By Frank Iannamico

Eugene G. Reising began designing his submachine gun in the late 1930s as the threat of war loomed in Europe. Reising’s design was unlike most submachine guns of the day, which utilized the simple, but efficient open bolt method of operation. Reising’s weapon used a delayed blow back principle much like that of semi-automatic pistols. The design allowed his weapon to be lighter in weight, and more accurate in the single shot mode than any existing submachine gun of the period.

After his design was refined, Eugene Reising entered into an agreement with Harrington & Richardson Arms Inc. in 1939. It was agreed that H&R Inc. would manufacture and market Reising’s submachine gun. Reising was to receive a $2.00 royalty fee for each of his submachine guns that were sold. The market targeted was military and police sales. Early H&R literature describing the Reising often compared it to a heavier and much more expensive submachine gun that was available. Although the Reising brochures never mention the “other” submachine gun by name, they were referring to the Thompson Submachine Gun. The low price of the Reising attracted the attention of many police departments. After WWII began the Auto Ordnance Company committed all of their Thompson production to the military, and the Reising became the only option for any police department that wished to add a submachine gun to their arsenal. Federal Laboratories of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was the main distributor of the Reising submachine gun, and its accessories for police sales.

One of the first attempts to sell the Reising submachine gun for use in a military application was to the British in August of 1940. The British were already at war with Germany and were desperate for small arms, fearing that a land invasion by the Germans was imminent The first British tests of the .45 caliber Reising M50 resulted in the rejection of the weapon. There were a few quality control problems at the factory that resulted in the weapon not performing well. The British testing team also described the weapon’s construction as being “quite crude.”

In 1941 the British grew increasingly desperate for small arms. They decided to retest the Reising, which by this time had undergone further development resulting in a substantially improved, more reliable weapon. The second British trial was moderately successful. Although a few of the Reising weapons were purchased, the British had just finished development of their own submachine gun design, the 9mm Sten. Reising and Harrington & Richardson Inc. also unsuccessfully tried to interest the British in the .30 carbine caliber version of the Reising in 1943. The .30 caliber version of the Reising had competed in the U.S. Ordnance Department’s light rifle trials of 1941.

While the Thompson was the submachine gun of choice for the U.S. Ordnance Department, there were problems. The first problem was the Thompson was expensive to manufacture. The second and more serious problem was that they could not be manufactured in the numbers required for the United States and her allies. During WWII the U.S. Marines were often low on the priority list for new weapons, and often relied on obsolete WWI small arms to get the job done. The Marines had discovered in prior minor actions, the value of the rapid-fire submachine gun, and desperately wanted to procure them for their troops. As a result the Marines adopted the Reising Model 50 as a supplementary submachine gun early in 1942. The weapon proved to be unreliable in the harsh jungle environments that the Marines fought in, and incidents of jamming and severe rusting of the arms were reported from the field. Shortly thereafter the Reising was relegated to rear echelon and guard duty, but did continue in service. Eugene Reising, when asked in a post war interview regarding the reported failure of his weapon, stated that no formal complaints were ever filed by the Marines or the Navy Department, though he knew of some problems. Mr. Reising felt that the troops issued the Reising were not given adequate training with the weapon, although he did confess that parts interchangeability between weapons was a problem contributing to their poor performance. He also stated that there was great emphasis placed on getting the weapons into the field, and there was no time to re-engineer the design or production process to allow for complete interchangeability of parts between the weapons.

The Reising was also sold to police departments in large numbers both during and after WWII. In the police role the Reising was a very capable weapon. Unfortunately the Reising’s long successful police career is often overshadowed by its marginal performance during its brief military service. The Reising submachine gun was manufactured in several configurations and models by Harrington and Richardson Arms Inc. of Worcester, Mass. This segment focuses on the Model 50.

The Model 50 is fairly well known to collectors and shooters of today, and is often referred to as being either a “military” or a “commercial” model. (The “commercial” model is also known as the “police” model) These nomenclatures of the Reising are often used and accepted today, but are incorrect for several reasons. Harrington and Richardson never advertised or acknowledged any specific “military” or “commercial” model. The Reisings were simply referred to as the “Model 50” regardless of their features. The so-called early “commercial” model eventually evolved into the later “military” configuration. Another reason the “military” and or “commercial” model designation is incorrect is that the military and the police used both configurations. The early models accepted by the Marines were the blue so-called “commercial” models, as were many of the early guns being purchased by the police. After the “commercial” model had fully evolved into the “military” configuration in the fall of 1942, Reisings were pulled from the military production line at random for any police orders that H&R Inc. received.

The early production Reising Model 50s had a polished blue finish and a 28 or 29 fin barrel. Many of the early stocks had no provisions in which to attach a sling. Sling swivels first appeared mounted on the left side of the stock. When the British tested Reisings equipped with the sling attached to the left side of the weapon they complained that it interfered with the shooters weak hand that grasped the forearm of the stock. The designers then moved the sling swivels over to the right side. Installing swivels on the bottom of the stock was not considered at first, because it was felt that the sling would interfere with access to the cocking handle (action bar) which is accessed through the underside of the stock. Most “commercial” model Reisings issued by the Marine Corps had the bottom mounted sling swivels installed. All later production “military” Reisings also had their sling swivels located on the bottom of the stock. Sling swivels were an option on the Reisings sold for police use.

Other features unique to the early “commercial” Reising Model 50 are a stamped 2 screw trigger guard, and a small take down screw that required a tool to loosen. The receiver end cap had a hollow recoil spring guide that was an integral part of the cap. This design proved to be unreliable and the hollow pin was replaced by a solid one. The first major change in the evolution of the Reising was the receiver. The bolt-locking step in early receivers was hardened manually with an acetylene torch. This was automated in the new receiver to make the hardening of this critical area more consistent. Another improvement in the new receiver was the addition of a second locking ball to keep the receiver end cap or “bumper plug” from loosening during firing. The second design receivers are easily recognized by the direction of the logo stamped on the top. Early receivers have the H&R logo stamped so that is readable from the right or ejection port side of the weapon, while later receivers are readable from the left. The new style receiver first appeared in the early 15,000 serial number range.

The contents of this article were excerpted from the new book “The Reising Submachine Gun Story” available from Moose Lake Publishing 207-683-2959 Next: the evolution of the “military” Reising.

By Jim Schatz

This article was written as a guide for dealers and manufacturers for conducting successful and safe demonstrations of small arms to all audiences, military, law enforcement and civilian personnel. These guidelines also apply to demos conducted by military and law enforcement personnel performing “dog and pony” shows for the public and other organizations and to anyone who travels regularly to crowded ranges and machine gun shoots.

This information is a compilation of the experiences and recommendations of the author and numerous members of the Heckler & Koch Inc. Federal Operations and Training Departments based on many years of conducting small arms demonstrations. The author alone has conducted more than 400 live-fire demonstrations during his 15 years of employment with HK, not to mention many similar demos conducted during a preceding 7 year military career. Like the fundamentals of marksmanship or the laws of physics, there are basics for conducting demonstrations that apply to any weapon, and to demos conducted at any location and for all audiences.

The recommendations provided herein will be most helpful for the novice demonstrator. The experienced demonstrator may find this information rudimentary. However it will still act as a refresher, a shake of the snow globe if you will, of the critical details for one of the most important, and dangerous, sales tools of those dealing in small arms, ammunition, and destructive devices. A demo, good, bad or otherwise can and will make or break the sale.

This article hopes to document and remind us all of what is important when conducting such demos and what can happen when Mr. Murphy jumps on board with both feet. It is hoped that these guidelines will help insure the conduct of safe and successful demonstrations, regardless of the level of experience of the demonstrator. At the same time this is not the gospel and many readers and experienced demonstrators will certainly be able to add to this list and may even question some of the recommendations and ideas. This is good; the author and readers welcome your input, as there are no absolutes in life.

Throughout the article true accounts will be provided as examples to reinforce the messages conveyed. While these tales are true the names have been changed to protect the innocent and to avoid embarrassment for the unfortunate individual involved in the story. Only a few of these examples come from the HK files.

Parts I and II of this four part series will cover General Guidelines for a Successful Demonstration. Part III will follow with tips concerning Specific Safety Guidelines and Precautions during demonstrations. Part IV will discuss Ammunition and Specific Weapon Guidelines.

The Definition of a Successful Demonstration

“A successful demonstration is a day where no one at the demo gets hurt, all the guns work as designed, you hit all your targets and, if you are a salesman the customer leaves with the intention to buy your product, in that order. Strive for perfection!”

Safety is the first concern but preparation is the key to a successful demonstration!

Even when you have done all that you can to insure a safe and 100% successful live-fire demonstration it is important to remember that many factors are simply out of your control.

Example 1:

An experienced manufacturer’s rep was asked to conduct a demo for a federal agency allegedly interesting in purchasing 100 long guns. Unbeknownst to the rep the prospective customer showed up at the demo with another manufacturer’s product and had been obviously coached by the manufacturers rep. Certain individuals from the agency used the demo to steer the decision-makers attending the demo away from the products of the rep invited to showcase his wares.

Lesson: Demos can be counterproductive to your goals due to outside influences beyond your control. It is very important to lay the groundwork and “know your enemy” before investing the time and effort to conduct the demonstration.

Without preparation there is anarchy. What can go wrong will go wrong during the demo. If you think it will take 30 minutes to prepare or set-up it will take 90 minutes.Being unprepared for the demo sets you up for failure. The degree of success obtained using the live-fire demonstration as a sales tool is directly proportional to the time you spend preparing for it. If you are prepared for the demo before arriving at the site of the demonstration not only can you concentrate on the objective of the visit but you will also be more attentive to safety concerns.

General Guidelines for a Successful Demonstration

•1. Safety is the first priority at any live fire demo! If all else goes perfect during your demo but someone is hurt as a result of your demo it is the injury the attendees will remember. Never shortcut or sacrifice safety when conducting a demonstration, for any reason.

•2. A demonstration is only successful when all (100%) of your weapons and accessories work flawlessly. Any stoppages or failures will most likely be seen and frowned upon by the onlookers and could jeopardize the outcome of the sale.

•3. Preparation is everything! Inspect and prepare your demo kit (weapons, magazines, belts, accessories, range materials, etc.) the day prior to the demo. Arrive at the site of the demo ready to shoot!

•4. Test fire and confirm the zero’s of your demo weapons the day of the demo and if possible on the range where the demo will occur. Arrive enough in advance to test fire and confirm your zeros before the attendees begin to arrive. Test firing just prior to the demo will provide as great a guarantee as possible that your weapons will function properly during the demo on that day and under those unique conditions. Test fire each weapon with one full magazine in all available modes of fire.

•5. Arrive 1 to 2 hours prior to the start of the demo for set up and preparation time. This will allow you sufficient time to test fire, confirm zeros, set up your firing line, refill magazines, lay out literature, post signs, etc. prior to the arrival of the attendees. Arriving early and being set up and ready to fire before the attendees arrive will show that you are prepared and organized. It will also allow you ample time to answer the questions of the early arrivals that may not be able to stay for the entire demo.

Early arrival also provides a buffer time for unexpected events, forgotten items and for the all-important mental preparation prior to precision error-free shooting.

•6. Know your products! Memorize specifications, features, prices prior to the demo.

•7. Know the prospective user, their current weapons and needs, the key players and obstacles or negative attitudes you may encounter as in example 1 above. Model your demo to address the unique requirements of the attendees of the demo. Set realistic goals for the day and strive to reach them.

•8. Avoid the urge to try and impress the attendees with your expansive knowledge of firearms. Concentrate on the merits of products you are showing and the needs of the customer.

•9. Don’t try to cover your entire product line in the time allotted unless the customer is seriously interested in buying everything you offer! Find out before the demo and concentrate on the weapons that the customer is most interested in. Select those primary weapons for live fire demonstration and leave the others for static display only. This reduces demo and cleaning time, ammo costs, the possibility for problems or safety issues with too many guns on line and most importantly allows you to concentrate on selling the weapons that the customer is most likely to buy.

•10. Keep the verbal briefing portion of the demo short, no longer than 20 minutes at a time. Most persons will only retain 30 – 50 % of your “sermon”, some far less depending on the conditions and their interest. If necessary, take breaks throughout the demo to speak to them on additional subjects/products. Dividing the demo into phases with a short briefing prior to each phase works very well. (I.e. talk about and shoot pistols, break, talk about and shoot sub guns/rifles, break, talk about and shoot shotguns, break, closing comments.)

Include in your briefing the following information:

* Who you are and what you do for your company.
* Provide a brief description of your company and it’s relationship with any parent organizations, etc.
* Additional services provided by your company, i.e. repair, training, reconditioning, trade-in programs, programs to provide sample weapons for user test and evaluation, Individual Officer Sale Program, etc.
* Describe the products you will demo and a short bit on each one. Include at a minimum:
—Features and merits
—Operation
—Assembly/disassembly
—Accessories, options, variants, etc.
—Procedures for use and clearing
—Proper and effective firing position or methods
* Invite attendees to take literature, price lists, business cards, etc. after demo is completed.
* Invite attendees to test fire weapons at close of briefing.
* Offer and provide the loan of ear and eye protection to those without.
(Note: Yes they should bring their own but its your demo so be prepared to
protect the eyes and ears of those who didn’t think ahead to protect themselves.)

•11. Load your magazines and belts prior to arriving at the range to save time. Inspect, fit and adjust if necessary your holsters, belts, slings, rigs and equipment prior to leaving for the demo so you know they are ready for immediate use.

•12. Arrive at the demo with weapons that are clean, properly lubricated and prepared for the demo.

•13. Load, unload and fire the weapons in a correct and professional manner, in other words in the way that they would be loaded and fired during actual use. For example, load the long guns with the weapon in a firing position. Don’t load the rifles or shotguns with the weapon laying in your arms upside down to make the insertion of the shells/magazine more convenient for you. Practice your loading and manipulation of the weapons with inert dummy rounds prior to the demo until you can do it without fumbling or watching your hand motions.

Example 2:

One of the finest shotgun demonstrators in the world today makes loading of the magazine look fast and easy through years of hands on practice. He always holds the shotgun in the firing position while loading and looks downrange or at the attendees and his movements are slick and precise. Many attendees look at how easily and quickly the gun can be loaded by this seasoned professional though they would be hard pressed to duplicate his proficiency without extensive practice. Nonetheless like those of us who buy sporting goods because they work so well in the hands (or on the feet) of professional athletes this is a key factor in their overall impression of the product.

Lesson: Practice makes perfect. Spend time refining your demo skills, especially with a new or unfamiliar product.

•14. Depart the range only after it has been returned to a condition at least as good if not better than it was when you arrived. Do not leave your brass or trash behind on the range! Return the range equipment and materials to their correct location. Range hogs are seldom invited back.

Example 3:

A team from a major manufacturer built a sizeable concrete block wall on a military range during a large demo. The purpose of the wall was to be turned into small concrete fragments by automatic fire from the team of inconsiderate shooters. At the close of the demo the team packed up their guns and left behind thousands of pieces of concrete block, and brass and trash, for the range crew to police up and nothing to haul it away in. This manufacturer is now banned from using this range and would be hard pressed to sell even a shovel to the organization to which the range belongs.

Lesson: Respect the range and thus its caretakers! Don’t expect someone else to clean up after you. Follow the hikers motto and “Pack out what you packed in”.

•15. Have literature and your business cards and info available during and after the demo for attendees to receive. Pre-filled literature bags or folders complete with all of the applicable product information and pricing, to include your business card, insures that each attendee receives all of the pertinent information and also keeps the literature from blowing around the range in the wind, disturbing your presentation.

Example 4:

During a demo on an outdoor range an experienced and very well meaning Class II manufacturer forgot himself for just a second, concerned that his unsecured literature was blowing across the customers range. Not wanting to litter up the picturesque range of the prospective customer the gentlemen took off after the airborne trash with a fully loaded automatic rifle. Needless to say the attendees were not impressed, especially when the flustered man realized what he had done and where he was in relation to the firing line and crowd, spun around to return to the firing line and swept the crowd with his locked and loaded rifle.

