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LOT 1346
Highly Desirable Knight’s Armament Co. Stoner Model 63A Modular Light Machine Gun, Class III/NFA Fully Transferable Machine Gun
- Serial no. 154, 5.56 mm cal., 20 inch round bbl., matte black finish, synthetic stock. One of the many notable products of American arms designer Eugene Stoner (of AR10, M16/AR15, and AR-18/180 fame, among others), the genesis of the 63 was in the early 60s, shortly after his departure from Armalite. Working with Cadillac-Gage, Stoner developed
a modular weapon system, intended to be capable of a radical degree
of customization at the field armorer level, creating a receiver that could be reconfigured rapidly for mission and environment; while a number of modern weapons designs have touched on this sort of flexibility, this was an exceptional capability for the era. Developed with an eye for military sales, the 63/63A was issued on a trial basis in multiple configurations to the United States Marine Corps and select elements of the Navy SEALs and U.S. Army Special Forces operating in Southeast Asia. The system was not adopted for general use; while it had many virtues, and was considerably refined with user feedback, it was more complex and maintenance intensive than the M16 rifle. While development stopped in 1971, the design found fans among America’s elite units, especially in the Light Machine Gun configuration; the Stoner LMG gave belt-fed firepower and suppression ability at a significantly lower weight than the standard M60 machine gun, which meshed well with highly mobile small unit tactics.