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Edited for spelling and grammar on March 10, 2006 by Cheesehead

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TOP M60E3 Review

This is the TOP M60E3. Made by airsoft weapon manufacturer TOP, of Japan.

Here’s the essential information on the real M60E3. Skip ahead if you do not feel like reading this section.

The M60E3 is the second newest addition to the M60 family(With the newest being the M60E4/MK.43). It is a light-weight, Air cooled, link-belt fed machine gun. The M60E3 fires the .308 NATO round (7.62x51mm). It has a maximum effective range of about 2 and 1/3 miles. With a rate of fire of 550 to 650 rounds per minute, it isn’t exactly the fastest shooting machine gun out there. Most M60E3’s are issued with a light barrel (Melts after about 200 rounds sustained) for assault missions and a heavy barrel for other missions, where sustained fire is required. The M60E3 is manufactured by SACO DEFENSE.

To start off, I got this gun practically new. I traded my M16A2 (With all the accessories and others included) and my M3 Shorty (with 3 shells) for it. At the time I got it it was used, however, a new bellows and new piston had been installed. So I went through with the trade. There was a little rust on the outside, but with a little 3 in 1 oil, it was gone. Alright, lets get this review on the road. I’ll start out with whats what with the externals.

(Note, Flash is used for enhancement. The gun does not actually look that color)
This is the M60E3’s safety. It’s located on the left side of the gun. It’s connected right to the pistol grip, and is about an inch and a half behind the trigger. The selections on it are SAFE and FIRE only. No semi-auto here, however, that is realistic as real M60’s do not have a semi auto feature. When the safety lever is up (as shown in picture), the M60E3 is on full auto. While it is down, the M60 is, obviously, on SAFE. If your like me, (Had an armalite) It may be hard getting used to the M60E3's safety, as it is “backwards” compared to an M16. Note, on the pistol grip, there are the letters “SD”. This stands for SACO DEFENSE.

Unlike the M60, the M60E3 has a different front hand guard. In addition, it has a forward pistol grip. I find this a great addition, as it is more functional then the earlier M60 hand guard. I have found the forward pistol grip is good for running and gunning, while the hand guard works better if your going slow, taking a shot, then moving. It's also where I hold the gun when going prone with the bipod deployed. To install the battery, the hand guard is removed. This will be shown later in the review.

This is the carry handle. Its great for simply carrying the gun around, or when your in combat and your trying to move the gun up to a better position. The carry handle flips up for carry, or down for storage. Let it be noted, that when the flip-up rear sight is flipped up, this will get in the way of the carry handle. the handle mounts directly to the barrel, and is full metal, except for the grip part, that is plastic. There shouldn’t be any durability problems here, as the plastic and metal used is strong. However, if needed, one can always buy the $99.99 GB-TECH steel carrying handle.

The front sight is attached right behind the barrel. It can be flipped up, or flipped down for storage. It too is made out of plastic, but yes, it is strong plastic. It’s not adjustable, But I really don’t see why you would want to set your M60 airsoft gun at 500m, when It can only shoot around 40-50 at the most =).

This is what I like to call “The M60E3’s front section”. It includes the front part of the outer barrel, the front sight, the flash hider, and the gas tube. Everything is metal, with the exception of the gas tube, which is plastic. This should not be a problem, as the gas tube is also made of sturdy plastic. Also, since it is shorter then the outer barrel, it shouldn’t get bumped by anything. A metal gas tube can be purchased for $99.99, Made by GB-TECH. Another worthless item.

This is the feed ramp. If one wishes to mount an ammo can, or a link of inert rounds to their M60E3, This is where they would do so. Its made of metal, and attached directly to the left side of the receiver.

This is the right side of the M60E3’s receiver. The left side is the same, with some minor differences. Full metal construction used here. From what I can see, the metal is very thick, black, and appears to have some bluing. There are screws here and there, but they are realistic, as the real M60E3 has screws in the same place. The receiver accounts for about 1/3 of the M60E3’s length.

This is the cocking handle. On the TOP M60E3, it serves no function. If pulled back, it will go flying forward with a clank. This clank doesn’t sound as good as one given off by an M16A2, or an MP5 “HK Slap” but it’s still good =). Full metal construction used. The Cocking handle is attached to a long thin piece of metal on the inside of the receiver and it moves this back.

This is the M60E3’s feed cover. The one used on the TOP M60E3 is made out of plastic. I believe this to be the weakest part on my TOP M60E3, as the plastic is thin and some what wobbly. To flip it up, you push up a “lever”. Its slightly shown in this picture, to the bottom right of the feed cover. It is spring loaded and pops up when unlatched. (Note, it is not normally this shiny, there was a light directly above the area)

These are the Bipod legs. They are mounted in the front of the gun, about 2/3 of the way up. They fold up and down. To fold them up, or put them down, you must press a button at the top of the bipod. Once this is depressed, the bipod will slide up or down. Both legs are adjustable. To adjust them, you must press a button, just like the one pressed when deploying the bipod. There are a few positions for bipod height, but if you are like me, you will use two. These two are all the way down, or all the way up. I have them set at maximum height when defending and the such and all the way closed when on the move. Obviously, one bipod leg can be set at an angle lesser then the other, to allow for a better shot angle.

HOW TO’s.

1. How to load the gun.
-As with all air soft guns, the first thing ya’ must do is load it! The M60E3 is perhaps the easiest air soft weapon to load.

First, you must flip up the feed cover. (Note Flash is used to enhance detail)
Second, Just pour in BBs. In the lower section, there is a rotating thing which pushes the Bbs up into a coil. The coil then leads to the loading tube, the loading tube then leads to the inner barrel, where the BB will be shot.
-The max capacity of the M60E3 is 1200 rounds, enough to last you for a while =) .

2. How to set the hop-up.

-On the TOP M60E3, You will notice there is a little knob in front of the rear sight. This is the knob for hop-up adjustment. For more hop, turn the knob clockwise. For less hop, turn the knob counter-clockwise. However, there is one problem. If you try to turn the hop-up all the way off, the knob will come out. It’s easy to get back in, but it’s a hassle that can be avoided, so take this as a heads up “DO NOT TURN THE HOP-UP TOO LOW”.

3. Removing the flash mock suppressor.
-On most, if not all AEG’s, the flash mock suppressor can be taken off the gun. This is true on the TOP M60E3 too. To do so, one must turn the flash mock suppressor to the left. Obviously, to get it back on, turn it to the right. Simple enough yes?

4. Installing the battery.

-Perhaps this should have been the first thing done. Anyways, on to the point.
First, that little screw must be taken out. Turn it to the left, then pull. Now, to get the hand guard off, slide it back, then pull it down. Now you should see some wires, hook up your battery, and the put the hand guard back on. Lastly, insert the screw and screw it in. The battery the M60E3 was designed to use is the Mini-type battery. Kind of sad, one would expect a big support weapon to use a large battery with long life. However, a common alternative is the Custom AUG-Type battery. As this has more oomph. Note: a 9.6v version barely fits.

PERFORMANCE.

1. Power.
-There’s really not to much I can say about the M60E3 in terms of power. From what I can tell from first-hand experience, It seems to shoot the same, if not a little more, then a stock TM M16A2. I have no chronos of it yet. Retailer chronos tend to be 280 fps on up, right up TM’s alley.

2. Accuracy.
-Well. I’m going to be honest. I was somewhat let down by the M60E3’s accuracy. While it is no CYMA springer, or shotgun, I expected more. In comparison, my TM M16A2 was probably two times more accurate then the M60E3. With a 444mm barrel, I expected somewhat more. While it is a machine gun, and isn’t meant for accuracy shots, TOP could have done better. The accuracy of the TOP M60E3 is best described in “While you may not hit your target with the first shot, I guarantee a hit within 4”. A KN tight bore can be purchased, but expect it to run you around 110-120 dollars shipped.

3. Rate of fire.
-What the M60E3 lacks in accuracy, it makes up for in Rate of fire. Simply put, the M60E3’s ROF is CRAZY. Quite a bit more then a stock TM M16A2 (About 800 rpm if I remember correctly). This is good as it gives you a better chance to hit your target. However, this crazy rate of fire is crazy unrealistic. As stated in the history/introduction, the real M60E3 has a rate of fire of around 550 rounds per minute. The TOP M60E3, about 950. To be realistic, I estimate a 7.2v battery must be used.

Well, There you have it, The TOP M60E3. I recommend it for Big guys, who like big guns, and people who like being intimidating and envied. Please note, the M60E3 is a heavy weapon and if you want to use it like an assault rifle, you’ve got another thing comin’. So, I end this now on a happy note, knowing that after about three hours, and around 1920 words typed, that my review is finally finished.

-James Monroe ( More commonly known as BigPhish038, and or STALIN).

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