The 300 Black Out

[gunzo]

Excuse this older fub, but in a few words, what is the strong point or purpose of this cartridge?

After that, it's secondary use.

Guess I missed the boat on this one. Started to comment on it in another thread & realized I know nothing of this,,,, or did & forgot it.

 

[RC44Mag]

Shorter round that fits in M4 style carbines, with some mods like a barrel, bolt, spring…. subsonic so works well with suppression and 30 caliber so it hits hard even being subsonic. Spec Forces and hunters use them as well, hog hunting especially I think.

 

[pisgah]

The .300 was developed primarily to overcome some of the shortcomings of the 5.56 in short barrels. At full velocities from 20" or longer barrels, the 5.56 is quite effective out to 400+ yards, although few would suggest it for large game at such range; chop the barrel to 16", it gets marginal, and drop down below about 10.5" and you're almost at .22 Magnum level. The .300, although slower from the start, can fire up to 220 gr. bullets that pack a pretty good wallop even at pistol speeds. As a hunting cartridge, it is pretty much the equal of the 7.62x39, a very decent cartridge for deer-sized game at short-to-moderate ranges.

 

[GasGuzzler]

Fits a regular 5.56X45 magazine and AR bolt but uses a .30 caliber bullet. Those are the main pluses.

 

[Mobuck]

Generally what 'pisgah' said. As a 'rifle cartridge', the 300 is definitely short range due to the limited muzzle velocity but in a different perspective, it's at least as effective as most of the cartridges that 'won the west' as far as range and terminal performance goes. I got started with the 300 as a prospective youth hunter beginner's cartridge-fairly low recoil and noise with the potential to handle poor shot placement. Then we got into suppressors and pistol length AR's which changed the whole picture. I'm still not a fan of sub-sonic hunting ammo and IMHO, there's only ONE sub-sonic offering that does the job properly--GORILLA with the LeHigh(?) bullet which opens out into 4 'petals'. This produces devastating terminal performance even @ 100+ yards VS every other option we've tried.
Using the cartridge's full velocity potential through a 10.5" barrel AR "pistol' with a decent suppressor takes 'handgun hunting' to a different level.
Even w/o a suppressor, the muzzle blast isn't nearly as bad as a long barrel 357 magnum--approximately the same bullet weight and powder charge BTW.

 

[gunzo]

Thanks guys, between this & then looking at velocities for various bullet weights, I know more than I did. I suppose that not really having a use for one is part of the reason I was failing to understand it.

 

[Wvfarrier]

I have been a 300aac fanboy since it was 300 whisper. It is superior to 5.56 in every way except distance, inside 300 yards its better. It also uses subsonics that are triple the mass of what 5.56 is capable of, its a superb medium game hunting round. I have taken coyote, deer and black bear with it. It has light recoil making it suitable for kids or small females while still packing a punch.

My 7 year old daughter shoots it pretty regularly as does my 5 year old son. The only drawback is that the ammo is more expensive than 223/5.56

 

[Wvfarrier]

Just for reference, these are 200 grain Maker REX projectiles fired at 1000fps into water jugs at 100 yards. They expanded to over 1.15"

 

[Mobuck]

Often we find the Lehigh bullets under the far side skin of deer but may be missing a petal or two. Utterly devastating internal damage.

 

[Ethang]

Just for reference, these are 200 grain Maker REX projectiles fired at 1000fps into water jugs at 100 yards. They expanded to over 1.15"
View attachment 59319

Makers are really good bullets. I have not tried them in 300, but in 350 Legend they are devastating.

OP the 300 is a great little round. Most of the high points have been detailed in previous posts. I picked up a really inexpensive PSA pistol upper on a Daily Deal, and it has been really solid. Great accuracy, hits hard, and even supers sound good through a suppressor.

 

[Wvfarrier]

Often we find the Lehigh bullets under the far side skin of deer but may be missing a petal or two. Utterly devastating internal damage.

I have used the 115 grain Controlled Chaos with devaststing results on deer and pigs. Always Bang...flop.

 

[Mobuck]

I'll give those a look. Thanks
I've been really satisfied with Fiocchi 125 poly-tip if sub-sonic isn't required.

 

[the_leper_colony]

As I think was mentioned above, the .300 Blackout (left, in photo below) was designed for heavy bullets at subsonic velocities, with lighter bullets at supersonic speeds being kind of a secondary option. The .300 HAM'R (center of photo) was designed primarily for the lighter bullets, and can push them to higher velocities because it has more case capacity. Both will work in an AR15, using a standard .223/5.56 bolt, and standard mags may work as well:

The 7.62x39 (photo, right) will also work in an AR15, but needs a different bolt and different mags.

