Rock Island Auction Company is privileged and honored to offer this extremely rare fully transferable Fabrique Nationale M240 belt fed machine gun; an iconic military machine gun that is in widespread active U.S. military service today. Reportedly, there are as few as only 11 fully transferable FN M240 machine guns and approximately 17 "limited" pre-86 dealer samples in the registry, making this an incredibly rare opportunity to acquire one. The remainder are U.S. government property, and unlikely to leave service through any means other than being fed to a metal shredder. Originally developed by Fabrique Nationale as the FN MAG in the 1940s/1950s, the design draws heavy inspiration from previous small arms like the German MG42 and American BAR, built around a stamped and riveted steel receiver with a long-stroke gas piston mechanism and open bolt operation. The design was adopted by many nations to fulfill the "general purpose machine gun" role, being carried into action by a wide variety of infantry units and mounted on a wide array of vehicles and aircraft. The U.S. military expressed an interest in the weapon in the 1970s, adopting it as a coaxial tank gun under the M240 nomenclature in 1977 and eventually coming to fill many of the roles of the M60 of Vietnam War fame; while heavier, the M240 earned a reputation for ruggedness, reliability, and relative ease of maintenance. Blade front sight and ladder rear sight adjustable to 1,800 meters, with a birdcage flash hider, vented plastic heat shield and swiveling carry handle on the "7.62MM" marked barrel. The receiver cover is alloy construction with integral optics rail, with the right side bearing the FN Manufacturing nomenclature and serial number. A folding bipod and alloy forearm with rail mounts at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions are installed on the gas cylinder, with a pair of checkered grip panels and a pushbutton safety on the pistol grip and a textured "club foot" profile synthetic buttstock. Included with the lot is an extra barrel (similar in configuration to the currently installed barrel) and a soft cloth spare barrel case.