PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-699

PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly

ISSUE 699

FEBRUARY 2011
PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-699 - Page 13 of 33
23
PS 699
FEB 11
Dear Half-Mast,
We are getting ready to go to
the range for annual qualification for
our weapons and I discovered that
the NSN I have for target pasters
isn’t good. Can you help?
SGT S.S.
Dear Sergeant S.S.,
Sure can. NSN 6920-00-172-3572
brings 5,000 target pasters. The NSN
can be found in TM 9-6920-210-14&P,
Small Arms Targets.
B
oth barrels for the M2, M249 and M240B machine guns need to stay with their
machine gun so that you don’t have to keep firing through the same barrel. That’s what
ruins barrels.
But that’s especially true for the M249 and M240-series barrels. They are headspaced
specifically for their machine gun. If they are used with another machine gun, the
headspacing may be wrong and the weapon could be damaged and Soldiers injured.
To prevent a barrel mixup, both barrels must be ID’ed with their machine gun’s serial
number. That way a Soldier can tell at a glance if he has the right barrel.
But how to mark the barrels? Some units engrave the number on the barrels. That’s bad.
Engraving ruins the finish of the barrel. Others write the number on in ink. Not good either.
The ink quickly wears off.
The best way is to stamp the number on a dog tag and then safety wire the tag to the
barrel. Order dog tags with NSN 8465-00-242-4804. Your support unit can stamp numbers
on the dog tags. If the dog tags have a rubber edging, remove it. The hot barrel will melt
the rubber.
The best place to position
the tag for the M249 and
M240B is under the heat
shield where it can’t catch on
anything. Make sure the ends
of the safety wire are clipped
off so they can’t poke fingers.
Editor’s note:
Using the M249 standard barrel BFA with the short barrel increases
the unlocking velocity of the bolt
when it leaves the barrel socket.
That increased velocity can damage
the receiver’s inner rail, which
means curtains for the M249.
The BFA for the M249 standard
barrel is red and screws in. It comes
The BFA for the short barrel is
yellow and clamps on. Order it with
If you’ve already Fred blanks
through the short barrel with the
standard barrel BFA screwed in,
have your armorer check the inner
rail for cracks. See Page 2-45 in TM
9-1005-201-23&P for directions.
The Mark of Good
Barrel Marking
no one Ided these
barrels and now they
don’t know which machine
gun they belong to.
Small
Arms…
Target Paster NSN?
Machine Guns…
Use safety wire to attach dog tag to area under heat shield
I think
we have a
problem
about
qualifying
you guys on
the range.
I don’t
have a
good nsn
for target
pasters!
ask half-
mast. he’ll
know!
M249
short barrel
BFA is yellow
and clamps on.
Don’t mix them up.
M249 standard
barrel BFA is red
and screws in
The Mark of Good
Barrel Marking
699.22-23.indd
1-2
12/27/10
4:55 PM
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