As I’ve said, I could listen to Ryan Muckenhirn talk about boiling beans for hours and never get bored. I watched every minute of the video (it’s a long one). But lever actions guns are almost always unique, are historic, are a distinct part of Americana, come from a much better time in history, were designed by the very best mechanics and craftsmen America had to offer, are still viable and useful today, and still (in many cases) carry the wood stock and beautiful furniture you would like to turn over to your children and grandchildren. Jim said it near the end when he said he got into lever guns when he sat back and thought one day when he hands his children his weapons, “Here, offspring, here is this really special firearm …,” and then thought, I have no special firearms. So he bought lever guns.
They’re beautiful, classic, nostalgic, fun to operate, can still put meat on the table, and it’s no wonder there is such a resurgence in interest in lever actions guns and the cartridges they shoot.
I’d like to have a much larger collection of lever action guns than I do. I’ll tell you someone who had a gigantic collection of lever action guns: Jeff Quinn of Gunblast, whom I miss.
I’ve never shot the M60 though I wanted to the first time I saw one, which was in a Navy unit I briefly served with. The M2 is another story. The readers here probably know some interesting details about the weapon.
Photo found without attribution. Appears to be news stock, Vietnam Era.
The M60 is one of the enduring symbols of the American firearms industry. Born out of a fusion of two WWII-era German designs, the original M60 had several engineering flaws that lead to its replacement by the M240. But in 2014, Denmark adopted the M60E6 as the standard light machine gun of its armed forces, and the design continues to be manufactured and sold today. How did the M60 go from its rushed original design to the gun it is today?
The story of the M60 begins right after the end of WWII. During WWII, U.S. soldiers faced down the advanced MG42 machine gun and FG42 automatic rifle. While some may say the MG42’s rate of fire was too high, the weapon was far more suitable for infantry use than the American M1919A6, with superior ergonomics and lower weight. They also faced the FG42, an advanced box-fed automatic rifle that was lighter and more flexible than the American M1918A2 BAR.
Both of these weapons impressed American evaluators, who ordered Saginaw Steering Gear Division of General Motors to produce a version of the MG42 in the American .30-06 caliber. This did not go so well, with many engineering errors such as making the receiver too short. The final gun was highly unreliable, and the project was canned.
The U.S. Ordnance Corps then investigated the possibility of converting the FG42 into a belt-fed machine gun. A variety of prototypes were made. The T44 was a relatively standard FG42 converted to use the MG42’s belt feed, but the basic FG42 barrel proved too light for sustained automatic fire. The T52 came later, incorporating a heavier barrel. Later iterations of the T52 added a quick-change barrel and a new gas system.
The Army also began development of the T161 around this time, which was a variation on the T52 design, but modified for mass production. The T161 and T52 competed with each other throughout 1953 and 1954. In 1954, both guns were adapted for the new 7.62x51mm NATO round and M13 belt link, though they were not called that at the time. The T161 eventually won and went through several iterations before its final field trials as the T161E3 in 1955 and 1956.
The results of the T161E3 trials were impressive. Soldiers preferred the gun over the M1919-series of guns as it was far easier to maneuver, aim, move, and maintain. The gun weighed almost ten pounds less than the M1919A6, tipping the scales at around twenty-three pounds. The T161E3 was adopted as the M60 on 30 January 1957.
The M60 would see its first combat use in the Vietnam War in 1965 with the U.S. Marines. While it served well for many soldiers, providing heavy, accurate firepower, it also revealed many more flaws in the design.
In the door gunner role, M60s could fire upwards of 5000 rounds a day, laying down constant suppressing fire onto landing zones before helicopters came in. This caused the lightweight receivers to stretch and even crack, and gages were issued to armorers to determine when replacement should occur, which usually happened around 100,000 rounds or so. In contrast, the heavier M240 has been known to go for upwards of two million rounds without receiver repair.
More at the source.
Here’s one going for six figures at auction. That price is entirely the NRA’s fault under the NFA; its members covet control of high prices for their automatic rifle investments. The video source is Rock Island Auction, 2023 Gun Prices and Trends, which details many collectibles for this coming year.
The data are held for a year; 2021 was the last full year for which data has been released. 2021 represents a 19 percent year-over-year increase from 2020.
