Hunting ammo for 300 Blackout pistol

[mikle76]

I have a 11.5" pistol on order in 300 BO. I'm curious as too you guys opinion on good southern deer (smaller) ammo. Kinda wondered if a lighter constructed, varmint or target type ammo is better because of the lower velocity of a short barrel. It has to be open or exposed led tip ammo and I will be shooting full power loads. It's going to be a max 100 yard gun. Any suggestions or experience to share?

 

[mcb]

Assuming your going to use super sonic ammo than the bar against which all other 300 BO ammo is measure it the Barnes 110 gr TAC-TX. You can get it as a bullet for reloading or as loaded ammo from Barnes and a few other manufactures. It might be hard to find in this current market. The 120gr version would be a good second choice.

 

[mikle76]

I guess I should clarify, by saying full power I meant supersonic. My bad....

 

[greyling22]

Mcb is right. The barnes black tips are your bullet. The sierra prohunters were not expanding for me. I have heard the vmax works like a regular bullet at blackout speeds. But I have not tried it personally.

 

[JR24]

Mcb is right. The barnes black tips are your bullet. The sierra prohunters were not expanding for me. I have heard the vmax works like a regular bullet at blackout speeds. But I have not tried it personally.

Third the Barnes black tips.

I got real good accuracy out of my 16” with the Hornady VMax (ok, it was ZMac because the “zombie” bullets were on sale and I bought a bunch) but never got a chance to actually shoot a deer with one.

Probably have some around here still somewhere.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

The Barnes "black tips" seem the be the choice that most people use. However a buddy of mine used his 300blk pistol and Carbine to kill a deer and coyote using max loads and the 110 Vmax.

The carbine killed a smaller buck a few years ago. Shot direct in the chest at 60 yards. Deer ran within 10 yards of his stand so he shot it again, deer ran down the hill and died quickly. 1st and 2nd shot were both lethal on their own. Both bullets exited.

Coyote was shot with the pistol same load same bullet. 80 yards walking. Hit it a little back and clipped liver and gut. It ran over 200 yards bleeding like nobody's business and left pieces of meat and guts behind. No idea how he went that far.

 

[brewer12345]

The Barnes "black tips" seem the be the choice that most people use. However a buddy of mine used his 300blk pistol and Carbine to kill a deer and coyote using max loads and the 110 Vmax.

The carbine killed a smaller buck a few years ago. Shot direct in the chest at 60 yards. Deer ran within 10 yards of his stand so he shot it again, deer ran down the hill and died quickly. 1st and 2nd shot were both lethal on their own. Both bullets exited.

Coyote was shot with the pistol same load same bullet. 80 yards walking. Hit it a little back and clipped liver and gut. It ran over 200 yards bleeding like nobody's business and left pieces of meat and guts behind. No idea how he went that far.

How much meat damage was there from the deer shot with the Vmax?

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

I don't recall any meat damage and both bullets exited so there wasn't lead fragments everywhere.

 

[sarduy]

Within 100 yards, any soft point/hunting ammo will work. Even open tips hollow points.

I’m going to be using the same Hornady 150gr SP on both 300blk and 308win

300blk at around 2050fps and 308win at around 2850fps

 

[jmorris]

Assuming your going to use super sonic ammo than the bar against which all other 300 BO ammo is measure it the Barnes 110 gr TAC-TX. You can get it as a bullet for reloading or as loaded ammo from Barnes and a few other manufactures. It might be hard to find in this current market. The 120gr version would be a good second choice.

I have been using 120gn Nosler BT’s that can make it to 50 yards just over 1900 fps out of my 8.5” barrel.

The shot to the left was the first shot, after adjustment are the three just high in the center.



Might do a bit better with a better daytime optic, I was just quartering the target with a cheap thermal.



They say they are good down to 1800 fps but I am not very impressed.

If you shoot them where a .22 lr will kill them they work.



Other times…



I was ready to go back to the 458 or 450 but will give it another try.

The 110 barns are in stock here.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010410999

What’s your load data?

 

[mcb]

I have been using 120gn Nosler BT’s that can make it to 50 yards just over 1900 fps out of my 8.5” barrel. They say they are good down to 1800 fps but I am not very impressed.

If you shoot them where a .22 lr will kill them they work.

View attachment 1029644

Other times…

View attachment 1029645

I was ready to go back to the 458 or 450 but will give it another try.

They are in stock here.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010410999

What’s your load data?

I will have took in my reloading book tonight but it's basically the max or close to the max load from Hodgdon's website. ~19.4gr of H110 under the 110 TAC-TX loaded to 2.050 inch OAL. If I remember correctly I was getting better velocity than Hodgdon predicted from my 16-inch Ballistics advantage barrel. I will confirm this tonight.

 

[der Teufel]

I hunt hogs in Texas with a 300 Blackout. I have a 16" barrel, so it's not directly comparable to your situation. Still, I'll make a few comments on bullets.
The Barnes Black Tips are probably the best.
Hornady V-Max, if not as good, is pretty close.
I use Hornady 110 Grain SP bullets because they're about as good as the V-Max and a little cheaper.
Whatever you select, I recommend a 110 grain bullet.

