Maybe I should host a Tampa Machine Gun Shoot Dopefest… sounds like there might be a lot of people interested.
I think the SAW would be most fun for you to shoot. I guess it would be nice to simply “say” you’ve shot a Tommy, but I don’t like them very much. I’ve shot everything on the list and more, and I must say that BELT FED is the way to go! Only thing better than huge and belt fed, is tiny. MP5K, or Glock 18, or little UZIs. Glock 18 is still my all time favorite. Ever.
Go with Anne MArgaret
Ie the Tommy
Tommy or MP5.
I’d do the Steyr. I always wanted to shoot a bullpup.
MG-42. The American Army came out with a training film about them because the sound of one firing terrified troops when they heard it. The machine gun which served from the steppes of Russia to the beaches of Normandy.
I was thinking MG-42 also, BAR second. But mostly I think it depends on what you are going to shoot at. Do they have old cars or something else to really allow the destructiveness be evident? Gotta shoot paper? Not much fun in that. And consider the ammo, it looks like it is not included in the price of rental, 1200 rounds a minute can cost about 10 bucks a second, depending on what ammo they have for you, not that you will be holding the trigger that long.
Another vote for the MAG-58 a.k.a. M240 if they have it. I’m a tanker in the National Guard. I’ve fired this off the loader’s hatch and from the gunner’s station. It is a marvel of engineering. Very simple. Very reliable. My first time on the range as a gunner, I was so nervous I fired a long opening burst at the troop targets. I figured it must have been 40-50 rounds. Turns out I fired a CONTINUOUS burst of 196 rounds :eek: The gun didn’t jam, but I bet the barrel was toast;)
Gosh it’s fun to use toys paid for with tax dollars
If they have an M60 don’t even think of wasting your money on that piece of trash.
Another vote for the FN-MAG (M-240). As a former tanker, I’ll add my voice to 1kBR Kid’s and Alessan’s above about this remarkable light machine gun.
Why the U.S. Army didn’t pick it up for more widespread application is beyond me; puts the -60 to shame, hands down.
I didn’t check the link to the range up above, but I wouldn’t mind trying an MP-5SD. I’d heard that the silencer was real good, but I wanna hear it myself just once.
Ya know, just to different, I’d like to suggest the American 180. It’s cheaper to shoot (.22LR) and you can spell your name with the holes in the paper. I was actually able to spell my name with splashes in ocean, it shoots that fast. For a real eye-opening session, see if you can rent all three of the more common 9mm sub-guns that are seen in movies & TV - the MAC-10, the UZI (the mini-UZI would be best for a comparison to the MAC-10) and the H&K MP5K. You would see the dramatic differences in these three designs. BTW, ExTank, the muzzle signature depends on which suppressor from which generation is hanging on your MP5SD. The three-lug-barrel version accomodates some newer styles that are downright difficult to believe. If you are shooting range ammo (usually required by the range you are visiting), you probably won’t have sub-sonic ammo available, and that’s a big difference, too - but you prolly already know all this…
Nah, the only experience I have with H&K products was (IIRC; it’s been some years) the G3 (semi-auto only) and the MG-3. I wasn’t aware of the fact that the -SD’s came in generational variants.
But I did know that silencer/suppressors need lower powered, subsonic ammo to be most effective, even though that wasn’t really going through my mind when I posted above.
In my experience, most ranges that I’ve been to may be picky about ammo, but usually moreso on the indoor ranges where certain high powered or steel tipped bullets may damage the range backstop. This is usually near military bases (Ft. Bragg, N.C., comes readily to mind as an example of this) where soldiers may have some military surplus ammo which is incompatible for indoor and/or “plinking” ranges.
All the indoor ranges that I have visited require you to use ammo that you buy from them when you rent their guns. And it’s usually S&B or Fiocchi in 9mm! That stuff ain’t cheap! I think the reason for this requirement is to make sure the ammo feeds and functions correctly in their high-priced inventory. They ain’t gonna take no chances on suspect home-rolled ammo. My two indoor ranges let me shoot anything I bring to shoot in my own guns, with the exception of AP and tracer/incendiary. They get a little nervous about Class III stuff, but have agreed to a policy of " fifty bucks per hole in any surface other than the backstop."
While I agree with all of the DATs that the M240 is an excellent weapon, along with the M249 SAW, if you’ve shot a modern LMG before, well, I don’t really feel there is much difference between them for throwing lead down range.
A fun SMG to fire is the M3 Greasegun, partly because it looks like a 4th grader put it together. Kind of a slow rate of fire at .45 cal, makes you feel like you are literally throwing the lead.
I’ve wanted to shot the Berretta 97-R ever since I first read about it in an old Mack Bolan novel–so I’ld go for the Glock 18. Something about a full-auto pistol sounds like it would be a blast.
exTank, how long have you been out?? The M240 has currently replaced the M60 as the crew served machine gun. Only National Guard use M60s anymore. Though there are still some around Army Armories. I’ve used a couple on training patrols, but they HAVE replaced the M60.