Lesson: Secure your literature with rocks, rubber bands, bags or binder clips before the demo begins and mind your muzzle.

•16. Display company “colors” and logo’s on the range whenever possible or practical. Unique demo uniforms for you and all your personnel make a good impression and also help the customer to find you when they have questions. Light colors are best in the hot sun but show “range crud” easily. Stay away from wannabe outfits that resemble the uniforms of your customers. •17. Keep the range and your personal appearance neat and orderly before and during the demo to make a good impression.

Example 5:

A hired shooter for a well-known manufacturer was demoing an excellent product for a crowd of government types, many of which were special operations personnel who were interested in the product to be shown. However, the state of appearance of the shooter, being grossly overweight and in all the wrong places and woefully underdressed, resulted in the attendees only watching the man’s physique during the demo and not the gun or his results on target. The shooter’s personal appearance was the talk for years to come, not the fact that he hit every target he was shooting at.

Lesson: Consider your appearance at all times. If you don’t look the part for the crowd you are demoing for, find and hire someone who does.

•18. This is not a joke! Keep breath mints handy for you and your people during the demo. No one wants to stand and listen to “Johnny Trenchmouth” up close on the firing line during a two-hour demo and will miss most of what you are saying concentrating on your atrocious breath instead. Cola soft drinks, tea and coffee (caffeine drinks) make this condition worse, especially first thing in the morning.
•19. Make the guns look good! Try to be as, or more, proficient (and safe!) with the weapons than the attendees. It is key to a successful demonstration that you come across as a professional in every way.

Example 6:

Another well-meaning hired gun shooting for the guy in example 5 spent hours setting up reactive targets for a large crowd of VIP onlookers. Once his portion of the demo arrived, the crowd watched anxiously to see the gunner engage the three dozen or so targets he labored to set up in full view of the waiting crowd. When the smoke (from the exploding targets, which concealed the remaining targets,) cleared, the shooter was out of ammo and many targets still remained.

Lesson: There are two here. Be able to hit what you aim at, especially when the attendees know what your targets are. Pyrotechnics are great for demos but create smoke, which moves with the wind and obscures targets quite effectively. Use and position them strategically.

Continued in the next issue of Small Arms Review….

Part One: Developmental History and Combat Use from WWII to Vietnam

Affectionately known to generations of American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines as “Ma Deuce,” John Moses Browning’s .50 caliber machine gun entered U.S. service in 1921 and is still going strong. Although too heavy for most bootbourne infantry operations, the big, bad M2’s devastating firepower, extreme range and legendary reliability under the worst conditions make it a favorite for ground defensive positions, vehicle, aircraft, and antiaircraft mountings. Now, at the ripe old age of 78, “Grandma Deuce” is still kicking butt worldwide and is likely to remain in first line American military service well into the 21st century. Go Granny, Go!

Introduction

In this, the first of two installments, we will examine the circumstances leading to John Browning’s development of his extraordinary .50 caliber heavy machine gun during World War One. Then, we will follow its refinement and evolution into a versatile and highly capable system including the watercooled and aircooled versions that played a key role in winning World War Two. Part one concludes with a brief look at “Ma Deuce” in Korea and Vietnam.

The Great War

Browning’s big fifty was developed in urgent response to some remarkable technological advances during World War One. “The Great War,” as it was known at the time, began in 1914 and soon mired down into parallel trench lines stretching hundreds of miles across Western Europe. In the four unimaginably horrible years following, increasingly sophisticated bomber and fighter aircraft of both sides flew high above the miserable and filthy infantry. Well beyond the range of rifle caliber machineguns and poorly aimed AA cannon fire, these airborne raiders rained havoc on the trenches and on support and supply activities in rear areas. Early on, the clever and industrious Germans adapted their Zeppelin dirigible airships into floating fortresses and began nightly bombing attacks on the allied capital cities of Paris and London. These torpedo shaped armored dreadnoughts of the sky were so heavily equipped with machine guns that allied pursuit fighters had virtually no chance of shooting them down. Many valiant French and British fighter pilots whose own rifle caliber guns with ordinary bullets proved no match for concentrated firepower from the “beastly Hun”, spiraled down thousands of feet in flaming coffins.

Observation balloons, actually an innovation of the American Civil War of the 1860’s, were also used by both sides. Tethered a couple of miles behind the front lines, they lifted artillery forward observers to vantage points high above the battlefield, giving them the ability to direct murderous barrages with pinpoint accuracy. Out of range of most ground based guns and always well protected by large numbers of antiaircraft machineguns and cannon, these stationary gasbags taunted their victims while remaining largely immune to retaliation.

But the German’s had an achilles heel in both their Zeppelins and observation balloons. Highly flammable hydrogen gas was the lifting agent and once ignited by even the smallest spark, they would be almost instantly engulfed in flames. But, how to deliver that fatal spark at a great and comparatively safe distance?

The French were the first with a partial remedy, hastily fielded in early 1917. Made with practical expediency by beefing up the 8mm Mle 1914 Hotchkiss guns to handle an 11mm incendiary cartridge of somewhat increased range, it soon became known as the “Balloon Gun.” The British immediately followed suit by adapting their highly efficient Vickers gun — mounted in pairs on fighter planes and synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller —to fire this acceptably effective incendiary cartridge. The tables were turned and now German Zeppelin crews and balloon observers were the ones plunging to a fiery death.

Despite its immediate success, the 11mm “balloon gun” round was still not sufficiently powerful for really effective long range antiaircraft work. But, while allied experimentation continued, it was the Germans who were now most anxious to have a bigger bullet and a way to fire lots of them as fast as possible. This anxiety quickly turned to near panic when the allies gave them yet another nasty surprise.

“Tank und Flieger”

The first large scale battle use of allied tanks in World War One came in April 1917 when ten groups of French tanks spearheaded General Nivelle’s Asine Offensive, reportedly catching the Germans completely unprepared. Although slow and awkward, these lightly armored tractors flattened thickets of barbed wire and lumbered right over shell holes and trenches. Their on board machine guns and small caliber cannon wrecked havoc on well dug in German infantry whose 8mm Maxim gun fire bounced harmlessly off the enemy’s tanks.

Adding to German impotence, supporting artillery was unable to provide effective responsive fire against the creeping pillboxes. Already decimated by years of trench warfare and demoralized by the arrival of fresh American troops, the Kaiser’s army was in danger of total collapse unless a way could be found to deal decisively with this grave new threat.

German ingenuity quickly asserted itself in a formidable 13mm (actually 12.7mm or .50 caliber) cartridge made by the Polte firm. With an amazing muzzle velocity of some 2,700 feet per second, its 800 grain armor piercing bullet could slam right through a full inch of steel plate at 50 yards. An early combat test unmistakably proved its capabilities when a single shot pierced both sides of an unlucky English tank!

The Germans had two plans for launching this big and hot new round with the first being a crash program to design and build the “TuF.” Short for “Tank und Flieger” (tank and aircraft), the TuF was essentially a standard MG08 Maxim gun bulked up double in size. It was intended to deal not only with swarms of allied tanks, but also serve as an aircraft and antiaircraft gun capable of reaching out to great distances to deliver deadly doses of lead poisoning. Since it must have been obvious to all concerned that this complicated gun could not be built soon enough, the tried and true 8mm bolt action Mauser 98 rifle was given similar treatment with steel steroids as a quick fix.

By the spring of 1918 the already miserable lives of Allied tank crews inside their hot, stinking and clumsy machines got immeasurably worse when quantities of the 38 pound 13mm Model 1918 “Tankgewehr” (tank rifle) began to be employed. Despite the new rifle’s deadly close range efficiency, it was not enough to turn the tide of war and Germany surrendered on 11 November 1918, months before the first TuF Maxims could be fielded.

