My dad was an m60 man in Vietnam 70-71. He said it was supposed to be a 2-man thing, but it ended up being him alone the whole time, carrying his own ammo. He would wrap 1000 rounds around his torso instead of the required 500. Despite that, his main complaint was that they wouldn’t give him the handgun that the support guy was supposed to carry.

I carried an M60E3 in the Marines in Desert Storm. It works fine, was easy to handle with the foregrip and lighter barrel on the E3. I had no problems, but it had to be maintained well. Sand is rough on any weapon. Dust storms were my biggest enemy.

I was a M60 gunner, 23 lbs of fun, God I love that weapon

Pretty sure Hot Shots part deux has easily the most accurate depiction of an M60 machine gun ever to grace the silver screen.

I was an M60 gunner in the 82nd Airborne - gunner and weapons squad leader. I went to a small course on m60 MG leadership taught by former Viet Nam vet green berets and - I shit you not - a former German WW2 infantry soldier.

M60 was a pretty good gun. But compared to it’s contemporaries (MAG, PKM) it was underwhelming. Still the M60 is a good design.

The M60 in the first version I was associated with was temperamental. This was more to do with the modifications that we made. The ammunition could be an issue. When I started on the gun team we carried about 1400 rounds always in cans. Links would rust. However since the assault belt was about 150 to 200 rounds as long you cleaned the belt it wasn’t an issue. The unit had come back from Dak To. So all the rifleman carried a bandolier of 100 rounds. After about 300 rounds the gun was so hot the rounds cooked off. This could be a problem if you ran the gun like this you could burn up the barrel. So the 3 or 4 times I would fire off 2 or 3 cans. Stop and wait. If you fire this gun standing the accuracy could be limited. And once you started the opposition would target you. I started on the M60 about my 3D month. And for most of my time I was a gunner and never saw anything that resembles the movies. The gun weighs about 27 pounds. And I weigh 145. So I always fired it prone. I saw one guy firing it kneeling and he was hit in the head

I was a 60 gunner. Loved it. loved it more than the M240. I had no issues with the ones issued to me

The Australian SAS used the M60 as a weapon for four man patrols. Two men would carry M16A1 rifles with underslung M203s, and the other two were armed with L1A1 rifles. The M60 receiver would be carried by one man, the barrel by the radio telephone operator, the tripod carried by a third man, and the ammo carried by the last man. The gun would be assembled for ambushes and similar situations where heavy fire was required. This arrangement gave the four man patrol significant firepower, allowing them to punch well above their weight. Two four man patrols could defeat battalions of VC, with minimal fire support from artillery or aircraft.

Fun fact: The Danish army recently replaced their version of the MG3 with a modernized version of the M60, the M60E6, under the imaginative name of LMG M/60

When I first entered the Army I was a Pig gunner. I loved the wepon. I guess it was probably because it was the first machine gun I was exposed to. When the 249 came out I thought it was a waste, basically an overbuilt M16. When the 240B came out I thought it was a boat anchor and a pale imitation. One of my earliest and fondest memories was (during a training mission) rushing accross a field of waste hight grass at about 2am with my AG and ammo bearer firing the 60 and lighting up the whole field with the muzzle flash it made s strobe light effect. Still give me goose bumps.

I was the designated “pig” gunner on my team, I resented it, mostly because I hated to clean it. However, when push came to shove, you could reach out and touch someone. One of the best trivia questions is: how many left handed M-60 gunners were there? None after the first burst!

Another idea for your Weapons Comparison video: The American 50.Cal HMG vs The Russian DSHK-41 HMG (Dushka) M-16 vs AK-47.

"God damn it, Elias, don't mess with my pig". 👍

I used the M60 in the Australian army. I hated it! It was heavy, unreliable, and very inaccurate compared to say the Bren. It was full of design flaws such as breaking stuff if you closed the feed cover in the wrong position. Many movable parts had to be wired in place. Nah!