Here's a Hornady 110 grain SP that went (almost) through a 190# hog:

 

[mcb]

I will have took in my reloading book tonight but it's basically the max or close to the max load from Hodgdon's website. ~19.4gr of H110 under the 110 TAC-TX loaded to 2.050 inch OAL. If I remember correctly I was getting better velocity than Hodgdon predicted from my 16-inch Ballistics advantage barrel. I will confirm this tonight.

@jmorris So the load is 19.0 gr of H110 and I was getting an average velocity of 2378 from my 16-inch Ballistics Advantage Barrel. Hodgdon reloading data base reports 19.4gr as max with a velocity of only 2286 from a 16-inch barrel.

 

[jmorris]

Thank you, I’ll put some together when they get here and give them a try.

 

[jmorris]

Well, I went up to 19.5 and stopped there out of my 8.5” it was running over 2000 fps at 50 yards and a bit high left of the 120 Nosler BT zero. Probably around 2235 fps at the muzzle.



First pig was a lone bore I flushed, caught a glimpse of the heat signature where he had been bedded down as he came back around and thought there was more than one, so I was backing up as he was running back around. It was multiple shots but he didn’t get 20 yards.

The other was another lone boar a little bigger but they were both young. Both of us still at about 65 yards from one another. Shoulder shot, did take a step but did kick a bit. Looked like 3 different exit wounds.

 

[CraigC]

Another vote for the Barnes 110gr. Recovered bullet from a doe a few years back. Deer went 0yds. It exited but got hung on the way out and was found stuck to the hair on the outside.

 

[AK Hunter]

I have a 8.5" barrel on my blackout pistol & shooting the Hornady 110gr V-Max I took a doe at 97yds with one shot through both lungs & the heart, the doe only took three more steps. Here are some pictures to show what this round does.
Entry wound.


Exit wound hard ball sized.

 

[jmorris]

Got 3 more boars last night, 50-80 yd shots, that’s 4 out of 5 that didn’t take a single step.



They are still in stock, so I ordered some more. Thanks again for the suggestion.

 

[jmorris]

5 of 6 without a step.

 

[der Teufel]

This one went down Saturday night at maybe 60-70 yards with a shot to the neck. Using a 300 BLK with Hornady 110 grain SP bullets. It's a 160 Lb sow.
I like them because they seem to perform similar the the VMAX but they're a little less expensive. The downside is that they're often out of stock.

 

[jmorris]

Got a couple more with the load tonight.

 

[jmorris]

Made one more pass, got 2 more.

 

[scallop]

Anyone tried these? Subsonic, not super.

https://www.sigsauer.com/300blk-205gr-subsonic-tipped-hunting.html



Optimized for the AR-15 platform, the new subsonic 300BLK Tipped Hunting ammunition is engineered to allow hunters to load 30 rounds in a 30-round magazine and have the cartridges feed properly. This was achieved by SIG SAUER engineers after extensive research and development resulting in a stepped-down bullet design with a shouldered ogive that keeps the bullet from hitting the ridges of the magazine which would cause the rounds to shift and eventually fail to feed.

This load is ideal for use with a suppressor, which greatly reduces sound signature and muzzle flash, making it a favorite among hunters. Muzzle velocity is 1000 fps and muzzle energy is 455 ft-lbs from a 16-inch barrel. This round is recommended for use in barrels 9-inches or longer.

- Exclusive jacket design delivers devastating on-game performance
- Nickel-plated cases to aid in extraction while providing significant anti-corrosion qualities
- Custom formulated and precision loaded powders deliver consistent velocities regardless of atmospheric conditions
- Industry-leading primers are matched to proprietary powder blends to ensure dependable ignition

 

[mcb]

Anyone tried these? Subsonic, not super.

https://www.sigsauer.com/300blk-205gr-subsonic-tipped-hunting.html

View attachment 1036623

Optimized for the AR-15 platform, the new subsonic 300BLK Tipped Hunting ammunition is engineered to allow hunters to load 30 rounds in a 30-round magazine and have the cartridges feed properly. This was achieved by SIG SAUER engineers after extensive research and development resulting in a stepped-down bullet design with a shouldered ogive that keeps the bullet from hitting the ridges of the magazine which would cause the rounds to shift and eventually fail to feed.

This load is ideal for use with a suppressor, which greatly reduces sound signature and muzzle flash, making it a favorite among hunters. Muzzle velocity is 1000 fps and muzzle energy is 455 ft-lbs from a 16-inch barrel. This round is recommended for use in barrels 9-inches or longer.

- Exclusive jacket design delivers devastating on-game performance
- Nickel-plated cases to aid in extraction while providing significant anti-corrosion qualities
- Custom formulated and precision loaded powders deliver consistent velocities regardless of atmospheric conditions
- Industry-leading primers are matched to proprietary powder blends to ensure dependable ignition

I have not use those yet, would be interested to try them. I did not like the Hornady Sub-X when I tried them. Interesting bullet design but all that engineering is not needed if you have 300 BO specific magazines...