Inside Look: SIG Sauer MG 338 Machine Gun

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https ://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2020/1/22/inside-look-sig-sauer-mg-338-machine-gun/

Ahead of SHOT Show 2020, SIG Sauer provided an in-depth look at the company's revolutionary new MG 338 machine gun, designed for U.S. Military use.

The SIG MG 338 is designed particularly to provide a platform that, in effect, splits the difference between the U.S. M240 machine gun and the .50-caliber M2 Browning. Compared to the current M240 (7.62 NATO) machine gun, the SIG MG 338 is noticeably lighter, weighing only 20 pounds, and is designed to provide enhanced capability over the 7.62 NATO M240.

In comparison to the M2, which has been in U.S. military service for nearly a century, the MG 338 is about 75 percent lighter, offering a man-portable solution with a similar effective-range to the .50 BMG. The guns are also outfitted with SIG Sauer Next Generation Suppressors, which drastically reduce the impact of harmful toxic fumes and signature. The SIG Sauer MG 338 machine gun is a belt-fed, lightweight medium machine gun weighing under 20 lbs., chambered in .338 Norma Mag.

The MG 338 features a short-stroke gas piston system and a proprietary recoil mitigation system, with a free-floating, quick-change barrel, ambidextrous controls, switchable feed tray, charging handle that can be alternated to either side, depending on user preference. As a multi-caliber, modular system, the new SIG MG 338 is easily convertible to 7.62 NATO.



For more information on the MG 338, check out our American Rifleman First Look video above.
 
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I have converted plenty of the taxpayers' dollars into noise and grass fires through 7.62 MGs and 50s. I agree that the 50 has a suppression function, but more rounds on target is probably wiser than fewer large rounds connecting. The recoil system is what gets my attention. If the gas and recoil system can be brought into this century, I wish SIG all the luck in the world.
 
Learned something today, the 338 Norma Magnum is not the 338 Lapua Magnum. The NM is a shorter case which allows longer and heavier bullets than the LM, while keeping a similar OAL. Approved by CIP in 2010.
 
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