PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-729
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 729
AUGUST 2013
42
PS 729
PS 729
AUG 13
Regardless of the weather,
change the barrel every 200
rounds. If it’s a hot day, change
the barrel more frequently. A
barrel should be cool enough
before you reinstall it that you
can touch it with your bare
hand. On a hot day, this could
take 30 minutes.
If you’re using just a few
M249s for a whole unit to
test
Fre
for
qualiFcation,
consider
having
additional
barrels headspaced for those
M249s. That way you will
always have a cool barrel to
install. Just make sure to keep
track
of
which
barrels
are
headspaced for which M249s.
If you use the wrong barrel,
the M249 could be damaged.
A dirty, poorly lubed
weapon is more likely
to have a cookoff or
other
Fring
problems.
Carefully
do
the
BE±ORE,
DURING
and A±TER PMCS in
TM 9-1005-201-10. Be
sure to take copies of
both the -10 and -23&P
to the Feld in case any
questions come up.
If a hot M249 malfunctions, assume there’s a stuck round in the chamber,
especially if the bolt is stuck closed. With the feed tray closed, point the M249 in a
safe direction and let it cool for 15 minutes. Then follow the procedure in Pages 2-16
through 2-18 in the -10 to clear the weapon.
Change barrels
Do PMCS
Take extreme care with stuck rounds
cool off
cookoffs
M249 Machine Gun…
COOL OFF
COOKOFFS
if a stuck round can
be cleared in less than
10 seconds, firing can
resume
immediately.
But
remember
that a round
that has been in
a hot barrel can
cook off for
up to 15 minutes
after it’s been
removed from
the chamber.
Do not
try to reuse
the round!
it should be
treated as a
live
round
and stored
in a separate
aMMo container.
A hot barrel causes
cookoffs
for your M249 machine gun.
And
hot weather
leads to an
even
hotter
barrel.
gee whiz!
it’s a
scorcher
out here!
you’re gonna
neEd to change my
barrel
more often
in this heat.
Here are
some ways
to
cool off
cook-offs…
hey! you
ever hear
of pmcs?
you need to
do it
before
you fire me or
for sure we’ll
have
cookoffs
or
jamming!
uh-oh! I’ve
got a
stuCk
round!!
better give
me
15 minutes
to cool off!
hold on there,
buddy! I’ve fired
200 rounds
and
I need a
barrel
change!
Barrel should be cool to touch with
your bare hand
before
you reinstall it
729 42-43.indd
1-2
7/1/13
5:43 PM
Click here for a copy of this article to save or email.
Back to TopBack to Top
