[mpoirier22114]

Originally Posted by SGT-MILLER

These squad support weapons were very popular among the SEALs in Vietnam. They had alot of configurations, they were relatively small and light, and a good force multiplier for the SEALs.

i talked to my buddys dad who is ex seal from na and couldn't stop saying enough good things about it, he did say though that they had to be cleaned and oiled constantly

[SEAL76]

Originally Posted by dragunovsks

Anyone ever heard of this machine gun? I was watching "Weaponogy-Navy Seals" on Military Channel and they were talking about this gun.

Mongo's Machine Gun Pages

I am a former USN SEAL (SEAL TEAM ONE 1970-1973) I carried the Stoner 63A Commando (short barrel) Right side feed. Linked ammo in a 100+ round box mounted beneath the weapon. I loved it. There were some problems with the original design but they were worked out. I replaced the pins that held the upper and lower receiver group together with bolts and self locking nuts. They original pins had a tendency to shake loose and that was a problem. It fire 600, 800 and 1000 rounds per minute depending on the position of the gas port adjustable knob. Most of us kept it at 600 and if the carbon build up during a firefight caused the weapon to slow down or stop we'd move it up to the next setting.Other SEALs prefered the longer barrel but I thought that it got in the way when going through the swamps. It also made it lighter. Most of our firefights were pretty close to the bad guys so the long barrel wasn't needed. I had a fixed stock on mine. Some SEALs used no stock or a folding stock similar to that of the MP40. I never had a problem with mine. There were guys who also liked the drum fed version. Barry Enoch a Master Chief and Navy Cross awardee carried the magazine fed Carbine version instead of the M16 or CAR15 Colt Commando. The Stoner did require lots of TLC but if you took care of it, it worked just fine. Speaking of long barrels we had many of our M60 barrels shortend by China Lake Naval Weapons Center. They were cut back to the gas tube length. The fore stock was often removed and a M16 pistol grip attached in its place. The bipod was always removed. The front sight were sometimes removed as well. The stock was often replace with the aircraft stock or a metal version of same made by China Lake. We had a homemade backpack built out of cardboard and fiverglass that held 400 rounds. A length of flex tubing that was used on Helos was attached to the back pack and looped under the arm of the operator. It was conected directly to the weapon and worked quite well. We also had 100 round assault pack made of sheet metal that were attached to the weapon and they were rugged and functioned very well. I guess I have written enough. Any questions about the SEALs and their weapons that I can answer feel free to ask.

[sniperrifleman]

Originally Posted by robocop10mm

Yeah, Stoner, way cool. Supremo CDI points. Could be configured as SMG sized mag fed or SAW sized belt fed or anything in between. Few survived the war and fewer are transferrable. $50 grand + for a transferrable unit.

On autoweapons.com they cost 49K-85K. They have the assault rifle version and the LMG version.

[orangello]

Originally Posted by SEAL76

Any questions about the SEALs and their weapons that I can answer feel free to ask.

Thanks for the first person information. Thanks more for your service sir.

[LUBrowningBoy]

I don't really want to be "that guy," but the first time I ever heard this weapon mentioned was when I got my new copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops lol....

[JonM]

eugene stoner is easily on par with john browning. he was the firearms genius of this century. we gotta wait another 100 years for the next one

[Trapfan]

I grew up getting to shoot these weapons. We lived in a suburb of Detroit and my dad retired out of Cadillac Gage in Warren Michigan where the Stoner 63A's were manufactured. My mom would take me with her to bring my dad his lunch and he'd make sure I got to fire them in their test fixtures. Cadillac Gage also made the Commando V-150 armored car I would watch run the test coarse behind the plant. At company pic-nic's they'd take all the employees kids on rides around the park grounds in these vehicles. This post brought back a lot of memories from my childhood growing up in the 60's and early 70's..

[Gh0zt36]

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