I’m really enjoying these more and more with each new episode

The "Pig" will always be one of my favorite machine guns

I was a fan of the M60 Machine Gun having served from 1981-2001. My primary MOS was 8541 (Marine Scout Sniper) but I also held secondary MOS's (0311-Infantryman as all Marines do), (0311-Machine Gunner and scored 98% at range qualifying), (0331-Mortarman able to launch at any given moment as well as calling in air strikes. I was at the top of my game and took it seriously because when the shit hit the fan it was going to be me versus them, and I had too damn many people depending on me to fail. WAR IS HELL if one it forced into it, I was not, had I been I was well trained, capable, and ready to do what I had to do, and the M-60 Machine Gun was a weapon I would want if confronted with a potential overrun of forces. It's a true weapon of WAR produced to clear any forward front and have a couple of times cooked the barrel "red-hot". Changing the barrel is said to be quick and easy but can be a venture to do so if people's lives depend on it. Change if you can but cook it if you have too and save as many lives as possible.

Having fired the M60 in the early 80’s and the British GPMG I can say out of the 2 the GPMG is by far the better weapon a little heavier with a better rate of fire and less prone the stoppages. Im also a British Army veteran that’s how I got to fire the M60.

I carried the M60 nickname "the pig" my first 3 years in the Army, I was assigned to the 82nd Abn. And I loved her, you take care of her and she performed flawlessly. Of course their were malfunctions at times, like any weapon system, but if you knew your shit, you could get her up and running. She was great machine gun and yes humping the spare barrel and tripod with the TE (true machine gunners know what that is) and the pintel as ammo bearer was a pain in the ass.

I carried "The Pig" in Nicaragua when I was fighting with the Contra rebels. If I kept WD-40 on the links and kept it clean it ran well. But it was a bit temperamental. nice to have when you needed it though.

2:06 Did you laugh?

The most accurate depiction of M60 in it’s GPMG role, was in Forrest Gump, imo (alongside We were Soldiers of course). From a guy serving ammunition, to it being called the Pig, a very accurate portrayal. However, I remember the first time I vividly saw an M60 was watching William Dafoe as Sgt Elias, carrying the M60 in Platoon

I was an M-60 Machine Gunner in the Marine Corps in the 1980's. I'm a combat veteran. This awesome weapon always worked perfectly and was the greatest weapon in our platoon! It saved lives of Marines and took many lives of the enemy. Everyone loves to hear the thump of this amazing weapon!

Me and my grandpa's most favorite machine gun

Loved the M60, although the SLR was my fave. Always remember an instructor (a Vietnam vet) commenting during an exercise how he loved the sound of a well crewed M60. Mad my day

3:40 most soldiers in a platoon carried extra ammo for the m60. Usually 100 round belt each. Everyone was designated ammo carrier to an extent

I carried an M-60 in the early 1980's. I liked it a lot, it has a reasonable rate of fire so your BCL was not overly heavy. The weapon was heavy but could be easily shouldered. The M240B that replaced it was heavier, barrel heavy making it difficult to shoulder and the higher rate of fire meant more rounds in the BCL.

In "Maximum Overdrive" (1986) there was also one who could think for himself. Nice video Johnny.

How about Tom Cruise in a very early role, holding off the National Guard in Taps. He certainly liked the gun.

The SAW was not the replacement for the M60. It was an, "upgrade" of sorts for the automatic rifleman in each team/squad. During raids I was usually tasked to take my SAW up with the support fire as inevitably as the command to fire you'd hear, "kachunk, FUCK" from the pigs but the 2 SAWs would rip. The 60's I got to use just seemed old and the tolerances were off.

Beachmaster Unit One, Bravo Team. I was the machine gunner with the M60, everyone else in the team had M-16's with Mark 203 grenade launchers. I thank the good Lord above I had never had to use it lethally, but I did fire and train with it for many days.

In 06 I transitioned from active to the NG and was assigned to a weapons squad. The unit I was assigned still fielded the M60. So I got to fire it a few times and humped it around during field training. Absolutely loved the pig. I will say I wish that FN could afford fewer politicians. The gun was an absolute blast to shoot and far less painful humping it around for miles compared to the M240. Still go with the 240 for a mounted application.

