300 Blackout... Why?

Ah....it's fun to build and shoot! .....why do we need one or the other? ....I have built and shot both quiet and non quiet and they are both really fun to shoot.....not to bash the AK it's cool too.

someguy2800 said:

I still view the 300 blackout loaded with supersonic 110 or 125 grain hollow points as a modernized and much improved 30 carbine. Its really what the 30 carbine should have been from its inception. Just my opinion.

Click to expand...

Right.

I feel the 30 Carbine would be a fine home defense rifle. But, I would not subject a USGI carbine to that service and post war commercial carbines have variable reliability issues.

Enter the 300 Blackout. It performs a bit better than the 30 Carbine in a similar sized platform. It is fairly flat shooting out to 100 yards or so which is ideal for my hobby horse farm and the trajectory becomes rainbow at ranges farther than that. It reduces the chances of collateral damage down range. The AR-15 platform is reliable with the round.

Between lighter weight bullet supersonic loads and heavy bullet subsonic loads, the round provides a range of short range performances to meet the users' wants and desires.

I think in a modern platform and with a properly designed bullet, the .30M1 would make a fine home defense cartridge. However, it still lags 400fps behind the .300BLK with supers and would lack the capacity for doing anything with heavy subs. It's not how I use mine but I think a braced 8.5" .300 pistol with a common 9mm or .45ACP pistol suppressor has a lot to offer in that role.

Texas10mm said:

Magpul makes 300 Blackout mags. They work great!

Click to expand...

This, and the 300BK Lancer mags are great as well.

For the OP, the ability to switch uppers is one valid ( IMHO ) reason as well. I prefer the supersonic loads.
You can readily make cases for the 300BK from .223 / 5.56 as well.
You can use standard AR bolts, mags, mag pouches, etc... so AR reliable.

I enjoy mine quite a bit. It is a very compact firearm.

I have a Law Folder I am going to install.

One weapon can be used for anti-personnel purposes with 110-grain to 125-grain bullets, can act like a .30-30 for hunting appropriate-sized animals, and, can be used in semi-rural area, on private land, with a blast-forward Flaming Pig flash hider device, with sub-sonic ammo, to direct blast away from the populated area. I like this combination of capabilities, even if I never get around to buying a suppressor. I will concede that not all of this ammo will shoot to the same point of aim.

I will admit that I could lose interest or change my mind. No worries; re-barreling to 5.56 would not be excessively vexing.

At present, my 300 is a Daniel Defense DDM4V7P, a pistol with a LAW folder and brace.

1997 versus 2020. Winchester Trapper .30-30 versus Springfield Saint 300 Blackout. There's a marauding black bear around the cabin that is way too comfortable around people and their property. Guess which one I was carrying this morning for a nice hike with my wife.

BreechFace said:

But the 300 BO pistol in a 9" length is no slouch at 110gr going ~2,100fps

Click to expand...

2209 fps 5-shot average with Barnes 110 VOR-TX out of the above Springfield firearm.

WYO said:

1997 versus 2020. Winchester Trapper .30-30 versus Springfield Saint 300 Blackout. There's a marauding black bear around the cabin that is way too comfortable around people and their property. Guess which one I was carrying this morning for a nice hike with my wife.
2209 fps 5-shot average with Barnes 110 VOR-TX out of the above Springfield firearm.

Click to expand...

Guess which one has killed more black bears in more circumstances than the other ever will. What on earth makes you think the Winchester is not suitable for that situation, and the Blackout is obviously superior.?

Aletheia said:

Guess which one has killed more black bears in more circumstances than the other ever will. What on earth makes you think the Winchester is not suitable for that situation, and the Blackout is obviously superior.?

Click to expand...

The Winchester is suitable. I never said the Springfield was superior. It is a lot easier to pack and and the red dot sight is really fast. The Springfield will be even easier to pack when the 10 round magazines arrive.

Aletheia said:

Guess which one has killed more black bears in more circumstances than the other ever will. What on earth makes you think the Winchester is not suitable for that situation, and the Blackout is obviously superior.?

Click to expand...

Iron sighted rifles have killed more men and animals than optics. That doesnt mean optics are inferior, it's just the fact that one has been around far longer than the other.

C-grunt said:

Iron sighted rifles have killed more men and animals than optics. That doesnt mean optics are inferior, it's just the fact that one has been around far longer than the other.

Click to expand...

It also means the old one has proven it works just fine. It was the "guess which one I was carrying", and the mention of the ballistic information that that made me believe WYO thought there was an obvious superior choice based on some sort of good reasoning. I couldn't make a guess, because I thought they were both pretty good choices.

A braced AR pistol is light and fast but in that context, I think I'd rather have the .30-30's ballistic advantage.

My rationale in building mine was:

A. I could
B. I wanted a short compact gun without the blast and fireball

Since the .300AAC burns it's powder in about 9" I went with a 9.5" barrel. I reload and now that suitable plated bullets are available, it's not all that expensive to load for, less powder than .223 and bullets cost a little more than plated pistol bullets. My task/purpose was more for a travelling "truck gun" for long trips. As other posters mentioned, in all actually it's just a barrel, IF you build your own. My entry: