Random thoughts, for friendly discussion.

In WWII there have been a lot of comparisons between the bottom fed BAR, and the top fed BREN.
The way the guns are carried, seem to favor the Bren with its top mag as being easier to reload. Its one disadvantage is it tall mag sticking up over cover...

While I have never fired a German FG 42, I have shot a Sterling 9mm subgun, with its side magazine quite a bit.

I sometimes wonder why no one ever developed a side Mag feed on a machine gun, and made them enmass???

And yes I am familar with the Belgian 5.56 belt fed/mag fed machine gun, but the American military requirements for it to be able to pick up a "100foot" belt, pretty much ruined it for actual magazine feeding...

Do you know the US M 60 is derived from the German FG 42 "G" version.

US Ordnance made a copycat of the MG 42 in 30.06 as well.

Should have adopted it..

PS: the Johnson LMG and its israeli version "DROR" were side fed.