Which one is best for you probably depends on a lot of things. For suppressor use, the .300 Blackout is the best choice. If you already have firearms chambered in 7.62x39, an AR in that caliber can make sense. I'm told that many hunters who do NOT use a suppressor favor the .300 HAM'R, which was designed for that purpose. If you reload and want to form your own cases from cheap .223/5.56 brass, the Blackout or HAM'R might be better. To each his own!
:)

 

[GasGuzzler]

The 300 HAM'R and 350 Legend are improvements on the 300BO. I would not suggest a 7.62X39 AR. They can be made to be reliable (someone will say theirs is flawless which is quite possible) but can be troublesome unless the owner likes to tinker. They need magazines with exact tolerances (C-Products makes the best), a buffer suited to the load used, and a very detailed build on the bolt to work consistently. I stayed on the .300BO bandwagon for a few minutes and moved on. I even built a 7.62X39 AR and it moved on as well.

 

[the_leper_colony]

...I would not suggest a 7.62X39 AR... unless the owner likes to tinker...

That's probably sound advice. Apparently a lot of the issues with early 7.62x39 ARs involved the use of .223/5.56 barrel extensions (with narrow 22 caliber feed ramps), but I have heard of issues with gas port size, as well, and some people complain about magazines. AND like the 6.5 Grendal, there are two different bolt/headspace 'standards', that are NOT interchangeable; to make matters worse, 6.5 & 7.62 parts are not always marked as to which 'standard' they conform to.

As noted above, what's right for you might depend on a lot of things. In my case, I had a bunch of 7.62x39 ammo & reloading components sitting on the shelf (including hundreds of primed brass cases I got cheap from a local FFL, right before the China virus). The 7.62x39 AR I put together runs fine with both brass- & steel-cased ammo, and every mag I've tried (obviously YMMV). I used to own several .300 Blackout ARs, and may get around to building a .300 HAM'R if I come across an affordable barrel (again, I've already got some of the reloading components on the shelf). To each his own!

As always IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc., etc.
:)

 

[s4s4u]

The 300 Blackout is the commercial version of the 300 Whisper, which was created for authorities for suppressor use, subsonic.

People started loading light bullets tho, and use it for hunting. Same magazine, same bolt, same spring/buffer, etc, as 5.56

I built an AR "pistol" in 300 BLK because it is legal in shotgun zones here in MN

If you want a 30 caliber AR rifle cartridge I would suggest the 300 HAM'r or 30 HRT as both offer better terminal performance than the BLK

 

[Mobuck]

^BUT how many times have you seen ammo for 300 Ham'r and I've NEVER seen 30 HRT.

 

[the_leper_colony]

^BUT how many times have you seen ammo for 300 Ham'r and I've NEVER seen 30 HRT.

Some folks rarely buy factory ammo. Of course, that's all that some other folks shoot. To each his own!
:)

 

[gunzo]

I guess for some reason, likely laziness or finances, I jumped the puddle beyond the AR 15 & it's standard chambering. The 223 is ok for me for what the platform was intended.
Beyond that, I just went on to the AR10. Not the newest superlight, but not the older, big heavyweights. At 7.5# mine handles well & I don't have to question the 7.62x51.

 

[Rum River]

I would not suggest a 7.62X39 AR. They can be made to be reliable (someone will say theirs is flawless which is quite possible) but can be troublesome unless the owner likes to tinker. They need magazines with exact tolerances (C-Products makes the best), a buffer suited to the load used, and a very detailed build on the bolt to work consistently.

My 7.62x39 works, but as GG mentions above it's not just folding flap A into slot B. In my case the upper is Anderson parts built by a local independent. I use 10, 20 and 30 round ASC magazines. Sometimes the 30 rounders have a problem with the first 3 or 4 rounds. I did end up modifying the original (5.56/.223) feed ramp.

 

[Mobuck]

I've had good results with a 10.5" AR 'pistol' in 7.62x39 using Fiocchi 125 polymer tipped ammo. Functions fine with C-Products 10 round mags and the 125 grain ammo produces excellent results. Using a 'blast forwarder' muzzle device brings noise down to acceptable levels for hunting.

 

[GasGuzzler]

(C-Products makes the best)

Functions fine with C-Products 10 round mags

:cool: