The M2 Browning machine gun with a tripod weighs 58 kg (128

A heavy machine gun refers to either a larger-caliber, high-power machine gun or one of the smaller, medium-caliber (rifle caliber) machine guns meant for prolonged firing from heavy mounts, less mobile, or static positions (or some combination of the two). The latter meaning is generally thought of as an older meaning, and the former as a modern one, but both weapon types have histories extending back to the 19th century. Furthermore, heavier smaller-caliber weapons continue to be used up to the present