Combat Garden Gnome M60 Gunner

 What weighs four pounds and is very dangerous? A garden gnome with a machine gun, of course.

This particular little gnome knows that the true secret to happiness is a belt-fed weapon. Marksmanship was never his strong point, so he favors quantity over quality. Firing over 500 rounds per minute, he always hits his target. He also hits everything else downrange.

This little guy is armed with an M60, officially called the "United States Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60." An American general-purpose machine gun firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. 

The field manual for the M60 Machine Gun calls for firing short, controlled bursts. But if that's all they wanted him to do, then why give him so much ammunition? It's not like the war will last forever. As far as he's concerned, there's no such thing as "overkill," there's only open fire and reloading.

The M60 can fire several types of ammunition, including ball, tracer, and armor-piercing rounds. Originally adopted in 1957 and issued to units beginning in 1959, it has served with every branch of the U.S. military. During the Vietnam War, the M60 was commonly nicknamed "The Pig" for its bulk, its voracious appetite for ammunition, and the grunt like sound of its firing, reminiscent of a barnyard hog. 

Second only to the Huey helicopter as the “most recognizable” weapon of its era according to an Army Times poll, the M60 machine gun was everywhere in the Southeast Asia conflict. In post-Vietnam years, this gun was almost as much a part of Rambo's image as Sylvester Stallone. Its manufacture and continued upgrade for military and commercial purchase continues into the 21st century, although it has mostly been replaced by the M240 machine gun in U.S. forces.

My gnomes stand just under a foot tall. They weigh around four pounds.

If you need to lay down some suppressing fire to dominate pests in your garden, look no further.  You can get yourself one of these guys in my Etsy shop here: LINK

Enter the coupon code "BLOGGER" for a 10% discount at checkout.