Thanks for watching guys! I know the M60 has been spotted on the channel before, but it was finally time to do its own standalone video! Let me know what other guns you’d like to see us do next! Thanks to American Hartford Gold for sponsoring this video! To Learn more Text 'BRANDON' to 65532 or call 866-856-0978 Visit offers.americanhartfordgold.com/brandon-herrera/ Thanks to SDI! Again, it’s SDI.edu for more info!
"A beastly burden, a drudge to hump... some loved it, others hated it. But the M60 never failed to make an impression. An imperfect hero, not without flaw... *But a hero nonetheless* " -an excerpt from the video 'M60', created by the immensely talented Ahoy.
I think it's because they don't even acknowledge that he's a guest or anything. He just shows up, grabs the M60, fires the rest of the belt, looks disappointed.
Bro, I was so confused. I used to watch him on TV when I was a kid and my brain couldn't accept that it was the same guy until he played the clips. Good times, tho.
My father was a door gunner on a Huey in Vietnam and told me some gnarly stories about mowing down unfriendlies when he was in country. He was never happy taking lives but he also told me the classic "if it's you or them, don't hesitate to protect your life"
@@captainc0rgi These defenders of their homeland are known to hide behind their women and children, because they know westerners try to protect enemy civilians. Guerrilla warfare could only occur if there are supplies behind enemy lines, and every communist faction is known to use civilians as reactive armour. It is great to be merciful, but it can't get in the way of the main objective
Brandon I loved my 60 I couldn’t ( rather didn’t ) one hand or fire off hand as I was actually in the service and lol they sometimes frown on such behavior But man, her an Ma Deuce That was some shit down range to see That hog will forever be my favorite of my service Man I hate gettin old lol
The original M60 firing rate was 550 RPM. When you fly as a Scout door gunner/ crew chief we needed more fire power. So we added about 3"of extra spring to stiffen it up for about 100 extra RPM. Later they came with an adjustable buffer that would do about the same. Now doing this you had to really keep all the moving parts lubed up with a ton of LSA lube. We had to replace a lot of bolt groups because of the wear. We also took off all the unnecessary things like the flash hider, Bipods, butt stock. Cut down or removed the hand guard. I had a modified barrel called a LLRP barrel. It was cut just at the gas piston tube. The flame was about 8" from the barrel and after about 100' forget hitting anything, but we were only about 100' or less when we were working. God I do love the M60!!!
Man how I’d like to been there with you boys….yea I’m a dumbass but the thought of havin to go through it without me has bothered me worse than if I was alive and been there….love my vets so much
I was an M-60 specialist instructor in the 80s and 90s. I love the PIG! One thing that stood out to me on this video is the lack of the trigger housing group leaf spring that holds in the trigger housing group pin. I'm kind of amazed that the pin didn't walk out when you were firing it. The leaf spring goes between the trigger housing group retaining pin and the sear pin on the right side of the trigger housing. If you need one, let me know.
@@arty_gangster yeah I'm curious... I know that well into the 90's you still used the asbestos gloves (I know that because I wore them to do a barrel change)
To those wondering my age and my Great Grandpa's age, please go to the Replies section for more. My great Grandpa was an M60 Gunner in the 1st Infantry Division during his draft in Vietnam. He was an MP at a base until a Lieutenant found him and a couple more boys drunk, partying in a barracks. He was demoted, reassigned, and was expedited out to the front. I wasn't surprised one bit when my great Grandmother told me he was an Machine Gunner; he was a big guy. From the stories I remember, he was in a couple nasty battles and ended up getting hit by a Charlie Sniper. I was never told a first-hand account of his service, he only ever told my great Grandma. He was the nicest old man I had ever met. Caring, and very affectionate. Passed away peacefully in 2020. Rest in Peace, Richard "Papa Lee" Hagen.
My grandfather carried the m60 in both his deployments in Veitnam when I asked him about his experience with the weapon he didn't seem to have many bad things to say about it. Other than he would tie wire his gas system down like you do to prevent it from backing off during his patrols. He also told me anytime he would see movement he would just dump all 9 yards into that direction and average 2 kills that way. Dude was OG based af. Miss those stories.
The 80s were a Golden Age… we knew the M60 by sight and sound. Every time we played anything imaginatively fake-violent (lol), someone invariably found a branch that generally resembled the M60 and declared themselves the squad automatic weapon operator. ☺️
The m60 holds a special place in my heart. When I was in the Marines on a range day with a bunch of 60s, An officer and I put on a demo called talking machine guns each had 200 rounds. After we put on the demo I had earned some respect from some of the Vietnam vets. for my ability to hit targets at long range firing from the hip and using the tracers to put rounds on Target.
As a Paratrooper Gun Team Member. Talking Guns was a standard of operation. We had to run interlocking fire and to alternate guns in 6 to 9 round bursts. If one gunner noticed that the other gun went silent, he went Cyclic. If you know, you know...
Seeing the child-like excitement from Goldberg at 7:09 is simultaneously something I never thought I would see and something I never knew I wanted to see.
My friend and former coworker went to Vietnam in 1969-70 He was all of 140lbs. and carried the Pig for a year while serving with the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. He received the Bronze star and purple heart. Unsung hero. R.I.P. Jeff
Lol the way you worded that looks like he was awarded bronze star and purple heart for having to carry the MG o7 rip Jeff Hope you don't mind me joking around
@@GrandDawggy all good, it does seem worded that way. But in honor of Jeff's service I will clarify that while during enemy contact in the field and moving through a ditch with his squad members a grenade came in and landed 2 men ahead of him and with no time to warn the others he ran forward past the 2 men and picked up the grenade and luckily threw it out before it detonated. He received the purple heart on another occasion when he caught fragments of an R.P.G. blast that exploded near him. I also found out at his funeral that after enemy contact he was M.I.A. for about 2 weeks before reuniting with his unit. He didn't speak of Vietnam often but when he did I listened. At his funeral his sister gave me one of the empty brass casings fired by the honor guard and I will one day polish and engrave it as a tribute to his service.
I was a Marine Machine gunner the first 3 of my 8 years (79-88). 23.2 pounds empty on my shoulder. I'm still lopsided. I had the leaf spring for the trigger housing pop off while on a LHA catwalk getting up on deck to fly ashore. The pin fell out, the trigger housing fell off, and bounced into the Pacific Ocean. Next day somebody found me in the jungle in Thailand and gave me a replacement. As heavy as it was, 7 pounds per 100 rounds links, but it should did get people's heads to duck. In a Ambush, the first 100 rounds were cyclic without a pause and just hosed the kill zone. Then another 100 same way quick, then a barrel change.
One of the truly good features that it didn't require a trigger group to function.... we removed our trigger housing springs laced our pins on with wire and a lacing tool. That totally solved the spring pop off issue...
I was a PIG rider back in the mid 80's. Probably the funnest weapon I had the pleasure of carrying. FYI, I was 18, weighed 130lbs and could indeed shoulder the weapon. Had to lean in a lot, but it can be done! Thanks for the walk down memory lane 🤘
@@andrewmcbain4119 How's the saying go? Young, dumb and full of.. The invincibility of youth is now the pain and agony of old age. Knees, hips, ankles are completely trashed. But man, it sure was a fun ride!
Fun storytime: My Dad is a Marine Corps Veteran, his service being during the 1980s. He once layed so much fire into the face of a building with an M60 that *The face of the building almost collapsed* Edit: Correction, just talked with him and, in fact, the face of the building DID indeed collapse. They wanted to know if there were any bad guys in the building, so recon by fire was conducted - with extreme prejudice. Edit 2: Dad says Semper Fi to y'all and, "As you were, I'll be in the area all day."
Reconnaissance by fire: If you shoot and they run, there were enemies. If you shoot and nothing runs, there either *were* enemies there or there were not all along. Either way, it is not your problem anymore xD
I served in the Corp during the 80's, I would be interested to know where he was at because I can not remember any units that would have been in the type of combat that you described.
@@jayeh1343 "In August 1982, Marine units landed at Beirut, Lebanon, as part of the multi-national peace-keeping force. For the next 19 months these units faced the hazards of their mission with courage and professionalism. In October 1983, Marines took part in the highly successful, short-notice intervention in Grenada."
I was a 240b gunner in oef 10-11 we had seals on our compound who had a m60 and I was always so envious. It’s just such a classic look and the sound 🤌 much like the warthog the pig has a well deserved nickname. Must be experienced in person to truly appreciate. An amazing weapon system.
@@MopSpadowski in Afghanistan mountain ranges the 308 aka 7.62 nato rains supreme. They preferred m60 over 240b because it’s a 10lbs difference yet the range is somewhat comparable.
