A&K M249 MK II
Squad Automatic Weapon
Initial Review
By J.L. Bolen (Twofivefox)
Receipt Date = 11/2/2007
M249 came packaged in a very large box, weight was around 20 lbs. Packing was very good, the weapon was secured very well for shipment.
The MK II was not in a box from the factory that would have let anyone know what was inside like other weapons usually are shipped in, nor was the box cut and re done inside out like a lot of companies do when shipping, this was just a very large and heavy box.
The MK II came in a very nice and good quality aluminum framed gun case with hard board sides, it has 4 latches closing it with the two end latches having a way to lock the case. You would easily pay 40-50.00 for this gun case alone if you needed to purchase it separately. ( Case is serial numbered to match the serial number on the weapon)
Upon opening the case, it contained
1- The MK II (M249)
2 - Cleaning/Un-Jamming Rod
3- Small box containing the Charger, a Standard 70rd Magazine and a 9.6V Mini (unknown MAH) Battery. I would guess it is a 1000Mah as most other A&K batteries are this Mah.
Note: At this time A&K is having trouble with the 2500 rd Box Magazines for this weapon, so they did not send one with it. As soon as they get the problems worked out, they will send these out to those that purchase the M249’s (Classic Army is also having the same problems at this time.)
4 - Owners Manual, Same as all others, does not really tell you much, just the minor information, where to put battery and how to load magazine.
After examining the weapon after opening the box, It’s very impressive, The Stock and the Fore arm grip are the only ABS parts on the exterior, all else is metal. Has Trade marks on the left side of the receiver along with the serial number. The rear sight has very good adjustments and is clearly marked in white numbering and hash marks for the adjustments, Nice.
Attachments for sling are like the real MKII, needs improvements, and if you plan on carrying this beast you really need a sling.
Has a nice flash hider (orange of course) but can be replaced with a suppressor or another style hider.
The built in bipod works nice, it has a loose feel to it, but does its job. The legs are extendable and it swivels enough so when using it, you can traverse your field of fire effectively.
I did not have much time to try it out or Chronograph it before the ARRA Quarterly, but I wanted to try it out in a good game so I could see how it would actually perform in the field. The following is about how it performed.
I used a 10.8V battery, and Hi-cap magazines and several Mid Cap magazines, I had about 3000 BB’s loaded for it.
Rate of fire with the 10.8 was a little higher than with the 9.6V battery. The 10.8 lasted for about 2 hours with heavy usage, (I expended close to all 3000 BB’s during that time) before the battery started to drop. Range was adequate for the game, but could be improved with upgrading. The Hi-Cap mags, I think due to the angle they fit in, would start mis-feeding when about half empty, the lo-mid caps did not do this, I’m sure the box mag will take care of this problem (hopefully). I did not once have a jam but when changing mags, I needed to open the latch door and let any loose BB’s fall out or it would not seat a fresh mag, not a big problem, just need to get used to that. When I ordered this gun, I’ve always liked the full stocks so I could use a large battery, This weapon will not fit large Sub-C size batteries, so it will not really make a difference which model it is, all will use the mini size batteries, the Para or MK I may not fit a higher voltage than the MK II due to the length to the battery area, but at 9.6V, it does not loose enough ROF from the 10.8 to make a big difference.
Ziptie (Mike) also carried my M60 E3 Shorty at the same game. I was wanting to compare how the two would work. The M60 has a higher ROF, but not the range of the M249. (Difference in FPS) Carrying, the M60 E3 has it on the M249, due to it’s weight and style of carrying. We both started out carrying both our normal M4’s and the SAW’s, word of advise, DO NOT. Just too much weight. I cannot say one was better than the other, I love both, they are impressive, intimidating and fun to use.
Overall for the price, I think this will work out to be a very good addition to any Team. If you want to be stationary, go with the MK II, but if you are using it as a skirmisher, I would recommend the Para or the MK I (folding stock).
I chronographed the M249 this morning, With the Hop-Up open = 378FPS, with Hop-Up adjusted for best range FPS dropped to 340 AVG.
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