An M60 is a GREAT "area fire" weapon fired from the hip, and you can even shoulder fire it (it's rate-of-fire is slow enough a good gunner can get single shots or two round bursts). But a precision weapon it isn't, unless tripod mounted with a T&E. The new M240 is something I've personally never handled but I suspect it's much the same. While never an official M60 gunner I've fired it, and the M2 .50 cal, enough to be more then familiar with both.
As many others have said, recoil is something you learn to manage with practice. But even that only goes so far. "Once upon a time" some friends and I were considering going to Alaska an hunting a Kodiak (a REALLY big bear) so I got a replica Sharps rolling breach block 45/70 to use. I took it to the range to sight it in and on my first shot the entire range went silent and three or four people ran over because the BOOM, compared to the M16's pop made people assume my weapon may have exploded. Funny as that was the recoil of that thing was like nothing I've ever fired before, or since. As a single shot weapon the recoil should be irrelevant to my shots, but I assure you it was more then a factor in the next four as I adjusted the sights. Not because the recoil itself threw off my aim but because my anticipation of the mule kick made it impossible not to tense up.
As many others have said, recoil is something you learn to manage with practice. But even that only goes so far. "Once upon a time" some friends and I were considering going to Alaska an hunting a Kodiak (a REALLY big bear) so I got a replica Sharps rolling breach block 45/70 to use. I took it to the range to sight it in and on my first shot the entire range went silent and three or four people ran over because the BOOM, compared to the M16's pop made people assume my weapon may have exploded. Funny as that was the recoil of that thing was like nothing I've ever fired before, or since. As a single shot weapon the recoil should be irrelevant to my shots, but I assure you it was more then a factor in the next four as I adjusted the sights. Not because the recoil itself threw off my aim but because my anticipation of the mule kick made it impossible not to tense up.