Thoughts on a suppressed 5.56/300 BLK for HD

[PaulL]

I'm at a bit of a crossroads here on trying to make efficient use of a rifle/suppressor combination for home defense. Available equipment is a complete 6933, 9" 300 BLK upper, and a Silencerco Osprey 9mm. I want to end up with a suppressed rifle that won't kill hypothetical children/grannies (as much) after passing through household walls, and I want to try to do it with the equipment that I have. I'm not going into battle or clearing crack houses, and I don't want to lose situational awareness should I ever have to touch off an SBR in the living room. "Not possible" is definitely an acceptable answer.

The point here is to make a wise choice without wasting money and/or tax stamps. That said, there are a few assumptions I'm working off of. Please correct me if I'm off base on these...

1. 5.56 will generally have less residual death power (technical term) after passing through typical home construction materials (drywall, 2x4, etc.).

2. 300 BLK will generally have more overall death power on bad guys.

3. 300 BLK will give me shorter overall weapon length.

4. I can't shoot anything but subsonic 300 BLK through that suppressor.

5. Subsonic 300 BLK will perform like ball ammo, thus unleashing residual death power on hypothetical children/grannies.

6. There aren't any good, expanding, low-residual-death-power-having, subsonic 300 BLK bullets out there right now.


Questions that are bouncing around in my head...

1. Am I missing something out of ignorance?

2. Obsessing over details?

3. Should I just get a 7.62 rifle suppressor and have it do double-duty?

4. Is a subsonic 300 BLK really any better than a 9mm pistol?

Your input is appreciated...

[bzdog]

Why not run the 300BLK UNsupressed and supersonic with something like the Remington 125gr Accutip that has less penetration? It should be very effective with the 9".

Seems like you are trading effectiveness for quiet, and I'm not sure that's a good trade.

-john

[El Cid]

Has anyone done any testing on wallboards and the like? One of the big reasons home owners and tactical teams now use 5.56 indoors is we know it's less likely to over-penetrate than pistol caliber weapons. I'd be leery of using any 30 caliber rifle round for HD unless there was evidence it won't be an issue.

Also, other than SMU's overseas, who can't or won't publish results, have we seen any actual street results of the 300 on 2 legged predators? I've not heard of any but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

[gun71530]

Has anyone done any testing on wallboards and the like? One of the big reasons home owners and tactical teams now use 5.56 indoors is we know it's less likely to over-penetrate than pistol caliber weapons. I'd be leery of using any 30 caliber rifle round for HD unless there was evidence it won't be an issue.

Also, other than SMU's overseas, who can't or won't publish results, have we seen any actual street results of the 300 on 2 legged predators? I've not heard of any but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

I'm curious about this as well.
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[motoduck]

I have used these bullets for handloading subsonic 300 BLK with good results on 4 legged creatures. I am fairly confident they would do a fine job on 2 legged ones as well.

http://www.outlawstatebullets.com/

[tpd223]

Has anyone done any testing on wallboards and the like? One of the big reasons home owners and tactical teams now use 5.56 indoors is we know it's less likely to over-penetrate than pistol caliber weapons. I'd be leery of using any 30 caliber rifle round for HD unless there was evidence it won't be an issue.

Also, other than SMU's overseas, who can't or won't publish results, have we seen any actual street results of the 300 on 2 legged predators? I've not heard of any but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

Results from similar loads in the 7.62X39 would be exactly the same as what one would see from the BLK, example would be the Hornady SST loading in 7.62x39

[El Cid]

Results from similar loads in the 7.62X39 would be exactly the same as what one would see from the BLK, example would be the Hornady SST loading in 7.62x39

But until it happens we won't really know. I liken it to the 5.7x28 - it uses a .224 bullet with a smaller case than 5.56 and has miserable terminal performance. The 300BLK may be almost identical as a projectile to the AK round, but it's a smaller case.

That said, even if the terminal performance on humans is the same as the 7.62x39, that only addresses half of my concern (and the OP's reason for this thread). I wouldn't use an AK indoors for HD unless I lived in a concrete bunker for fear of over-penetration.

[Clint]

4. I can't shoot anything but subsonic 300 BLK through that suppressor.

.

^ Here is where you got into the weeds.

You certainly CAN shoot supersonic with a suppressor.

300BLK will be quieter than 556 even with the suppressor.

There's just a whole lot less blast to start with.

[PaulL]

^ Here is where you got into the weeds.

You certainly CAN shoot supersonic with a suppressor.

300BLK will be quieter than 556 even with the suppressor.

There's just a whole lot less blast to start with.

Nope. Not through the Osprey 9.

I am interested in the unsuppressed blast you speak of, though (assuming you meant to say "without the suppressor").

[tpd223]

But until it happens we won't really know. I liken it to the 5.7x28 - it uses a .224 bullet with a smaller case than 5.56 and has miserable terminal performance. The 300BLK may be almost identical as a projectile to the AK round, but it's a smaller case.

That said, even if the terminal performance on humans is the same as the 7.62x39, that only addresses half of my concern (and the OP's reason for this thread). I wouldn't use an AK indoors for HD unless I lived in a concrete bunker for fear of over-penetration.

That Hornady load I referenced has a very controlled penetration depth in tissue.

It's bullet construction, not the caliber. The Hornady .308Win 110gr TAP round penetrates less than the .223/5.56 barrier blind loads in gelatin, and noticably less than almost all of your service caliber JHP handgun rounds.