A seriously underrated machine gun post Vietnam. Most modern soldiers rate the heavier M240 better. But most of them never fired an M60 that was reasonably new and well maintained. Which late in their service life most M60s weren’t.
I'm 5'3 and was 135lbs in 93 when I was my platoons M-60 gunner. I could hip and shoulder-fire the PIG no problem. Years later when the 240 came around, I found it uncontrollable unless prone or mounted.
If I were to nitpick, you'd want a gun that still functions even after all that time, but let's be honest, the M240 would probably have similar problems, so that's nothing new. But yes. Maintain your guns, they like you better that way.
@@Elysium4 memes aside, it's strengths lie in it's accuracy, sustainable fire rate, tolerance to foreign debris, and high round count durability. If there's a complaint about it, it can be it's weight, but it's extra lbs are exactly where you would want them if you're going to have them.
Taught this in the military. One thing ppl do not know about the M-60 is it kicks harder forward than backwards. That is why you can fire it with one handed. Very accurate and VERY sweet to shoot
I just saw the titansofcnc vid on the new handguard for the AK-50, it looks absolutely fantastic and it makes me more excited to see it coming soon. Unlike most other people who say “where ak50”, it has given me a deep understanding of why guns take so long to develop
I was a Pig Runner back in the day. Part of the barrel change kit included what was basically a huge oven mit for hot swapping the barrel. Running tracers through that monster at night was a hell of thing to behold. You could just watch the barrel turn a nice cherry red...
Was a 60 gunner in my Reserve unit in the late 80s. As an ROTC cadet we practiced tearing down and putting 60s together for competions. Even carryed one in my Officers Basic Course field exercise back in '92 (no one else knew how to work it). A great MG. Loved The Pig.
Such an iconic weapon that I loved as a kid. When I got to my first duty station in the Army (1/503 INF) as an 11B, they still had the M60 and I got to fire it. Made me love it even more. Then about a month later we got a shipment of new M240B machine guns and turned in the M60.
My old neighbor was in Vietnam and this is the gun he carried. He didn’t tell me too many stories but when I got him a little drunk he told me enough to understand the hell these men went through. He said he could chainsaw the jungle with this gun and the m60 saved their ass several times throughout his time there.
I like Bill, he's good value. The two classic GOATs of belt-fed LMGs will always be the MG42 and the M60. Neither will put you at any real disadvantage even on the modern battlefield, they have the timelessness of the M2 .50cal and they'll both be around for a while yet.
My grandpa served as a door gunner on a helicopter gunship during Vietnam, he manned an m60 and loved the gun, and he's always more than happy to share his stories of his time served there. Even about the time they blew up a village 😂
@@berndblabla4249 Many "villages" in Vietnam were full fledged troop compounds with two or three civilians around to do basic chores/maintenance on the structures. And many of the "civilians" were plainclothes military in quite a few documented cases. He never said his gramps was "proud about blowing up a village". He said his gramps was happy to discuss his stories. So quite frankly, buzz off with that BS. I also suggest you find some other place other than this channels' comment section to throw out your moral quandaries. Might I suggest Reddit? Since you're the type to misquote a person in what looks like an attempt to test the waters on shaming somebody's gramps for their military service in a war with dicey availability of recon info, that seems like it'd be more down your lane.
@@atoriusv5070 the war was very dicey my family experienced destruction from both the NVA and the US. Some trigger happy US troops were eager to claim a village was VC and as for the NVA they’re just assholes obviously lol
My good Friend Mike was a Marine and a M60 gunner in Vietnam. He's told me a few stories about basically doing that scene from Predator and unloading into the Jungle because they couldn't see who was shooting at them.
Thank you Brandon for the walk down memory lane! My MOS didn't put me on a range to shoot anything until, being in the Navy, I volunteered to go to Vietnam and got stationed on a river boat repair ship up the Mekong river and we got caught under fire in a no fire zone, for us not charlie, cause we were near a "friendly" village. That's when my MOS got changed to gunner, mainly because I could use a rifle better than the gunner we had. Our captain saw me taking out targets by the muzzle flash and got me to get more training at an Army base near Saigon. I was a radar operator, but after that little episode I haven't seen a radar screen, except in movies, since. 🥴😁😅😂🤣
@davecrupel2817 IIRC, I've heard multiple stories of chefs manning machine guns. I believe one at Pearl Harbor got on an AA gun. Then I think there's a story from Vietnam I've heard
I love the Goldberg cameo. He's definitely one of the best pro wrestlers of all time. Also, did Titan CNC get your 50 handguard right? I saw the video last night and it looked so cool.
I wasn't in during the Vietnam era, I was in during the 80s. My job was a 60 gunner on a fire team. My absolute favorite thing was the annual M-60 qualification. I got to spend the day at the range just burning thru belt after belt. After hitting all of the little tombstone targets for qualification, the range guys always had some derelict vehicles downrange for us to shred. Old trucks and schoolbusses were much more fun than White Claw cans.
As a 13E, the M60 was our crew serve weapon. The FDO would hang out the hatch of the M577 with it. Also, besides the ammo, we had to carry a bag with replacement barrels, and a hot mitt to grab the barrel with when it was hot.
The reliability issues with the M60 really boiled down to the feed claw being a bit thin and the fact that they were in service for decades and the military doesn't replace parts as often as they should. After 20 years of use in training and combat, the wear on parts was significant enough to make the weapons barely operable, similar to the issues with M9 pistols in the early 2000's. The design itself is excellent and the Dutch military actually bought a few thousand M60E5s, which uses modern metalurgy, some receiver lightening, and a thicker feed claw to reduce weight, extend the life of the parts, and fix the only real problem with the weapon. In conclusion, the M60E5 is lighter, more controlable, and and looks sexier than the M240B and as an American machinegunner I will never forgive the DoD or FN for making me carry a 30 lb steel brick through the desert.
@@mikepj67 It seems so. Typically American design choices, all the peripherals and rubbish is made much heavier than needed to increase the perception of quality, and the critical components are made flimsy and light to save weight.
@@mikepj67 They did, after 2 decades of use in training and combat. With modern metallurgical techniques and materials that isn't an issue and even if it was, a 20 year service life on equipment at heavily used as a machinegun is not bad at all.
Former Marine Corps grunt here who's MOS was 0331 and I have plenty of experience with the M60. I loved that thing, but I was transferred to a rifle platoon and became an 0311. Things weren't that bad though, as they made me the automatic rifleman in my fireteam and I got another machine gun, the M249 SAW. However, it just wasn't the same as the M60. I really miss that gun. I'm so jealous of you, Brandon!
@@kennethmcdonald5278 Yeah, we had the M16A1 rifle also, but the Corps then started phasing them out as the M16A2 entered service. When they bumped me down to an 0311, I got a brand spankin' new A2 rifle. Hated that 3 round burst shit. Carried that for 6 months until I got my M249.
In my experience the SAW always jammed. We brought 5 to a range and they all broke, and we had to delink and shoot all of that 5.56 thru our rifles. You can imagine how much cleaning we needed to do when we got back.
I've heard stories from people I know who were in the millatary about guys getting Rambo happy with the M-60 on the firing range and melting down the barrel. They ended up doing 4 count push-ups until the D.I. got tired of yelling
I saw some behind the scenes thing about old movies and it ruined that scene when I found out they just used protective covers for arrowheads to act as "explosive tips". I still want to believe that they exist somewhere.
I like the slimmed down look on Bill. He looks healthier just being on TRT and not slamming grams of other compounds. Him cactus jack and Jack the snake are some of my favorites
3:51 more specifically, the M60 was meant to bridge between the Model 1919 and the BAR so as to make a lighter gun than the 1919 with more firepower than the BAR
♥️ 1 John 5 kJV 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Actually prior to the M60, the BAR was the Squad Automatic Rifle and the M1919 was the Medium MG. When they put a stock etc on the 1919A6 and other variants such as the USMC "Stinger" conversion, they were attempting to come up with a Light MG.
1:25 I was on deployment in the Marines in ‘98. We were supposed to do a bunch of training exercises wile we were over there, but did some real world stuff instead. We ended up with a lot more ammo than we were supposed to have right before we headed back. Taking ammo out of the US, no problem. Bringing “extra” ammo back, even for the USMC, extremely difficult. Our last training op before washing up and going home was in Sardinia. We are supposed to shoot off so much live stuff, but it’s so dry, we keep starting fires. Instead of having any kind of fire extinguisher they decided to have us line up and beat out the brush fire with our flack jackets. When that failed we just watched it burn until the helos dropped stuff in it. So now all shoots are cancelled. We made friends with some of the other countries that were training there, especially the French foreign legion. There was a mountain near the coast and everyone was going to climb it and watch the navy bomb rocks off the coast. But I pissed off my platoon commander and got sent with the gunnerery sergeant to help load up the gear to go back on the boat. It ended up being awesome. We fired off sooooooo many rounds out into the sea that day. Mostly 556, but I shot 2 at-4s and a bunch of 40mm. At one point I had two M-249s cross slung firing the moth off. I think that’s when it caught up to gunny that he was the senior man there. That’s when he shut it all down.
My grandfather Steven L Monet. Served in Vietnam as a member of fifth infantry division, And seventh medical command. Where he functioned as a tunnel rat. Because that man practically raised me. I have his sense of humor. This video is exactly what I needed. I haven't laughed this hard in years. Thank you so much #BrandonHerrera.
I qualified with an M60 in 1967 at Fort Lewis. I was with a Light Infantry Company for a year in Vietnam and am still impressed with it. I have heard all the stories about them being unreliable but I never saw it.
When I served in the Australian Infantry the M60 was in service. It was big, heavy and was a pain to clean. I used to do 15 km marches with it (because I was the biggest guy in the platoon) and when you got to the end your arms were bombed. But man when you started that bad boy up you just knew that whatever it was pointed at was going to be obliterated. You can see it’s lineage in the FG42 and MG42 German machine guns from WW2.
@@williamflowers9435 not really sure if it counts as a noble endeavor when it's the third Reich doing it, but it's one of those things that you want the leadership on both sides to hit the casualties list .. kinda feel for the common man caught up in the middle of both.
@@josedorsaith5261 True but how many of those "Communist' folks were just some random 20 year old farmer or factory worker that just happened to be born in Russia or Ukraine in the 1920s then told congratulations comrade you're in the Soviet army now, and how many were dedicated to fatherly Uncle Joe and the party? That's what makes me go hmmm?
Love it. When I served, they sent me to M60 specialist school. Got to shoot many rounds through it (appreciated the asbestos mitten they supplied during hot barrel changes).
Good trigger discipline, I was able to do 3-round burst from the M-60 when I was in the Army, I learned how so as not to waste ammo. the best part of the M-60 is replacing a hot barrel, they are so easy. I almost had a heart attack when it looked like you were going to close the cover on a closed bolt. Anyone that has fired an M-60 would have known why.
My favorite I got the Privilege of using and carrying them when I was in the Air Force in the early 80's. Still remember the month I spent in training in 60 school so much AMMO. You really need to get you a Tri pod for yours. not only does it look Awesome it brings it level of accuracy to an unbelievable level. 2500 yards all day long zone fire at it's best. Using the T&E just set it and forget it give no mans land a new meaning. Bring back many memories for me 28.6 lbs. of stay out of the way. Thank you for the best weapon I ever got to carry.
Same here. Early 80s USAF Security. I don't remember ever shooting from hip however. Then again I'm 62 and my memory of 40 years ago isnt what it once was!
Shot one off the fantail of the Hewitt DD966 back in the 1970’s and took an unrequired ROTC class in college just to shoot one again, loved every second of it.
Excellente video on the m60 Brandon, I love it. A few points I can add from talking to my dad who was a M60 gunner (he loved the video too) : 1. forgetting to have to bolt to the rear when closing the the top cover can booger up the feed arm (many an armourers nightmare), 2. practice breaking belts in case of run-away gun due to sear wearing out or trigger group pin walking out and trigger group detaching (he noticed the lack of trigger housing group leaf spring).
I recently had the privilege of visiting my boyfriend in British Colombia. While there, we went through the town of Hope and the greater Fraser Valley area, where First Blood was filmed. The town of Hope has a bunch of wood carved statues, including one of Rambo right in the city center, complete with a pretty damn good looking M60 for being carved of wood.
One of my all time favorite machine guns. Right up there with the M1919A4. Also, my granddad used the "Pig" a lot in Vietnam. He said he loved the thing. Good ole' .30 cal
My old man humped the M-60 around '68. Mentioned that, with the firing rate, you could put a single bullet into a target at long range with experience. The barrel change came in real handy during an extended incident with an attacking NVA regiment. Had to change out a couple barrels during the battle due to the constant shooting at what he said originally "looked like a forest of trees moving toward us". The glowing red barrels, even noticeable from a distance away, were getting worrisome. The quick change (along with ammo runners) apparently came in quite handy.
@Thigamabob imagine asking an appalling question like that, only to make yourself looking like a clown/ asshole. Just because some people did do that, doesn't mean everyone has uncontrollable bloodlust and want to kill innocent people.
@@eeddsdsd977 Obviously, they weren't some hyper powerful superpower like u.s or ussr. They were guerilla fighters fighting to kick out the imperialist invaders.
Going through tanker OSUT at Ft. Knox in the early 90s, the U.S. Army was at a transitional phase. M60s were being phased out but since there were still some in Guard units and bizarro active units overseas, we had to train on them anyway to get familiar with them. Hoo-boy, had a badly-maintained M60 runaway on a full belt and talk about riding the lightning, it felt like it was never going to stop and I think I hit *every* target downrange that day. Were were also the last tankers to go through 19K OSUT learning on both the 105mm M1 and "new" 120mm M1A1 Heavy tanks so we got to fire both at the range. (fun fact: 105mm M1 sounds "BANG!" while 120mm M1A1 sounds like "DOOM!") Upon arriving at Dragon Company, 1/3 ACR I noticed that inside the arms room was a round, multi-level spinning handgun rack that not only held our regularly-issued M9 pistols but a lot of M1911 pistols and grease gun .45 submachine guns. THE UNIT STILL HAD THEM ON THE BOOKS AND STILL FIRED THEM AT THE RANGE FOR FUNSIES! Back in Clinton Administration the 19K M1 Armor Crewman MOS was considered the "universal soldier" MOS since we were assigned literally everything *not* Very Special Forces - 19Ks were licensed to drive and operate fuel and cargo HEMTTs, 2.5 & 5 ton trucks, M113A2/A3, M577, M88 recovery vehicles, humvees - we even had a 19K driving a frickin' FIST-V and Avenger anti-air humvee at one time when those MOS jobs were under-manned.
My active and NG service were during the era of the M60. You either loved it or hated it. By the time I was working in small arms as a competitor and instructor, the M60s were getting so worn out that we were always having trouble with them. When the US worked up the platform (i.e. stole it from the krauts) they used aluminum for the receiver frame so as to cut the weight, which means that when they get tired after a few bajillion rounds, they crack. This deadlines the gun either forever or til you can find some wizard to reweld it. A large proportion of ours were rewelds that had been in someone or another's inventory since rocks were soft. In "Black gun" combat focused competition, as opposed to "Brown gun" NRA bullseye events, there are four disciplines: Pistol, Rifle, LMG and Sniper. I myself concentrated on Sniper and Pistol, and only shot Rifle peripherally because I wanted the Leg Points toward Distinguished. I didn't compete with the LMG but always felt sorry for the M60 guys because their guns were so decrepit. Still, when they had one that was sorted out, the guns ran like clocks and kept their rounds roughly in the same time zone. When they were finally replaced with the M240 there was a lot of bitching, almost as much as when we had to turn in our beloved 1911s for the dog shit M9s.
Interesting. I wonder if those parts could be remade from a billet with CNC to always keep them fresh. I am not sure how it works but is the design known?
@@AlessioSangalli Was just about to say that. Gotta be some man or company that does exactly that, casting, forging, machining or printing 100%babynew receivers out of alumAlloys/steal/composites. Could definitely breath new life into the "adult boy's" lawnmower/weedwhacker favorite tools.
@@jfangm Good one! If soldiers aren't bitching, it's bcz they're sleeping. But I was in the Pacific Theater loving my BAR and 1911. (I dream about it all the time.) Probably one of my squarehead cousins bitching about having to turn in his Luger for a P38 and having a love/hate relationship with his MG42.
@@AlessioSangalli Are you referencing the M60 receiver? A new one is recorded by serial number and has to go into the unit property book as such. Since it's a separate firearm, you can't just order it like normal parts. If you endeavored to mill one from billet stock, you'd be manufacturing a new Class III firearm which is pretty taboo even for a military armorer.
3:40 the M60 was really a replacement for two weapons systems, the M1918 BAR and the M1919 .30 cal Browning Machine Gun. The M1919’s belt feeding and heavy barrel brought good sustained fire capability, but it was slow and cumbersome to deploy. Its high weight and lack of basic single man firing provisions like a stock and heat shields meant that it could only be effectively fired from a tripod or vehicle mount. The BAR could be rapidly deployed and moved by a single man, but as you mentioned, the 20 round box magazine severely limited sustained fire capability. The M60 sought to combine the benefits of both guns. It brought the same belt fed sustained fire capability of the M1919, but weighed 25-30% less. Plus features like a stock, large heat shields and an integrated bipod gave it much of the single man portability and rapid deploy ability of the BAR.
The BAR was limited to 20 round magazines, which is always listed as a reason it was inadequate as a LMG, but the British used the Bren LMG, which had 30 round magazines, and yet I often see it referred to as one of the best LMGs of WW2. Was that ten extra rounds the difference? I've read that basically every man in a British infantry squad would carry extra loaded magazines for the squad Bren gun, but I don't recall that being done anywhere by U.S. soldiers for a squad BAR gun. How many magazine pouches did a BAR gunner have on his ammo belt. Maybe the British made up for the limited 30 round magazine capacity of the Bren by simply having lots of loaded magazines available. A U.S. squad would be armed with M-1 Garands, while a British one would be armed with bolt action Lee-Enfields, so maybe the overall firepower difference wasn't that big. I know the British kept using the Bren for some time after WW2, even rechambering it for 7.62 by 51when NATO changed over. I'm not familiar with British weapons. Did the British ever attempt to adopt something new; their version of the MG42/M60?
Loved that segment. I've put uber thousands of rounds through a 60 and have won military marksmanship competitions with it. I would say that technically the M240 is a better machine gun in terms of reliability, but the 60 was about a tack driver as you can get with a machine gun. One trick - when they jam, they tend to jam on the first round. Putting a leading empty link on the first round will normally solve that.
A very good friend of mine(now deceased) has the top plate from the M60 he ran as a door gunner in Nam, he had named it Iron Angel. I think his son has it now. Somehow it got broke not long before he was discharged. Damm Mr Kratz I miss you you tough ol bird.
Before he passed my uncle had a full auto MP5 and while I doubt it was as fun as a damn M-60 I can concur that it was hella fun to shoot on full. Super light recoil too I was only 14-15 at the time & it was super easy to control. Tho the factory irons left alil to be desired LOL.
Wow, that brought back some memories! I had a squad member that could shoot the door off a 5-ton cab with the M-60. When we went to Desert Storm we made sure he was designated 60 Gunner.
Loved the "pig" when I was in the army high rate of fire, hitting power, range was great, never found it troublesome in fact that was part of what I loved about it. Would say I put in the area of over 20,000 rounds through one. Knew someone who bought one in the early 80s before congress and ATF went totally insane was told if one was used for a crime to expect a visit by federal agents. Had a visit from FBI at 2am when one was used to commit a robbery, they wanted to see it. After they saw it turns out the incident was in new Mexico (Ithink).
When I was on Naval Security Forces we had the M60E3 in our inventory loved getting to rock it when we had to go to the range for qualification shoots. Loved that thing!
Love the M60……I was a 60 gunner…not by choice….but clerical error. CATM forgot to certify a bunch of us one year and I had only the 60 qual on record…so I had to man a SRT and ART or gate with a 60….and then every exercise or alert I had to sit on one. I was a small dude at the time 145 lbs. My co gunner had to carry my extra barrel and ammo can. We had old Nam era versions and finally got newer ones just as our base was shut down by Sec Def Cheney….(still hate that dude)
you can really see the happyness on Bill's face every time he fired or was about to fire the M60, you need to bring him back for more videos and range fun.
This was my father's weapon when he was in the military. The best story he told me about the 60 is when he received it he didn't hear the gas rod move so he cleaned it and had the only full auto on the range the next day.
Thanks for watching guys! I know the M60 has been spotted on the channel before, but it was finally time to do its own standalone video! Let me know what other guns you’d like to see us do next!
Thanks to American Hartford Gold for sponsoring this video! To Learn more Text 'BRANDON' to 65532 or call
866-856-0978 Visit offers.americanhartfordgold.com/brandon-herrera/
Thanks to SDI! Again, it’s SDI.edu for more info!
AMD AMD AMD AMD AMD 🙏 please brandon
Yes
As someone who has a gewehr 43 I find this to be an absolute win
#akgnotificationsquad
You should buy a Owen gun.
Goldberg is one of only a few people I've seen that can make a m60 look small.
brandon coming to him like
TRADE DEAL
You get to shoot big gun
I get to use your range
I love how Goldberg just randomly pops up in videos that have mechanical objects in them. From gun-tubers to hoonigan videos he’ll randomly pop up.
@@krispyminty1514 I mean he is just living the average guys dream life, cool guns and fast cars!
Dude makes shooting an M60 FROM THE SHOULDER look easy
Brock would make it look a toy
"A beastly burden, a drudge to hump... some loved it, others hated it. But the M60 never failed to make an impression. An imperfect hero, not without flaw...
*But a hero nonetheless* "
-an excerpt from the video 'M60', created by the immensely talented Ahoy.
Based Ahoy viewer.
Ahoy is a guntuber GOAT.
YES! Somebody else knows Ahoy lets GOOOOOO
I was hearing Ahoy's voice in my head before I even clicked on the "Read more" button. Based.
@@arsenal_616 Aye, I'll second that
Goldberg just coming up and taking the M60 is so goddamn funny to me for some reason.
I think it's because they don't even acknowledge that he's a guest or anything. He just shows up, grabs the M60, fires the rest of the belt, looks disappointed.
Bro, I was so confused. I used to watch him on TV when I was a kid and my brain couldn't accept that it was the same guy until he played the clips. Good times, tho.
Yep, Goldberg grabs a 35 lb machine gun and manhandles it like a plastic toy. Funny as feck.
@@owensthilaire8189He grabs a 150lbs person, and he still man-handles them like a teddy bear 😂
Facts
Bill's a great guy. My son is a huge fan, emailed him awhile back and he actually responded to him. That boys eyes lit up like ive never seen.
what a guy
My father was a door gunner on a Huey in Vietnam and told me some gnarly stories about mowing down unfriendlies when he was in country. He was never happy taking lives but he also told me the classic "if it's you or them, don't hesitate to protect your life"
I'm sure he was a good guy but it makes me think of that full metal jacket line "how can you shoot women and children?" "Just lead them a little less"
@@captainc0rgiNuhh uhhh woman can run as fast as men if not faster! (sarcasm)
@@captainc0rgi These defenders of their homeland are known to hide behind their women and children, because they know westerners try to protect enemy civilians. Guerrilla warfare could only occur if there are supplies behind enemy lines, and every communist faction is known to use civilians as reactive armour. It is great to be merciful, but it can't get in the way of the main objective
Brandon
I loved my 60
I couldn’t ( rather didn’t ) one hand or fire off hand as I was actually in the service and lol they sometimes frown on such behavior
But man, her an Ma Deuce
That was some shit down range to see
That hog will forever be my favorite of my service
Man I hate gettin old lol
@@earthwormandruwDont matter how fast they run! Any VC i see is dead!
The original M60 firing rate was 550 RPM. When you fly as a Scout door gunner/ crew chief we needed more fire power. So we added about 3"of extra spring to stiffen it up for about 100 extra RPM. Later they came with an adjustable buffer that would do about the same. Now doing this you had to really keep all the moving parts lubed up with a ton of LSA lube. We had to replace a lot of bolt groups because of the wear. We also took off all the unnecessary things like the flash hider, Bipods, butt stock. Cut down or removed the hand guard. I had a modified barrel called a LLRP barrel. It was cut just at the gas piston tube. The flame was about 8" from the barrel and after about 100' forget hitting anything, but we were only about 100' or less when we were working. God I do love the M60!!!
Good thing they didn't Track where all that lube was going 😅
Man how I’d like to been there with you boys….yea I’m a dumbass but the thought of havin to go through it without me has bothered me worse than if I was alive and been there….love my vets so much
In short, what you really needed was an MG3.
@mephistoxd2627 Nah, the US has the minigun and the M3 Browning which are miles better.
I was an M-60 specialist instructor in the 80s and 90s. I love the PIG! One thing that stood out to me on this video is the lack of the trigger housing group leaf spring that holds in the trigger housing group pin. I'm kind of amazed that the pin didn't walk out when you were firing it. The leaf spring goes between the trigger housing group retaining pin and the sear pin on the right side of the trigger housing. If you need one, let me know.
are the hot barrel change gloves still made of asbestos?
@@bendalton5221 Now you got me wondering what machine gunners are issued with today.
@@joe6167 I believe the barrels have a handel that you can touch with out gloves
@@arty_gangster yeah I'm curious... I know that well into the 90's you still used the asbestos gloves (I know that because I wore them to do a barrel change)
I need one.
The gun, I mean lol
Is it just me or are Brandon’s videos steadily getting more aggressively anti gov than they used to be…I’m 100% on board😂
you mean anti-tyrannical? the govt is the one becoming anti-citizen
this comment aged interestingly, bet you didn't see his next video coming
@@Insane_Power
Anti current govt. Replacing is an option.
@@Insane_Poweryou know how all those kids cry "tear it down from the inside" but they elect crooked fucks? Its like that but not crooked.
And as we know... guns *are for* anti government purposes.
To protect us from government.
And extremely soon, we'll all get our chance 👌
First 5 seconds of video and donuts already going FULL RETAHD
I’m getting Chewie vibes
I think it was a terrible try at the Tuscan Raider yell LMAO 🤦🏻🤣😂
He going full marine
Doodle doughnut
Mike Ermahntraut also made an appearance here
To those wondering my age and my Great Grandpa's age, please go to the Replies section for more.
My great Grandpa was an M60 Gunner in the 1st Infantry Division during his draft in Vietnam. He was an MP at a base until a Lieutenant found him and a couple more boys drunk, partying in a barracks. He was demoted, reassigned, and was expedited out to the front. I wasn't surprised one bit when my great Grandmother told me he was an Machine Gunner; he was a big guy. From the stories I remember, he was in a couple nasty battles and ended up getting hit by a Charlie Sniper. I was never told a first-hand account of his service, he only ever told my great Grandma. He was the nicest old man I had ever met. Caring, and very affectionate. Passed away peacefully in 2020. Rest in Peace, Richard "Papa Lee" Hagen.
My GRAND father was in ww2 and im still in my 20s.. my great grandfather was in ww1.
@@nagoogle8542oh yeah well my grandfather survived Antietam and my great-grandfather fought at Thermopylae
"great grandpa"? I guess that's what happens when consecutive generations fuck children
@@nagoogle8542 I was about to say like damn great grandfather in vietnam they must have really got going on the child making part
@@nagoogle8542yeah I was about to say something ain't adding up...or his family all reproduced super young
My grandfather carried the m60 in both his deployments in Veitnam when I asked him about his experience with the weapon he didn't seem to have many bad things to say about it. Other than he would tie wire his gas system down like you do to prevent it from backing off during his patrols. He also told me anytime he would see movement he would just dump all 9 yards into that direction and average 2 kills that way. Dude was OG based af. Miss those stories.
Bro is a chad
The 80s were a Golden Age… we knew the M60 by sight and sound. Every time we played anything imaginatively fake-violent (lol), someone invariably found a branch that generally resembled the M60 and declared themselves the squad automatic weapon operator. ☺️
The m60 holds a special place in my heart. When I was in the Marines on a range day with a bunch of 60s, An officer and I put on a demo called talking machine guns each had 200 rounds. After we put on the demo I had earned some respect from some of the Vietnam vets. for my ability to hit targets at long range firing from the hip and using the tracers to put rounds on Target.
As a Paratrooper Gun Team Member. Talking Guns was a standard of operation. We had to run interlocking fire and to alternate guns in 6 to 9 round bursts. If one gunner noticed that the other gun went silent, he went Cyclic. If you know, you know...
Mk
My dad carried and used his M60 during the Vietnam War. God bless the veterans who didn't get to come home
God bless your father. My father also served in Vietnam but didn't use the M60.
Them Neegas have a 99.9% chance to be in hell right now unless they were macnamaras fools😅
Hey look a commi@@arcuz7862
Seeing the child-like excitement from Goldberg at 7:09 is simultaneously something I never thought I would see and something I never knew I wanted to see.
Goldberg is definitely the best weapon you’ve featured on the channel so far!!!
lol
Remember to Fear the Spear
Somebody sure listened to their mama saying you eat all your greens
@@josephesquivel4066 door
My friend and former coworker went to Vietnam in 1969-70 He was all of 140lbs. and carried the Pig for a year while serving with the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. He received the Bronze star and purple heart. Unsung hero. R.I.P. Jeff
o7 brother Jeff
My sister was only 1/3 of 140 lbs and dual wielded a110s in saving private ryan.
Smallest guy gets the biggest gun. That's just the rule.
Lol the way you worded that looks like he was awarded bronze star and purple heart for having to carry the MG
o7 rip Jeff
Hope you don't mind me joking around
@@GrandDawggy all good, it does seem worded that way. But in honor of Jeff's service I will clarify that while during enemy contact in the field and moving through a ditch with his squad members a grenade came in and landed 2 men ahead of him and with no time to warn the others he ran forward past the 2 men and picked up the grenade and luckily threw it out before it detonated. He received the purple heart on another occasion when he caught fragments of an R.P.G. blast that exploded near him. I also found out at his funeral that after enemy contact he was M.I.A. for about 2 weeks before reuniting with his unit. He didn't speak of Vietnam often but when he did I listened. At his funeral his sister gave me one of the empty brass casings fired by the honor guard and I will one day polish and engrave it as a tribute to his service.
Man i appreciate seeing Cody in these vids, seems like he’s actually enjoying content again. Doesn’t seem to have the burnout sads.
I think building a new skateshop where he lives also helps.
He's getting pretty jacked, too.
@@Moose6340 TRT Donut is a beast for sure.
I was a Marine Machine gunner the first 3 of my 8 years (79-88). 23.2 pounds empty on my shoulder. I'm still lopsided. I had the leaf spring for the trigger housing pop off while on a LHA catwalk getting up on deck to fly ashore. The pin fell out, the trigger housing fell off, and bounced into the Pacific Ocean. Next day somebody found me in the jungle in Thailand and gave me a replacement. As heavy as it was, 7 pounds per 100 rounds links, but it should did get people's heads to duck. In a Ambush, the first 100 rounds were cyclic without a pause and just hosed the kill zone. Then another 100 same way quick, then a barrel change.
One of the truly good features that it didn't require a trigger group to function.... we removed our trigger housing springs laced our pins on with wire and a lacing tool. That totally solved the spring pop off issue...
I was a PIG rider back in the mid 80's. Probably the funnest weapon I had the pleasure of carrying. FYI, I was 18, weighed 130lbs and could indeed shoulder the weapon. Had to lean in a lot, but it can be done! Thanks for the walk down memory lane 🤘
A buck 30 slinging the pig, a ride indeed my friend. 🫡
@@andrewmcbain4119 How's the saying go? Young, dumb and full of.. The invincibility of youth is now the pain and agony of old age. Knees, hips, ankles are completely trashed. But man, it sure was a fun ride!
What’s a pig rider ?
@@RealSirPotssomeone that rides pigs
@@jefftraboulsy8631indeed, a hog handler, if I may.
Fun storytime:
My Dad is a Marine Corps Veteran, his service being during the 1980s. He once layed so much fire into the face of a building with an M60 that *The face of the building almost collapsed*
Edit: Correction, just talked with him and, in fact, the face of the building DID indeed collapse. They wanted to know if there were any bad guys in the building, so recon by fire was conducted - with extreme prejudice.
Edit 2: Dad says Semper Fi to y'all and, "As you were, I'll be in the area all day."
Reconnaissance by fire: If you shoot and they run, there were enemies. If you shoot and nothing runs, there either *were* enemies there or there were not all along. Either way, it is not your problem anymore xD
I served in the Corp during the 80's, I would be interested to know where he was at because I can not remember any units that would have been in the type of combat that you described.
Source: trust me, bro
@@jayeh1343 "In August 1982, Marine units landed at Beirut, Lebanon, as part of the multi-national peace-keeping force. For the next 19 months these units faced the hazards of their mission with courage and professionalism. In October 1983, Marines took part in the highly successful, short-notice intervention in Grenada."
@@jayeh1343 never heard of Beirut?
I was a 240b gunner in oef 10-11 we had seals on our compound who had a m60 and I was always so envious. It’s just such a classic look and the sound 🤌 much like the warthog the pig has a well deserved nickname. Must be experienced in person to truly appreciate. An amazing weapon system.
SEALs were rocking the M60s? Thought they’d be using the Mk. 48
@@MopSpadowski I may be wrong, but I think I remember hearing somewhere that special forces typically get free choice of firearms within reason.
@@MopSpadowski in Afghanistan mountain ranges the 308 aka 7.62 nato rains supreme. They preferred m60 over 240b because it’s a 10lbs difference yet the range is somewhat comparable.
3:32 one of the best bits Brandon has done, "I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees… AND THE TREES SPEAK FUCKING VIETNAMESE!"
A seriously underrated machine gun post Vietnam. Most modern soldiers rate the heavier M240 better. But most of them never fired an M60 that was reasonably new and well maintained. Which late in their service life most M60s weren’t.
I'm 5'3 and was 135lbs in 93 when I was my platoons M-60 gunner. I could hip and shoulder-fire the PIG no problem. Years later when the 240 came around, I found it uncontrollable unless prone or mounted.
