The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, or SAW, is a gas operated, air cooled light machine gun. It can be fed from 100 or 200 round box magazines, firing rounds off of a disintegrating metal link, or from the same 30 round magazines used by the venerable M16 series of weapons. Using the NATO 5.56mm round, the M249 fires at a rate of 750 rounds per minute, and has an effective range of 1000 yards. The M249 was introduced into service with the United States military in 1984 and is still in use today. It provides a majority of the firepower provided by light infantry units in the US Army and Marine Corps. The M249 has several variants. The one featured in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is the M249 Para. This variant features a shorter barrel and a tubular, retractable butt stock assembly, making it easier to move in and out of vehicles, or utilize the weapon in close quarters battle situations.
Statistics
Fire Mode: Fully Automatic Rate of Fire 800 Rounds per minute Magazine Size: 200 rounds Reload time: 5.74 seconds ready, 8.2 seconds total. Damage at 6M: 14.3 Damage at 40M: 11.2
Mechanics The M249 is best utilized in closer range situations. It offers the second highest rate of fire, second only to the MG3, making it a ferocious weapon in close quarters. Anything past point blank range, you absolutely have to use controlled bursts of 6-10 rounds at a time. This will get your initial rounds on target, and then the weapon will jump and then settle again, allowing you to finish your target off. While the M249 doesn't have the best reload time of the bunch, it isn't bad, and using the ADD time, and swapping weapons, will shave a hefty 2.8 seconds off of your reload time. All LMG's have horrible hip fire spread, so unless you are face to face with an enemy, you need to acquire your sights in order to put accurate rounds on target. Moving while shooting also has serious penalties. Just bear in mind that the M249 has the lowest damage of any LMG at long range. Let your snipers and assault men handle the longer range engagements. Stay focused on healing and reviving, and engaging enemies that close to medium or close range.
Targeting The iron sights on the SAW are hit and miss. It does provide a good pointy front sight, making target tracking easy, but it does obscure a good portion of your screen. I would personally recommend using an RDS or an ACOG. However, if you can manage to use the iron sights, that will free up a second specialization slot for improved medical abilities, which is a big plus when doing battlefield triage. The bullet spread is pretty self-explanatory. The first 5-7 rounds stitch a pretty straight line straight up, but then it goes pretty wildly out of control. Use short bursts to maximize the initial accuracy of the weapon.
Video Portrait
This video provided by I-the-gamer
Role The SAW is an excellent all around weapon. It has a 200 round box, and is very accurate when used in short bursts. It's excellent for local defense, so use it to put down those pesky enemies that you find whenever you're running around reviving your teammates. Just avoid direct confrontations with the more powerful LMG's, shotguns, and don't try to use it at long range, even with the 4x scope. The low damage and the rapid degradation of the bullet spread makes this an exercise in frustration. Not to mention that big twinkling muzzle flash is going to attract swarms of sniper fire. Also remember that the reload time is long, at almost 9 painful seconds, but by utilizing a weapon swap reload, you can shave almost 4 seconds off of that time.