No love for the 300 Blackout?

T

TonyAngel

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Feb 12, 2010
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Hey all. I have, for a long while, been toying with the idea of putting together a 300 Blackout upper for an AR. I got on THR to check for info, but there isn't much.

About a month or so ago, maybe I was just bored, but I got bitten badly by the bug and went ahead and put together a 10.5". I put a TA11 ACOG on top of it and spent about $1k on ammo putting it through it's paces. It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride going from moments of excitement to moments of being disappointed.

Now that I have all of that behind me, I can say that I am completely underwhelmed by the 300 Blackout. I mean, running subs through a suppressor is pretty cool, but other than that, it doesn't do anything that a 5.56 can't at a lower price.

If you like the 300 Blackout, why? Am I missing something? I'd like to come away from this with an addition that has some use. At this point, I can't justify having to stock another caliber.
 
TonyAngel said:
Hey all. I have, for a long while, been toying with the idea of putting together a 300 Blackout upper for an AR. I got on THR to check for info, but there isn't much.

About a month or so ago, maybe I was just bored, but I got bitten badly by the bug and went ahead and put together a 10.5". I put a TA11 ACOG on top of it and spent about $1k on ammo putting it through it's paces. It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride going from moments of excitement to moments of being disappointed.

Now that I have all of that behind me, I can say that I am completely underwhelmed by the 300 Blackout. I mean, running subs through a suppressor is pretty cool, but other than that, it doesn't do anything that a 5.56 can't at a lower price.

If you like the 300 Blackout, why? Am I missing something? I'd like to come away from this with an addition that has some use. At this point, I can't justify having to stock another caliber.
Click to expand...
For me personally; there's only 1 reason to run the b.o., it's on a 10.5" sbr, running a hornady 190 gr subx with a can. Sometimes maybe a 110-125 for field critters but that's a "maybe" as an aside. It's a specialty tool with a specialty purpose.
 
I like the 300BO.

Mines a 1 tax stamp SBR, it’s a 10.5” barrel with a 30 cal suppressor pinned and welded to get me out past 16”. With a Law Folder it makes for a compact travel companion. It’s my do all under 200 yards carbine (the distances where most things need taken care of).

110gr VMax’s at 2250fps
120gr Barnes TTSX’s at 2175fps
220gr subs at 1025fps

Is it for everyone, no; but is a capable round for home defense, ranch defense, travel, etc.

What’s not to love about a suppressable AK round essentially, that provides good ergos, optics/light mounting, etc?

With palmetto state getting into ammo manufacturing one can stock up for $0.60/round of 110gr vmax loads.
 
I have considered getting a 9" 300bo barrel for my Sig MCX Spear which I already have a SBR stamp for.

If I do I will be loading my own 300BO ammo.

Right now the cost of the barrel, hand guard, and 300bo head for my Dillon 650 is what is keeping me from doing so.

I have always considered .223 a varmit cartridge. 300bo seems like a better anti-personal round to me and a suppressor is on my some day list.
 
TonyAngel said:
Hey all. I have, for a long while, been toying with the idea of putting together a 300 Blackout upper for an AR. I got on THR to check for info, but there isn't much. About a month or so ago, maybe I was just bored, but I got bitten badly by the bug and went ahead and put together a 10.5". I put a TA11 ACOG on top of it and spent about $1k on ammo putting it through it's paces. It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride going from moments of excitement to moments of being disappointed. Now that I have all of that behind me, I can say that I am completely underwhelmed by the 300 Blackout. I mean, running subs through a suppressor is pretty cool, but other than that, it doesn't do anything that a 5.56 can't at a lower price. If you like the 300 Blackout, why? Am I missing something? I'd like to come away from this with an addition that has some use. At this point, I can't justify having to stock another caliber.
Click to expand...
Garand Thumb came to the same conclusion:

youtu.be

How Deadly Is 300 Blackout?

How Deadly and Effective is 300 blackout though? We've heard about its effectiveness but rarely have we seen comprehensive testing. In today's video we test ...
youtu.be youtu.be
 
MikeInOr said:
... I have always considered .223 a varmit(sic) cartridge. 300bo seems like a better anti-personal(sic) round to me ...
Click to expand...