.50 Caliber Cartridge

German development of this powerful rifle and cartridge combo had not gone unnoticed by the allies who soon captured quantities of both. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that the small arms race had been ratcheted up considerably and that French wonder cartridge — the 11mm Hotchkiss “balloon gun” incendiary round — was way behind the power curve.

As luck would have it, none other than John M. Browning himself had already been at work on a “TuF” of his own since July of 1917. Starting with his .30 caliber M1917 machine gun that had just been adopted by the US Army and Marines, Browning settled back in at the Colt factory and began adapting his short recoil, water cooled bullet hose to handle Winchester’s secret new .50 caliber cartridges.

The Ordnance Department had given Winchester what they probably thought was a straightforward contract that summer to scale up the standard .30-06 caliber rifle and machinegun cartridge to .50 caliber. Specifications called for a projectile weight of 800 grains, muzzle velocity of 2,700 fps, and ability to penetrate a minimum of 1.25 inches of armor plate at 25 yards. Colt had their hands full with a contract to build a gun that would weigh no more than 50 pounds yet reliably and accurately shoot this energetic cartridge at 500 to 600 rpm.

Unfortunately for allied forces in Europe both on the ground and in the air, Browning’s work on the bigger gun was hobbled by problems caused when Winchester engineers took unauthorized liberties with their cartridge contract. Not only did they gave it a prominent rim like that of the French “balloon gun” round, its bullet weight and muzzle velocity were inferior to specifications. Worse yet, they were far inferior to test data on the newly captured German Tankgewehr round. General “Black Jack” Pershing, Commander of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe, was not amused; he had seen first hand what the big bolt action Mauser Model 1918 rifle could do to his thin skinned tanks and was not about to accept being outgunned.

A Star is Born

For about a year while all of this was going on Browning’s work went steadily forward. The first firing of a freshly assembled preproduction prototype gun took place on 15 October 1918. John Moses himself personally fired nearly 900 of the rimmed and comparatively puny Winchester .50 caliber cartridges including bursts of up to 150 rounds. This date marks, for all practical purposes, the birthday of “Ma Deuce.”

Although demonstrating mechanical success, these water cooled prototype guns were reportedly quite difficult to control despite weighing a hefty 160 pounds including a particularly robust tripod. These problems were compounded when Winchester finally got back on the right ammo track by not only dropping the old fashioned rimmed case, but by putting into production an almost direct copy of the powerful 13mm Tankgewehr/Tuf round.

In turn, Browning’s immediate efforts went into redesigning the boltface and ammo feed system — back to that of his original M1917 gun which quite handily ingested and fired rimmed .30-06 ammo. The second and certainly most vexing challenge was in reducing the overall weight of his gun while efficiently handling the hot 12.7mm German/ American cartridge with its much greater chamber pressure and recoil impulse.

Although the urgency of fielding this big new machinegun evaporated when Germany surrendered, Browning continued work on his “Fifty.” One obvious external change was tossing out the little M1917 style pistol grip in favor of a two fisted pair of spade grip handles. While this helped with aiming during full auto fire, most of the controllability problems were conquered by his design of a clever oil filled buffer. This served essentially as a hydraulic shock absorber, smoothing out the sharply recoiling bolt.

The oil buffer allowed Browning to significantly reduce the overall weight of both the tripod mount and the receiver — though not anywhere near the Ordnance Department’s physics-defying specification of a fifty pound gun. It also provided the useful option of allowing the gunner to regulate firing speed of the gun to deal with a wide range of tactical situations. This last characteristic would soon prove to be an essential attribute as the basic gun was adapted to many applications on ground, vehicles, boats and planes.

Model 1921

Apparently satisfied with his efforts, Browning returned to his home in Ogden, Utah while Colt’s engineers continued development. Two versions were type classified by the Army as the M1921 Caliber .50; the first a water cooled ground mount gun, and the second with an air cooled barrel for aircraft mounting. Small quantity delivery began in 1925 and, due to postwar “downsizing” of the military and its budget, less than 1000 guns of both types were purchased over the next ten years.

Apparently fascinated by the performance of its powerful new Browning heavy machine guns, the Army undertook a protracted series of experiments and demonstrations with both types of guns in an endless variety of ground and air roles. According to contemporary accounts, this had the practical effect of not only proving the .50 cal’s deadly effectiveness, it also convinced key officers in all branches that many more of these hard-hitting bullet hoses would be needed in the next inevitable war.

Weapon System

The time between wars was also put to good use in continuing refinement of the “Fifty.” While we now take for granted the economy and efficiency of a systems approach to weaponry, many parts for the big gun’s air and ground versions were not readily interchangeable. Under the able direction of former Army Colonel and then Ordnance Dept. engineer S.G. Green, the guns were reworked for common dimensions and adaptability to a standard catalog of various barrels and other components.

One particularly clever innovation was Green’s system for quick conversion to left or right hand feed, facilitating installation in aircraft and multiple gun mounts. Another was beefing up critical parts and reinforcing stress points on the receiver to ensure reliable and continued functioning even under the most abusive sustained combat conditions. Improved ground guns were designated M1921A1 and the aircraft version as M1921E2.

“Ma Deuce”

While water cooling gave the ground gun an amazing capability for sustained fire, its excessive weight and need for expert attention were serious handicaps in infantry and cavalry operations. This was remedied by abandoning the water jacket and fitting a much heavier air cooled barrel that would still allow a volume of fire to meet most combat requirements. After experiments with various diameters and even cooling fins, Colt’s new air cooled ground gun was standardized in 1933 as the Browning Machine Gun, cal. 50 Heavy Barrel, M2, characterized by a gracefully tapered smooth surface 36 inch barrel.

Because the Army’s budget had been devastated by the Great Depression, there was little money to support procurement of the new and improved M2 HB and other .50 cal ground and air models utilizing the same basic M2 receiver. Fortunately the Navy had some money and they stepped in to keep alive further development of the system including refinement of engineering drawings and standardization of manufacturing procedures. By 1940 when it was obvious that America would be compelled to enter what was to become WWII, the whole family of Browning .50 cal guns was ready for mass production by a variety of contractors.

Another World War

The Navy’s paltry $150,000 initial investment paid off big between 1940 and ’45. According to Terry Gander in his indispensable new book BROWNING M2, the mind boggling figure of nearly two million .50 cal Brownings poured out of government arsenals, traditional gunmaking firms, and even hastily converted former automobile parts factories! With very few exceptions, we are told, all of their parts proved fully interchangeable among all M2 series guns regardless of where they were made. This, by itself, is an astonishing accomplishment.

Air cooled M2 “Fifties” in single and multiple mounts served the Navy on its PT boats and in carrier based aircraft, while water cooled M2 guns in dual and quad mounts protected warships from attacking enemy planes. The Army Air Corps used astronomical quantities of the air cooled M2 guns to arm its massive fleets of bombers and fighters. With special lubricants and knowledgeable maintenance, these guns earned an enviable reputation for reliability and effectiveness even in the subzero temperatures of high level bombing runs and the equally hostile salt spray environment of surface ships.
For the land forces of the Army and Marine Corps, John Browning’s heavy machine gun proved its worth beyond a shadow of doubt under the worst imaginable conditions. From the frozen arctic to burning sandswept deserts, from the steaming jungles of the Pacific to the bottomless mud of the Italian campaign, M2 water cooled and M2 heavy barrel guns beat just about anything the enemy had — up to and arguably including 20mm. In ground, antiaircraft and vehicle mountings, Browning’s big Fifties poured a devastating stream of heavy caliber bullets to ranges far in excess of 3000 yards, decisively outperforming German and Japanese rifle caliber machine guns and other readily available weaponry.

Really Heavy Machinegun

Range and muzzle velocity performance of the .50 cal. M2HB that became the standard WWII production model was considerably improved by fitting it with a 45 inch barrel, standardized in 1938. Many of these early guns were also fitted with an T3/M3 3.25 power prismatic telescopic sight to aid with long range shooting. With its previously mentioned receiver reinforcements and this longer barrel this new M2HB tipped the scales at about 84 pounds, and its sturdy M3 tripod added about 44 lbs more. This gives an impressive total of some 128 lbs and that doesn’t count its tools and spares or even one of the heavy 105 round cans of ammunition!

