STONER 63

The Stoner 63 is an American modular weapons system designed by Eugene

Stoner in the early 1960s. It was produced by Cadillac Gage and used in very
limited numbers in Vietnam by members of the United States Navy SEALs
Operating mechanism
The Stoner 63 series of weapons are gas-operated, air-cooled belt or magazine-fed
and fire from the open bolt position to prevent cook-offs and enhance cooling. The
weapon has a rotary bolt locking mechanism with 7 radially symmetrical locking lugs
that engage a series of recesses in the barrel extension, and is actuated by a
conventional long-stroke piston. The radial arrangement of locking lugs distributes the
firing load evenly around the bolt head and barrel socket, reducing stress and
increasing the longevity of these critical components. Attached to the piston extension is
the bolt carrier which is equipped with a curved cam track that guides the bolt's cam pin
(retained by the firing pin) and rotates the bolt 22.5 during the movement of the
piston to either lock or unlock the bolt from behind the abutments in the barrel socket.
Incorporated into the bolt carrier/piston group is an anti-bounce device, consisting of a
4 in (101.6 mm) carbide rod that rides within the piston extensions hollow interior and
moves back and forth during the recoil and counter-recoil cycles, reducing bolt bounce
and preventing the possibility of firing out of battery during closed bolt firing (in the
Rifle/Carbine models).
When fired, propellant gases from the ignited cartridge following the projectile down
the bore are vented through a gas port into a gas cylinder where they drive the piston
and bolt carrier rearward. There is about 0.2 in (5.1 mm) of uninterrupted free travel
calculated to permit the gas build-up in the bore to drop to a safe level before the
carrier's cam slot rotates the bolt counter-clockwise to unlock. The locking lugs have no
pitch therefore no primary extraction occurs during the unlocking sequence. A deeplyseated spring-loaded claw extractor in the bolt head extracts the spent cartridge casing
from the chamber and a spring-powered ejector fixed to the front feed mechanism
trigger housing ejects the casing. The bolt carrier continues to the rear and compresses
the recoil spring on its guide rod.
The Stoner 63 has a unique buffering system contained within the bolt carrier. In front of
the carrier cap are a steel shim and a set of 27 saucer-shaped Belleville washers
oriented in opposing sets of three, which absorb energy from the piston stroke by
deforming into a flat plate when the bolt carrier strikes the receivers end cap. When the
plates return to their original shape they release a pulse of strain energy which propels

the reciprocating parts forward in counter-recoil with a speed only slightly below that of
the original recoil velocity. This feature was designed to extend the weapons service
life, and the plates will function without failure for between 40,000 and 50,000
rounds (depending upon the type of ammunition used and cyclic rates employed).
Feed
A detailed view of the Stoner 63 feed tray.
The magazine-fed Stoner 63 Rifle.In the belt-fed configuration, belt movement is
produced by a roller riding in the channeled feed arm and is actuated by the
reciprocating movement of the bolt. The spring-loaded feed arm is protected by a
hinged top cover and is pivoted at its rear end. As the bolt travels back, the front end
of the feed arm moves across the feed tray and operates a lever attached to a single
set of spring-loaded pawls. These pawls move a cartridge and link over the feed trays
stop pawl from where they are positioned onto the slotted feed path and held firmly in
place by a spring-powered steel plate in the top cover. The cartridge is then pushed
out of its link and the empty link is discarded through the link ejection port which is held
closed by a spring-loaded dust cover.
The Stoner 63/63A is chambered for the now-standard 5.56x45mm intermediate rifle
cartridge. When in the belt-fed role, the weapon would feed from a disintegrating
metallic linked belt marked "S-63 BRW" which is a scaled-down version of the U.S. M13
link developed for the M60 GPMG. The Stoner 63/63A will not work reliably with the
later M27 link developed for the M249 SAW. The belt is normally contained in a 150round plastic ribbed container that has a tab allowing it to be clipped on to the side of
the left-hand feed tray. Early ammunition boxes were olive drab in color and
manufactured at Costa Mesa, this later changed to a black-colored plastic container
made in Warren, Michigan. Stoner 63A boxes were also black but had a reduced
capacity of 100 rounds as the larger container would unbalance the rifle. These can
either be attached to the left-hand feed tray or held in a bottom box carrier when
using the right-hand feed mechanism. Several drum-type belt carriers were designed for
the left-hand feed system, with a 150-round drum container being the most popular
and used frequently by SEALS in Vietnam. A 250-round drum carrier was also
developed by NAWS China Lake, but this proved too heavy and cumbersome. SEALS
would also resort to converting RPD belt carriers for use with their Stoners. The
detachable magazines used in the Rifle, Carbine and Automatic Rifle models are
fabricated from steel and weigh 8 oz (230 g) unloaded. In an effort to reduce weight,
aluminum magazines were later developed cutting the weight down to 4 oz (110 g).
Standard magazines have a 30-round cartridge capacity but a 20-round magazine

was also offered.

