300 AAC BLACKOUT

[rsilvers]

Better in some ways, worse in others:

Works with standard magazine.

Works with standard bolt.

Ammo will cost less.

Less muzzle blast.

Theoretically better at short range from short barrels but 6.8 is better at long range from long barrels.

6.8 will have many more loads for some time but we will make the few loads for the 300 AAC BLACKOUT that really matter for most uses.

[strambo]

I'm really diggin' this concept for a 10.5" SBR for home defense that will do general duties out to 200m in a pinch. All I need for my MRP is a modified barrel.

[rsilvers]

Barnes has a new TAC-X-110 designed to have controlled penetration.

[RyanB]

How does the 220gr SMK perform on people? Is it pistol like or does that long bullet turn sideways and do good work?

[Altair]

How does the 220gr SMK perform on people? Is it pistol like or does that long bullet turn sideways and do good work?

There are reports from guys hunting with the 240gr SMK and getting decent wounding from the bullet tumbling but it simply won't expand or fragment at subsonic velocities. The 220 won't expand or fragment either and I assume it would behave similarly as far as tumbling.

[RyanB]

I wouldn't expect any sort of deformation, but a bullet as large as a 220gr SMK traveling sideways is no joke.

[Ned Christiansen]

None of the 220's, even the round-nosed ones with a lot of exposed lead, even the flattish-pointed 180's, will deform much at subsonic velocities.

I started working in earnest with .300 Whisper 2 1/2 years ago thinking it could be a great entry gun. Barrel length for barrel length, most of the issues with short-barreled AR's in 5-56 are instantly cured:
-tremendous muzzle flash
-debilitating noise
-compromised reliability
-ballistic short-peckeredness

The last one of course is based on a straight comparison of the numbers. Say, a 55 grain bullet at 2200 vs/ a 240 grain grainer at 1025 or so. But until a low-velocity-specific bullet is available, reduced terminal effect and overpenetration will probably block a subsonic .30 cal from this application. I've tried to get some of CorBon's 129 grain, .30 caliber Safety Slugs to experiment with, but no luck. I'm thinking that one solution might be that bullet, stretched out to 240 grains.

Everything else, the caliber delivers..... I was especially going after low noise with no suppressor (since my LE friends in IL cannot have suppressors). This caliber delivers the low noise quite nicely (compared to 5.56). In an 8" barrel it is less noisy than a .45.

[ccoker]

Bill Wilson has been doing some testing with it..

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=68064

He emailed me a pic last night of another nice boar taken at 92 yards with the 130 TTSX

He has taken 1 bobcat, 8 deer and 3 hogs since Saturday Dec1!
all one shot clean kills

he really has a crappy gig

[Altair]

The worry I have about large subsonic projectiles for things like entry work is you seem to end up right back at pistol caliber performance. Large heavy bullets only making crush damage. If you want expanding subsonics for this caliber there are a few choices. Hawk makes limited runs periodically. I'm supposed to be on their list when they make the next run and I'm hoping the interest in the 300 BLK will make that sooner than later. Outlaw State Bullets also makes one. They seem to expand well but I can't get them to feed reliably in my AR. They're great for bolt action hunting use though.

I've thought for a while that a good projectile in the supersonic range (100-125gr going 2100-2300fps) from this caliber would work well. It would still have less muzzle blast, noise, and flash and have more energy in short barrels because of the cartridge case to bore ratio and faster burning powders.

With the right projectile it would still deliver rifle type high velocity wounds as well. From the testing Brassfetcher did for AAC it looks like the 110gr VMax, 125gr Remington PT, and the 110gr TSX performed the best (to my untrained eye). Barnes recently released a version of the 110gr TSX that is specifically designed for this caliber (velocity range of 1500-2300fps and I'm very interested to see how it performs in gel.

ETA: Oh, and why in god's name can't LE use suppressors in IL? I don't like states that won't allow ownership for everyone but I was unaware that even the People's Republic of Illinois wouldn't allow LEO's to have them. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though...

[Ned Christiansen]

"Can't LE use suppressors in IL? "

Amazingly amazing, is it not?

I've asked many an IL cop why he thinks that is. Nobody really knows. I always propose this theory: the IL State Legislature is still hung up on and paying penance for the gangster days. The usual response is "It's as good a theory as any I've heard". How I wish I had the time and money to research actual, documented "gangland" use of suppressors back in those days. Anybody got any historical data on that?

As I understand it there have been some efforts to change it. Be nice if IL legislators would take a stand on being in favor of officer safety, wouldn't it? I don't have a handle on IL politics by any means, but despite the fact that much of Illinois, outside of Chicago, is a sportsman's paradise full of pro-gun people, and despite the fact that I never met an IL cop who was against private ownership of guns (and I've met hundreds), and despite the fact that there are some leaders in Illinois law enforcement who are active in gun rights, yes despite all this, IL continues to have constipated gun laws that radiate from Chicago. Too dang bad.