300 blackout explain it to me

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
Didn't want to hijack the other thread but can some of you owners breakdown the appeal of the 300blk. Its not that Im against them hut I just don't see the niche they fill. Already have the 308 in ar10s, and in the lighter ar15 there are mfgs making em in the lighter 7.62x39. With ammo availability i would think the 7.62x39 would be far more popular than the more expensive 300blk. So please explain the blackout craze.


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Wildlifer

Old Mossy Horns
I dont claim to know a ton about it but in summery I think its because of its subsonic and suppressed capabilities over the 7.62. Essentially a high mass 7.62 that outperforms it in ballistics.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
most ammo 762 is not 308 dia.
barrels can be in 308, 311, 312 and so on.
The case head is larger abd bolts are prone to have problems and extractors.
Mags cost and only a few are any good. Most are not 30 or 40 rd, best are 10 and 20 round
non standard mag, non standard bolt, equals more money and harder to find.

most 300 are good barrels made for 308 bullets, you can get several different twists non custom for any need and bullet.
They use less powder to shoot, they can easy shoot 110 to 260 grn bullet.
Most guns will work SS and sub
Barrels are very common
All parts other than the barrel are standard and can be had at any place or time.
Works great for someone that wants to cast, lots of load data
Lot of good hunting rounds for hunting anything deer and down.
No worries when you buy or load ammo it is all 308 dia

The lighter 110 and 125 work great on deer say 200 and under
the 150 and 180 work great short range for anything.
180 to 260 work great on steel, targets, cheap if you cast.
Brass last a long time and easy to make from scrap 223 or 556
any mag works from 5 to 90 round
 
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brownisdown

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Gadget covered it pretty well. The recoil is almost non existent. Where it really shines I think is in SBR or Pistol applications suppressed but you can run the gambit of uses. And like Gadget mentioned all the parts for 556 work with 300 blk except the barrel.
 
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TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
Gadget covered it pretty well. The recoil is almost non existent. Where it really shines I think is in SBR or Pistol applications suppressed but you can run the gambit of uses. And like Gadget mentioned all the parts for 556 work with 300 blk except the barrel.

Isnt that true of the 7.62x39 ARs? Im asking as I have no clue.
I realized the added versatility of having your 300 and 556 use the same mag and bcg in theory, but i thought id read that alot of mags were hit and mass for the 300? Also since your not supposed to swap used bcg's to different weapons due to uneven wear doesnt that some what nullify the benefit of interchangeable parts (other than availability)?? The subsonic/suppressed point makes sense but not sure if it warranted a new cartridge.
Anywho as I said Im not against them, just havent drank the koolaid and figured it could make for an interesting discussion.


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brownisdown

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Honestly I can't answer and would have to defer to the other AR platform experts. As far as magazines go for 300 blackout I have us usgi, pmag and Lancer and all work great. If you load really heavy subsonic lead rounds I think there have been some issues.

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Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
Yep i have used about every mag with no problems.
True you need to watch your seating when loading. It needs to fit the mag.

As for parts and used.. I have mixed and matched many m/16 parts with lots of miles and no problem you could run into stacking as not all parts are made the same or spec.
Yes the 762 is close to the same but the smaller case of the 300 is better for powder burn on subs and also more data.
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
As for parts and used.. I have mixed and matched many m/16 parts with lots of miles and no problem you could run into stacking as not all parts are made the same or spec
I was always told not to do that in the Army, but then again the armorer would freak if we did anything more than field strip



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bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
300 BO shines when suppressed....that and like gadget said consistency in bullet diameter.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
I was always told not to do that in the Army, but then again the armorer would freak if we did anything more than field strip



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I would say yes In that case as most them do not know the platform and how it works.

as for that case I would say also yes not good to do.
In that case you could have a gun that has not been inspected or rebuilt for 15k rounds that is about to crap out. You take the BCG from that gun and add it to another gun that is new, by SN it is new and if works does not need repair for X number of years or rounds. Now you could have a new gun with a BCG that has 15k on it but by SN the gun needs nothing and is fine yet it fails with few rounds and is pulled out of service or goes down in combat and that is a bad thing...

For most of us the parts dont get used up like they do when tax money paid for ammo.....
 