Such a formidably weighty and awkward firepower package requires special tactical consideration and the Army’s standard “leg” infantry battalions grouped Fifties in a heavy weapons company. There, the gun was served by a crew of five; gun commander, gunner, assistant, and two rifleman/ammo carriers.

Even when broken down into major assemblies and distributed among the crew, the whole system presented a considerable burden to these men who were already carrying packs heavy with rations and personal gear. Not surprisingly, it is said that most of the ground mount guns’ combat action was in defensive positions, placed for a commanding view of the terrain and well dug in.

Wheels and Tracks

For many a GI and Marine in WWII the real glory of the M2 Heavy Barrel came as a flexible mount vehicle gun. When carried on everything from tiny jeeps to Sherman tanks, the considerable weight of old “Ma Deuce” was of virtually no consequence compared to her hitting power and extreme range. In ring mounts on cargo trucks, on pedestals in weapons carriers, and in groups of four on halftracks, she shot down strafing enemy fighters and killed legions of enemy infantry long before they could get close enough to bring their own small arms to bear. “Ma” could be a mean old gal to those enemies who were luckless enough to cross her long and wide path.

Korea and Vietnam

Containing the evil intentions of our Communist adversaries has been and continues to be a bloody challenge for America. Scarcely five years after WWII ended, we found ourselves at war again in Korea, this time fighting our former Chinese allies backed by our former Soviet allies. The struggle resumed in Indochina as we tried in vain to keep South Vietnam from being overrun by Communist guerrillas and North Vietnamese regulars — again backed by the Chinese and Soviets. Ma Deuce was always there, but even she couldn’t overcome the lack of political will of our gutless politicians who all but guaranteed that those Americans who fought, were wounded, captured or killed, never really had a chance of winning.

In Part 2 of this in-depth examination of John Browning’s masterpiece we will visit a fine unit of today’s US Marines as they introduce some of the Corps’ newest officers to its oldest infantry weapon. Be there next month on Quantico’s Range 7 to examine how Ma Deuce works, how she is pampered and prepared for action, and how she performs her role as the world’s best heavy machine gun. Don’t miss it!

Homework Assignment

Terry Gander, editor of Jane’s All the World’s Infantry Weapons, has recently produced a fine hardcover book on the .50 cal. The Browning M2 Heavy Machine Gun (PRC Publishing, London, 1999, now available from the Military Book Club) does an excellent job of telling Ma Deuce’s ongoing story in authoritative text and great photos. This is a welcome expansion of two classic works with extensive information on both ground and aircraft Brownings; Konrad Schreier Jr.’s Guide to US Machine Guns (Normount Technical Pubs., Wickenburg, AZ, 1971) and the grandaddy of them all, George Chinn’s The Machine Gun, Vol. 1 (Dept. of the Navy, 1951)

General Data for M2 Heavy Barrel Machine Gun on M3 Tripod

Caliber: .50 inch / 12.7 millimeter
System of Operation: Short recoil. Fully Automatic & single shot
Cooling: Air
Overall Length: 65 inches
Barrel Length: 45 inches
Feed Device: Disintegrating metallic link belt, 100 rounds
Weight: Gun 84 lbs. + Tripod 44 lbs. = 128 pounds
Muzzle Velocity: 3,050 feet per second (2,080 mph)
Maximum Effective Range: 1,800 yards
Maximum Range: 6,800 yards (3.8 miles)
Cyclic Rate of Fire: 500 rounds per minute (8.3 rps)
Sustained Rate of Fire: Up to 40 rounds per minute
Ammunition: Ball, Armor Piercing, Incendiary, Tracer, Specialized

Characteristics of M2 Ball Cartridge:

Overall length 5.45 in.,
Overall Weight 1,813 grains;
Bullet length 2.5 in., wgt. 709.5 gr.;
Powder charge 235 gr. IMR 5010
Penetration (AP M2 at 200 yards): 1 in. armor, 14 in. sand, 28 in. dry clay
Crew: Gunner, Assistant, Ammunition Carrier

About the Author

Robert Bruce is a former infantryman, tank crewman and military intelligence analyst. An internationally published magazine and book author, photo journalist, archivist and lecturer, he has been shooting, evaluating, and writing about the world’s infantry weapons for more than thirty years. Robert is perhaps best known for his book THE M1 DOES MY TALKING! an archive photo history of the famous Garand Rifle, as well as GERMAN AUTOMATIC WEAPONS OF WWII and MACHINE GUNS OF WWI. He also regularly supplied the “Archive Photo of the Month” featurette for the old Machine Gun News and now, as space permits, for Small Arms Review.

Most SAR readers will be familiar with Mike Dillon’s name- for many years he has been very high profile in the shooting world. Anecdotes abound, but SAR had the chance to sit down with Mike a little while ago, and the ensuing conversation stretches from the shop, to the office, to the hangar, to the Huey, out over the Arizona desert, following rivers and valleys, then back to a nice Italian restaurant in Scottsdale. Over the course of the conversation we covered many subjects, but in this first part of the interview we will stick to some history of Dillon Precision, Miniguns, Philosophy, Helicopters, Airplanes, Ballistics, Physics, and the learning process that started Dillon on the road to where he is today. In Part II, in SAR Volume 2 Number 3, Mike gets into the dynamics of reloading, specifically for machine guns, and we have his private recipes for Thompsons, 1911’s, M-16 / AR-15’s, Brownings, and a few more… Herewith we begin at the beginning…

SAR: What was your first gun Mike? What’s the first firearm you had?

Mike: The first one? I had a .22 Mossberg semi-automatic rifle. The first machinegun is easier to remember, it was a Tommy Gun; a Model 1921 Thompson. Still have it. I got it back around 1978. A good friend of mine died in an airplane crash. He had introduced me to machine gunning- the crash killed him and another friend of mine and we spent a considerable amount of time settling and locking up his machine shop and settling his estate for his widow. She wanted me to have something from the estate, and she gave me the Tommy Gun and a Star reloader. I guess this was the moment that launched me into the right path in life.

SAR: Was the Star reloader your first reloading machine?

Mike: My first reloading machine was a Lyman Tong tool, that I used to load .45 Long Colt for my Single Action 45 Colt. That was the first centerfire gun I ever owned. No, in retrospect it was probably the second, I think my first centerfire gun was a Winchester 30/30. I really liked that Single Action Colt, but I never learned how to shoot it! My buddy Jimmy Cavenor went out and bought a Smith and Wesson K38 with a four inch barrel. At that time he couldn’t afford a Single Action Colt, (even in those days a Single Action cost more than a K38 did), and I was really mortified that I had this beautiful Single Action Colt that I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with, and he could take this K38 out of the box and nail targets immediately. I could really fan that Single Action at an alarming rate of fire, though.

SAR: What was the target effect?

Mike: All the rounds hitting about 3 or 4 feet in front of my toes- but hitting the target really wasn’t the point- it was fun!

SAR: You’re well known around machinegun circles as being focused on machineguns, belt feds in particular. How did you start into the belt fed guns?

Mike: When I started making loading tools, well, more like messing around with loading tools, I modified that Star tool to .223. We put out a little kit that we called a SUPER STAR KIT. The SUPER STAR name came from Peter Kokalis, who was ridiculing me when he said it of course, but fairly quickly other people were asking me to make other modifications; make a machine to load 30/06 or whatever, and at that point I figured I needed a machine gun to test the results on. I bought a Hudac water-cooled Browning.

SAR: So you were specifically reloading for machineguns- what calibers?

Mike: Basically 30.06, .308, .223 and .45. People would call me up and ask me about their 257 Roberts or something of the sort and they have this problem or that problem, and “Mike, I know you’re an expert so I’d like you to help me with it…” I’d say wait a minute, you have to understand I do consider myself an expert in loading .223, .308, 30.06, .45 but that’s about it . Outside of that I didn’t know a damn thing about reloading.