The door gunner scene really happened and was taken verbatim from a book written by a journalist covering the war. Michael Herr, Many of the lines in the movie were from his book, 'Dispatches'. The combat scenes, dialogue as well as the boot camp scenes were from a book called "The Shortimers", Written by Gustav Hasford

Don't forget the M60 used in the 'trunk' of the car in Breaking Bad which Myth Busters recreated perfectly.

I shot the M-60 in boot camp in 93. The instructor told us these were temperamental and would sometimes keep firing after releasing the trigger. They gave us 50 rounds and after my third burst, it kept firing so I just held on until my little belt was done. Good times.

Served as a Gunnersmate in the U.S. Coast Guard from 97-2017 and we switched from the M60 to M240's around 2005/2006. M240 is a better gun overall though it is heavier than the M60.

The Pig we used to call it when I was in the military in the 90's. Heavy SOB.

Great stuff and always, really like how you talk about real life vs Hollywood. Plus the information from veterans is invaluable.

I miss the M60 LMG 😢, the M240 is a great weapon…but I’m sentimental for my old friend (M60)❤️

I was a 60 gunner while in the US Army, while stationed with 13th MP Co. (94-96) Vicenza, Italy, attached to 3/325 ABCT. I loved my 60! I took care of her, and she took care of me. One of the saddest days in my Army career was trading in my M-60 for a normal M16A2 with a M203 attachment, when I made my E-5 and became a team leader. BTW...I never had an AG.

The biggest drawback of the M60 is it could only be fired right-handed. A lefty like myself always was a little off target the first few burst and I never really felt comfortable firing it.

Ahhh, Hamburger Hill! Loved that film, it offered an atmosphere the movies of the big four Vietnam War films didn't have; absolute grittiness and the feeling of achieving something that doesn't mean anymore.

Spent a week shooting this and the .50 cal. as part of a machine gun crew. I liked the m 60 but I LOVED the .50 cal.

I was 11HE9 infantry. The TOW was our primary weapon on our vehicles. The M60 was our secondary weapon. I often carried it. Loved the M60. Great machine-gun.

Operated the M240G in the Marines, but always loved “the Pig 🐷”!

The problem with the M 60 it was not designed for durability. While great when used in Vietnam but the same gun 10 years later was too beat up to be reliable as such they had to be replaced with the 249.

U.S. ORDINANCE M60E6 is the latest version and has addressed most of the issues of the original M60 design.

If you're a Gen Xer the M-60 will always be synonymous with John Rambo. Should have riddled murdock with a whole belt😀

Carried the 60, spare barrel, TnE, a 1000 rounds plus my ruck a few times on "movements to daylight" in the Light Infantry. The VA "No your back pain isn't service related"!

I got my hands on an M60 as a Pineland guerrilla fighter for the Robin Sage SFG training program for Fort Bragg. I walked into a wall of hot lead and 2 flashbang grenade blasts as I was attempting to capture an enemy held bridge. I was KIA.

The 60 was a comfortable to fire, when you fired it prone with bipod it would actually hop away from you, every so often having to pull it back into your shoulder. At basic in the late eighties they took us to the range to fire it for the first time. Every one was holding it wrong in prone, trying to fire it like a regular rifle. Told my battle buddy to watch me. My turn, all the instructor said was show me how this works. I fed and chambered the weapon grabbed the stock with my left hand pulling the 60 into my shoulder, rested my cheek on my hand and when the first target popped up aimed low and walked a four round burst right through it. When I was finished the instructor asked what I though about it? I simply said "I loved it" and he replied "that's great because your going to be carrying one for a long time". That's how I became a hog gunner. My battle buddy was worse then everyone else and when I asked him why he didn't do what I showed him, he said " I don't want to carry that heavy SOB! little did he know he was going to be my AG and carry extra ammo, spare barrel, and tripod. He never really forgave me

I carried one of these for years, I hated the “pig” until it was needed! It never let me down.

