Your wait until the fall is just about to get longer, particularly if you have a yen for military hardware.
FNH USA announced this past month it is set to release a semiautomatic variation of one of its most iconic firearms — the M249. The light machine gun has seen action in every American conflict since its adoption by the U.S. Military in the late 1980s.
What has been designated as the M249S will be produced at the Belgian-based company’s South Carolina factory. And for the most part is an exact replica of the battle-harden Squad Automatic Weapon.
The M249S is also an overall push on the part of FNH to cash in on the prowess of its military firearms with the civilian market. The company is introducing the FN 15 Military Collector’s Series this year, as well. This includes semi-auto versions of the manufacturer’s M4 and M16 rifles.
The M249S might not be fully automatic, but still appears to be a handful weighing in at a hefty 17 pounds. But it comes with a slew of goodies that should get military-firearms enthusiasts’ hearts a pumping.
Chief among these are the 200-round box and links that will allow shooters to take full advantage owning a belt-fed firearm. And with a crisp 4.5- to 6-pound trigger pull, it should be a fairly easy to get it to chew through copious amounts of 5.56 NATO ammo.
There appears to be one drawback of this piece of heavy metal, its price tag. It’s been reported that M249S will run north of $7,000. No word on the FN 15 Military Collection’s price point.
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