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The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for the Nintendo DS. The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Warzone The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Mobile The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III The subject of this article appeared in Zombies mode The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Warzone 2 The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile
For other variants, see MK46 and Mk 48.
For similarly named weapon, see M240.
For other uses, see Saw (disambiguation).

The M249 SAW is a light machine gun featured in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Mobile and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. It also appears as a mounted weapon in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare & Modern Warfare Remastered[]

"Fully automatic with a high rate of fire. Effective at medium to long range."
— Weapon description

Campaign[]

In the campaign, the M249 SAW is used by the Special Air Service and the United States Marine Corps. The weapon is available in "Charlie Don't Surf", "The Bog", "War Pig", "Heat", "The Sins of the Father", and "Ultimatum". The M249 SAW is the signature weapon of SSgt. Griggs. It is far more effective than the RPD in Single Player, dealing the same damage at a much higher rate of fire, although ammo is harder to come across due to the gun's rarity.

Multiplayer[]

In multiplayer, the M249 SAW is unlocked by default. It also appears on the Heavy Gunner default class.

The M249 SAW is a low damage LMG. It deals thirty damage per bullet in all circumstances. This will require four shots to kill at all ranges. The M249 SAW deals 42 damage on a headshot, needing just three shots to kill, only needing one headshot to reduce the shot threshold. Damage is the M249 SAW's biggest weakness relative to other LMGs, as it needs more bullets to get kills. In Hardcore, however, the M249 SAW's damage is much less of a concern, as thirty damage per bullet is enough to get a one shot kill at all ranges. The M249 SAW has high penetration power, allowing it retain most of its damage when shooting through walls.

The M249 SAW's damage increases notably with Stopping Power. It will deal 42 damage per bullet at all ranges, needing just three shots to kill. A headshot will deal 58 damage per bullet, needing only two shots to kill if just one bullet hits the head. The M249 SAW appreciates the extra damage greatly in Core game types, although its value is highly questionable in Hardcore.

The M249 SAW compensates for its poor damage per shot with the highest rate of fire among all LMGs, firing at 937 RPM. The M249 SAW can compensate for its damage shortcoming somewhat through sheer volume of fire. The M249 SAW's rate of fire is 1250 RPM if using Double Tap.

The M249 SAW's accuracy is decent for an LMG. The iron sights are somewhat obstructive, but are small enough to not infringe on the player's peripheral vision too much. The M249 SAW has softer recoil per shot than the other LMGs, kicking with values of 70 to the left, 70 to the right, 60 upwards, and 40 downwards. As the M249 SAW is the only LMG that has a downwards recoil value, the M249 SAW tends to drift up far less commonly than the other LMGs, with the vertical recoil being much easier to control. However, the M249 SAW will still have significant horizontal recoil. The M249 SAW has a good centerspeed value of 1700. While this value is high, the M249 SAW combines a high fire rate with large horizontal recoil values. Overall, the M249 SAW is decently accurate.

The M249 SAW's handling characteristics are good for an LMG, but bad overall. The M249 SAW restricts users to move at just 87.5% of the base movement speed, or strafe at just 35% of the base movement speed. The M249 SAW aims down the sights in 350 milliseconds, and the M249 SAW's hip-fire accuracy is poor. The M249 SAW has the best reload speeds in its class, although they are still poor overall. The M249 SAW's reload animation is 6.45 seconds long, but the user can Reload Cancel after 5.23 seconds. Even if players do not reload cancel with the M249 SAW, it nonetheless reloads faster than the other two LMGs, even if users of the other two LMGs reload cancel them properly. Properly reload canceling the M249 SAW will make the weapon far less risky to reload with than either of its peers.

The M249 SAW, like the other LMGs, has an excellent belt capacity of 100 rounds, and allows players to spawn in with 200 rounds total by default.