The latest statistics from federal regulators point to a big jump in production for the most recent year available.
The current Annual Firearms Manufacturers and Export Report, released by the ATF late last month, covers the 2021 calendar year. The finalized AFMER is purposely a year behind to protect industry secrets and to allow for all of the data to be compiled. The total figures for 2021 amounted to 13,129,493 firearms of all types– pistols, revolvers, shotguns, rifles, and miscellaneous.
The data from the source includes the top 10 pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotgun companies and a catchall miscellaneous category. Ruger may be the top overall firearms manufacturer in the US that year and is the top rifle manufacturer. Surprising is Maverick Arms of Eagle Pass, TX, owned by Mossberg. I would be interested to know what folks who own or have shot a Maverick think of them.
The M1 Carbine is a fine weapon for its intended purpose. However, the classic legacy models are very expensive. They’re treated as collectibles regardless of how many are in circulation. If you don’t mind having a new production model … well, they’re not any cheaper than the collectibles are. Those guns have maintained their value for many decades.
At close range (i.e., < about 350 – 400 yards), .308 packs a slightly bigger punch than 6.5 Creedmoor, but not by much. I’ve known this for a long time.
The real advantages of the 6.5 Creedmoor are (a) distances longer than that, and (b) less recoil thus the ability to stay on target with your scope, and (c) the longer profile of the 6.5, meaning that it minimizes free bore and thus avoids bullet deformation, and has less drag.
This video – while somewhat chaotic at times – shows essentially the same thing.
To me this comes down to intended use and personal preference.
Since Caleb is demonstrating gunsmithing techniques, I suspect this video will be demonetized by the communists at Googletube very soon.
But I found it interesting. I would have instinctively taken a torquing pass approach to those screws without having to be told so, just like the torquing passes you take for an engine head.
Modularity, interchangeability of parts, and accessorization is a big market with lots of dud entries. Shooting endurance while maintaining accuracy is probably how to find what works. That can be an expensive proposition. Word of mouth can be good, but there are also a lot of bad products that have good marketing. Noticeably absent is the Ruger 10/22, which probably has the most after-market parts and accessories of any weapon platform.
The easiest mention in our list of modular weapons is the AR-15. Ever since the sunset of the Assault Weapons Ban in 2004, the AR-15 has dominated the market. There seem to be hundreds of companies pumping AR-15s at all price points and in all configurations. Alongside their popularity, an entire industry of accessories and parts has sprung to life. This allows shooters to build the rifle they want from parts and pieces. Users can swap out each and every part of their rifle if they so choose.
The modularity of the AR-15 also makes changing calibers easy. You can swap an upper and change calibers with ease. You can take a Multi-Cal lower and use anything from 5.56 to 9mm, and even .410 shotgun shells. Swapping calibers takes no real work, and at most, you might have to switch out buffers when you swap uppers.
Beyond that level of modularity, you can get pretty crazy with your AR-15 modifications. This year at SHOT, a company displayed a bullpup conversion kit to turn your favorite AR-15 into a bullpup platform. It’s an interesting concept and surprisingly well done. The AR-15 certainly takes the top slot as the most modular weapon on the market.
This is one of his older videos and is interesting in that the rounds show similar results. With nearly the same weight in selected ammo, they have comparable velocities. Shooting the cinder blocks, it appears the .40 may even have a slight edge, but concealed carry isn’t for shooting cinder blocks. Watching Mr. Harrell shoot the blocks was a good reminder not to point your weapon at anything you’re not willing to destroy. There are a variety of examinations conducted. One thing is for certain; he’s a pretty good shot.
“The guys at Vortex recommend not using loctite on scope bases and rings. They say that loctite acts like a lubricant on the threads and can potentially make you over-torque the screws.”
“PURPLE!!! Purple people!! Purple is for the smaller screws, like you see in firearms. Read the instructions. The blue is rated for certain sizes, as is the purple. So few know purple exist. It will save you many a headache. READ the instructions.”
And finally, this one.
“A vortex customer service representative recommended that I use clear nail polish as threadlocker and I’ve never looked back never had a problem. Handles vibration and heat like nothing and breaks loose with not much torque when actually trying to remove something.”
Nail polish is an interesting take. I wouldn’t have thought of that. Any takers here?
3 years, 8 months ago
