Stoner 63 & 63A weapons system
Official wording
Stoner, 63 and 63AWeapons Systems, cal. 5.56mm, as originally mfd. by Cadillac Gage, Costa Mesa, CA, Mauser-IWK, Germany, and NWM Kruitoorn at s’Hertgenbosch, Holland.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “as originally mfd. by Cadillac Gage”
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1963–1971.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
United StatesBasis: outside reference ¹- Manufacturer
- Cadillac Gage; Mauser-IWK; NWMBasis: the ATF wording
- Type
- MachinegunBasis: outside reference ²
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: outside reference ³
- Caliber
- 5.56×45mmBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- 1963–1971production; ATF states no dateBasis: outside reference ⁴
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 87 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Stoner 63” ↗, country: infobox origin United States; Cadillac Gage (Costa Mesa, then Warren, Michigan) was the primary manufacturer, NWM prototypes only
- 2. Wikipedia, “Stoner 63” ↗, type: modular weapon system; infobox types include light machine gun and squad automatic weapon; the LMG configuration fires full-auto only from an open bolt
- 3. Wikipedia, “Stoner 63” ↗, action: gas-operated automatic weapon; machine-gun configurations fire fully automatic from the open bolt
- 4. Wikipedia, “Stoner 63” ↗, years: infobox production date 1963–1971; first models produced February 1963
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Stoner 63 Light machinegun, belt-fed.png” by Advanced Research Projects Agency, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Stoner 63”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Stoner 63 is a 5.56×45mm NATO modular weapon system. Using a variety of modular components, it can be configured as an assault rifle, carbine, top-fed light machine gun, belt-fed squad automatic weapon, or as a vehicle mounted weapon. Also known as the M63, XM22, XM23, XM207 or the Mk 23 MOD 0 machine gun, it was designed by Eugene Stoner in the early 1960s. Cadillac Gage was the primary manufacturer of the Stoner 63 during its history. The Stoner 63 saw very limited combat use by US military units during the Vietnam War. A few were also sold to law enforcement agencies.