Will this make the 300 Blackout obsolete?

[Owen Sparks]

The 300 blackout gives 7.62 x 39 ballistics from a standard AR. It is a way around the problem of feeding a tapered 7.62 x 39 case through the straight section of the magazine well of an AR that was not designed for curved magazines. The problem with the 300 Blackout is that you almost have to reload for it. The 7.62 x 39 is designed to work with the curved AK 47 magazine. Rock River has solved the problem by designing an AR chambered in 7.62 x 39 that takes standard curved AK magazines.

See for yourself:
http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=558

You can get 7.62 x 39 rounds ANYWHERE that sells ammunition.
Try getting .300 Blackout at Wall-Mart.

 

[candr44]

The AR should have been made for a tapered round in the first place. When the tapered casing moves back just a couple thousands of an inch it is loose and free of the chamber wall so it extracts a lot easier and more reliably.

It makes more sense than the casing and chamber scraping on each other the whole length of the casing. It would also make using steel case ammo more reliable.

 

[mshootnit]

didnt bushmaster have an AR with an AK magwell a while back? or was that like the masada?

 

[Owen Sparks]

Tapered rounds feed more reliabaly in any caliber.

 

[Elkins45]

My understanding is that the biggest problem with the x39 in the AR is that the bigger case head doesn't leave much meat on the bolt lugs. If this is true then a new
magwell won't make much difference.

 

[Walkalong]

I would just as soon have an AK for 7.62X39, although the accuracy potential is much greater in an AR setup, if only because people will expect it, and makers will supply excellent barrels.

The RRA offering is certainly interesting. I do not believe it will kill the .300 Blackout though.

 

[TurtlePhish]

It's a little, ah... expensive. I'd rather have 2 or 3 AKs for that price. It looks pretty cool though. I bet it's fun to shoot.

 

[Kachok]

Yep, been saying it for a while, 7.62x39 will trump the 300. I knew it was a matter or time before someone perfects an AK/AR rifle. If the 300 offered something over the x39 it would still have a place, but with no increase in power, trajectory, ballistcs....etc the cheaper established surplus cambering will emerge the clear winner.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Remember the 300blk still uses standard bolts, magazines, pieces of brass (opened up n shortened 223) and best of all the much superior selection of .308" bullets.

The AK mag lower only addresses one of these key advantages

Tapered rounds feed more reliabaly in any caliber.

They also increase bolt thrust.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Yea but it does not use standard ammunition that is on the shelf ar Wall-Mart.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Yea but it does not use standard ammunition that is on the shelf ar Wall-Mart.

Have you priced wal mart's 7.62x39mm?

Folks worried about the wal mart factor stick with 223/5.56

 

[Walkalong]

Only a matter of time when .300 Blackout is on shelves. I doubt it will be a easy to find as .223 & 7.62X39, but it will be there.

Can't wait for my back ordered barrel to be in stock.

 

[Well Now]

I haven't had a problem getting 300Blk except for the Barnes 110 gr black tip, which I just ordered last week and will be delivered Monday. I have plenty of 147 gr, 130 gr, 125 gr both plain and nosler ballistic, 115 gr, at home, and soon to have the 110 gr.

I don't need to run to a local store to buy it when I get on the computer, order it, and it's shipped to my door. anyone who can't find ammo for 300Blk, isn't looking hard enough or in the right places.

One thing with the 300Blk I've found, is that people either find a reason to have one or find a reason to hate it.

 

[armarsh]

I'd rather have the 300 BLK. I reload, and I am not interested in steel cased ammo.

I recently tried to find 7.62x39 with copper jacketed bullets in brass boxer primed cases. I could make my own cheaper starting out with new brass.

Then there is the fact that you have an oddball lower. That is another deal-breaker for me. I really have no idea why anyone would want this except to burn up woof ammo at the range. Any AK can do that for 1/3 the cost.

 

[RhinoDefense]

Yea but it does not use standard ammunition that is on the shelf ar Wall-Mart.

Seriously? That's your argument? You use availability at WalMart to gauge your acceptance of a cartridge? Wow.

 

[firesky101]

The .300 blackout is more versatile than the 7.62x39 simple as that. Much greater selection of bullets allows an extremely wide spread of speeds and weights. 7.62x39 basically comes in 123-154gr and all are supersonic. I am not knocking the 7.62x39 (I own many), but if you want to go suppressor then it is all about .300 BLK (I own none).

 

[greyling22]

I thought the whole point of the 300 whisper, I mean blackout, was to shoot subsonics with a suppressor. I've yet to hear (no pun intended) much abuut subsonic x39's.

 

[B!ngo]

I'm not an expert in the area of SAAMI or ammo trends per se but I would predict that in 5 years we'll look back at the 300 Blackout as a failed experiment by a private conglomerate to create a new and popular ammo standard.
Comparing it to the 7.62x39 from a ballistics and performance standpoint misses the issue that the 'AK round' is an open and worldwide de facto standard, as is .223 and among many others and one other very important round in particular, the .308 Winchester. The resurgence of the .308 leveraged by the SCAR 17H will create a rebirth of innovation around the round, including likely creating a new AR-like variant standard for the round. That last piece has been missing, but the interest by the civilian population in following the growing adoption by the military of same will leave little room for the widespread acceptance of the .300B.
None of this has anything to do with relative merits of the round(s) themselves.
Just a bit of crystal ball gazing, but I've seen this movie before.

 

[gotigers]

Very nice concept, but the price is high. Maybe it will come down as more get to market.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

Could someone please explain the .300 Blackout craze to me? Why is it so popular all of a sudden and everyone seems to want one?

 

[R.W.Dale]

Could someone please explain the .300 Blackout craze to me? Why is it so popular all of a sudden and everyone seems to want one?

Because everyone wants a suppressor now and 300 bulk is the suppressor friendly cartridge that works in an AR15

 

[acorn1754]

My main concern with that, is can you swap over a standard 5.56 upper and still be able to use AR mags? If not, then that's completely worthless IMO, as the whole point of a AR is versatility and rapid switching of upper receivers, like going from a 5.56 to a 6.8 SPC or 300 blackout and back again. I'd rather spend 1/3 of the $ for a AK if that's all it can be used for shooting the 7.62x39 round... In any case, without the versatility, won't make a dent in the 300 Blackout market. Now if I'm wrong and that versatility does exist, maybe slightly, but like others have said, the 300 Blackout has many other factors (like round weight/velocity) that make it appealing.

 

[kozak6]

No.

It seems like the main purpose of the .300 blk is for suppressor use with supersonic applications a distant second.

7.62x39 may not be the best round for use with a suppressor.

Also, the .300 blk is basically a reloader's caliber. Reloaders generally aren't interested in 7.62x39.

However, there does seem to be some demand for a 7.62x39 AR that works well. Hopefully, we will see something similar and more affordable from other manufacturers.

 

[Auto426]

With the stockpiles of uber-cheap comblock 7.62x39 drying up, I don't see this as making anything obsolete. 300 BLK really seems to be taking off in the AR world, and the people looking for the cheapest possible cartridge to shoot have mostly moved on to the 5.45.

 

[68wj]

I still maintain that Walmart is a poor metric for cartridge selection. This RRA option is likely the best choice for someone wanting an AR in x39, but it gives up a lot of commonality too.