Each of the three attachments available to the M249 SAW can provide notable improvements. Most notable on the M249 SAW is the Grip. It will increase the centerspeed to 1900, making the M249 SAW much more accurate. However, the Grip on the M249 SAW has a significant positive side effect, in that it will drastically improve the M249 SAW's hip-fire accuracy. The hip-fire accuracy increase is significant enough to make the M249 SAW's hip-fire accuracy on par with an assault rifle. With the attachment equipped, the M249 SAW essentially has the effect of Steady Aim built into their weapon. The Grip makes the M249 SAW much more accurate in virtually all situations, and can make the M249 SAW a surprisingly competent weapon at close quarters, while improving performance across longer ranges. Although it comes at the cost of the player's perk 1 slot, it is a sacrifice that is often made.

The ACOG Scope will provide an alternative, long range sight picture and increase the M249 SAW's aim down sight time to 300 milliseconds. However, this comes at the cost of highly inflated idle sway, in addition to the centerspeed being reduced to 1500. The M249 SAW is rendered much less accurate as a result, and despite being a long range oriented attachment, the ACOG Scope's aim down sight time improvement makes the M249 SAW more adept when on the move. The attachment provides plenty of risk.

The Red Dot Sight is the safest option of the three attachments available, providing no notable stat changes, but replacing the iron sights with a simple, electronic sight. Users who are not fans of the iron sights the M249 SAW has may find some use for the Red Dot Sight. For others, the Red Dot Sight is a safe attachment option, as it does not come at the expense of a perk slot like the Grip, nor does it highly reduce accuracy like the ACOG Scope does. However, it does not provide the notable stat improvements, unlike the other two attachments, leaving for a grounded, consistent attachment choice.

Overall, the M249 SAW is a surprisingly versatile weapon, especially when the Grip is equipped. When equipped with the Grip, the M249 SAW is a weapon that allows for accurate fire at all ranges and situations, and the weapon provides surprisingly good close quarters performance. The M249 SAW with the Grip is arguably the best LMG for a more aggressive LMG user, as the highly improved close quarters consistency and quicker reloads make the M249 SAW far more palatable in an aggressive role. The increased versatility that the M249 SAW provides also highly lessens the need for perks such as Steady Aim and Sleight of Hand, opening up the possibilites for players that like to use either of those two perks a lot on their LMGs. The M249 SAW also has a much more conventional recoil pattern than its peers thanks to the presence of a downwards recoil value. The M249 SAW can be a great alternative for players who want to use an LMG, but certain aspects of the RPD or M60E4 do not gel well with their style, needs, or desires.

Old School Mode[]

The M249 SAW appears in Old School Mode with 100 rounds in the magazine and 100 rounds of reserve ammunition.

  • Ambush - Found with a Grip at the northern intersection on the center road.
  • Chinatown - Found with a Grip in between the two accessible buildings in front of the grassy area, next to Double Tap.
  • Crossfire - Found with an ACOG Scope on the second floor of the two-storey building towards the north-western corner of the map that overlooks the main road.

Weapon Attachments[]

Gallery[]

For camouflage images, see M249 SAW/Camouflage.
For attachment images, see M249 SAW/Attachments.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[]

In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the M249 SAW returns only as a mounted machine gun, in the level "The Hornet's Nest" and "Whiskey Hotel". In "Whiskey Hotel," there is a mounted M249 SAW to the left of Colonel Marshall that the player can use. Also in "Whiskey Hotel", there is one on top of the White House, accessible only through noclip, and one that no one is using that looks like a searchlight with a M249 behind it. The use icon of this M249 SAW is the same as that of an MG42. In another room there is one being used by a Russian, which will disappear if he is killed, although when he is using it you can as well. It will fire at a higher rate than normal and fire of its own accord. In addition to this on top of the West Wing of the White House, there are three M249's. Two normal ones being used by the Russians against the Ranger and another coupled with a searchlight.

Using cheats, a portable M249 SAW can be used in the Spec Ops mission "Armor Piercing" via the console command "give saw". Like any other console-spawned weapon, this weapon can only be spawned for use in a certain mission. It is also possible to get the M249 SAW on "Just Like Old Times" as well, though it is still mounted. It is on the catwalk where the player walks with the Riot Shield. If the Shadow Company soldier using it dies, it will disappear. Its appearance is identical to its Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare counterpart. The pickup icon for the M249 is also used for other mounted machine guns, such as the M2 Browning Machine Gun.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized[]

The M249 is available as one of the three machine guns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized along with its new jet-black finish, with the others being the M1919 and the MG4, though the M249 and MG4 are the only portable ones. Compared to its console counter-parts, the M249 performs in a similar fashion, having only a slightly lower rate and higher minimum damage. However, its sprinting speed is the same as all other weapons, something LMGs usually aren't capable of, though normal walking speed remains hindered.

