon

Real Steel Specifics.

Manufacturer FN Herstal, FN Manufacturing
Unit cost US$4,087[1]
Variants See Variants
Specifications
Weight 16.5 lb empty
15.95 lb. (PARA model)
Length
SAW: 41 in
PARA: 36 in (stock extended), 30.5 in(stock compressed)

Barrel length 20.5 in (M249), 14.5 in (PARA model)
Cartridge 5.56x45mm NATO
Action Gas-operated, open bolt
Rate of fire 750 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity 915 meters/sec
Effective range 1000 m
Feed system

* M27 disintegrating belts from 200-round plastic ammo box or 100/200-round reusable soft packs
* Various STANAG Magazines.


An all around impressive weapon, especially when you consider its man portable and can sustain an excellent rate of fire. In the capable hands of a good SAW gunner, this weapon can put down a world of hurt.

So now.. lets look at the A&K M249 MKII


A&K M249 MKII Specifications

Gearbox Type: CA Type
Length: 1045mm
Accuracy: 120 feet
Muzzle Velocity: 310fps
Magazine Capacity: 300 rounds
Battery Pack Size: 8.4v 1100 Mah

Features:
Metal Spring Guide
Skeletal Stock
Folding Metal Bi-pod
Redesigned Gear Box
New Hop-Up Chamber Design
8mm Bearing Gear Box


Just a few of the many details of this weapon system A&K has put into place.






Gas Tube Regulator Knob actually moves.





Charging handle, ejection port and right side of feed tray.





Bottom of the Pistol grip, this can be opened to access the pistol grip bolt as well as store small items.


It features full metal construction and a detailed finish In addition to the 2400 round box magazine the A&K M249 has the ability to use standard M4/M16 magazines (just like the Classic Army), so you have the ability to share magazines with the rest of your squad.




The folding metal bi-pod and full stock with shoulder rest make this SAW ready to lay down a base of fire.

Its sturdy, full metal construction is impressive. Actually only a few pounds lighter then the real steel. The folding bi-pod feels exactly like the real deal. moves and groves just like the real steel.

The whole weapon almost completely breaks down like a Real Steel M249.

Heat Guards just pull right off



Lift up the feed tray and it even has a feed tray guide underneath


The barrel comes off by pushing the barrel release lever found just forward of the feed tray.



Over all the build in A&K M249 SAW MKII Is very impressive.


Firing.

I charged up the battery provided and slide it into place in the butt stock. I found it extremely easy to put the battery into place. Almost to easy compared to most airsoft battery placements.


To access the Battery area, simply move to the buttstock of the weapon.



Lift up the metal shoulder rest, and slide the buttstock plate off.




Pretty simple, inside you will find the hook up and wiring for the battery system.




Once the battery is in place its a simple matter of sliding the buttstock plate back into place, push the metal shoulder rest back down, click off the safety located at the base of the pistol grip and pulling the trigger.

First time I pulled the trigger I found it a nice and crisp pull immediate response from the gears. And it shocked me. The Sound it puts out is pretty impressive. Most people always complain about wanting their Airsoft weapon to be quiet. In my mind the SAW should be loud. And this one is. It screams intimidation just by the sound.

I next loaded up the hi-cap mag it came with with some .12 bb's I had laying around the house. And away we went.

Placing the mag into the SAW Feed slot is extremely easy, just like loading a Mag into a standard M4/M16


Feed tube inside the Mag Feed.



Off the front porch I started shooting, and I was extremely impressed. Accuracy was very good at around 100 feet. I did notice some drift of bb's after 130 to 150 feet. but that is to be expected, as well as I was using .12 gram bb's. Utilizing the standard 3 to 5 round burst I blew through a hi-cap 300 rnd magazine in less then 1 minute. An extremely impressive rate of fire. Color me impressed.

The full metal gear box is an extremely added bonus to this weapons system.



Field Testing.

June 21st 2008, we had our skirmish in Casper. An excellent turn out, great area to skirmish in.

I used my M249 All day. The Terrain was extremely wet and lush underbrush thickets and tree’s. Slightly hilly with ravines running through the area.

Author with his new A&K M249 SAW MKII.jpg

First off I highly recommend getting a good fitting sling for your SAW. I made my own and love it. Sits just right and works like a charm. One of the other guys had the MkI and kept commenting on how much he wished he had a Sling on his SAW.

Battery life. Simply put I was concerned that the 8.4v 1100 Mah battery would die half way through the day. Nope. Come the drop-dead time it was still going strong. Very impressive.

Function and Functionality. Simply put. NO issues what so ever. No jams, utilizing Crosman .20 gram bb's. Consistent feed rate from the Box Mag.

Hopup was extremely easy to adjust and reach by lifting up the Feed tray cover and feed tray.



If you look in the above picture you can see a small silver rod, that is the guide rod for the charging handle, watch this rod as it is a big loose. Also when closing the feed tray cover pull the charging handle back slightly to allow the feed tray and feed tray cover to set right. I use duct tape around the outside rear of the Feed tray cover to keep it from popping open during field play, as it does have a tendency to rub against your gear etc.

Hopup looks like this removed


(Something to note on the barrel and hopup is that little groove on the bottom of the hopup, that needs to be lined up with the slot inside the gear box when you slide the barrel back into your SAW. The whole barrel will not fit if that grove is not lined up, causing the barrel to not click back into place.)

One thing that is a must do, simply take some duct tape and tape off the battery/gear box area of the box mag. BB's can and will get into that area from the feed system and cause jams or mis-feeds.



I did this to mine as soon as I received it and glad that I did.

Performance, Rate of Fire and Accuracy.
Again wow.. I had reserved thoughts on this. This M249 held its own against AEG's shooting at 400 FPS and higher hitting out to 150 feet. I was picking people off with solid hits at 100 feet, at roughly 340 FPS, (this FPS being verified by Airsoft GI when they conducted quality assurance checks) and they stated they could feel the impact and heard the bb's whizzing by their heads.

This weapon system is an excellent suppression system. I saw it first hand, some one who has an understanding of what a support weapon is supposed to be used for, and a squad backing them that knows how to work with a Support Gunner, will greatly benefit in their skirmishing and operations.

We had one situation where two operators from the opposite force where behind a hedgerow and popping up and pinning our team down. I was able to not only pin them down from 150 feet but keep them from returning fire by applying three to five round burst at the top of the bushes in their general area, I was not attempting to actually hit them, but the focus was to keep their heads down so my squad could flank them on the right hand side and not only take them out but make a kill shot on one of the winning objectives.

Over all. WELL WORTH THE MONEY! The A&K M249 MKII is a stable effect system and I highly recommend it to any one who has experience with heavy weapons and knows how to properly deploy in a support gunner position. And for those looking for a extremely realistically designed SAW you cant go wrong with this weapon. One thing to note is that it does grow heavy over time but well worth it.

Being a SAW Gunner, unless your setting up an Ambush, you will not be getting a lot of kills with this system if utilized properly. You should be focusing on keeping the enemy's head down while your team flanks them, or Advances on their position. It works. I did it all day today. Just having one SAW on the field DRASTICALLY changes the method and style of skirmish. Every one on the field was impressed with the Weapon and how it was utilized.

Suppression at 250 would be an extremely rare case with any Airsoft weapon system. I was surpressing individuals at 150 to 160 Feet. Again the key word is suppressing not hitting. So no I don't think there are many airsoft weapons that can engage a target at 250 feet. May be wrong, Key to suppression with this SAW Is to utilize even the noise it creates. Many of the enemy targets I fired at said that people that were not even around them where ducking for cover when they heard me open up with a 3 to 5 round burst.

Hope this helps!

Semper Fi and Carry on!
Lex

A full shot of the gun would be nice but other than that great review

AAUUUUUGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!! You beat me to it! NOOO. I was soo looking forward to mine being the first. Am I still allowd to make one, of the PARA version?