I had the opportunity to fire a Maremont M60 in the early 90's. I found it a bit heavy but still a pleasurable and manageable weapon to shoot. Between the M60 and the German MG34, I'd have a tough choosing which one I liked better. I have much respect for all those who have served in our military. For all these great patiots, I would like to say THANK YOU!

Thanks for the fair and evenhanded video. Yes all due respect to those who served and would serve again.

2:34 is that Mr bean?

5:11 Nobody talks about him firing around 50 rounds from this BAR😆

Miss the pig! Treat it right and it'll always be there for you! I can see why most guys hated it but I'm 6'3 200lbs. I never had a problem with it. Yeah that 1st road March was a bitch but tell you what, once I got my mitts on that thing didn't no one ever take it away.

These are underated

Oh side note to this. During ww2, the marines found the need for a portable light machinegun so great, they actually invented their own. salvating parts from a Browning Automatic Rifle, and an M1 garand, they converted an AN/M2 machinegun take off an aircraft, to create a belt fed light machinegun with a rate of fire in the 1200-1350 range. This light machinegun named the M2 stinger, was used by the 28th Marines. with 6 of them being in service till the end of the war. in some ways this might be looked at as the grandfather of the m60.

And sometimes, we see soldiers that running with two M60s on both hands. Thanks a lot for the video.

I wasn’t impressed due to the rate of fire, barrel change, and instances of a runaway gun with both M60 and M60E3. The M240 (aka, FN MAG), although much heavier was a improvement on those issues including accuracy.

There’s some good E3 loving in Tears of the Sun too

M60 my favorite machine gun it's always been my favorite gun Urban love akm 16 I preferred a heavy M60 simple looks power just awesome

Appreciate your comments about the Vietnam War's portrayal in movies. If I could recommend one that flies under the radar, 84 Charlie Mopic is far and away the best Vietnam war film I have ever seen.

As a former USMC machine gunner, the M60 was an excellent gun except the Echo-3 version didn't have a heat shield to protect your hands from getting burnt if you had to move quickly while under fire. The barrel would get VERY hot if the weapon was shot like it was in the movies...hot enough to light a cigarette...or have a cook-off round explode in the chamber. But I liked it.

I had a chance to fire the M60, comfortable to use, but not accurate. I prefer the MG3 any day

5:19 it’s loved and famous for legit reasons ❤

Although not my favorite machinegun the "Pig" does have a special place in my heart. It was the first machinegun I ever fired while going through USAIC basic in 1989. Great job on another video Johnny!👍

I loved it when animal mother used a m60 in full metal jacket

I love how so many countries copy or adopt versions of the MG-42, always dropping what made it iconic and lethal; the firing rate.

Wasn't it known as"the pig"?doesn't sound too complimentary.Took the Septics years to adopt the best GPMG in the M240

Although poorly designed a new and well maintained and operated one will not betray its user. But as it goes through its life cycle its poorly designed elements become problems if broken parts are not replaced in timely manner or sometimes the entire gun should be replaced which the government failed to do so making its reputation of a pig and being unreliable. The same thing happened with the M92 pistols. It took to M60E6 to simplify its design elements and make it more reliable even under non-regular maintenance. It sits in the middle weight wise between PKM and FN MAG/MG3, while being closer to PKM in its role. Although not requiring as much maintenance as Stoner LMG it needs a disciplined and professional unit to get the best performance from it.

I started off as an AG and then became an M60 Gunner in an Airborne infantry rifle company in Panama humping Through the Jungle. Then I was a machine gunner in the 82nd Airborne 1/504(PIR) I have to say I never had a problem my gun. she was reliable and I can count on her like any weapon system it's only as good as the operator. I found it laughable the weapon would just fall apart after prolong use. She is a sexy weapon 23lb 43 inches long like anything you have to know your limitations. And you have to maintain there's no such thing as maintenance free. You'll always have haters everyone I served with liked the PIG. I miss my pig the only thing I thought that sucked was the PVS4 bracket. And when we jumped that 23lbs on your left side was interesting. Hope everyone has an awesome day.

I was a M-60 gunner for two years in the 25th ID. Yes it was temperamental but if you learned your weapon and took care of it it was very reliable. You had to know what parts you could oil and what parts you could not. Always carried aluminum foil for removing carbon from the firing pin. Humping the pig was never fun, in my unit we were not allowed to use slings, we were told they were noisy in the field and made the soldier lazy. When my arms got tired I balanced it on my M-16 ammo pouches on my LBE.

I joined the army in 2000 and always loved the M60 as a kid.. When I reached bragg after basic every Bivouac I'd request to carry the M60.. only got to do it once before we switched fully to the SAW.. The saw is Lighter and better accuracy and better fireing rate.. my new love lol... the 60 is a classic though lml

I liked the M60. Fired both the carry and Huey mount (different sightand butterfly grips). The spare barrel had a waterproof carry bag with sling and a large asbestos glove to change out those hot barrels. Just my two cents, nice video.

“I would like Rambo’s gun”

USCG is still using these together with the M2HB on various small boat platforms. I worked with the M60 at GTMO in 2002.

I can't help but to hear Johnny laughing at M60 jesus in 2:07 lol

Give a Marine a M-60 and you've basically given the Grim Reaper his scythe...they can throw a lot of hurt down range with the good ol "Pig"

thanks for showing the names of movies in the video! very helpful!

I had the m60 for a while. After lugging it around for a while, I was glad to set it down

Missed opportunity for the Wayne's World 2 clip when discussing firing in bursts. "And on the left & right of the stage are the M60 machine gun nests. Now these babies tend to heat up so fire in 3 round bursts."

Aviation M60s are still comon. I liked the M60 very much and never had any problems with it. Changing a barrel is very easy and quick if you kick the bi pod the barrel pops right out. Simple maintenence with keep it running. A c rat can attached to the feed port helps prevent jamming. Its always recommended to wear the asbestos oven mit when changing or handling a hot barrel.

love your channel bro, no nonsense, straight to the good stuff every time

Remember getting to my first unit and my new First Sergeant looked me over and said "You're a big MFr. you look like a 60 gunner to me." Learned to hate that gun.

Thank you was looking for a video like this

“Bring me the 60.” Frank Castle Punisher: Born

I was about to comment that you didn't show predator. BUT YOU DID!

Nicely done video. But you left out Chuck Norris in "Missing in Action" with some pretty memorable M-60 moments.

I have an M-60 Expert tab. Absolutely my favorite.

do remember C ration cans being adapted near the feed to allow ammo to easily go in

I was a 60 gunner for a couple of years in the early eighties, had constant trouble with it double feeding (with mine) but I did love it

The original Rambo-style shooting with the M60 was in a movie　" The Boys in Company C " (1977).

I used the M60 extensively during my service. To me, the "Commando" sound effect is closest to what it sounds like to the gunner. We NEVER carried ammo around our necks as not only does it destroy personal camoflage, but it is prone to catching on vegetation & getting dirty (jamming & damaging the gun). We carried 200 round belts in ammo pouches on our webbing and would usually carry 1000 rounds between the gun crew, with another 2000 distributed among the rest of the squad/section. Spare barrel & cleaning kit were carried by #2. Technically you are supposed to change out the barrel after 500 rounds, but I once put 2000 rounds through a single barrel without mishap during an intense fire-fight. It is extremely effective in defensive positions and mounting it on a tripod with a C2 sight makes it even deadlier. Many gunners would name their gun, scratching the name on the feed mechanism cover. Mine was called "Black Death".

1:47 However much of M60s designs derived from German 'proto Assault rifle' the FG-42 with side inserting mag.

6:30 In that scene in Forrest Gump Lieutenant Dan doesn't call for a retreat until his m60 gunner gets blown up and I always figured it's cuz he didn't have his big guns anymore

Haha I heard that giggle after hearing “Alamo Alamo”.

❤❤❤❤❤ I love my M-60 and would love to have it back. The Navy SEALS still use the 60 “The Pig” The M-60 is usually used by a 3 man team, Gunner, assistant gunner ammo man , and rear security