Military Times article on new 300 AAC BLACKOUT

I've known about this for awhile, and had an obligation to post it on Military Times first for a few kind of obvious reasons. AAC/ Remington has released a new caliber. Its not an off the wall oddball, it appears to be a highly legit round (7.62x35) with a flexible delivery package. The caliber is only a part of the offering, the complete upper receiver, ammunition, and special suppressor round everything out.


MILITARY TIMES - 300 AAC BLACKOUT – New Caliber, New Mission?



My favorite info is quoted below:

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from a 9 inch barrel, the 300BLK has more muzzle energy than 5.56mm M855 from a 16 inch barrel. When 300 BLK is used in a 16 inch barrel, it has 23% more energy than 5.56mm M855 from a 16 inch barrel.

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Military Times will be shooting this with a variety of users to gather real world feedback, and the applications for it seem pretty obvious.



http://militarytimes.com/blogs/gears...1024-Stick.jpg

SWEET! I know there are many international political hassles for moving past 5.56, but this seems like a no-brainer. All that has to be done is change barrels. They are already planning on upgrading the M4, and looking to replace it (which will turn out to be an expensive joke). Why not go all the way and update the round. If they are looking to upgrade M4 barrels, it is not even an extra step.

Now, since they have come out with the new M855 round, I can see this taking some time to adopt, but I see no reason not to do it if the new ammo does indeed outperform the 5.56. I really fail to see any downside to this. Just political hang-ups.

All these new rounds are always killed by availability and cost.

I find the developments interesting on a personal level, but probably would not invest in a round that didnt have a huge amount of LEO or Military support for the aforementioned reasons

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Originally Posted by variablebinary

All these new rounds are always killed by availability and cost.

I find the developments interesting on a personal level, but probably would not invest in a round that didnt have a huge amount of LEO or Military support for the aforementioned reasons

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100% true. The 6.8 is somewhat stuck in limbo. Although effective, it is a niche round at the moment. This new AAC/Remington offering seems like it would be a viable replacement for the 5.56 (if it proves to be more effective after testing). The only thing that needs to be changed is the barrel which is something that is going to be upgraded in the future anyway.

If the military doesn't adopt this, then this round could die on the vine. So running out and changing all of your carbines over to this would be foolish right now.

I am also curious if it can be used in rifle length barrels. The article focuses on SBRs. If the new round can't be used in an M-16 to better effect than the 5.56, then it is probably already dead. Either way, there is a huge political hurdle to clear before truly replacing the 5.56. So, there are lots of obstacles, but it is worth taking a long and hard look at it considering the minimal changes needed for existing weapon systems.

What strikes me as interesting is that the round seems to be developed as a suppressed SBR-focused round, as opposed to a PDW round.
Like others have said, there's a strong peril that it will end up as a niche round without a lot of widespread adoption, but like Var.Bin. stated, its still very interesting.

Heck, since it sounds like its focused on energy and effectiveness more so than other recent PDW cartridges, it might have promise as a limited use replacement cartridge.

Is this not the "30 AR" Remingtion relesed over a year ago?

This quote gives some hope that it is more than just an SBR round:

Mr. Silvers pointed out several times that this was not a caliber that was exclusive to the Military or Law Enforcement market. His stated his goal was to be able to deliver a reliable source of ammunition through Remington, and to make the 300 AAC Blackout something affordable for target shooters and hunters.

It is still years away from having its future decided. I wonder if Remington will introduce this round with the ACR during the carbine competition.

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Originally Posted by ICANHITHIMMAN

Is this not the "30 AR" Remingtion relesed over a year ago?

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Looks like a completely different round from the pictures. The .30 AR looks like it has more in common with a 7.62x39 than it does this new round. However, I really know nothing about the .30 AR.

I would be way more interested in the .30 AR than this cartridge. I think the .30 AR would make an excellent PDW/SBR round, especially if popularity caught on and ammo was widely available and comparable in price to 5.56.

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Originally Posted by variablebinary

All these new rounds are always killed by availability and cost.

I find the developments interesting on a personal level, but probably would not invest in a round that didnt have a huge amount of LEO or Military support for the aforementioned reasons

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+1

No new military cartridge will gain any traction, unless the military specifically asks for the development of the cartridge with the paperwork for a contract ready to be signed in hand.

Another neat cartridge which "might" gain some commercial market popularity. Probably more than the 6.8 since it is the ".30 caliber", and it utilizes M16 magazines and bolts. Those two factors are really the only hope of getting a decent commercial market following.