A&K / Cybergun FN Licensed "Middleweight" M249 MINIMI SAW Machine Gun (Model: MK I / Black)

"I have the mk46 version and got it on sale back in November 2020. I have since used it 6 or seven times with a total of ~40,000 bbs through it. I have only used an 11.1 lipo and was getting 360 fps w/.2s at 20rps. The first game I used it in, I noticed the the stock hopup couldnt carry .25s past 80ft or .20 past 100ft. This may bot sound all that bad, but it made the gun almost unusable at the large outdoor field I play at. Not to mention this problem is notorious with these machine guns, so I am confident in saying mine wasnt a lemon and is attainable to poor design. I replaced my hop up unit, bucking, and inner barrel. The inner barrel i got is shorter than the stock one, but i still saw an increase of 75 ft, allowing me to hit targets 150-175 feet away with ease. Another problem i have run into are screws backing themselves out. I had to order a replacement for the big screw that holds in the stock and I saw another screw on the receiver missing. Specific to the mk46, the gun is very front heavy due to the full metal construction of the front rails. Personally, i removed the top rail and bipod to reduce the front heaviness of the gun. A lot of people complain about the stock box mag being unreliable, but I have yet to have a problem with it.

Pros:
Reliable
Good rps
Lightweight ( for a mg)
After market support

Cons:
Very short range stock
Screws back themselves out
Front heavy (mk46)

Conclusion: When I bought this, it was on sale for $240 and that is a great price for what i got. However, I would not buy it again for more than $350 solely because the hop up unit is improved because it is absolutely useless from the factory

"So far so good! I got the middle weight for the reduced weight over the full metal one and I’m glad I did because even holding this for a little bit you begin to feel it. Showed my brother in law the gun, he just came back from over seas, and he was impressed how identical the gun was to the real thing!
Enough gloating, I do have some problems with the gun.
#1 my front sight is completely off and came new with it being titled ~10degrees to the left. So I can’t really “aim” the gun in fortunately.
#2 holding the pistol grip, the grip bites the top of my hand. Can be rather uncomfortable, recommend gloves for shooting hand.
#3 the gun comes with NO MANUAL!
Good things
#1 very close replica to the real thing, backed by a man in the army.
#2 it is very accurate outta the box, using .25’s. The bbs are also pretty hot it seems.
#3 I’m currently running a 7.4 titan power lipo,, and I can shoot a lot of bbs before the hand grip gets “warm”. Seems to handle lots of fire well.
I have played a game with this yet, once I do I’ll tell my experience.

"Very cool looking gun.
Fresh out the box, and new to airsoft impression.

Pro:
High Rate of Fire
Large Drum
Seems to be reliable

Cons:
I dont like all the plastic, I wish I would have got the full metal. I don't know what else they could even make plastic to make a lighter (featherweight) version.

The plastic charing handle feels fragile

BIGGEST COMPLAINT -I got the MK46/Black and the CNC lower grip was broke out of the box.
Its supposed to hold the battery but there is no way to mount the grip on the gun without it easily falling off.


I literally had to wrap duck tape (the new gun) around the grip to keep the bottom from falling off....


There is no owner's manual for this model/grip.

"I love this Middleweight M249 SAW machine gun. However, there are some gripes I have with it, but the good far outweighs the bad. I'll list them. The good: durable, reliable, adjustable hopup, bipod, limitless mag box for bbs, and wayyyy too much fun going "Rambo". The bad: front grip may wear out and pop out eventually, a round plastic feature (not sure what it is, not important though if lost) near the foregrip popped off and was held in with screws too shallow to tap deep enough into the holes, no rails for mounting attachments (obviously), the plastic has a lot of sharp edges to which I had to sand down, and the biggest gripe is where the battery is fed. The battery is loaded into the stock, there are "safety" contacts that pop loose when the wires are pulled out, but dang, everything has to be fed in a perfect way to get the battery in there. After cutting up my fingers around the plastic edges on the stock, I removed a metal pin that cut the size of the battery hole in half. It was easier after that. I think other versions of this gun or other manufacturers actually have the battery located in the foregrip, not sure why this wasn't. Honestly, I can't hate this gun. The amount of fun I have with it just cannot match up to the issues.

"The gun is great, It has the power and the fear factor for small package. It fired right out of the box and weight is pretty solid, About 13-15 pounds. The only problem I have found with this gun is the top cover. It pops up after firing for awhile, the clasps that hold it down fly out with the spring to hold it down, (A little duct tape helped that) Other than that, it works good, for the drum magazine it came with and a variable M4/M16 magazines, All in all, its a great gun.

"I've had this SAW now for 1/2 a year now and so far it's been real good to me. It took a while to learn how things work and put stuff together but once you got it down it's a really good support gun to have. I'm sure your teammates would appreciate too.

