minigun ammo

StrongMedicine · December 04, 2006, 23:04

Warning High band Only video link minigun

Technically I wanted to know what kind of 7.62 ammo this is?

ammolab · December 05, 2006, 07:52

7.62x51mm NATO Ball ammo....nothing special about the ammo. On the other hand that minigun is pretty special indeed!!!!!!

Para Driver · December 05, 2006, 10:48

yep, maybe what 2000 rds a minute, at current ammo prices that 5 minute video would cost something like $5k

MasterGunner · December 06, 2006, 19:52

Mini-guns use the same ammo as the M60, M73, and M240 MGs: four M80 ball and one M62 tracer in M13 links.

The motor controller sets the cyclic rate up to 6,000 rounds/minute (or 100 shots/second). A Mini can put one round into ever square foot of a football field.

Hutchfmf · December 10, 2006, 10:27

What was the deal with "electrically primed" cartridges for miniguns? Was that a previous generation?

ammolab · December 10, 2006, 15:06

Electric primed? Bigger miniguns, mostly Aircraft models, yes. 7.62 and 5.56mm always used standard ammo I recall.

SgtRock2 · December 10, 2006, 18:16

Quote:

Originally posted by MasterGunner
Mini-guns use the same ammo as the M60, M73, and M240 MGs: four M80 ball and one M62 tracer in M13 links.

The motor controller sets the cyclic rate up to 6,000 rounds/minute (or 100 shots/second). A Mini can put one round into ever square foot of a football field.

I had range duty this one time (mid 70's) supporting tankers firing their coax's (M73/M73a1/M219).
About 10 minutes into the range going live, the company's armourer walks into the back of my shop van with 3 M73's. The rams and extractors were all blown to hell.
After 2 more where brought to me in the same condition, the range officer shuts the place down and calls depot maint. in to inspect the situation.
This older gentleman shows up after about a half hour, and almost immediately brings me a .30 cal ammo can and points to the markings, "Mini-gun ammo, loaded allot hotter" he says and walks away.

So, I've believed there was a difference.

citizen · December 10, 2006, 18:44

Quote:

Originally posted by StrongMedicine
Warning High band Only video link minigun

Technically I wanted to know what kind of 7.62 ammo this is?

One word.......... "ROYAL"!!!!!!!! (He who owns and feeds this is KING!!!!)

ammolab · December 10, 2006, 18:46

If you look at "Mini-gun ammo, loaded allot hotter" in that BIG ole can...it is M80 ball, M61AP, M62 Tracer, etc. Exact same model number, exact same round used in rifles etc... Why would it need to be "hotter"? The mini gun is externaly powered....runs on blanks, ball, dummy rounds with out a hitch.

For sure those M73 MGs were a poor design. Just about the shortest lived MG used in modern US history, no??

william013 · December 10, 2006, 19:31

I went to the Small Arms school at APG in 1978. Both the M73 and the M219 were considered to be poor designs. As one of the instructors put it " It's the worst POS ever adapted by the Army." I worked on a few when I was stationed at Ft. Stewart. I am in total agreement with him, they were POS weapons.

BTW, the M240 came into service about 1979, I only worked on a few of them.
A far superior weapon in my opinion.

perdurabo · December 11, 2006, 14:50

These folks are either affiliated with a government contractor/NFA dealer of some sort or are in the category of the fantastically rich who can actually afford to own one of the very few transferable miniguns in the country.

If you are rich enough to be able to afford a $250k+ transferable minigun, blowing $600/minute shooting up the desert is nothing to you.

The rich ARE different.

BiGB808 · December 11, 2006, 15:10

1) very very rich...lord what a waste of ammo

2) really really crappy fun shooters

what kind of crappy targets are they shooting?...the ground..dead trees?..weee

I would hope there would be somthing a bit more interesting to shoot at...Not sure how the Steel gongs would handle that 1..lolol

ammolab · December 11, 2006, 15:54

Quote:

Originally posted by BiGB808
1) very very rich...lord what a waste of ammo

2) really really crappy fun shooters

what kind of crappy targets are they shooting?...the ground..dead trees?..weee

I would hope there would be somthing a bit more interesting to shoot at...Not sure how the Steel gongs would handle that 1..lolol

I ask these same questions when I go to a "Machine gun shoot". Most there seem to just shoot the dirt 30yards in front of the gun...BUDA-BUDA-BUDA-BUDA-BUDA...until their ears start to bleed. Only a determined few pick out a target and try to hit something. Also seems strange that the .50BMG shooters are the most likely to just shoot dirt!

thunderchicken · December 11, 2006, 16:29

Quote:

Originally posted by perdurabo
These folks are either affiliated with a government contractor/NFA dealer of some sort or are in the category of the fantastically rich who can actually afford to own one of the very few transferable miniguns in the country.