SAR: When you were first reloading were you using other commercial tools to load for machineguns?

Mike: I never did. I mean I used that modified STAR to load 223 and 45, but I never reloaded any other calibers on anybody’s machine except for the ones that I made.

SAR: Were you driven strictly by a desire for more ammunition to shoot?

Mike: Truthfully, probably not. That is an element of it. I was driven by a desire, no, compulsion is probably a better word than desire, just to build things. I mean I LOVE to build things. I’ve been that way since my earliest memory of sitting on the apartment floor in Brooklyn, New York, pre-school age, building things with an erector set. I adore building things.

SAR: So this passion for building things translated itself into problem solving, and eventually Dillon Precision.

Mike: When I first started the company, I was a full-time pilot for TWA. I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to. First off, I’ve never been a morning person, I don’t start real early. But I worked until I dropped. When I would start working I’d have no trouble with inspiration or adrenaline but the body can’t always keep up with that. I would work often until the sun was coming up, and I would go home after daylight having worked all night long. I had to set a rule for myself in that I would not work in the machine shop once I started stumbling. When I start missing steps I realized I was too tired to be working around machinery. I would keep working around the loading machine and one night I was in about that state, it was probably around 3 o’clock in the morning and I was loading 223 on the RO1000 and I was amazing myself with how fast I could go. I’d go a little faster, a little faster, a little faster until I finally I didn’t get my hand out of the way and my index finger on my left hand was speared by a cartridge case. I actually drove the cartridge case right up inside my finger. It was painful and very irritating, so I took a wrench and took the die out of the tool head. I put the die in the lathe and put a big 45 degree chamfer on the bottom of it so that if I did that again, it would sort of push my finger off. We used this chamfer in many of the dies. The next morning it looked like a major catastrophe had happened in the shop- you could track my blood from the reloader to the lathe and back again. I got so consumed in fixing things that I wasn’t paying attention to the pain.

SAR: Were the Browning guns of particular interest? I notice that you have a lot of variants, and used several different types in Machine Gun Magic.

Mike: Miniguns were the stars of that of course, but the Brownings are a very reliable gun. Probably the most interesting thing to me about the 1919 Browning, was the fact that when I first started reloading you could by H335 powder for about 25 cents per pound. Maybe it was $1.50, but it was still almost free the stuff was so cheap. I bought huge quantities of H335 and used that to load everything. It’s a great 223 powder and it’s an acceptable 308 powder, but it is NOT a 30.06 powder, which I discovered the hard way. I blew up my Browning about 3 or 4 times with it. Burst the case and bowed the top cover and you know how it is with a Browning; the cure is a 3 pound hammer. You drive the top cover back down where it was and you keep on shooting. It’s a good gun. I tried everything I could think of, I mean it said right there in that old reloading manual that the damn powder works for 30.06! I’d load this stuff and I’d get erratic ignition to the powder. I’d get muzzle blast that was enough to knock you off your feet, huge flames out the front for one round and the next round would burn clean. Then you’d get hang fires and the result of the hang fire was it would blow the back out of the case and bulge the top cover. We had some of that ammo tested- I took about ten rounds from right next to the shredded piece of the belt, and the parts of the destroyed cases, and sent them away. Results came back that pressures were erratic, but not all that high. It was one of those educational experiences in ballistics. There are certain combinations of powder and volume of case that you can’t combine. I mean the damn thing just blows up.

SAR: Too much volume?

Mike: To much volume for that powder. So I quit using H335. A748 will produce similar results in a 30.06. You’ll get short cycles because the powder is burning outside the barrel and yet people say it’s a quick burning powder, I can’t tell you what the formula is, but I can tell you that there are certain powders that in large capacity cases DON’T work properly.

SAR: When you say “explodes” it has a certain implication. Do you consider the mechanics of that, the physics of that, to be that the burning propellant gases are expanding and there is too much space for them to expand?

Mike: I think that and there was one other instance which made me decide that there were certain mysteries about powder burning inside the cartridge case that no one understands. Bob Ferris was there one day when I had a hang fire in the Browning. It went ZIP – BOOOOOOOM and ruptured the back of the case, broke the tee slot on the bolt that bolts the top cover, and I said “OK I am not touching this Bob, you come over and tell me what happened”. So he came over and put his hand underneath the ejection port and the case came right out. It looked like a prune. The case was completed collapsed. The hang fire had been just enough to push the bullet out of the case and into the rifling. The pressure in the case wasn’t sufficient to seal the case against the chamber wall. So now when the powder exploded, it was all down the barrel, and it went back alongside the case and crushed the case in the chamber, and blew the back off the case. Once again, the convenient thing with the Browning- you throw another bolt in it, take your three pound hammer and straighten the top cover and keep right on shooting. You haven’t even slowed down for the day. Brownings sure are a wonderful gun.

SAR: As far as belt feds go, it that your personal favorite?

Mike: Well, if it’s going to be mounted on something, probably yes. It’s hard to pass up the Minimi though, a gun that’s a lot of fun, because you can comfortably carry it around.

SAR: So in .223, did you load more for the Minimi or the M16?

Mike: I bought a huge load of linked .223 for the Minimi, so most of my experience would be with the M16 / AR-15 series.

SAR: In loading for the M16 series, have you done any accuracy testing personally or worked with people who were working for accuracy?

Mike: Yes, there were a couple of surprising incidents that led to our present reloading philosophies. We can cover specific recipes later. We went out shooting one morning, and Kokalis had an M16 carbine he had just gotten that little 3 power Colt scope on. I had an M16 and another guy had a Mini 14 and we went up to the range and set up. Pete was shooting his reloads using Hogsden H322. That has a DuPont number. It’s an extruded powder, an IMR powder where the grains are cut so short that it meters just like ball powder. It is the best powder for a small capacity high-pressure cartridge that there is. The silhouette shooters have taken to it. I mean it’s a beautiful powder, it’s great. He shot off a sand bag rest on the bench at 100 yards, getting sub-minute groups with an M16- a machinegun- right out of the box. He then took my H335 reloads and shot those, and they opened up to about 11/2 inches. It wouldn’t have surprised me if my loads didn’t shoot as tight as his just for psychological reasons. What did surprise me is that the group moved about 2 1/2 “ up and about an 1 1/2” to the left. The group was in an entirely different place on the paper, not just higher or lower.

SAR: Same rifle?

Mike: Same rifle. He then shot GI loads in it, which were bloody hot, 3150 feet per second or so. The group opened up to almost 3” and moved to an entirely different spot on the paper. I am thinking, what in the HELL is going on here. As far as throwing a 55 grain projectile, it can’t change where it’s going to go that much just because of a few feet difference in velocity. Why is it moving around the damn page?

SAR: Did you ever get an answer for that?

Mike: Yes. I saw it on television. There was a series on the Discovery Channel or something like it, we called it the education channel at that time. The show was on high-speed photography and one of their examples was photographing a cannon shell being fired out of the barrel of a tank. As this cannon projectile exited the barrel, it was tracked by a high-speed camera. It was painted alternatively black and white so you could clearly see it turning. The camera tracked it from the barrel at right angles all the way down range to the target. This projectile, which had to be 20” long, exits the barrel and as soon as the base of projectile clears the barrel it pitched up, must have been 15 degrees, and then as it tracked it, it pitched down about 14 degrees, up about 13 and down about 12. It kept wobbling its way down range, and you would have thought “Damn, that’s not going to hit anything”. The camera tracked it down range right through the bulls-eye. Right through the center of the target. Now, I understand something about ballistics, that the round comes out of the barrel twirling at 3000 feet per second, which means 3000 rotations per second, in a one in twelve twist. So you take 3000 x 60 to get the RPM and were talking about 180,000 RPM. That why it’s stable- it’s a Gyro. Seeing it made it clear.
OK, but what happens when you put pressure on a spinning object? You get gyroscopic perception, gravity is pushing the bullet down, the instant it clears the barrel, gravity acts on the bullet and upsets the Gyro. The Gyro then, as it’s spinning, returns its path to stability. At what rate it returns it to stability dictates where the bullet is going to go. So in short, any time you change the minutest characteristic of the velocity, pressure, weight, balance, anything at all, the bullet is going to go some place else, because it’s only through this miracle of mathematics that it ever goes straight to begin with and it does not come out of the gun stable.

