I don't have any real experience with them. I've never fired a real gun.
Do you think you have a good chance of hitting a person with the M-60 because you are firing a lot more rounds?
This is actually a very complex question that in some ways gets directly into the questions I'm grappling with.
I think answering starts with a philosophical question about what the "odds" of hitting a target mean:
0. When I think about the "odds of hitting a person?" in real life (or in a roleplaying game) I think about odds in a combat situation where I don't have all the time in the world to line up a shot, and I'm taking at least /basic/ defensive precautions (hiding behind something, laying in the dirt, whatever).
In this case, my odds of hitting something are actually fairly low compared to what they would be on a firing range... but exactly what situational factors are considered in my logic aren't always explicit... so...
1. The M-60 is a pretty accurate gun. I don't remember the exact measurements but on a firing range I could hit a playing-card-sized target and some significant distance pretty easily -- the bullet flies where you point it.
2. However, in combat (or, in my case, during training with laser-tag-type equipment called MILES gear) "accuracy" is about a *LOT* more than just how technically accurate the weapon is.
A big factor in the basic accuracy is "can I get the weapon lined up with a potential target while the target is exposed?"
An M-16 is (in my experience) quicker to bring on-target than an M-60 -- especially if you want to deploy the bipod (or set it on a tripod).
Now, usually, you emplace the 60 and fire -- but that takes extra steps and extra time. If identical characters, one armed with a 60 and one with a 16 both flop down prone and start firing, I'd say the guy with the 16 is going to have a much higher "base" accuracy...
Which brings us to the effect of automatic fire...
3. To actually answer your question: Firing a lot of rounds can, under the right circumstances, make up for all sorts of other failings. The M-60' statistically inflicts a lot of casualties (most of a platoon's causalities are caused by the crew-served weapons like the 60 or a mortar)...
But a lot of that is a matter of the ability to spray an area and engage many people at once -- if your gun is emplaced correctly you can engage an entire platoon with it and anyone who's not face down in the dirt or behind solid cover is in mortal danger.
But does that translate to a huge chance-to-hit bonus in game terms? Debatable. I'd say that the 60 gets a decent but not incredible chance a single to hit due to auto-fire -- but if you give the 60 gunner time to aim and give the target no cover and nowhere to hide, the odds go up to about 100%... of course they do with just about any weapon.
Cheers,
-E.