Yeeeeeeah, that is close to my thinking on the subject ... sorta. Plus the 5.56 was not designed for use in a 10.5" barrel and the BO was ... and I already have the suppressor. ;)
 
The 300 Black Out has a couple niches that it covers very well. As a very quiet gun with subs and as a very compact PDW style rifle.

It has gotten a good amount of use by Special Operations because of this. It's basically like having a MP5SD that you can switch magazines and have a 300 meter capable gun.

If you want a very quiet gun or a very small yet still very effective gun, it's a great choice. Outside of that I think there are better options.
 
I wouldn't go so far as to say the 300blk isn't doing anything which can't be done as well with the 223/5.56. I started killing game ~30yrs ago with 22 centerfire, and with 223/5.56 25yrs ago - I built a 300 Whisper in the same year in a bolt gun, and the difference in what is done even with a 77 grn bullet in a 223/5.56 case compared to what is accomplished with the 150-220's in the Blackout/Whisper case are very different things. The 300blk might not nip the heels of the 30-30 as some try to claim, but it's certainly doing a lot more digging at the business end than we can do with 22cal bullets. The trajectory isn't easy for everyone to manage equally, so there is some give and take, but we can do a lot more with more lead than we can with less.

Despite the premise in the OP, I actually think we have quite a lot of "love" around here for the 300blk. It's not necessarily new, and guys have already done everything there really is to be done with it, so there aren't a lot of new threads on it, but there are a lot of dedicated 300blk shooters around here.
 
There are a bunch of bored shee-posters on the internet who have just recently upped their REEEEE scree about 300BLK. I think their idolization of the Garand Thumb guy, and his recent "entertainment video" about the 300BLK inspired them.

No, its not a .338 Win. Mag.

In certain examples a (preferably long-barrel) 5.56 is clearly superior.

Something-Something about how its not 7.62 x 39, or an AK. I can never figure out whether the opinion is supposed to be one, or the other, or both. Or which is bad/good. I find that a lot of folks when they get started talking about AK's have vocabulary and grammar issues which send me away from their posts.

"Just a glorified 45 ACP!" Except of course when it isn't.

Rancor over the phallic shape of the accessory attachment-points of handguards on early models.

Huffery over the designation Blackout verus Whisper versus AAC versus lord-knows what. I think there is a Boog-A-Loo version in there somewhere.

Subs,... Supers, make up your mind and you're not allowed to mention that "both" is an option. If you do, it will be cited as evidence of lack of commitment.

Cogent arguments in support of 300BLK will be met with quotes of your post, and comments like, "I guess its still PRIDE month."

Shall I continue?

I have one. And I sorta like it. Just like most of this stuff I've been accumulating since 1969. No, I DON'T take ALL OF IT to the range each time I go. And no I don't have individual "tactical" outfits configured for each one. I still have a set of 1911 grips sitting on top of the gun safe, for months now, that I've been meaning to install on a favorite pistol. Its sitting right over there in my range bag. I'll get to it. Or not.

You might eventually decide you spent an inordinate amount of additional money on "accessories." Suppressors, ammo, reloading equipment. You know. The list goes on and on. But it is by no means unique to 300BLK.

Man, if you want a 300BLK, and you can afford it, go get one.
You don't have to be Super-300BLK-man. You can even go take a nap in the middle of un-boxing it if you want to. Some of us would be envious of your indifference. Try that. Its really not bad.
 
Buzznrose said:
Garand Thumb came to the same conclusion:

youtu.be

How Deadly Is 300 Blackout?

How Deadly and Effective is 300 blackout though? We've heard about its effectiveness but rarely have we seen comprehensive testing. In today's video we test ...
youtu.be youtu.be
Click to expand...

He didn’t set the 300 BLK up for success with shooting 125gr from a 6.5” barrel and attempting to hit a 300 yard target with a CQB geared Eotech with a large dot and circle.

Personally, if one doesn’t have a specific task for their 300BLK that it needs short as the Sig Rattler, then they should really be in that 8.5-10.5” barrel range.

Meanwhile you have Travis Haley hitting steel at 1,000 yards with his short barreled 300 BLK and an Aimpoint. This was probably 8-10 years ago, video is probably still on YouTube.

