Saturday, December 19, 2009

A U.S. Marine firing the British L7A2 version of the MAG Mechine Gun



The MAG uses ignited powder gases vented through a port in the barrel to propel a gas piston rod connected to the locking assembly (it uses a long-stroke piston system). The barrel breech is locked with a vertically-tilting, downward locking lever mechanism that is connected to the bolt carrier through an articulated joint. The locking shoulder and camming surfaces that guide the locking lever are located at the base of the receiver. The MAG uses a series of proven design concepts from other successful firearms, for example the locking mechanism is modeled on that of the Browning M1918 (BAR) automatic rifle, and the feed and trigger mechanisms are from the WWII-era MG42 universal machine gun.

The MAG fires from an open bolt. Both the spring-powered extractor and ejector are contained in the bolt. After firing, spent cartridge casings are removed through an ejection port located at the base of the receiver (a spring-loaded dust cover of the MG42 type covers the ejection port). The machine gun has a striker firing mechanism (the bolt carrier acts as the striker as it contains a channel that houses the firing pin, which protrudes out from the surface of the bolt upon firing), an automatic-only trigger assembly and a manual cross-bolt push-button safety, which is located above the pistol grip. With the safety placed in the “safe” setting, the sear mechanism is disabled. The safety can only be engaged with the weapon cocked.

No comments:

Post a Comment