SAR: Any variable at all can change point of impact, even if the group is tight…

Mike: And there is no way to predict where it will go. That round leaves the barrel in an unstable manner. We learned a lot more than just seeing the theory in action as I just mentioned. Combined with this business of the gun blowing up, and we still couldn’t figure out why these cartridges were blowing up, then I was told that there were experiments where they had transparent chambers where they could high-speed photograph the charge inside the cartridge that was being fired. It never looks the same twice. They said the primer will throw the fire into the propellant, and it will light at the back and burn forward one time, next time it will flash underneath the whole thing, light from the front and burn backwards. The photography showed that every time it is different.

SAR: And that would effect the turbulence of the propellant gasses. So we’re really lucky that we can hit any target.

Mike: That’s right. It’s really about consistency in the firearm and sighting, as well as the ammunition.

SAR: How consistent in the ammunition? I mean, you have the combined input from all the bench rest shooters, the military competitors, plus your own experiences- how close does the powder have to be?

Mike: I’ve always been a pragmatist. If I had to pick a philosopher it would be William James, what works is right, screw the theory. Just go try it and see what happens. We have done a lot of work with the 223. We had results that are so clearly supportive of our position, that I am almost embarrassed to try to pass them on. Let me tell you about our testing. We ran a test with .223 were we had a bench rest shooter who worked for us for years, who was always concerned about the “Ultimate accuracy”. We had him run an experiment one time where he loaded four different batches of .223 ammunition. The first batch using new brass which he neck trimmed, neck turned, trimmed and uniformed all the primer pockets- did everything a bench rest shooter does. He trickled charged the powder into the cases, used all the fancy bench rest in-line dies to load the stuff with. That was at one end of the spectrum and in the decreasing steps the fourth batch of ammunition was mixed brass that had been fired, some had been fired once, some had been fired three times, we made no effort to determine what they were. We ran this mongrel batch through our electric size trimmer, that sizes and trims simultaneously, and stuck the brass into a 550 and reloaded progressively for the whole batch.
He then shot the batches of ammunition with other people loading his rifle for him, so he couldn’t see which round he was shooting. We sent a fairly substantial sample of the four batches of ammunition to a major scope manufacturer who shot it in their tunnel. The results were consistent between the stuff that Darryl shot here and the stuff the other company shot.

SAR: So you had four control groups , and you had two testing facilities duplicating the test. When he was firing he didn’t know what he was firing, but he did each control group on paper for record.

Mike: Right

SAR: He had no idea which one he was shooting….

Mike: And that was the same way with the people in the tunnel, they didn’t know what each group was, only that they were in groups. Clearly the best accuracy came from the stuff that was slam-banged together. Size, trim, stuck on the progresser and loaded.

SAR: The mongrel group was the most accurate? I used to trickle every grain in my hunting ammo- it took hours. What theory do we apply to this in reverse? Have you come up with one?

Mike: No, I mean that there are a lot of things that people are concerned about that have no effect. There have been numerous tests were you could maul the front of the bullet and it has virtually no effect, but you touch the back of the bullet and it just goes to HELL. There are things that appear to be important, but aren’t. Powder charges being to the absolute last grain, or piece of a grain of powder has very little effect on accuracy. A half grain variation on a powder charge, like a 50 grain charge or even a 1/2 grain variation in a 25 grain charge. I am sorry, you can’t find it on a target, it isn’t there.
Darryl’s explanation was that probably one of the most important things is that the brass has been fired before. That he was actually handicapping the bench rest loads by using new brass.

SAR: Did you put this information out to the shooters?

Mike: On numerous occasions he took presses to the range during the bench rest rifle competitions, and demonstrated for people that progressive ammunition shot just as good or better as their tweaked ammunition. A friend of mine named Don Carper, who was associated with our company for awhile, had a distributorship over in California where he distributed our product back in the early days. He has retired from the shop he had, now he’s just a shooter and he goes out with this 5 gallon pail of 223 and shoots prairie dogs. Don told me that at first everyone said “Oh, we can’t have that much accurate ammunition because it takes too long to load. He’s converted virtually everybody to the fact that he hits just as many prairie dogs as anybody else does. Ammunition off of a progressive press.

SAR: You realize that for the next three months Mike, that everyone that has a re-loader is going be doing this test.

Mike: (With a big smile) Great!

SAR: I know I am going to be testing this.

Mike: The powder charges need to be accurate, they need to be pretty close. The first press we made was the AR1000, everything was automatic then. Powder measure was extremely accurate, I had the Army Marksmanship Unit come in and they wanted to know how accurate our powder measure was. I told them there is no sense in me BS’ing you , I am not a accuracy shooter. Here is the press, here is a whole variety of powders, here’s a scale- knock yourself out. You determine how accurate it is. So they worked with it for about 3 hours and they came out and said we’re getting 3/10th of a grain variation on 55 grain charge of extruded stick powder. I was impressed. Then he asked me if we couldn’t do any better than that.
That floored me! I said what in the HELL are you talking about? You’re going to tell me you can find 3/10th of a grain out at a 500 yard target? He laughed and said “No, of course not, but if the Son of a Bitch shooting the ammo knows there’s any variation in powder, then every “flyer” he has on the target is going to be my fault”. They bought two units, and used them.

SAR: Other than the reloading products, Dillon Precision is known for the Miniguns. When did you put your first one put together?

Mike: 6 or 7 years ago

SAR: There are a number of changes that you have made to the design- evident at the NDIA shows among others.

Mike: The only real “changes” that we are responsible for are in the feeder de-linker. We have incorporated what you call “SLAP round guides” in all of our feeder de-linkers. It’s an integral part of the feeder de-linker rather than a bolt-on accessory that goes inside it. It gives us a lot of advantages- any length cartridge will feed in it- it positions the cartridge to feed into the gun off of the shoulder of the case rather an off the point of the bullet. This means we can use short blanks. The military designed the system so they could use SABO penetrator rounds, sometimes referred to as “SLAP” rounds. The system they came up with was a bolt-on snail guide. It had to be positioned inside the feeder de-linker, which was a real pain in the neck to do. We’ve incorporated it as part of the casting of the endplate. Actually, we have changed much of the design of the internal part of the feeder de-linker, while retaining a few of them as standard. A few of them can be modified rather than replaced. Probably the most interesting change we made is evident from the outside. We are replacing the entire mid-section of the housing with a unit that has a hatch in it. The Minigun that has this modification can be loaded much like a Browning A4. Rather than having to twist the barrels and disassemble the unit if you get a jam, now you just open the hatch and clear the jam.

SAR: There was a clutch system on the back of the Miniguns that I saw downstairs.

Mike: GE designed a clutch for the gun a number of years ago that really changes the way the gun operates. I remember reading in Clancy’s Clear and Present Danger where he was talking about the guys going in a helicopter to do a jungle extraction, and as they were firing the Miniguns, and after the barrels were spinning you would press firing switch and fire the gun. I don’t where he got that weird piece of information, because that’s not the way the clutch operates. When you pull the trigger it engages the clutch, which is clutching the feeder de-linker. When the gun is turning and firing the feeder de-linker is clutched to the gun, and therefore it’s turning and feeding ammunition into the gun. When you let go of the trigger it de-clutches the feeder de-linker but continues to put power to the drive motor for another one to two revolutions of the Minigun, so that everything in the gun fires out. The barrels are always empty. In the past the feeder de-linker performed the same service but it did it by throwing 6 – 12 rounds of loaded overboard at the end of the burst. You don’t like to do that because you are throwing away a lot of ammunition- especially if you’re shooting a series of short bursts. The other problem is that without the clutch you might throw only 6-7 rounds overboard, which meant if you had a little drag you might still have a loaded barrel in the gun. With the clutch system, when you let off the trigger, there will be no rounds in the gun and the feeder de-linker is fully loaded and ready to feed into the gun. No cook off, no vibration of the gun turning it another degree and firing it. So the gun is always clear.