If you're not a big boy, I wouldn't recomend it for you. Carrying it for 5 to 8 hours it takes it's toll and fatigue will set it.

Also carry an extra battery with you, you might need it.

Pros- Never ending bb's per game
Superduper self winding High cap
Bi-pod

Cons - Weight
Small Battery
Needs a strap ring for the front foregrip


Manny - Bad Company SGV

"Looks like a good gun to buy, but what i want to know what brand is better Echo1 or A&k, they both have this version of the m249, but i dont know much about internals, which is better. I usually stay with the big expensive brands, STAR TM

"Bought this M249 awhile back and it would not feed any M4/M16 magazines I had and the box mag it came with broke upon first use. It cranked and the feeding system inside broke. The M249 was a major disappointment. Not blaming the company as it could just have been a bad one from the factory however that and having to pay to resend it at almost the same price as the gun was a terrible experience.

"I've owned the full metal version of the A&K SAW, certainly a brick and a workout to lug around in a firefight. So, while I appreciate A&K's attempt to take away the pain, after recently buying and trying out the polymer "middleweight" version I've concluded it's an idea that just doesn't translate well to a properly functioning LMG. Let me explain: The SAW is a large weapon. It's intended to fire on full auto only, and carry a lot of rounds in the form of a box mag. It's size and bulk is also intended to mimic it's real-steel counterpart, because let's face it, if it was only about volume of fire in airsoft you could just go out with a small gizmo running on HPA and a high cap box mag. But the M249 or MK46 is big and long. So when you take away all the rigidity of metal and replace it with flexible and soft polymer you end up with with a platform that can't maintain its tolerances. It's sloppy. The hop up won't line up with the feed plate, which won't line up with the barrel, which won't line up with the gear box. The rear part of the receiver doesn't line up with the front part of the receiver -it literally sags under it's own weight- and everywhere you grab it or set it down you bend or break a polymer part, not to mention screws threaded into polymer that won't maintain their grip when you do things, like...anything. All of which leaves you with a gun that doesn't work and makes you considering melting it down. When something is big and needs to maintain exact tolerances to function, it needs to be strong and stiff. Not so the "middleweight" SAW. It was a nice thought, but I've learned the importance of the weight of full metal. Go to the gym, buy the full metal one.

"the gun is a beast, but i only got to fire about 100 rounds before ammo box jammed...and then continued to jam over and over....battery location is good, but is a pain to get back together/change.....right now gun is a paperweight without ability to feed ammo

"I bought the M249 Middleweight, like a boss, its a beastly gun people will want to touch it. but dont let them. the fuse on my gun atleast doesnt stay in this really loose slowblow fuse contact, (should've used a blade fuse) and I took a piece of the inside of a pen and stuck it in the plastic fuse case and it holds it fine...the compartment where the battery is held which is the grip wants to come off if you stuff a NMiH Butterfly Battery in there use a Brick lipo 7.4v unless u upgrade da gears and add in a trigger contact disrupter (control relay) and motor possibly...cast Hopup I'd buy a machined one. The gearbox is super easy to access you remove two allen key screws and thats basically it super easy gun to put an upgrade on or to convert it. buy a two point sling for it because a one point is just goofy for this big boi lol...In general I like the gun but it could perform better if you pack a punch it (call of dooty reference)

"The gun itself is good. The battery compartment comes off way to easy. The box mag that came with it is junk. It broke after only a few uses. The bipod holder is to loose. The bipod deploys when it's bumped.

"Well after buying this gun I was having fun with it for a while, but it has disappointed me more than twice now first time magazine went out completely and wasn't feeding correctly so I had to switch to regular M4 mags which isn't terrible problem but still I wanted to really use that box mag. Then the pins holding the stock in place just randomly came out mid game as I was playing so that really sucked I didn't end up finding the pin either, also the bipod is completely chewed up only after one game but I mean it's aluminum so I should have expected that I guess I just wanted to get more use out of it that's all. Overall I wouldn't buy it if I knew back then what I know now. invest into another LMG.

"Highly recommend just staying away from this gun unless you purchase an upgraded hop up system along with it. I purchased the middleweight para model on sale through evike so I figured it was worth checking out (They have amazing customer service so its never an issue with returns). Was nothing but a nightmare since the box opened. The hop up unit in the one I received did not function at all. I guess its a very common problem with these and causes the bb's to drop straight to the ground with absolutely no usable range. The gun is also 90 percent plastic, however it still has a nice weight to it. The rear sight is plastic and cannot be adjusted. The gun I received also had a crooked / miss-aligned front sight.

Pros: None really. Its simply not worth the price IMO

Cons: Everything about it is poorly designed. Especially the box mag and hop up unit,

Avoid the disappointment, save time, save your money and look for something else, unless you plan on spending another $100+ on upgrades when pruchasing.