Campaign[]

In the campaign the M249 is first introduced in "Needle in a Haystack", the second American mission, though it doesn't see action for the rest of the US side of the campaign. On the other hand, the M249 is used a bit more frequently by British forces in the levels "Hostile Territory" and "Informant Extraction". It is generally a very effective weapon, killing most enemies in two shots, more on higher difficulties. However, one should take accurate shots with it, as it only has 100 rounds of reserve ammo, 200 rounds in total, which is considerably small for an LMG.

Multiplayer[]

It is the last weapon unlocked in multiplayer for the Coalition faction, taking 500 kills as the Coalition to unlock. Unlike its single player counterpart, it takes four shots to kill. Despite this, its high rate of fire and lack of recoil make it a very effective weapon. However, the reduced movement speed is still a large problem for many players, so this weapon is rarely seen.

Call of Duty: Black Ops[]

The M249 can be found by using "noclip" on PC in the mission Vorkuta in Call of Duty: Black Ops. It can be seen being used by the prison guards that fire on the escaping prisoners. If the guards stop using the M249, however, it will continue to fire by itself. When Molotov Cocktails are launched at the guard tower, the M249 machine gun is destroyed along with the Vorkuta prison guards. Its pick-up icon also briefly appears at the end of the mission S.O.G., when Mason enters the truck.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3[]

The M249 SAW does not make a proper return in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. However, if using noclip, it is possible to see that the mounted PKP Pecheneg on the roof of Waraabe's compound in mission "Return To Sender" has the pickup icon of the M249 SAW and the same firing sound.

Gallery[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance[]

The M249 SAW returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance. It has the same model and stats of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized variant, except it now has recoil.

Campaign[]

It is used by the U.S. National Guard and S.F.S.G. troops and is one of the starting weapons in the missions Running For Cover and Dam Approach. The M249 SAW is the only light machine gun used by friendly forces and is never dropped by any killed NPCs. The ammo for this can only be resupplied at ammunition boxes.

Multiplayer[]

The M249 appears in multiplayer and can be unlocked with 500 kills in total.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare[]

"This air-cooled open bolt 5.56 light machine gun features a competitive rate of fire and excellent stability that will dominate the mid to long range battlefield."
— In-game description

The M249 SAW returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare as the Bruen Mk9. It was added as part of the Season Three update.

Attachments[]

Muzzle[]

Barrel[]

Laser[]

Optic[]

Stock[]

Underbarrel[]

Magazine[]

Rear Grip[]

Perks[]

Blueprints[]

Blueprint Rarity How to obtain
Synthetic Dreams Rare Neon Nights II Bundle
Smithy Epic Beowulf Forge Bundle
The Glitch Legendary Encryption Bundle
Phoenix Ignition Legendary Battle Pass Modern Warfare Season 4 Tier 95
Trencher Legendary Velikan Operator Bundle
Spoiled Rotten Legendary 2v2 Gunfight Tournament reward Modern Warfare Season 5
Firebrand Legendary Warzone pick up in the Metro/Subway easter egg
Crazy Train Legendary Explosive Ordance Bundle
Crowning Glory Legendary XRK Reserve Collection Bundle

Gallery[]

For attachment images, see M249 SAW/Attachments#Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019).

Call of Duty: Mobile[]

"Modern LMG with balanced stability and exceptional firing rate."
— In-game description

The M249 SAW returns in Call of Duty: Mobile as the Bruen MK9. It was added in November 2023 as part of the Season 10: 4th Anniversary update.

Multiplayer[]

The Bruen MK9 is a unique case among Light Machine Guns. Unlike virtually every other weapon in the game, which has four reserve magazines when the player loads into a match, the Bruen MK9 only has one reserve belt or two reserve magazines if the 60-Round Magazine is equipped.

