Considering an AR in 300 Blackout. Thoughts?

[Santafe66]

.300 BO ammo

Just went to a gun show in Albuquerque this weekend and found plenty of .300 BO ammo, so I'm not sure about reports of "no ammo available". Might just be due to where you are. Prices ranged from $25 for Hornaday V-MAX to $30 for Barnes VOR-TX, both 20 per. I found cut, cleaned, sized .300 brass from KAK enterprises online for $22 per 100. Powder is hard to find in my area but got 2# of H-110 for $25 each. Given how hard it is to find components these days, it's not too bad.

I make my own brass as well from LC 5.56 but finding the exact bullet I want has been hard. For target/plinking I want the 110 - 115gr and have found them hard to find locally. Primers have gotten easier to find lately.

Hope those prices don't give you all heart failure.

 

[WestKentucky]

What void does 300 fill? End of discussion.

 

[Tophernj]

What void does 300 fill? End of discussion.

Before I built my 300, I didn't have an AR. So, it does fill that void...

Discussion back on?

C

 

[cfullgraf]

What void does 300 fill?

Not all 30 caliber rounds developed for the AR-15 are successful. Just look at the 30 Remington AR.

300 BLK is popular at this time. It provides a wide range of capabilities in one package from supersonic to suppressed.

Only time will tell.

Even if the round vanishes, I will be able to form cases, load ammunition, continue shooting and enjoying my 300 BLK, at least until the barrel wears out. How's that for filling a niche.

 

[hentown]

Within the past few months I have built two .300 Blackout uppers...one for myself and one for a relative.

Both builds feature 16" barrels and adjustable gas blocks. I'm picking up a free 500 pcs of once-fired .300 Blackout brass from a fellow Class 06 friend tomorrow, along with some of his blem subsonics.

Picked up my Guardian 9 can this weekend, after a wait of just over two months. It's going to be o.k., but not optimal, for suppressing subsonic .300 Blackouts, but will primarily be used for subsonic 9mm suppression.

I like the .300 Blackout. If I hunted deer, I'd hunt with my .300 Blackout upper.

I like the simplicity of the conversion, the lack of recoil, and the accuracy of the round. Particularly like the ease of loading subsonic. Great to be able to only have to change the barrel and maybe the gas block for the conversion.

What's this about "no miitary has adopted it?" What about the U.S. military?? Don't the SEALS count, and I know for a fact that they're using .300 Blackout. Pretty sure some Marine units are using .300 Blackout also.

Doesn't matter to me whether the military uses it or not, I just like it for what it is, and, fortunately, didn't have to choose between .300 Blackout and 5.56 for the build, as I already owned a bunch of 5.56s that I built.

 

[Elkins45]

What void does 300 fill? End of discussion.

Perhaps someone might need a rifle that can use cheap surplus brass, home cast lead bullets, small charges of pistol powders and that can use the same bolts and magazines as the standard .223 AR. Maybe someone wants a gun to shoot suppressed that can shoot a heavy enough bullet to kill hogs or deer.

Getting a .223 to group well and reliably function with inexpensive cast bullets likely takes some work, but shooting well with cast in 30 caliber is a breeze. There's just no substitute for trigger time and the 300 BLK gives me that with a much lower per shot cost than jacketed loads in .223.

Per shot cost of my 300 BLK reloads calculates as $0.03 for primer, $0.04 for powder, $0.03 for lead, lube and gas check. Brass is free range pickup. That's a dime a shot. I don't think there are many places where you can buy 10 rounds of 223 for a buck!

 

[Ibmikey]

I built a 300 Blackout to go with my 12 AR's in 5.56 but the BO was initially for hunting pigs in Texas. It is such a fun shooter, blows up dirt clods with the best of them and is really easy to load with pulled 147 gr .308 bullets that have been sitting around here for ten years. My only issue with shooting this rifle is making sure I recover all the brass, but even at that the reformed cases are readily available and not at all expensive.
Now if it will quit snowing I can plan a sojurn to Texas and a hog with "300 Blackout only" on his side.

 

[Strahley]

300 Blackout offers a bigger/heavier bullet and better performance in short barrels and subsonic/suppressed loads. It does not introduce reliability issues, limit capacity, or require hard to find/specialty parts/magazines (aside from the barrel, but there's no getting around that..though most are well priced). While factory ammo is expensive, it's easy to reload for (uses 5.56 brass/primers, .308 bullets, and powder that is no harder to find than any other calibers right now)

Discussion on

 

[hentown]

What void does 300 fill? End of discussion.

