.300BLK - Poised to win or doomed to fail?

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Panzercat

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I've known about this round for a while, and by known, I mean I've seen it batted around here time and again without giving much thought to the whole idea. I figured it was one of those niche rounds I don't have time or money to explore, so I didn't bother to learn much about it.

Then the keltec rumor mill fired up and forced me to sit up and take notice. Keltec is fairly respected. I like their products by and large. I've seen several reputable sources that say there's a good possility of the SU series chambering .300BLK. I rapidly learned all I could about the caliber short of actually firing the round.

This isn't a thread about keltec, however. From what I hear, the Blackout has potential beyond marketing hype. Sure, there's the grendel and whisper, but blackout does nearly the same thing and it's 'open source'. SAAMI is involved. Remington has picked it up. It has full, unmodified AR compatibility. These aren't small potatoes here, or at least I don't think they are; and there in lies the problem.

I'm thinking I may want a firearm in 300blk, but I don't want to invest time and money into a caliber that's doomed to be niche (I'm thinking the Marlin 308 Express here). I'm not a reloader (yet). I have worries that round availibility will become an issue in, shall we say, rough times. But a lot of this is conjecture. I lack insider industry information that i just know more than a few of you have years of experience in.

Is this a round you can safely "invest" in (short of wholesale military adoption like the 5.56/223) or is it doomed to be a curiosity alongside its cousins?
 
I don't see it going anywhere. It offers an increase in close-in power over 5.56 but uses mostly common parts in an AR. Since AR's continue to be marketable, this is a great market to be in. Also, don't forget, it has the appeal of the mystical .30 caliber bullet. That is just a consumer's concern.

For industry to support it, the well established 5.56 case head makes ammo companies less leery about converting their machines. Cartridges like the 6.8 SPC, while very good, make some shy away due to the unique cartridge.

It isn't for everyone, but it should be great for some.
 
It can't fail. Brass is only 10 cents a case already. It was $1 a case just 1 year ago.

http://www.allweatherarms.com/1000-...out-Brass-1000-Pcs-Processed-300-Blackout.htm

Full of win for high-end ammo:

300aacblk110grbarnessma.jpg

300-Blackout-1-400.jpg

300aacblkbarriersummary.jpg


Full of win for cheap ammo:

$12.99 MSRP a box.

Crimped.

Waterproof primer.

Double-struck (NATO hardness) brass.

Open Tip match (nose struck closed).

Annealed with visible mark for verification.

About a 0.300 BC at 2295 fps.

Full-out-awesome, and I am very proud of the ammunition engineers for taking the dream-approach on this.

There will be no shortage of this. If the market wants a million rounds a month, it will get it. It has its own machines.

umcdsc01724small.jpg
 
Already over 70 companies - in just a year!

* AAC - uppers, rifles, silencers, and ammunition.
* Adams Arms - rifles and uppers.
* All Weather Arms - brass processing.
* AR-Stoner - barrels.
* Atlanta Arms - ammo.
* Barnes Bullets - ammo, bullets.
* BFG Cartridges - Savage barrels.
* Black Hole Weaponry - barrels.
* Brad's Warehouse - converted brass.
* Bushmaster Firearms - uppers and rifles.
* BWE Firearms - rifles, uppers, and suppressors.
* CMMG - barrels, uppers, and ammo.
* Compass Lake Engineering - AR barrels.
* Cor-Bon - ammo
* Core15 - rifles, uppers.
* Delta Company Arms - rifles, barrels, uppers.
* Dillon Precision - reloading conversion kits.
* Double Tap - ammo.
* DPMS - rifles and uppers.
* DS Arms - rifles and uppers.
* Forster - reloading dies.
* Grim Reaper Tactical - barrels and uppers.
* Gunn - ammo.
* Hornady - ammo, dies, brass.
* Kel-Tec - SU16C.
* Kiss Tactical - lowers.
* Lee - reloading dies.
* L.E. Wilson - case gauges.
* Lewis Machine and Tool - barrels, uppers, rifles.
* Loki Weapon Systems - uppers/rifles.
* Lone Star Armory - 300 AAC BLACKOUT marked lowers.
* Lothar Walther - barrels.
* LWRCI - rifles.
* Match Grade Machine - Thompson barrels.
* McGowen Barrel - Savage and other barrels.
* McCourt Munitions - ammo.
* Model 1 Sales - AR barrels/uppers
* Montana Rifleman - barrels.
* Noveske - rifles and uppers.
* Olympic Arms - rifles and uppers.
* One Shot - ammo.
* Pac-Nor - barrels.
* Pacific Tool and Gauge - reamers and gauges.
* PalmettoStateArmory - uppers.
* PNW Arms - ammo.
* Primary Weapons Systems - rifles and uppers.
* Rainer Arms - barrels.
* Raven Armament Company - ammo and uppers.
* Redding - dies.
* Remington - ammunition.
* Right 2 Bear Ammo - ammunition.
* Robarms - XCR Micro rifle.
* Ron Williams - barrels.
* RUAG - ammo.
* Satern Custom Machining, Inc. - barrels.
* Savage - rifles.
* Selph Arms LLC - barrels, uppers, re-chambering, and rifles.
* SI Defense - barrels.
* Sig Sauer - rifles.
* Smith & Wesson - rifles, uppers.
* Sierra - bullets.
* SilencerCo - silencers.
* Southern Ballistic Research - ammo.
* Southwest Ammunition, LLC - ammo.
* Spike's Tactical - uppers and rifles.
* Summit - ammo.
* Surefire - 300 BLK sound suppressor.
* The Bullet Works - bullets and ammunition.
* Triton Arms - AR barrels.
* Ultra Tech - ammo (Australia)
* Umlaut Industries - 300 BLK caliber marked Rifles, Upper and Lowers. 16" and 10" Factory Title II.
* White Oak Precision - AR barrels.
* Wilson Combat - rifles, hunting and self defense ammunition.
 