The HK21E still beats them both though. Sniper accurate AND belt fed!!
Also, I may have missed it if someone brought it up. But There is no need to shoot SubSonic Ammo through an MP5SD. As a matter of fact, it won’t function properly with subsonic. There are huge ports on the stubby little excuse for a barrell, underneath the CAN that vent off enough gas. Regular ammunition will exit the subgun at subsonic speeds. That’s what’s so cool about it.
Xgemia, I thought it was a 96R? At anyrate, full auto pistols are the shit! I have never fired the fullauto Beretta, but I’ve put thousands of rounds through the 18. It’s still my favorite pistol ever. Got a picture online of me holding an HKMP5K with 100 round BetaC mag, a slung MP5SD and a Glock 18 in the waistband. I love that picture.
A little tidbit on the AUG. If you’ve never fired one, you may not be aware of the trigger. There is no selector switch. Pull half way back for single fire, and all the way back for fullauto. I’ve seen a 10/22 configured fullauto like that. Not sure if they all are though. At anyrate, that’s pretty cool too.
My store is getting a shipment of FN P90s in! I can’t wait to try shooting one of those. They’re just so “different”. Expensive ammo though.
Bear: I ain’t rode tank since '91, and even though one of my previous jobs (up to '01) had me around the military pretty regular, somehow the subject of M-60s & M-240s never came up.
And thanks for the tip on the -SDs.
Tell me regular shooters. Do the photos on The Firing Lane website indicate lax handling regulations?
As a teenager I worked at a rifle range spotting targets. Well you don’t get close to the guns there. I have shot pistols on an indoor range in Queensland and the Range Master has always stressed “If you turn around, even if the gun jams and face another person with the gun in your hand you will be asked to leave the range.” Since I have only gone with teenage sons that seemed pretty smart to me.
So photos of people pointing guns other than at a target and people firing one way and looking another - OK or not?
I was a Range Master for a year and then Managed a gun range for a couple.
I wouldn’t ask someone to leave for something as minor as turning and looking somewhere else while keeping their firearm pointed down range. The important thing is that they made an effort to keep it pointed down range. If people aren’t being wantonly unsafe, I would never throw them out. I’d try to educate them on proper handling and safety and drive on.
I’ve given people a ton of warnings. Threw out very few!! I can only think of half a dozen in all the times I worked there. And those were mainly because people argued when I tried to correct them.
There were the occassional times people do unsafe things like point guns at their heads… but they’re usually dead before you have a chance to throw them out. Bastards. They never prepay either.
Wait… if you meant “Face the other person AND point the gun at them”. Yes, that is definitely NOT minor.
But still. People make mistakes. Educating them is the first step in my opinion. If someone is a new/ first time shooter and they get yelled at and thrown out their first day, they are likely to not try it again. And never know the joy of shooting sports. I would pull such a person aside and stress the seriousness of that action. If they aruge, they’re removed. If they apologize and seem to learn from it… they stay. No harm, no foul. But then I watch them very closely. If it happens again, I strongly suggest that they take a safety course before doing anymore shooting. (more money for me anyway, since Im an instructor) But I wouldn’t call that “throwing them out”. They’re not removed from the store or anything. I just sign them up for a class and tell them to come back. Or if it’s not busy, I will stay in their booth for some one-on-one instruction and supervision. Again, education is the important thing to me. I never tried to be a dick about it.
With that said, there were a lot of guys who were total assholes when it came to that sort of thing. They loved yelling at people, talking down to them, and making them leave.
That’s why the range did twice as much business on the nights I managed, as opposed to the other nights or during the day when the assholes worked.
People got to know it was ran differently when I was in charge than with other managers.
Bear_Nenno arghh! Actually, it’s the 93R not the 97/96. Well, their going to make me turn in my membership card to the Executioner’s Fan Club. And the 93R isn’t full-auto but has a 3rd burst selection. Still cool as far as I’m concerned.
I don’t really see the problem with this - down range is a safe direction to be pointing the firearm - it seems excessive to be thrown out for simply looking away for a moment, especially if they’re holding the weapon properly with their finger off the trigger.
I do it myself at the range - with a rifle pointed down range, my finger off the trigger, I’d feel safe turning for a moment to talk to a friend, or something, and I’m pretty good about safety. Being kicked if you sweep someone with the muzzle while you’re looking around certainly is justifiable, but holding in properly and looking away for a moment doesn’t seem really unsafe, let alone something to be kicked out for.
Thanks folks. Apologies for the hijack. I might add that I don’t think anyone is ever thrown off the range I go to because the warning has the desired effect. The first time we went my then 16 year old began to turn around with a jam and remembered and placed the gun in the holder. It may in fact have been that the warning was more forceful due to out novice status.