If I were to nitpick, you'd want a gun that still functions even after all that time, but let's be honest, the M240 would probably have similar problems, so that's nothing new. But yes. Maintain your guns, they like you better that way.
@@Elysium4 false, the m240 is the final iteration of the light machinegun, it is perfect and you'll watch your mouth.
@@chadpunte1731 My mistake. Glory to the M240 god.
@@Elysium4 memes aside, it's strengths lie in it's accuracy, sustainable fire rate, tolerance to foreign debris, and high round count durability. If there's a complaint about it, it can be it's weight, but it's extra lbs are exactly where you would want them if you're going to have them.
Taught this in the military. One thing ppl do not know about the M-60 is it kicks harder forward than backwards. That is why you can fire it with one handed. Very accurate and VERY sweet to shoot
I just saw the titansofcnc vid on the new handguard for the AK-50, it looks absolutely fantastic and it makes me more excited to see it coming soon.
Unlike most other people who say “where ak50”, it has given me a deep understanding of why guns take so long to develop
I saw it a couple of days ago and yeah it's really fascinating, huh!
Where AK50 tho?
@@noahhastings6145 *Insert bonk here*
well if they made it already, then he could at least give us an update....😏
where ak50 ?? *impatient monke noises*
I was a Pig Runner back in the day. Part of the barrel change kit included what was basically a huge oven mit for hot swapping the barrel. Running tracers through that monster at night was a hell of thing to behold. You could just watch the barrel turn a nice cherry red...
“I am the Lorax i speak for the trees and the trees speak fucking Vietnamese” has to be the best Brandon line ever 😂😂😂😂
Was a 60 gunner in my Reserve unit in the late 80s. As an ROTC cadet we practiced tearing down and putting 60s together for competions. Even carryed one in my Officers Basic Course field exercise back in '92 (no one else knew how to work it). A great MG. Loved The Pig.
The way bill apologized for the white claws was so soft and remorseful! Awesome colab
Such an iconic weapon that I loved as a kid. When I got to my first duty station in the Army (1/503 INF) as an 11B, they still had the M60 and I got to fire it. Made me love it even more. Then about a month later we got a shipment of new M240B machine guns and turned in the M60.
My old neighbor was in Vietnam and this is the gun he carried. He didn’t tell me too many stories but when I got him a little drunk he told me enough to understand the hell these men went through. He said he could chainsaw the jungle with this gun and the m60 saved their ass several times throughout his time there.
I like Bill, he's good value. The two classic GOATs of belt-fed LMGs will always be the MG42 and the M60. Neither will put you at any real disadvantage even on the modern battlefield, they have the timelessness of the M2 .50cal and they'll both be around for a while yet.
Idk, they did replace the M60 for the FN machine guns.
The MG42 might be hard to find enough ammo for. Good thing we have MG3.
@@joshuabessire9169 I'm counting them both as the same gun, the only real difference is the calibre and the furniture after all.
@@marvindebot3264 and a stamped over friendship windmill...
Are those LMGs or GPMGs?
As a former M60 gunner (enlisted 1985) I loved the shoulder plate to help keep it in place
it’s weird how distinct and unique the sound signature of that thing is. One would never confuse that sound for say, a 5.56 AR with a bumpstock.
My grandpa served as a door gunner on a helicopter gunship during Vietnam, he manned an m60 and loved the gun, and he's always more than happy to share his stories of his time served there. Even about the time they blew up a village 😂
He was proud about blowing up a village ?
@@berndblabla4249 he should be. what's your problem hippie?
Hopefully you mean a VC village lol
@@berndblabla4249 Many "villages" in Vietnam were full fledged troop compounds with two or three civilians around to do basic chores/maintenance on the structures. And many of the "civilians" were plainclothes military in quite a few documented cases. He never said his gramps was "proud about blowing up a village". He said his gramps was happy to discuss his stories. So quite frankly, buzz off with that BS.
I also suggest you find some other place other than this channels' comment section to throw out your moral quandaries. Might I suggest Reddit? Since you're the type to misquote a person in what looks like an attempt to test the waters on shaming somebody's gramps for their military service in a war with dicey availability of recon info, that seems like it'd be more down your lane.
@@atoriusv5070 the war was very dicey my family experienced destruction from both the NVA and the US. Some trigger happy US troops were eager to claim a village was VC and as for the NVA they’re just assholes obviously lol
My good Friend Mike was a Marine and a M60 gunner in Vietnam. He's told me a few stories about basically doing that scene from Predator and unloading into the Jungle because they couldn't see who was shooting at them.
"I found an arrowhead! 😃" I love how innocent that was 😂
Vote for more Goldberg content, dudes a legend and one of my childhood hero’s.
Thank you Brandon for the walk down memory lane! My MOS didn't put me on a range to shoot anything until, being in the Navy, I volunteered to go to Vietnam and got stationed on a river boat repair ship up the Mekong river and we got caught under fire in a no fire zone, for us not charlie, cause we were near a "friendly" village. That's when my MOS got changed to gunner, mainly because I could use a rifle better than the gunner we had. Our captain saw me taking out targets by the muzzle flash and got me to get more training at an Army base near Saigon. I was a radar operator, but after that little episode I haven't seen a radar screen, except in movies, since. 🥴😁😅😂🤣
Everybody's MOS is infantry if shit hits the fan hard enough
@@pws3rd170Truer words have never been spoken.
@davecrupel2817 IIRC, I've heard multiple stories of chefs manning machine guns. I believe one at Pearl Harbor got on an AA gun. Then I think there's a story from Vietnam I've heard
I love the Goldberg cameo. He's definitely one of the best pro wrestlers of all time. Also, did Titan CNC get your 50 handguard right? I saw the video last night and it looked so cool.
Was that really just a cameo though?
@@vincedibona4687 you may be right, but one thing's for sure. Goldberg isn't a bad guy. Just a badass guy.
I wasn't in during the Vietnam era, I was in during the 80s. My job was a 60 gunner on a fire team. My absolute favorite thing was the annual M-60 qualification. I got to spend the day at the range just burning thru belt after belt. After hitting all of the little tombstone targets for qualification, the range guys always had some derelict vehicles downrange for us to shred. Old trucks and schoolbusses were much more fun than White Claw cans.
As a 13E, the M60 was our crew serve weapon. The FDO would hang out the hatch of the M577 with it. Also, besides the ammo, we had to carry a bag with replacement barrels, and a hot mitt to grab the barrel with when it was hot.
THE INTRO ALREADY MAKES THIS ONE OF THE BEST VIDEOS BRANDON HAS MADE
GOBBLESS HOSS
The reliability issues with the M60 really boiled down to the feed claw being a bit thin and the fact that they were in service for decades and the military doesn't replace parts as often as they should. After 20 years of use in training and combat, the wear on parts was significant enough to make the weapons barely operable, similar to the issues with M9 pistols in the early 2000's. The design itself is excellent and the Dutch military actually bought a few thousand M60E5s, which uses modern metalurgy, some receiver lightening, and a thicker feed claw to reduce weight, extend the life of the parts, and fix the only real problem with the weapon. In conclusion, the M60E5 is lighter, more controlable, and and looks sexier than the M240B and as an American machinegunner I will never forgive the DoD or FN for making me carry a 30 lb steel brick through the desert.
Thought there were issues with receiver stretching as well.
@@mikepj67 It seems so. Typically American design choices, all the peripherals and rubbish is made much heavier than needed to increase the perception of quality, and the critical components are made flimsy and light to save weight.
@@mikepj67 They did, after 2 decades of use in training and combat. With modern metallurgical techniques and materials that isn't an issue and even if it was, a 20 year service life on equipment at heavily used as a machinegun is not bad at all.
Former Marine Corps grunt here who's MOS was 0331 and I have plenty of experience with the M60. I loved that thing, but I was transferred to a rifle platoon and became an 0311. Things weren't that bad though, as they made me the automatic rifleman in my fireteam and I got another machine gun, the M249 SAW. However, it just wasn't the same as the M60. I really miss that gun. I'm so jealous of you, Brandon!
When I was in , we all carried , full autos , with a semi option on the switch
@@kennethmcdonald5278 Yeah, we had the M16A1 rifle also, but the Corps then started phasing them out as the M16A2 entered service. When they bumped me down to an 0311, I got a brand spankin' new A2 rifle. Hated that 3 round burst shit. Carried that for 6 months until I got my M249.
In my experience the SAW always jammed. We brought 5 to a range and they all broke, and we had to delink and shoot all of that 5.56 thru our rifles. You can imagine how much cleaning we needed to do when we got back.
