M2 Machine gun team 50 pound lower receiver, 35 pound barrel, and a 35 pound tripod, plus ammo...
Do they really lug those about? Yikes. It was bad enough doing a stint of having to carry someone's Bren gun for them and that's "only" 25 lbs.
It depends on the people. If you don't have a tripod, you can not dismount the m2 (which is .50 cal machine gun). we carried the tripod and T&E (Traverse and Elevation) in the back of the humvee, if the humvee becomes disabled then you break the gun down into the lower receiver and barrel one person per piece with at least one cane of ammo (200 rounds).
Most machine guns in an infantry squad are "medium" and .30 cal weigh about 25 pounds. They come with a spare barrel, you swap the barrel every 800 rounds or so. The gunner carries the weapon and a "starter belt" designed for immediate suppressive fire it can be 50 or 100 rounds. If you want you can carry an entire 200 round belt in a special ammo bag. the assistant gunner carries the spare barrel bag, and extra ammo.
the SAW (squad automatic weapon) is a "light machine gun" it weighs 17 pounds, and also has a spare barrel. it is 5.56 (.22 caliber).
