7.62mm LMGs aren’t typically employed as precision battlefield implements, but IWI aims to change the way armies think of these middleweights with their new Negev NG-7 machinegun. The company claims that theirs is the first 7.62mm LMG to feature a semi-automatic firing mode in addition to full-auto. (TTAG Commentator Chase points out that the select fire HK21 predates the NG-7.) The NG-7 is also lightweight and optics-ready . . .
7.62mm LMGs like M240s and PKMs are beloved by ground troops for their firepower, and because they get their grim job done at distances and through protective cover that lighter weapons cannot overcome. Unlike assault rifles or 5.56mm-class LMGs, heavy 7.62mm bullets chew through logs, sandbags and cinderblocks and also retain enough kinetic energy to put the terminal hurt on tangos out to 1,000 meters and beyond.
For a live demonstration in permanently pacifying Taliban from outrageous ranges with an M240B, go back and watch Restrepo again. But what’s the big deal about adding a semi-automatic selector position to the Negev NG-7? In a word, accuracy.
7.62mm LMGs like the M240 can deliver suppressive ‘minute-of-enemy-infantry squad’ accuracy out to more than two miles, according to Army Field Manual FM 3-22.68 Chapter 3. But they’re also capable of engaging single enemy targets at 600-800 meters.
They’ve got three big handicaps when it comes to long-range precision, however: they usually have iron sights, they fire from an open bolt, and they’re full-auto only. This video shows that it takes an expert trigger finger to fire just one round at a time.
The Negev NG-7 makes single shots a snap. It also has a built-in 1913 scope rail to make the long shots easier and allow the gunner to spot and adjust his fire at extreme range. It still can’t avoid firing from an open bolt, but this is pretty much a non-negotiable cooling requirement for any gun that’s designed for sustained automatic fire.
Those who complain that their AR-10 is too heavy should take note: the NG-7 tips the scales at ‘only’ 17 pounds empty. This sounds like a lot, but it’s damned good for a 7.62mm LMG. It’s only a hair more than a PKM, and nearly ten pounds less than a 240B.
Rest assured we’re working 24/7 to get our hands on an NG-7 for testing and evaluation. Yeah, I wish… [ED: NDIA baby.]
I think FPSRussia just posted a review of the NG-7 on YouTube (LOL).
He saved even more weight by not wearing eye or hearing protection.
I think I’ve heard that accent before, oh yea, Chekov from Star Trek. “Firing proton torpedoes Captain!”
makes sense to me, the Isrealis have historically been outnumbered in battles, and if I were defending a position against large numbers of enemy, I’d like to be able to engage at long distance with a semi-auto gun with a huge ammo capacity. I think the semi-auto feature would be good for conserving ammo in said situation, and full giggle would be good for suppressive fire and for the inevitable OMFGWTFSHTFTEOTWAWKI THEY HAVE ZOMBIES!?!?!?!?!?! moment.
just my $0.02
It’s sleek, powerful and kosher. What’s not to like?
I think it’s hotter than Sarah Silverman. Too bad I’ll never get my hands on one.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/8e5cb0aebc/im-fcking-matt-damon-by-sarah-silverman-from-yoyoyo-and-sarah-silverman
3 round aimed bursts was what Dad did with the BAR.
Just what the corpsman ordered. I would like to see the US Marines using this.
Hmmmmmmmm, PRETTY!
I’m heading over there in June for a year. I’ll let y’all know if I can get my hands on one of these or a Tavor.
Send Videos! I’m still dejected that the TAR-21 isn’t being imported in any quantity.
You’d be dejected but you’d be wrong. Trans World Arms will be importing it in September of this year. They had it at SHOT 2012. Pricing is still up in the air. Watch this interview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS3vHnEQXBg
I walked fifty miles of SHOT Show aisles, and I missed it? (Hanging head in shame…)
We had HK11s… gorgeous, solid, heavy. A real pain on ruck marches. You could crank the rear sight all the way up to 1200 meters, which always struck me as kind of useless given that the support platoon had MG3s with a tripod (and the flip-up anti-aircraft sights). The MG3s were so heavy we would rotate them on the longer ruck marches – everyone takes a turn carrying those miserable 1950s German hunks of steel. I don’t know much about what makes a gun accurate, but I would think the heavier barrel / higher quality construction on the HK11 would have made it more accurate vis a vis the G3 (which is already pretty good out to 400 meters). Semi-auto with a scope would have made it useful in a lot of new and interesting ways.
How would it compare to the world gold standard though? The PKM?
So if they ever make these semi auto only, can I has one plz?
“It’s the first 7.62mm LMG to feature a semi-automatic firing mode in addition to full-auto.”
The HK21 was/is select fire, and extremely accurate at range. I know it’s IWI’s claim, but given the name of this website, I’d expect a correction.
Still – looks to be a sick piece of kit. Wouldn’t expect anything else from Israel.
Fair enough. Text amended.
And that’s why I keep coming back to this website. Excellent.
-Melvin Johnson’s M-1941 and M-1944 automatic rifles were magazine fed competitors to the M-1918 BAR. Very few were made and I’ve read mixed reviews on their performance.
-BUT: they did offer both semi and full auto fire and the semi-auto fire was from a closed bolt.