I've heard stories from people I know who were in the millatary about guys getting Rambo happy with the M-60 on the firing range and melting down the barrel. They ended up doing 4 count push-ups until the D.I. got tired of yelling
I think it is a moral imperative that Brandon builds and tests some explosive arrows… bonus points if he ties a blue glow stick to one of the arrows.
I saw some behind the scenes thing about old movies and it ruined that scene when I found out they just used protective covers for arrowheads to act as "explosive tips". I still want to believe that they exist somewhere.
@andreivaldez2929 That's a very clever and resourceful armourer to repurpose an already existing item like that.
I'm going to admit. Bill Goldberg was the last person I expected to see in a video about the M60. It's a surprise, but a welcome one.
I like the slimmed down look on Bill. He looks healthier just being on TRT and not slamming grams of other compounds. Him cactus jack and Jack the snake are some of my favorites
3:51 more specifically, the M60 was meant to bridge between the Model 1919 and the BAR so as to make a lighter gun than the 1919 with more firepower than the BAR
♥️ 1 John 5 kJV
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
3:31 had me dying 😂🤣😂 🙏
9:50 was such a flex
love it
The fact that you guys just randomly know and hang out with Goldberg has to be one of the coolest things ever
Hell yes. Bill is an awesome dude. Glad to see him hanging out
Actually prior to the M60, the BAR was the Squad Automatic Rifle and the M1919 was the Medium MG. When they put a stock etc on the 1919A6 and other variants such as the USMC "Stinger" conversion, they were attempting to come up with a Light MG.
The M14 had/has a higher rate-of-fire, but magazine fed instead of belt fed.
1:25 I was on deployment in the Marines in ‘98. We were supposed to do a bunch of training exercises wile we were over there, but did some real world stuff instead. We ended up with a lot more ammo than we were supposed to have right before we headed back. Taking ammo out of the US, no problem. Bringing “extra” ammo back, even for the USMC, extremely difficult. Our last training op before washing up and going home was in Sardinia. We are supposed to shoot off so much live stuff, but it’s so dry, we keep starting fires. Instead of having any kind of fire extinguisher they decided to have us line up and beat out the brush fire with our flack jackets. When that failed we just watched it burn until the helos dropped stuff in it. So now all shoots are cancelled. We made friends with some of the other countries that were training there, especially the French foreign legion. There was a mountain near the coast and everyone was going to climb it and watch the navy bomb rocks off the coast. But I pissed off my platoon commander and got sent with the gunnerery sergeant to help load up the gear to go back on the boat. It ended up being awesome. We fired off sooooooo many rounds out into the sea that day. Mostly 556, but I shot 2 at-4s and a bunch of 40mm. At one point I had two M-249s cross slung firing the moth off. I think that’s when it caught up to gunny that he was the senior man there. That’s when he shut it all down.
My grandfather Steven L Monet. Served in Vietnam as a member of fifth infantry division, And seventh medical command. Where he functioned as a tunnel rat. Because that man practically raised me. I have his sense of humor. This video is exactly what I needed. I haven't laughed this hard in years. Thank you so much #BrandonHerrera.
I qualified with an M60 in 1967 at Fort Lewis. I was with a Light Infantry Company for a year in Vietnam and am still impressed with it. I have heard all the stories about them being unreliable but I never saw it.
Bill. Such a legend. Loved watching him wrestle. These colabs are awesome
When I served in the Australian Infantry the M60 was in service. It was big, heavy and was a pain to clean. I used to do 15 km marches with it (because I was the biggest guy in the platoon) and when you got to the end your arms were bombed. But man when you started that bad boy up you just knew that whatever it was pointed at was going to be obliterated. You can see it’s lineage in the FG42 and MG42 German machine guns from WW2.
The MG42 was also pretty widely used for killing communists in eastern Europe.
@@OmniMontelA truly noble endeavor, if ever there was one 🇺🇸
@@williamflowers9435 not really sure if it counts as a noble endeavor when it's the third Reich doing it, but it's one of those things that you want the leadership on both sides to hit the casualties list .. kinda feel for the common man caught up in the middle of both.
@@OmniMontel
A good act is good, whoever carries it out
@@josedorsaith5261 True but how many of those "Communist' folks were just some random 20 year old farmer or factory worker that just happened to be born in Russia or Ukraine in the 1920s then told congratulations comrade you're in the Soviet army now, and how many were dedicated to fatherly Uncle Joe and the party? That's what makes me go hmmm?
Love it. When I served, they sent me to M60 specialist school. Got to shoot many rounds through it (appreciated the asbestos mitten they supplied during hot barrel changes).
Good trigger discipline, I was able to do 3-round burst from the M-60 when I was in the Army, I learned how so as not to waste ammo. the best part of the M-60 is replacing a hot barrel, they are so easy. I almost had a heart attack when it looked like you were going to close the cover on a closed bolt. Anyone that has fired an M-60 would have known why.
My favorite I got the Privilege of using and carrying them when I was in the Air Force in the early 80's. Still remember the month I spent in training in 60 school so much AMMO. You really need to get you a Tri pod for yours. not only does it look Awesome it brings it level of accuracy to an unbelievable level. 2500 yards all day long zone fire at it's best. Using the T&E just set it and forget it give no mans land a new meaning. Bring back many memories for me 28.6 lbs. of stay out of the way. Thank you for the best weapon I ever got to carry.
Same here. Early 80s USAF Security. I don't remember ever shooting from hip however. Then again I'm 62 and my memory of 40 years ago isnt what it once was!
1:30 THEY DID THE THING
Shot one off the fantail of the Hewitt DD966 back in the 1970’s and took an unrequired ROTC class in college just to shoot one again, loved every second of it.
6:59 is the best skit ive ever seen
Excellente video on the m60 Brandon, I love it. A few points I can add from talking to my dad who was a M60 gunner (he loved the video too) : 1. forgetting to have to bolt to the rear when closing the the top cover can booger up the feed arm (many an armourers nightmare), 2. practice breaking belts in case of run-away gun due to sear wearing out or trigger group pin walking out and trigger group detaching (he noticed the lack of trigger housing group leaf spring).
I recently had the privilege of visiting my boyfriend in British Colombia. While there, we went through the town of Hope and the greater Fraser Valley area, where First Blood was filmed. The town of Hope has a bunch of wood carved statues, including one of Rambo right in the city center, complete with a pretty damn good looking M60 for being carved of wood.
I never knew ther was a country called Chad 🇹🇩 😂
One of my all time favorite machine guns. Right up there with the M1919A4. Also, my granddad used the "Pig" a lot in Vietnam. He said he loved the thing. Good ole' .30 cal
Don't worry dude, got your back from thieves ✊ You get thumbs up, he gets thumbs down tho it doesn't really do much anymore.
@@jdmmike7225 Thanks, brother. And if you have any questions about granddad, I'd be more than happy to answer
Had the opportunity to meet Goldberg back when he was filming longest yard very nice man was cool to see him in this.
My old man humped the M-60 around '68. Mentioned that, with the firing rate, you could put a single bullet into a target at long range with experience. The barrel change came in real handy during an extended incident with an attacking NVA regiment. Had to change out a couple barrels during the battle due to the constant shooting at what he said originally "looked like a forest of trees moving toward us". The glowing red barrels, even noticeable from a distance away, were getting worrisome. The quick change (along with ammo runners) apparently came in quite handy.
Damn has he ever shot any fleeing children or their families. Must've had a great time there.
@Thigamabob imagine asking an appalling question like that, only to make yourself looking like a clown/ asshole. Just because some people did do that, doesn't mean everyone has uncontrollable bloodlust and want to kill innocent people.
@@Thigamabobas my dad once said, if they run it means they have their fingers in it.
@@eeddsdsd977 Obviously, they weren't some hyper powerful superpower like u.s or ussr. They were guerilla fighters fighting to kick out the imperialist invaders.
Going through tanker OSUT at Ft. Knox in the early 90s, the U.S. Army was at a transitional phase. M60s were being phased out but since there were still some in Guard units and bizarro active units overseas, we had to train on them anyway to get familiar with them.
Hoo-boy, had a badly-maintained M60 runaway on a full belt and talk about riding the lightning, it felt like it was never going to stop and I think I hit *every* target downrange that day.
Were were also the last tankers to go through 19K OSUT learning on both the 105mm M1 and "new" 120mm M1A1 Heavy tanks so we got to fire both at the range.
(fun fact: 105mm M1 sounds "BANG!" while 120mm M1A1 sounds like "DOOM!")
Upon arriving at Dragon Company, 1/3 ACR I noticed that inside the arms room was a round, multi-level spinning handgun rack that not only held our regularly-issued M9 pistols but a lot of M1911 pistols and grease gun .45 submachine guns.
