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| Country |
USA |
| Type |
Machine gun |
| Manufacturer |
Eugene Stoner |
| Introduction |
1963 |
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| Weight |
- Rifle: 7.75 lb
- Carbine: 7.9 lb
- Automatic Rifle: 10.19 lb
- LMG, MMG: 11.68 lb
- FMG: 10.31 lb
- Commando: 10.5 lb
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| Length |
- Rifle, AR, LMG, MMG: 1022 mm (40.25 in)
- Carbine (Stock Extended): 932 mm (36.68 in)
- Carbine (Stock Retracted): 676 mm (26.6 in)
- FMG: 772 mm (30.38 in)
- Commando: 913 mm (35.95 in)
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| Barrel length |
- Rifle, AR, LMG, MMG, FMG: 508 mm (20 in)
- Carbine, Commando: 399 mm (15.7 in)
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| Cartridge |
5.56x45mm NATO |
| Action |
Gas-operated, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire |
- Rifle, Carbine, AR, Commando: 700-900 rounds/min
- LMG, MMG, FMG: 700-1000 rounds/min
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| Muzzle velocity |
3250 fps |
| Effective range |
1000 m |
| Maximum range |
- Rifle, AR, LMG, MMG, FMG: 2653 m
- Carbine, Commando: 2500 m
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| Feed system |
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| Sights |
Iron sights |
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The Stoner 63 is a modular firearm system designed by Eugene Stoner and engineered by Jim Sullivan by scaling down the earlier Stoner 62. It was produced by Cadillac Gage and is also known by its US military designation Mk 23 Mod 0.
The Stoner 63 was produced in several configurations, with 15 separate assemblies, which had limited parts commonality. These variants included a carbine, an assault rifle, and various light machine guns feeding linked ammunition from the left or right. The weapons were complex and required high levels of maintenance to operate reliably, especially in the humid jungles of Vietnam where they made their debut. However, the Navy SEALs who carried them into combat showed that the Stoner 63 could be a very effective weapon. The barrel of each variant was easily removed, although this had little effect except on the machine gun variants. Due to the multi-role nature of the design the carbine and rifle versions were heavier than comparable weapons of the same type.
A lasting contribution of the 63 project is the ammunition link used in the belt-fed variants - it was later modified to become the M27 link used in modern 5.56 mm machine guns like the M249. Robinson Armament Co. also produces the semi-automatic M96 Expeditionary Weapon System which, though technically different, was based on the Stoner 63 design, and thus has some of its features and configurations.
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