Fort Macon

Banned
It excels in tactical applications where low recoil, low noise, high mass, and flat trajectory out to 200 meters is very useful in an already familiar platform...great for spec ops, good for deer
 

Downeast

Twelve Pointer
From the hunting side, the ballistics of the "Bo" are so close to the 7.62 X 39 that I can't imagine shooting a deer at 200 meters with it. With a muzzle energy of around 1,000 foot pounds, depending on the ammo, I would say it was a decent 100 yard deer rifle. But not ever shooting one I really can't say. At 200 meters, with a decent bullet, will the "Bo" punch through both shoulders of a fair sized buck? To me that would be the minimum performance level for a deer cartridge.
 

bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
It excels in tactical applications where low recoil, low noise, high mass, and flat trajectory out to 200 meters is very useful in an already familiar platform...great for spec ops, good for deer

uh don't think any of the spec ops guys use it........most of them use 9mm for CQB house clearing ops or SBR in 223.........maybe Woodmoose can chime in on this.......but to my knowledge the only 'spec ops' group that uses it are the Dutch.........no US group uses it........
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
uh don't think any of the spec ops guys use it........most of them use 9mm for CQB house clearing ops or SBR in 223.........maybe Woodmoose can chime in on this.......but to my knowledge the only 'spec ops' group that uses it are the Dutch.........no US group uses it........

Unless its changed, i think the HK MP5 is our SF CQB "go to"


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Wildlifer

Old Mossy Horns
all things considered it was developed with a specific goal in mind but the appeal of it now is pretty much the "cool" factor.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
From the hunting side, the ballistics of the "Bo" are so close to the 7.62 X 39 that I can't imagine shooting a deer at 200 meters with it. With a muzzle energy of around 1,000 foot pounds, depending on the ammo, I would say it was a decent 100 yard deer rifle. But not ever shooting one I really can't say. At 200 meters, with a decent bullet, will the "Bo" punch through both shoulders of a fair sized buck? To me that would be the minimum performance level for a deer cartridge.
How does it stack up to an arrow and 100 grn BH. ?
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
Unless its changed, i think the HK MP5 is our SF CQB "go to"


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Talked to several that use it in ops.
the 300 is better than any 9mm is what they say plus in close ops if you need to go 100 plus you can vs not with 9mm.
 

Boojum

Ten Pointer
I have a 7.62x39 AR, and my friend has several in .300 BO. Not a nickel's worth of practical difference between them, really. They are both great 100-yard woods deer rifles. No, they are not a 200 or 300 yard deer rifle. That's what I have magnum bolt actions for. Love the 7.62 in the woods, about like a .30/30. The main differences I see between the BO and the 7.62x39 after shooting both a lot are:

A: You can use regular 5.56 AR mags with the .300. That's a good thing. You have to buy AR mags designed for the 7.62x39. The BO might be a little more accurate, too-but for the ranges that you would usually shoot both at, there is no noticeable difference that I can see.
B: The 7.62x39 is much, much cheaper to shoot. I don't reload, that's why I went with the x39.

As far as terminal performance, they both kill deer and hogs just fine, and have about the same effective range.As for the suppressed angle, I have no idea why I would want a suppressed .300BO unless I was hunting people. I have shot suppressed ones, and it takes the performance, trajectory, and useful killing power way, way down. I would not hunt deer-sized animals with a suppressed .300BO. Not enough juice left to kill deer reliably after you take it down to subsonic.
 
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DevilDog

Spike
What I like about the .300 Blackout is that I am not rich and can't afford to have a bunch of guns for multiple purposes. With the .300 Blackout, I only need one gun for home defense, SHTF, and hunting. All it takes is a simple barrel swap to go from .300 Blackout to .5.56mm. I pull out the .300 BLK barrel a month before gun season and sight it in. After hunting season is done I put back on the 5.56mm barrel and it goes back to range/home defense mode. For $500-$600 I can build a rifle that can transition into a bunch of roles as needed. And when WROL or SHTF happens, if you have the right parts laying around, that one rifle can do a lot of things.

The other thing I like to point out about this platform is that EVERYONE in my home can accurately shoot the gun. My wife, my teenage sons, and my 12 year old daughter. They love the low recoil and have no fear picking the gun up and putting it into action.

Here is my build...with .300 Blackout barrel in it right now as I am getting ready for the fall. Just have to swap out the micro red dot for the scope.

IMG_2934_zpsypkwpzwi.jpg
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
I have the rem tac 700 but want to get a tan american ranch rifle.
Just not had time to play with them yet.
 

JLove1974

Twelve Pointer
Ruger also makes a Mini-14 in .300BLK, which may be the only redeeming quality for buying a Mini 14 nowadays
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
If I was doing a mini, I would just do the 7.62
they have mags that work and you will be building or changing barrels.
 

JLove1974

Twelve Pointer
If I was doing a mini, I would just do the 7.62
they have mags that work and you will be building or changing barrels.
The same .223 mags that the mini14 uses is the same ones as .300blk, and that's part of the appeal. Easy to find, easier than x39 by far
 

snakeskinner

Twelve Pointer
300bo.jpg

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So based on this graphic I might assume that the only reason to get a 300bo is the diversity of factory offerings from high performance hunting loads to subsonic loads that you can't get in 7.62.
 
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