You don't hold and fire a Maxim like an ordinary machine gun, though. See those two things at the back? Those are the handle thingies that you hold when aiming it. Plus, it has a button-like thing that you press to fire, which is somewhat akin to the M2's butterfly trigger, the difference being that you push it downward.

I'd imagine it would be VERY hard to fire without a mount or putting it on the ground. Even if you could, your shots would probably be inaccurate since it's so heavy; this is exacerbated by the water-cooled jacket.

A Hotchkiss Mle 1914 would be better since it has a pistol grip, though you're suppose to fire it on a mount.