SAR: Is this clutch something that can go on any Minigun?

Mike: It’s a straight add-on. You just pull the drive gear off the back of the rotor and slide the clutch in. As long as the rear of the gun is accessible, you can do it without even taking the gun apart. I tried to buy clutches from General Electric, and they wanted an enormous amount of money for them and so I finally got a set of drawings and we made our own castings and now we’re making the clutches ourselves.

SAR: You could fire a two round burst from a Minigun?

Mike: You can sit there and fire a two-round burst out of the gun now. Before if you fired a two round burst you’d throw 8,9, or 10 rounds overboard in the unloading after you let off the trigger. I wanted my guns to be equipped exactly the way the military guns are equipped, because we are developing some products for them.

SAR: Was the military clutch installed to save ammunition or for safety?

Mike: I think their prime motivation for the clutch had to do with the SLAP round. Once you put the SLAP round guide in the gun you no longer have the option of throwing loaded rounds overboard, it shuts off that gate where you threw the loaded rounds out. Actually they have found you can cut the slap round guide off a little short and still throw loaded rounds overboard, but in the initial approach to it they figured that putting the SLAP round guide in required the installation of the clutch

SAR: At SAR we’re hearing of a resurgence of the Minigun being used in special operations units in various countries around the world. Is that something you are seeing as well?

Mike: There does seem to be that, I do believe the gun has been used more than anybody realized because it was by the special operation groups that don’t want or get a lot of publicity. The Minigun has been used all along as a “STAY THE HELL OFF MY HELICOPER” gun. It is an excellent defensive weapon and it gives you a lot of fire power- which translates into time. Miniguns allow you to send a lot of lead at your enemy, and to keep it up for a very long period of time. It’s not unusual in these installations to have magazines that hold 5,000 rounds, and to have multiple magazines. Many of these rescue helicopters carry 20,000 rounds of ammunition for the guns.

SAR: Is there a recommended burst rate that should or should not be exceeded?

Mike: Well, it’s a common misunderstanding that the gun fires 6,000 rounds per minute. It doesn’t. There were a few rare installations that with a linkless feed system would fire 6,000 rounds per minute, but the most common rates of fire are 2,000 rounds or 4,000 rounds. Some of the services are beginning to think that the multiple fire rates are not desirable, that a single fire rate of about 3,000 rounds per minute probably makes more sense. Now that the clutches are there, the low rate of fire doesn’t make much sense because you can fire a short burst out of the gun.

SAR: Is there an amount of ammunition that you shouldn’t exceed in firing a Minigun?

Mike: The GE engineers tell me that if you fire 3,000 rounds in a single burst of 3,000 rounds that you maybe flirting with structural problems in the barrel assembly, over heating and what not. With 6 barrels that’s only 500 rounds per barrel. As of yet I haven’t had a big enough magazine to fire mine with 3,000 rounds, but we soon will and will find out what it does.

SAR: Dillon Precision is now manufacturing the Minigun as a complete system.

Mike: Correct. We are manufacturing for military contracts only, for liability reasons. One of my customers contacted me after the last Knob Creek shoot, sending a fairly hostile letter. He said that I wasn’t supporting the Second Amendment because I wasn’t willing to sell these guns to the general public, and that two different people had told me that they needed parts and that I wouldn’t service them. I was a little irate because the two people that needed parts I had given the parts to, and the issue was that they were complaining that I said a bolt head was a $300.00 item. I am sorry, it IS a $300.00 item and if someone is willing to make them for less than that, please call me I’ll buy them from them.

SAR: There is a different between buying surplus equipment that was bought at scrap prices and manufacturing new, quality equipment in modern facility. That definitely would show a difference in price. We don’t need in-fighting on this.

Mike: Indeed. The company that called me, I won’t tell you who it was, had allegedly damaged somebody’s Minigun with bad ammunition and they wanted to fix it. They were asking to get these parts, and I said I am really not comfortable selling this stuff domestically because of the liability problem. I suggested that they call Neil Smith. That is his business, and I am sure he wouldn’t mind selling the parts. He’s very knowledgeable on Miniguns. I said if he can’t supply you, come back to me, be aware that this is probably a $300.00 part. Then I get the story back from Knob Creek that I am trying to hold this guy up for $300.00! I called this guy back and said I was a little incensed by this. I gave him the parts – free – stuck them in an envelope and sent them to him with no bill. What more do you think I could have done to have been a “Good guy”?

SAR: Flown out there and put them in

Mike: (Laughs) Right…..

SAR: The Minigun is a little bit more complex than most firearms are.

Mike: I consider it the most dangerous gun I have ever laid my hands on. Not because it can throw a lot of bullets fast, but because it has 6 barrels and not until you become fully acquainted with the gun, and fully acquainted by making mistakes with it, do you gain the respect for the gun that you should have. We go to enormous lengths for safety when we shoot the gun. Our guns are spiked until we are on the range, facing down range, away from everybody and there is no chance that the gun is pointing at anybody, and that everybody is clear. We literally spike our guns, passing 5/16 steel rods down between the barrels so they can’t turn, and while they are spiked the safing sector and firing cover are removed, and we don’t put them on. We go step by step by step by step, so the gun becomes less safe, less safe, less safe and the very last thing we do is reach round and pull the spikes out of the gun, so the barrels can turn.

SAR: Is your preferred method of shooting the Miniguns as duals in the Quad mount?

Mike: First, the Minigun has to be mounted to something heavy. It’s got up to 600 lbs of thrust when it is firing and I prefer to have it mounted to something that weights 2500 lbs. The quad-mount is a delightful way to shoot the gun, because you have total control over it and you can sit there in comfort and electrically power the guns around where you want them to go.

SAR: This was in that world famous video that you made “Fire Storm In the Desert”.

Mike: That setup was the star of the show. We don’t really want to reveal all of our secrets in the magic of making the movie.

SAR: We at SAR don’t mind the occasional “Patented Shameless Plug” Mike. Do you still have that available?

Mike: Of course! We’ve also had a sequel in planning ever since we made the first one. The mistake I made was that I should have gone out 6 months later and just made another one. I’ve been trying to make it so big and so grandiose, that we’ve been 6 or 7 years now in preparation and we’ve still haven’t gotten started on it yet. We have all sorts of props ready, but the main filming hasn’t been started.

SAR: I take it that means you don’t have a release date yet in mind

Mike: That would be a fair evaluation.

SAR: You’ve been doing some other theatrical work with the Miniguns recently.

Mike: We had a real interesting one that came in from England. Stembridge Gun Rentals from Hollywood had been working over in Ireland on a show and these guys were talking about a fellow named Jeremy Clarkson who writes a column and has a TV show on the BBC. It’s about cars and he is a humorous evaluator of different cars, and they had done a video last year that they had sold very successfully where he evaluated several cars and then destroyed the ones that he didn’t like. They wanted to make a better one this year. Jeremy called us up and asked us if we could shoot a sports car for them. We said of course! (Mike now has a huge grin) One thing led to another, then led to another, then led to another as the project escalated and we ended up using the Hughes 500 with dual Miniguns on it, with all sorts of special ammunition loaded for them. We used a Corvette which we radio controlled, then we put a radio controlled crash dummy in the Corvette that could shake his head and look in different directions. Jeremy came over and we put the corvette on a dry lakebed that was 5 miles in diameter and then shot the hell out of it with the helicopter mounted Miniguns.

SAR: And that was on British television?

Mike: Yes, and it’s become a British video that’s been distributed over there and called “Apocalypse Clarkson”. The working title was “Jeremy Clarkson Out of Control” but after they got back and viewed the helicopter footage and what not, they decided to call it “Apocalypse Clarkson”. It’s a good video. It probably will never be distributed over here, but it’s a fun video.

SAR continues the interview with Mike Dillon in next month’s issue- wherein we get to divulge Mike’s private recipes for machine gun ammunition- don’t miss it!