Barrel
The Stoner 63 has a quick-change barrel that is retained by a spring-loaded latch near
the feed cover (visible on the left).Barrel interchangeability is one of the main features
that provides the Stoner 63 platform its outstanding versatility. There are 5 barrel
options available for the system: the Rifle, Carbine, Automatic Rifle (AR) and two types
of machine gun barrels, a standard heavy barrel and a short Commando tube. The
standard machine gun and AR barrels are 20 in (508.0 mm) in length (not including
the flash suppressor). The Commando barrel has a length of 15.7 in (398.8 mm) and is
fluted to reduce weight and enhance the barrel's cooling characteristics. This version was
sometimes used by the Navy SEALS but was never fully reliable as the gas port is near
the muzzle and as soon as the bullet leaves the barrel, gas pressures drop drastically
leaving the operating system little to no power reserve. The gas port was drilled larger
in an attempt to alleviate this problem; however this had the effect of merely
accelerating the piston's initial displacement. The issue was never truly resolved. The
Rifle, Carbine and AR barrels have no gas valves as they are exclusively used in
magazine-fed configurations and do not require the energy surplus levels of belt-fed
mechanisms. The standard machine gun barrel has a manually adjustable gas
regulator that can be operated by inserting the nose of a cartridge into a hole over the
regulators lock detent, pushing down on the detent and rotating to the desired
position. The gas regulator has three settings: a "slow" cyclic rate of about 700 rounds/
min, produced when the narrowest indicator notch is set over the detent; a middle
position with an intermediate rate of 830 rounds/min and a third "fouled" position that
delivers the largest quantity of propellant gas to the system, resulting in a rate of fire of
865 rounds/min (the use of this setting should be limited as it induces excessive wear
on the operating mechanism).
All Stoner 63/63A barrels have a quick-detach capability and can be removed in a
matter of seconds in field conditions by simply pushing down a latch located on top of
the weapon in front of the feed cover and pulling the barrel forward (with the bolt
retracted). The chamber portion of the barrel rests on a U-shaped barrel bracket
attached to the gas cylinder. The barrel is firmly locked in position by means of a springloaded latch (with two nested coil springs) which drives a steel pin into a hole in the
barrel socket. All barrels have a gas block to which a bayonet lug and front sight
assembly are mounted. The barrels are equipped with a bird cage type flash
suppressor with six oval ports. The AR and standard machine gun barrels also have a
carrying handle that can be snapped into one of three positions or removed

altogether. The black-painted wooden handles are attached to a steel rod via roll pin.
With a few exceptions, all the barrels used in the Stoner 63/63A have a six-groove
right-hand rifling with a twist rate of 1:12 in (305 mm), designed to stabilize the
lightweight 55-grain M193 projectile (standard at the time). However, after NWM had
obtained a license to produce the Stoner 63A, some barrels were manufactured with a
1:8 (200 mm) in rifling pitch to be used with heavier experimental bullets. None of
these were ever produced in significant numbers.
Features
A close-up of the receiver of the Stoner 63 Rifle variant. Note the perforated sheet metal
guard that houses the rear sight. The hooked, non-reciprocating steel charging handle
is typically mounted on the right side of the receiver. It has 24 lightening holes and
engages a projection on the piston to draw the piston and bolt group to the rear
(cocked) position. The handle should then be pushed back forward allowing a flatspring latch riveted to the front end to capture a slotted plate welded to the front of the
receiver. With the right-hand feed mechanism with underslung box carrier installed the
handle is awkward to operate, so a special slotted forearm with a bottom cocking
handle was developed.
The nucleus of the Stoner 63 system is the receiver which is a rectangular sheet metal
pressing. The gas cylinder, support structures, brackets, lugs and other devices are
welded in place. The front portion carries the piston and barrel and is perforated to
reduce weight and improve air circulation around the barrel and gas cylinder. The rear
segment holds the piston extension and bolt group. The ejection port is on the right
side when the receiver is inverted and the weapon is configured as a rifle or carbine
and on the left side when in the various machine gun roles. The various components
are phosphate finished and then coated with a black baked enamel finish called
Endurion. Early examples of the Stoner 63 were delivered with all wood furniture,
however these were soon replaced with black polycarbonate parts with the exception
of the handguard, which remained wood, but was painted black.
The Stoner 63 bipod is a non-locking type that attaches to the gas tube; it does not
pivot and has a limited height adjustment feature but does not pivot. The Stoner 63A
bipod is extensively perforated with lightening holes and can be locked in either the
stowed or deployed positions. It too does not pivot but is compatible with the earlier
Stoner 63, whereas the Stoner 63 bipod will not work with the later 63A pattern guns
as the gas tube is of a larger diameter.