Realism is somewhere in the middle for a short 300 BLK. And basing what one can do off of a YouTube personality should be taken with a grain of H110.
 
I have three guns in 300 blackout
A 8" with a MRO and 16" AR and a Ruger American Ranch both with Vortex LVPO optics. The only one I didn't shoot often is the 16" AR.

The 8" AR is also my "truck" gun that I can carry in a sling pack as it's equipped with a law tactical folding adapter.

The Ruger is my yotes hunting gun
 
suppose i view it as a better 30 cal carbine. one that old eyes can mount a 1-4 shotgun scope readily on it. gather magazines that are cheap AND actually work, not have to pick up cases or worry what ammo cost in this century, and finally pay two grand for a gun i used to pay 169 bucks for? hmm.
 
I thought about an upper in 7.62x38 but after reading about possible problems I went for the 300 BO same bolt,magazines. Here in MA no suppressors so the extra cash for a stamp for an SBR is just a waste of $200.
 
I purchased one with a 10.5 inch barrel and a pistol brace for the express purpose of having 7.62x39 capability in a compact package - it’s pretty handy as a PDW - that said once I took the brace off with this ATF nonsense it sits in the safe
 
IMG_1333.jpeg

These cartridge discussions give me a good chuckle. Really, the industry could eliminate all but about 5 CF rifle cartridges, 4 CF handgun cartridges and the .22LR... and that remainder would take care if 100% of all shooting "needs". But is that really the point?

.300 AAC is great cartridge that is mostly misunderstood. Designed to run as a suppressed round for use by the military in the AR, domestically it has been co-opted by a strange brew of elitists and self-styled oPeRaTOrS, often leading to derision.

I looked at my AO and my farthest shot would be 60 yards, and atypically might have to stretch that to 125 yards. Well that is the exact parameters for a point-blank range of the .300 AAC with 110-125 grain bullets at 2100-2300 fps. Having used both, the .300 AAC hits noticeably harder than a .223/5.56 at those distances. It also does it with less muzzle blast, flash and pressure, especially indoors. The accuracy is more than sufficient in AR rifles, and the recoil is modest. I don't run suppressed so that is not even an issue.

What's not to like?

The ammo is hideously expensive. Reloading data and info is all over the map, and lacks consistency. Some folks pretend it is a .308-Lite. The bifurcated nature of the cartridge - low velocity heavy bullet suppressed loads and lightweight high velocity loads - are not easily reconcilable in the same firearm, and often require differing set-ups. Accuracy in bolt guns is not National Match worthy without a great deal of grief and large helping of luck. So it's not an "easy" cartridge to wade into.

Is the .223/5.56mm an easier, and more versatile, choice? Of course. But for the dedicated shooter, it's the .300 AAC is fine round, within its particular window, in an AR firearm.

Vive le difference!
 
I like mine a lot. Picked up a new complete upper at a pawn shop for a great price. That’s the only reason I have a 300BO, but now I’m glad I got it. Accurate and fun to shoot. Now it’s on to a 6.5 grendel.
 
The .300 Blackout is my favorite rifle round! I'm getting AAC ammo (from the company that owns PSA) for not a lot more than 5.56 and it's way more fun to shoot IMO.
 
After reading all of the posts, it's seems that most of you guys are reaffirming what I was thinking when I put it together. I wanted a .30 cal because I figured it would get better penetration and hit harder.

Well actually, I put together an x39 a couple few years ago, but I quit shooting it for lack of ammunition, good magazines and it being an overall PITA. The BO was assembled because I wanted a 30 cal. With some flexibility.

I have enjoyed shooting the BO. As I said, I put an ACOG on it and it worked out nicely. I didn't like the reticle at first, but it turned out to be a good move on trijicons part and the reticle is easily adaptable to a variety of loads. I was ringing 1/2 size ipsc type targets at 400 with it.

For those of you that don't load your own, check out the 110gr vmax load from black dot ammo. I tried all of the AAC stuff and man, the velocities were all over the place. The AAC stuff isn't that cheap either. With tax and shipping it comes out to like .80 a round.

I went and watched that Garand Thumb video. Yeah, I unsubscribed from that guy a while ago. He used to be pretty good, but is full of it these days.

Thanks for the replies.
 
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