It also has arguably the worst damage falloff in the entire category. At its maximum damage range, it deals 30 damage for a respectable 4-shot kill. However, past its maximum damage range, it immediately drops to 24 damage for a slower 5-shot kill, with no intermediate values. Past the 24-damage range, it does a minimum damage of 20, still maintaining a 5-shot kill.

In terms of magazine size, it is virtually unbeaten, with one of the highest possible magazine counts in a possible 200-round belt, and it can be fitted with a 60-round magazine for more aggressive play, though it does increase vertical recoil.

Attachments[]

Muzzle[]

Barrel[]

Optic[]

Stock[]

Perk[]

Laser[]

Underbarrel[]

Ammunition[]

Rear Grip[]

Blueprints[]

Epic[]

  • Bird of Paradise
  • Majestic Scales
  • Floating Lotus

Legendary[]

  • Deadly Strings

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III[]

"The Bruen Mk9 is a fully automatic, air-cooled light machine gun chambered in 5.56. Support your team and pin down the enemy with a high fire rate and overwhelming covering fire."
— In-game description

The M249 SAW returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III as the Bruen Mk9.

Attachments[]

Muzzle[]

Barrel[]

Laser[]

Optic[]

Stock[]

Underbarrel[]

Ammunition[]

Magazine[]

Rear Grip[]

Blueprints[]

Blueprint Image How to obtain
Pale Death Battle Pass Season Two Sector B11
The Final Ritual Tracer Pack: Dark Rituals IV Bundle

Trivia[]

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare[]

  • The mounted SAW's ammo belt doesn't move when firing, but the normal M249's belt does.
  • The third person model looks rather smaller and slimmer than the first person model.
  • The Create-A-Class picture lacks the rear iron sight.
  • In "Charlie Don't Surf", an OpFor soldier will use an invisible mounted SAW. But when he is killed, the player can pick up and use the SAW like it was unmounted.
  • The belt box has two openings for the ammo to load into the chamber. The reason for this being the texture for the ammo box was mirrored on both sides of the model.
  • In "The Sins of the Father", when the Blackhawk destroys the machine gun nests in the building, unusable M249s drop. If shot, they will move.
  • When allies reload the M249, they do so much more quickly than the player does, reloading a fresh magazine from underneath like an assault rifle instead of opening the top of the gun.
  • The M249 seems to be Griggs' weapon of choice. He used it in all missions except for "The Sins of the Father", where he used a suppressed M4A1.
  • In the campaign, the M249 does not use depth of field even with the option on, while in multiplayer it can.
  • In certain missions when there are enemy MG bunkers, such as "The Sins of the Father"- if you have noclip and enter the bunkers the pick-up/use icon is that of what appears to be a MG42 from the World War II era games.
  • In Remastered, the reloading animation has been altered to have the charging handle pulled after changing the belt box rather than before.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[]

  • If the player fires the M249 against a flat surface (such as the wall of the White House) the bullet hit pattern will make a spiral, as if the player was firing a minigun.

Call of Duty: Black Ops[]

  • In Call of Duty: Black Ops, in the mission S.O.G., if the player looks at the Jeep after getting out for a certain amount of time the pick-up icon for the M249 will appear.
  • The model and the icon of the M249 were reused from Call of Duty: 4 Modern Warfare.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized[]

  • In the survival mode on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized its magazine capacity is doubled up to 200 rounds per magazine which, coupled with decent rate of fire and high damage, make the M249 an extremely versatile weapon.
  • The M249's iron sights are slightly misaligned.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered[]

  • "863" can be seen written in yellow text on the ammunition box.
  • "#26" can be seen written on the belt feed mechanism. This is easily seen upon looking at the weapon's model in third person or while reloading.
  • "48" can be seen written on the gun stock.
  • "M249 5.56 EH 0071989" can be seen engraved on the side of the gun.
    • The M249 SAW appears to fire 5.56mm cartridges, judging by the engraving.
    • The "1989" part of the engraving is a reference to the first major war the M249 SAW was used in, the United States invasion of Panama, which occurred in 1989.

Call of Duty: Mobile[]

  • While the base weapon is called Bruen MK9, some Rare and Legendary skins refer to it as "Bruen Mk9".

Video[]

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