My understanding is that they are demos, typically, not transferrables, no doubt signed off on by some small town sheriff with a wink and a back slap.

J. Y. Dog · December 11, 2006, 17:41

I didn't watch the video but I know ther can't be too many of these out there.I've seen one on the cover of the Blue Press.I guess it takes alot of money to own and use it.

I used to work with a guy who was a helo mech in the Vietnam era and had to ride during the course of maintence.He called the minigun puff the magic dragon.

Don't know about now but during that time(he was in 68-72 the best I remember)it would seem that there were still some M14s still being used and having ammo to work in any thing for that cal.would cut down on the Murphy concept.Then again I could be wrong.

Jim

ammolab · December 11, 2006, 19:48

"Puff the Magic Dragon" was a C47 (DC 3) cargo aircraft that carried three 7.62 Mini Guns aloft to become the first "Gunship" like our current C130s. Puff did some good work over Viet Nam chasing Charlie off of the Ho Chi Minh trail.

You bet there were a lot of M14s in Service in the late 1960s. At that time only Combat units in Viet Nam had M16s. Support units and other Theaters were carring M14s for sure. I left RVN in 1967 and left my M14 there for my replacement.

MasterGunner · December 13, 2006, 21:01

There is no electric-primer 5.56x45 (.223 Rem), 7.62x51 (.308 Win), and 12.7x99 (.50 BMG). Electric-primed ammo is loaded into some -- NOT all -- 20mm ammunition (and larger). Electric-primed ammo is used primarily for aircraft guns because its supposed to be more reliable in air-to-air combat.

Examples: the 25mm and 30mm a/c gun ammo is electric-primed; 40mm for Bofors guns is not. Large artillery primers can be either percussion, electric, or combination (both modes).

An example of a combination primer was used on the WW2 through Vietnam era Navy 5"/38 single and twin guns. When the firing key closed, the firing pin hit the primer to provide a solid electrical contact. The pin had 28-volts applied to it and would initiate the primer. If the electric lead was damaged or power lost, the firing pin hit the primer hard enough to fire the percussion part of the primer.

And no, there is no way to determine by eye what kind of primer you have. Assume large caliber ammo used by aircraft guns is electric. Electrostatic discharge and radiation hazard percautions apply. Short form: electric primers can be more dangerous than percussion in certain situations.

December 04, 2006, 23:04	#1
StrongMedicine Registered Bronze Contributor FALaholic #: 18728 Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Hills of KS Posts: 311	minigun ammo Warning High band Only video link minigun Technically I wanted to know what kind of 7.62 ammo this is? __________________ The natives are restless...

December 06, 2006, 19:52	#4
MasterGunner Registered FALaholic #: 15054 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 501	Mini-guns use the same ammo as the M60, M73, and M240 MGs: four M80 ball and one M62 tracer in M13 links. The motor controller sets the cyclic rate up to 6,000 rounds/minute (or 100 shots/second). A Mini can put one round into ever square foot of a football field. __________________ Robert H. Stoner

December 11, 2006, 14:50	#11
perdurabo Registered FALaholic #: 5099 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 1,193	These folks are either affiliated with a government contractor/NFA dealer of some sort or are in the category of the fantastically rich who can actually afford to own one of the very few transferable miniguns in the country. If you are rich enough to be able to afford a $250k+ transferable minigun, blowing $600/minute shooting up the desert is nothing to you. The rich ARE different. __________________ Et in Arcadia Ego.

December 13, 2006, 21:01	#17
MasterGunner Registered FALaholic #: 15054 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 501	There is no electric-primer 5.56x45 (.223 Rem), 7.62x51 (.308 Win), and 12.7x99 (.50 BMG). Electric-primed ammo is loaded into some -- NOT all -- 20mm ammunition (and larger). Electric-primed ammo is used primarily for aircraft guns because its supposed to be more reliable in air-to-air combat. Examples: the 25mm and 30mm a/c gun ammo is electric-primed; 40mm for Bofors guns is not. Large artillery primers can be either percussion, electric, or combination (both modes). An example of a combination primer was used on the WW2 through Vietnam era Navy 5"/38 single and twin guns. When the firing key closed, the firing pin hit the primer to provide a solid electrical contact. The pin had 28-volts applied to it and would initiate the primer. If the electric lead was damaged or power lost, the firing pin hit the primer hard enough to fire the percussion part of the primer. And no, there is no way to determine by eye what kind of primer you have. Assume large caliber ammo used by aircraft guns is electric. Electrostatic discharge and radiation hazard percautions apply. Short form: electric primers can be more dangerous than percussion in certain situations. __________________ Robert H. Stoner

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December 05, 2006, 07:52	#2
ammolab Registered FALaholic #: 10923 Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 1,690	7.62x51mm NATO Ball ammo....nothing special about the ammo. On the other hand that minigun is pretty special indeed!!!!!!

December 05, 2006, 10:48	#3
Para Driver Registered FALaholic #: 6350 Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 6,297	yep, maybe what 2000 rds a minute, at current ammo prices that 5 minute video would cost something like $5k

December 10, 2006, 10:27	#5
Hutchfmf Registered FALaholic #: 23095 Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1	What was the deal with "electrically primed" cartridges for miniguns? Was that a previous generation?

December 10, 2006, 15:06	#6
ammolab Registered FALaholic #: 10923 Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 1,690	Electric primed? Bigger miniguns, mostly Aircraft models, yes. 7.62 and 5.56mm always used standard ammo I recall.

December 10, 2006, 18:46	#9
ammolab Registered FALaholic #: 10923 Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 1,690	If you look at "Mini-gun ammo, loaded allot hotter" in that BIG ole can...it is M80 ball, M61AP, M62 Tracer, etc. Exact same model number, exact same round used in rifles etc... Why would it need to be "hotter"? The mini gun is externaly powered....runs on blanks, ball, dummy rounds with out a hitch. For sure those M73 MGs were a poor design. Just about the shortest lived MG used in modern US history, no??

December 10, 2006, 19:31	#10
william013 Registered FALaholic #: 20834 Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: houston,tx Posts: 407	I went to the Small Arms school at APG in 1978. Both the M73 and the M219 were considered to be poor designs. As one of the instructors put it " It's the worst POS ever adapted by the Army." I worked on a few when I was stationed at Ft. Stewart. I am in total agreement with him, they were POS weapons. BTW, the M240 came into service about 1979, I only worked on a few of them. A far superior weapon in my opinion.

December 11, 2006, 15:10	#12
BiGB808 Registered FALaholic #: 18195 Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 732	1) very very rich...lord what a waste of ammo 2) really really crappy fun shooters what kind of crappy targets are they shooting?...the ground..dead trees?..weee I would hope there would be somthing a bit more interesting to shoot at...Not sure how the Steel gongs would handle that 1..lolol

December 11, 2006, 17:41	#15
J. Y. Dog Registered FALaholic #: 11259 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: WNC Posts: 120	I didn't watch the video but I know ther can't be too many of these out there.I've seen one on the cover of the Blue Press.I guess it takes alot of money to own and use it. I used to work with a guy who was a helo mech in the Vietnam era and had to ride during the course of maintence.He called the minigun puff the magic dragon. Don't know about now but during that time(he was in 68-72 the best I remember)it would seem that there were still some M14s still being used and having ammo to work in any thing for that cal.would cut down on the Murphy concept.Then again I could be wrong. Jim

December 11, 2006, 19:48	#16
ammolab Registered FALaholic #: 10923 Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 1,690	"Puff the Magic Dragon" was a C47 (DC 3) cargo aircraft that carried three 7.62 Mini Guns aloft to become the first "Gunship" like our current C130s. Puff did some good work over Viet Nam chasing Charlie off of the Ho Chi Minh trail. You bet there were a lot of M14s in Service in the late 1960s. At that time only Combat units in Viet Nam had M16s. Support units and other Theaters were carring M14s for sure. I left RVN in 1967 and left my M14 there for my replacement.