Hmm...that is actually pretty interesting. I've never really considered other rounds like that for the AR, but those statistics and the price is very enticing.
 
It's a done deal at this point. It's like asking if Android phones will take off or if you should wait. It is commercially practical TODAY, no future iffiness. The cheap UMC ammo in 1-2 months will help a lot, but no need to even wait for that as there are a number of affordable ammo options already.

Basically it offers ballistics comparable to an AK with a lot more bullet options, in a smaller package that works perfectly in an AR with standard bolts and magazines. The better BC of most .308 bullets means that the ballistics are actually superior past 100-200 yards. It is not a long-range cartridge, but few people are really shooting past 300 yards anyway. If you are, and want useful downrange energy, you probably need a .308 Winchester anyway. The 6.8 SPC and 6.5G have a bit more energy at all distances, and a bit more range, but bring with that the need for special and expensive magazines, special and weaker bolts (due to casehead size), and mostly more expensive ammo.

You can put together a trustworthy 300BLK gun for not much money using your choice of many different brands of parts, or buy complete uppers or rifles from a number of companies.
 
For now it will definitely fly. Considering the Whisper cartridge has been around for a while without dying, and that's without the industry support that Blackout has managed to wrangle. With the amount of support blackout currently has, even if it falls flat on its face, it will be likely several years before it goes away. And if it does, you can always get components for it. That's the beauty of a very common parent cartridge and bullet.

But as has been said, only time and profits will ultimately decide.
 
Yeah not going anywhere. Frankly it is the first round that appealed to me in the AR platform besides the 5.56. I have an 8 inch Noveske barrel just waiting on paperwork.
 
Let's not forget that those ammo prices are artificially low...until enough people drink the Cool Aid...and that most (or all) those companies are owned by the same parent company.

rsilvers, since you dominate every thread about this topic, and i've read you were involved in the R+D, I've got to ask: How much do they pay you to surf gunboards and market this product? It is your full time job?
 
desidog said:
Let's not forget that those ammo prices are artificially low...until enough people drink the Cool Aid...and that most (or all) those companies are owned by the same parent company.

rsilvers, since you dominate every thread about this topic, and i've read you were involved in the R+D, I've got to ask: How much do they pay you to surf gunboards and market this product? It is your full time job?
Click to expand...
Naw, they wouldn't do that would they?
 
Let's not forget that those ammo prices are artificially low...until enough people drink the Cool Aid...and that most (or all) those companies are owned by the same parent company.

rsilvers, since you dominate every thread about this topic, and i've read you were involved in the R+D, I've got to ask: How much do they pay you to surf gunboards and market this product? It is your full time job?
Click to expand...

I thought this was The HIGH Road. I guess I misclicked. Please tell me why you think these prices are artificially low. And also how "most" of these companies are owned by the same parent cmpany since only a small number of them are.
 
kwelz said:
Please tell me why you think these prices are artificially low.
Click to expand...

On this point it's not exactly hard to believe. When a new gym opens up it holds a "grand opening special" that is always going to be lower than when the gym establishes reputability and clientele. I'm not saying you should compare the gym to the ammo company but after all it is a BUSINESS and they tend to follow suit.
 
It is really simple - the higher the ammo price, the less we sell of it. We want most of the the ammo to be as low as possible.
 
The UMC will end up at 54 cents a round from CheaperThanDirt by February.

GOVT can order it right now in larger quantities for about 40 cents a round as they don't have to pay tax.

Part of the problem - you are thinking of this as a more expensive 223 rather than a cheaper 308. The bullet has as much copper in it as a 150 grain 308 bullet. More costs more, and it does more too.

AK ammo newly made from brass cases is a lot more expensive than 300 AAC BLACKOUT ammo - which goes to show just how much we are committed to having a low price - and we do that with large volumes. We brought two large machines online just to make this ammo.

If you wanted to design ammo to be cheap, you would use small varmint bullets as they have a small amount of material. That is what 223 is - varmint ammo.
 
I have to say I am a bit disappointed. I REALLY like the standard mags and bolts. Really like the larger caliber. What disappoints me is that the performance falls a bit short for hunting purposes. I have this mental block telling me that 30-30 is a great deer cartridge, but I don't really want any less power or range. It always helps me to justify a purchase when I can find multiple uses. That is where this fails for me.

At the range, .223 works fine for me, and its cheaper. If I want to shoot long range, .233 works a bit better and cheaper. For even better long range there are certainly much better options. Self defense, I guess I feel confident enough with .223. I don't really have much interest in suppressed guns right now. For me I just don't get it.
 
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