Get Entered to WIN this insane FN M249S!
https://go.getenteredtowin.com/forgottenweapons
DEADLINE to ENTER is 07/26/24 @ 11:59pm (PST).
In 2015, FN USA introduced a Military Collector product line – semiautomatic versions of their military contract small arms. These were the M4, M16, and – most interestingly – the M249 SAW. The SAW is a version of FN’s Minimi light machine gun, developed in 1974 and adopted by the US in 1982. The semiauto version, designated M249S, is exactly the same as the military M249 but adapted to fire from a closed bolt in semiautomatic only, making it a non-NFA item like any other semiautomatic rifle. The semiauto conversion as done by essentially chopping off the back of the bolt carrier to act as a linear hammer, thus allowing the use of the original style of trigger mechanism. Since its introduction in 2016, FN USA has made more than 10,000 of these rifles, truly proving the depth of American collector interest in this sort of thing (much to the surprise of the Belgian FN administration…).
It’s interesting how much difference there is between the early production M249s and this receiver… That rear trunnion stamping with the rivet-like welds? That’s not what that part of the weapon used to look like, and those welds are there because of where the early production receivers were wont to fail…
I could be very, very wrong, but I don’t believe that FN established their plant to build the M249, as that came only long after the M240 contracts. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that the factory was built to supply the M240 for the M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley coax programs… And, that was back during the “before the M249” times.
Oops. Backwards loaded ammo @ the 11:30 min mark. How HK of you Ian.