Who would win a ‘Ma Deuce’ vs. Minigun shootout?

Harold C. Hutchison
Aug 14, 2021 11:00 PM PDT
1 minute read
Technology photo

SUMMARY

The M2, known as “Ma Deuce,” is a classic machine gun that is coming close to a century of service with the United States military. This gun fires about 600 rounds per minute, and has been used on ground mounts, on boats, and even was the main arm…

The M2, known as "Ma Deuce," is a classic machine gun that is coming close to a century of service with the United States military. This gun fires about 600 rounds per minute, and has been used on ground mounts, on boats, and even was the main armament of most of America's World War II fighters. When it comes to suppressive fire, you just can't get much better than the M2.


Or can you?

US Army Photo

The M134 Minigun is a classic machine gun in its own right, first entering service during the Vietnam War – and it soon shows it could deliver a lot of BRRRRRT! in a small package. In one sense, it is a retro design since it's based on the Civil War-era Gatling gun. The original Civil War Gatling guns were hand-turned affairs.

The Minigun, however, uses electric power to spin the barrels. As a result, the Minigun can put a lot of rounds downrange – as many as 6,000 rounds a minute. But is it fast enough to beat a Ma Deuce?

The AC-47D contained three miniguns mounted in the cargo hold. (Photo: Office of Air Force History)

In this video, the hosts of "Triggers" decide to find out which actually puts more on the target. A 55-gallon drum "volunteers" to be the test subject. Actually, as an inanimate object, it had no real choice in the matter. But hey, there's plenty of 55-gallon drums where that came from, right?

The hosts then go a thousand yards away for the purposes of the test. The Ma Deuce takes the first five-second burst, then the Minigun takes its five-second burst.

Wait until you see the results from this little head-to-head competition between these two full-auto classics via the Military Heroes Channel.

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