What void does the babble of the ignorant proletariat fill in a thread like this? Anybody else NOT interested in non sequiturs from control freaks?

 

[rbernie]

What void does 300 fill? End of discussion.

Hunting medium size game with an AR using common 223/5.56 bolts and magazines. Works as well as my 7.62x39 AR without the attendant magazine and bolt issues.

 

[powder]

From what I've heard they are great fun for suppressed work, if you have the time an resources for the re-loading. Those uppers have been super-cheap lately so just grab one and rock it.

 

[wally]

Unless you enjoy reloading (or really want to start), or want to shoot suppressed I don't think the .300 Blk offers all that much.

For recreational shooting the extra costs of the ammo will quickly more than negate the savings from using "same bolt, same magazines" compared to 7.62x39.

Getting good 30 round mags for 7.62x39 AR can be an issue, but most will work fine with FMJ ammo, although some will need a Wolf extra power AK magazine spring. My 10 round mags have never given me an issue with JSP or JHP ammo

As a "hunting AR" I can see how the .300Blk could fill a niche, especially if you reload.


I've thought about building a .300 Blk for subsonic, but ultimately I spend enough time reloading as it is, so I built a 5.5" 9mm AR pistol with the SIG SB-15 for inexpensive suppressed shooting.

 

[EdLaver]

My two 300 blk rifles (16 and 12.5) stay well fed from my reloads at a very affordable price. I have loaded THOUSANDS of rounds now in weights ranging from 110 up to 220. I love this caliber, I have bought pulled 147gr bullets for cheap at gun shows and use them mainly for my plinking rounds.

The reason for 300 blk for me is its is hard hitting, light recoil, easy to reload, and I just love the versatility of the round. If you are going to go 300 blk you have to reload, its the only way. The supplies are out there and very affordable, I go to gun shows and have sometimes drove to other cities gun shows and shops to stock up on powder, but again, if you put the effort in reloading you can easily load up plenty of ammunition for stock and plinking.

 

[TIMC]

Just starting to put together an upper in .300 Blackout, not that I really need one since I already have several AR's in different calibers but thought it might be fun to play with. I think it would be a fun under 200 yard rifle and as said an easy to run subsonic round. I should have a working start ready in about 2 weeks then if I am liking it I'll work on upgrading the hand-guard and gas block. I think I am going to set this one up with night vision to harass the pigs.

 

[Blade First]

"Factory ammo is expensive, but that's where reloading comes in. I can roll plinking/training rounds for about 20 cents a round (add roughly 10 cents a round if you have to buy your own 5.56 brass to modify). I spent $30 on a saw/jig and can quickly convert 5.56 brass over to .300 BLK brass. I already had a lot of brass from when I used to shoot 5.56, and I have a friend who gives me all of his used brass. Even if I only used each piece once, I probably wouldn't need to buy any brass for a decade."

Bingo! Reloading equipment [everything] is readily available as opposed to six months ago. If you don't have time to reload yourself, like me, then draft a friend and compensate accordingly. The first run of a couple of hundred rounds after basic investment will give you quality .300 BLK rounds for ~ $25/100.

If you just don't want the hassle and expense of factory rounds, send me a private message with a fair price for your upper. Seriously.

 

[Theohazard]

What void does 300 fill? End of discussion.

Are you kidding? The 300 Blackout definitely isn't for everyone, but it does fill the void of an effective subsonic rifle round that will cycle the action on an AR-15. It's a terrific short-barrel cartridge, and except for the barrel, it use all the same parts as a 5.56 AR-15, even the magazines are the same. And if it's tuned correctly you can shoot supersonic ammo and subsonic ammo with no adjustments (though most setups will only cycle the action with subs if you're using a suppressor, but there's not much point to using subs if you're not using a suppressor).

The 300 Blackout is a niche cartridge and a lot of people don't see a personal need for it, and that's fine. But saying it doesn't fill any void is simply incorrect.

 

[MCMXI]

I spent the better part of two years working with the .300 AAC Blackout and by far the most fun was shooting full auto SBRs with suppressors attached.

http://youtu.be/J0quBMcD87U

I can absolutely see the appeal of such a system to certain groups but I never got excited enough about the cartridge to invest in a .300 AAC Blackout upper. I have a bunch of Remington struck up brass though so maybe I'll trade it for something I need. I did get excited about the .450 Bushmaster though, enough to order one.