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Anyone Care to Comment on the Condition of This BMG?
US Navy "Eye on the Fleet" Photo Gallery. ^ | Oct. 12, 2005 | US Navy Photographer

Posted on 03/02/2006 8:07:19 PM PST by fso301

Can someone comment on this picture of this M2 and it's ammo?


TOPICS: Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: 125mm; 50; 50cal; bang; banglist; bmg; browning; firearms; getsome; guns; m2; machineguns; madeuce; wot; wwii
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Anybody care to comment on the condition of the gun and ammo in this picture? Is it some sort of anti-corrosion coating that happens to look like rust or, is it rust?

I heard where WWII stocks of .50 are being pulled out of storage and used due to a shortage of .50 cal ammo. However, the gun looks to be rusted as well.

Here's the link to the photo.

Here's the photo.


1 posted on 03/02/2006 8:07:22 PM PST by fso301
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To: fso301
He's likely I am retired....


2 posted on 03/02/2006 8:09:47 PM PST by darkwing104 (Let's get dangerous)
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: fso301

It is rust


4 posted on 03/02/2006 8:13:12 PM PST by miliantnutcase
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To: Blue Jays
Hi All-

It's not rust, it's a specialized iron oxide coating.

~ Blue Jays ~

5 posted on 03/02/2006 8:14:04 PM PST by Blue Jays (Rock Hard, Ride Free)
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To: fso301

Some Gunner's Mate Chief is falling down on his job. I never saw any weapon in that condition in the whole time I was in the Navy.


6 posted on 03/02/2006 8:14:37 PM PST by Ronin
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To: fso301

The belt clips around the cases are steel, and could have left rust dust on the cases. The cases themselves have not rusted.


7 posted on 03/02/2006 8:14:42 PM PST by mountn man (Tact is for people not witty enough to be sarcastic.)
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To: fso301
It is very likely rust on the gun. The stuff on the ammo is probably nothing to worry about. I used stuff from the 1920s when I was in the service in the late 50s early 60s. Loved that browning.

The rust doesn't look like it will hurt the gun but you never know without being able to actually inspect the piece.

If I was in charge of this crew they would be holding their asses and wondering how they lost a piece of it after I reamed them out!

8 posted on 03/02/2006 8:14:45 PM PST by calex59 (seeing the light shouldn't make you go blind and, BTW, Stå sammen med danskerne !)
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To: fso301

Thats some gundeckin' gunners mates on that boat.

I've fired them before, but I would'nt wanna shoot that one unless I had to.


9 posted on 03/02/2006 8:15:06 PM PST by diverteach
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To: bobbdobbs
Probably doesn't get a lot of use on the fantail of an aircraft carrier.

Sorry, I fat fingered the previous reply. What I mean to ask was if that is rust I see on the gun, links and ammo (the brass looks corroded).

10 posted on 03/02/2006 8:15:12 PM PST by fso301
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To: fso301

That's some nasty stuff. The gunner is looking at some brass in his gonads after a misfire. I wonder if he knows how to set headspace and timing.....


11 posted on 03/02/2006 8:16:34 PM PST by Sarajevo
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To: fso301
At least it isn't dirty.

A Ma deuce can take a lot of abuse.
12 posted on 03/02/2006 8:16:40 PM PST by usmcobra (I always sing Karaoke the way it is meant to be sung, drunk, badly, and in Japanese)
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To: Ronin

Actually I am surprised they released it for publication.

CHINFO is going to get his butt chewed.


13 posted on 03/02/2006 8:16:50 PM PST by Ronin
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To: SLB; Travis McGee; Squantos; MikeinIraq; Cannoneer No. 4

Ping. Comments?


14 posted on 03/02/2006 8:18:32 PM PST by FreedomPoster (Guns themselves are fairly robust; their chief enemies are rust and politicians) (NRA)
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To: Blue Jays

As a former operator of one of these, the M2 appears to be fairly clean. I'd say it has too much oil, but maybe that's a navy thing. That much oil would attract a tremendous amount of dirt. It's not uncommon for the metal components to be different shades as they are commonly replaced. As for the ammo, I probably wouldn't have loaded that box of .50API into MY M2, but I can say that as a WWII machine gun design that just doesn't get any better, it will likely still shoot. The rust below the barrel is actually on the gun mount, not the gun.


15 posted on 03/02/2006 8:19:05 PM PST by SCPatriot77
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To: fso301

The Feedtray cover and barrel look good.

The mount... Not being Navy, it it unfamilar. That appears to be a special iron 4 coating.

The ammo: OMG!

Maybe the photographer found it somewhere?


16 posted on 03/02/2006 8:20:48 PM PST by sschaloc
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To: mountn man
The cases themselves have not rusted

Click on the link to the high-res photo, and you'll change your mind. The brass and the copper(?) jackets on the bullets have that distinctive blue corrosion on them.

The gun itself looks pretty beat up, too.

17 posted on 03/02/2006 8:21:14 PM PST by r9etb
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To: SCPatriot77

yeah- i just realized that's probably an army pic- sorry- i saw all the stuff in the background and immediately thought it was on a ship or something. embarrased!


18 posted on 03/02/2006 8:21:27 PM PST by SCPatriot77
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To: Ronin
Some Gunner's Mate Chief is falling down on his job. I never saw any weapon in that condition in the whole time I was in the Navy.

I'm flabbergasted that the weapon could be in such condition. Where are the officers?

19 posted on 03/02/2006 8:21:58 PM PST by fso301
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To: fso301

Its justa little sand and rust. Spray it full of silicone or graphite grease, set your head space at 2 or 3 (maybe 4)clicks and that MaDuece will ROCK and ROLL!!


20 posted on 03/02/2006 8:22:40 PM PST by Delta 21 ( Democrats -- a 40 year war on poverty and still no exit strategy)
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