THE UNIT STILL HAD THEM ON THE BOOKS AND STILL FIRED THEM AT THE RANGE FOR FUNSIES!
Back in Clinton Administration the 19K M1 Armor Crewman MOS was considered the "universal soldier" MOS since we were assigned literally everything *not* Very Special Forces - 19Ks were licensed to drive and operate fuel and cargo HEMTTs, 2.5 & 5 ton trucks, M113A2/A3, M577, M88 recovery vehicles, humvees - we even had a 19K driving a frickin' FIST-V and Avenger anti-air humvee at one time when those MOS jobs were under-manned.
Lol that's why they teach you how to break the belts now and stop runaways, to avoid that
My active and NG service were during the era of the M60. You either loved it or hated it. By the time I was working in small arms as a competitor and instructor, the M60s were getting so worn out that we were always having trouble with them. When the US worked up the platform (i.e. stole it from the krauts) they used aluminum for the receiver frame so as to cut the weight, which means that when they get tired after a few bajillion rounds, they crack. This deadlines the gun either forever or til you can find some wizard to reweld it. A large proportion of ours were rewelds that had been in someone or another's inventory since rocks were soft.
In "Black gun" combat focused competition, as opposed to "Brown gun" NRA bullseye events, there are four disciplines: Pistol, Rifle, LMG and Sniper. I myself concentrated on Sniper and Pistol, and only shot Rifle peripherally because I wanted the Leg Points toward Distinguished. I didn't compete with the LMG but always felt sorry for the M60 guys because their guns were so decrepit. Still, when they had one that was sorted out, the guns ran like clocks and kept their rounds roughly in the same time zone. When they were finally replaced with the M240 there was a lot of bitching, almost as much as when we had to turn in our beloved 1911s for the dog shit M9s.
In sone alternate universe, you bitched about turning in your Lugers and loved or hated the MG3.
Interesting. I wonder if those parts could be remade from a billet with CNC to always keep them fresh. I am not sure how it works but is the design known?
@@AlessioSangalli Was just about to say that. Gotta be some man or company that does exactly that, casting, forging, machining or printing 100%babynew receivers out of alumAlloys/steal/composites. Could definitely breath new life into the "adult boy's" lawnmower/weedwhacker favorite tools.
@@jfangm Good one! If soldiers aren't bitching, it's bcz they're sleeping. But I was in the Pacific Theater loving my BAR and 1911. (I dream about it all the time.) Probably one of my squarehead cousins bitching about having to turn in his Luger for a P38 and having a love/hate relationship with his MG42.
@@AlessioSangalli Are you referencing the M60 receiver? A new one is recorded by serial number and has to go into the unit property book as such. Since it's a separate firearm, you can't just order it like normal parts. If you endeavored to mill one from billet stock, you'd be manufacturing a new Class III firearm which is pretty taboo even for a military armorer.
My great grandpa was an mp in Vietnam, and has talked about using the m60 in convoy escort missions. Pretty cool to hear him speak about the gun.
3:40 the M60 was really a replacement for two weapons systems, the M1918 BAR and the
M1919 .30 cal Browning Machine Gun.
The M1919’s belt feeding and heavy barrel brought good sustained fire capability, but it was slow and cumbersome to deploy. Its high weight and lack of basic single man firing provisions like a stock and heat shields meant that it could only be effectively fired from a tripod or vehicle mount.
The BAR could be rapidly deployed and moved by a single man, but as you mentioned, the 20 round box magazine severely limited sustained fire capability.
The M60 sought to combine the benefits of both guns. It brought the same belt fed sustained fire capability of the M1919, but weighed 25-30% less. Plus features like a stock, large heat shields and an integrated bipod gave it much of the single man portability and rapid deploy ability of the BAR.
The M1919 also used cloth belts that required special care in humid and rainy environments.
The BAR was limited to 20 round magazines, which is always listed as a reason it was inadequate as a LMG, but the British used the Bren LMG, which had 30 round magazines, and yet I often see it referred to as one of the best LMGs of WW2. Was that ten extra rounds the difference? I've read that basically every man in a British infantry squad would carry extra loaded magazines for the squad Bren gun, but I don't recall that being done anywhere by U.S. soldiers for a squad BAR gun. How many magazine pouches did a BAR gunner have on his ammo belt. Maybe the British made up for the limited 30 round magazine capacity of the Bren by simply having lots of loaded magazines available. A U.S. squad would be armed with M-1 Garands, while a British one would be armed with bolt action Lee-Enfields, so maybe the overall firepower difference wasn't that big.
I know the British kept using the Bren for some time after WW2, even rechambering it for 7.62 by 51when NATO changed over. I'm not familiar with British weapons. Did the British ever attempt to adopt something new; their version of the MG42/M60?
@@dongilleo9743 They use our M2 and the MAG, although I'm not sure whether they had a stopgap MG between the Bren autorifle and the true beltfed guns.
@@dongilleo9743 The Bren also had an inter changeable barrel btw
Loved that segment. I've put uber thousands of rounds through a 60 and have won military marksmanship competitions with it. I would say that technically the M240 is a better machine gun in terms of reliability, but the 60 was about a tack driver as you can get with a machine gun. One trick - when they jam, they tend to jam on the first round. Putting a leading empty link on the first round will normally solve that.
Loved shooting it when I was in the service...super reliable..right up to the point where it decides to have a cook off.
A very good friend of mine(now deceased) has the top plate from the M60 he ran as a door gunner in Nam, he had named it Iron Angel. I think his son has it now. Somehow it got broke not long before he was discharged. Damm Mr Kratz I miss you you tough ol bird.
Huge respect for Brandon knowing his limits in the beginning love the content brotha
You literally turned yourself into Rambo! I love it!
Man, this just makes me so jealous, you lucky devil. There are few greater joys than shooting a full-auto, I imagine. Great video as always.
Before he passed my uncle had a full auto MP5 and while I doubt it was as fun as a damn M-60 I can concur that it was hella fun to shoot on full. Super light recoil too I was only 14-15 at the time & it was super easy to control. Tho the factory irons left alil to be desired LOL.
1:35 reasonable crashout
The pig was always one NOT being wanted to jump with. I was already a heavy drop, but the pig got me to the ground somewhat faster. Airborne!
Wow, that brought back some memories! I had a squad member that could shoot the door off a 5-ton cab with the M-60. When we went to Desert Storm we made sure he was designated 60 Gunner.
Loved the "pig" when I was in the army high rate of fire, hitting power, range was great, never found it troublesome in fact that was part of what I loved about it. Would say I put in the area of over 20,000 rounds through one.
Knew someone who bought one in the early 80s before congress and ATF went totally insane was told if one was used for a crime to expect a visit by federal agents. Had a visit from FBI at 2am when one was used to commit a robbery, they wanted to see it. After they saw it turns out the incident was in new Mexico (Ithink).
1970 Army Basic Training on the M60. You need your asbestos gloves to safely swap the hot barrel. FYI asbestos gloves are not safe anymore.
When I was on Naval Security Forces we had the M60E3 in our inventory loved getting to rock it when we had to go to the range for qualification shoots. Loved that thing!
A major flashback to my time in the US Army, since I was a machine gunner. Many a day carrying the Pig.
My dad was a 60 gunner and I was just talking with him about these things. Love the 60.
Always loved Bill and every time I see him blowing shit up he moves up a notch 😂, you all stay safe ❤
The part when he disassembles the gun and shows it's guts to the detail is always my favorite, I kinda wish they were a bit longer.
Love the M60……I was a 60 gunner…not by choice….but clerical error. CATM forgot to certify a bunch of us one year and I had only the 60 qual on record…so I had to man a SRT and ART or gate with a 60….and then every exercise or alert I had to sit on one. I was a small dude at the time 145 lbs. My co gunner had to carry my extra barrel and ammo can. We had old Nam era versions and finally got newer ones just as our base was shut down by Sec Def Cheney….(still hate that dude)
you can really see the happyness on Bill's face every time he fired or was about to fire the M60, you need to bring him back for more videos and range fun.
"I am the Lorax and I speak for the trees. AND THE TREES SPEAK FUCKING VIETNAMESE 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥" I'm dead 💀
Man the stories this inspired to be told in the comments here was one of the best parts of the vids. Thanks Brandon!
In the Navy we used the Mk 43 (essentially a shorter Naval variant of the M60) which I absolutely loved.
7:25 Swear he was about to say “Ain’t got no gas in it”.
This was my father's weapon when he was in the military. The best story he told me about the 60 is when he received it he didn't hear the gas rod move so he cleaned it and had the only full auto on the range the next day.
7:43 "looking all submissive and breedable" lololol