Adding a 300 Blackout for Home Defense... what is the "sweet meat" approach to this?

[DHart]

I am considering adding a BCM upper in .300 Blackout to my "kit", strictly for the purpose of home defense - which logically involves close-range situations, but don't know if I should stick with 16" for simplicity, or go through the effort to have something with a shorter barrel. I live in Arizona, thus getting a stamp for SBR is probably do-able. But is a short-barrel 300 Blackout the best approach to this caliber, over all? Or would going with 16" smooth the way for easier options here, as well as in other states when traveling?

What is the best, general-purpose, home defense approach with the 300 Blackout caliber and an AR platform ? 16" barrel? 14" barrel? Something even shorter?

Supersonic loads? Subsonic loads? Supressor? What to do!


All I really want is have a 300 Blackout option, in addition to my 5.56/.223 options, essentially for home defense. Perhaps as my primary HD rifle. Your guidance would be much appreciated.

[Efin]

I have a 16" 300BO, and living in Kalifornia, 16" or larger, w/o suppression, is my only option, but even with the option I'd still have gone 16", as I wanted the extra velocity for another hunting option. I also don't use mine for home security, the 458 Socom is slated for that.
I also load for mine too, a nice caliber with several options, I do mostly supersonic, but do have a 1000+fps 230g cast load I like that works well.
Getting things to cycle well with subsonic is difficult w/o suppression I've heard, but certainly others here can answer to that.
A 300BO SBR with suppression is going to be a pricy toy.

[eljimbo142]

http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-9...k-9-kmr-a8.htm

[SWATcop556]

I use a 300 blk for HD and love it. The 300 blk is a good option in a 16" gun but where you really see the benefits in the round is suppressed SBRs. If a SBR is an option it is THE way to go. I feel very comfortable in using the rifle and the round out to 300 yards. You don't really see the gains out of longer barrels like you do with the 5.56 due to what the round was designed for. The purpose was to give you 7.62x39 ballistics out of an SBR.

I'm currently running a 9.5 AAC SBR with Surefire 7.62 Mini can and a T1. Had BCM been an option when I bought mine I would have probably gone that route, but having a gun spec'd by the guys who developed the round is still solid. It's ear safe indoors (for me) and is a soft shooter. There are several options out there for HD loads that are solid performers. For the round to perform the velocity of the supersonic round is needed. I've seen very few subs that perform well enough for HD use. Subs are for fun with friends. Supers for doing work. I've dropped several four legged critters with it to feel comfortable in the round's terminal performance.

Also FWIW I only use Pmags for my 300 blk. I use GI mags for 5.56. If you are going to own both you have to be very careful about mixing ammo. A 5.56 into a 300 blk gun won't close but a 300 blk super into a 5.56 can set the bullet back far enough to close and fire. I've tried both (without actually firing of course) on purpose and in a controlled environment and it can be done. There are several stories and photos of KB'd gun with ammo mix ups.

[scooter22]

I use a 300 blk for HD and love it. The 300 blk is a good option in a 16" gun but where you really see the benefits in the round is suppressed SBRs. If a SBR is an option it is THE way to go. I feel very comfortable in using the rifle and the round out to 300 yards. You don't really see the gains out of longer barrels like you do with the 5.56 due to what the round was designed for. The purpose was to give you 7.62x39 ballistics out of an SBR.

I'm currently running a 9.5 AAC SBR with Surefire 7.62 Mini can and a T1. Had BCM been an option when I bought mine I would have probably gone that route, but having a gun spec'd by the guys who developed the round is still solid. It's ear safe indoors (for me) and is a soft shooter. There are several options out there for HD loads that are solid performers. For the round to perform the velocity of the supersonic round is needed. I've seen very few subs that perform well enough for HD use. Subs are for fun with friends. Supers for doing work. I've dropped several four legged critters with it to feel comfortable in the round's terminal performance.

How loud are supers suppressed? Comparable to 5.56 out of an SBR?

[themonk]

I love 300 blk, especially for HD but I don't see the point if it's not an SBR. It was designed for an SBR and in a HD situation you're going to want the shortest gun possible.

[MegademiC]

I'm shopping for a 300 right now. 8.5" barrel. If I was getting a 16" barrel, it would be a different caliber, but that's just me, there are still some benefits for some people in 16"

[HCrum87hc]

I also run a suppressed 300 blk SBR for HD. Unfortunately, the BCM offerings weren't available when I built my upper, but it's proven to be very reliable with both supers and subs. As SWATcop and themonk said, the round truly shines in a suppressed SBR. That's what it was designed for. It's still a good round in a 16" barrel, but as they said, you don't really get the most benefits out of the round as compared to a 5.56 until you SBR and suppress it. As most others with a 300 blk, I love the Barnes TSX 110gr rounds. They've proven very effective and reliable, and I use them for my HD round. A suppressed sub 300 blk round has similar ballistics to a .45 acp round.

How loud are supers suppressed? Comparable to 5.56 out of an SBR?

I've never shot a 5.56 SBR, but it's my understanding that they're very loud. I have shot supers out of my 300, and although they're still fairly loud, they're nothing compared to my 16" 5.56. You still have the sonic crack a bit down range, but at the muzzle, you don't have the usual blast and concussion with an unsuppressed super round.

[daddyusmaximus]

The .300 is on my wish list for HD. It will be SBR with a can. Everything I've read says this is pretty much what the round was designed for.

[Auto-X Fil]

We have a few 300BLK in the family stable.

In a 16" gun, there's almost no advantage. Ballistically it's different than 5.56, but not strictly "better" across the board.

In sub-sonic loadings, ballistics are pretty weak. Subs are really cool, and we shoot them almost exclusively, but I would never pick them for HD use. A semi-auto rifle is pretty loud even with subsonic rounds, and supersonic 300BLK is quieter than 5.56 from the same length barrel, and much easier on suppressors.

In other words, 300BLK was designed for suppressed use, even super-sonic, and it shines in that application.

A suppressor on a 16" upper is LONG for indoors use. Also, while 5.56 takes a nose-dive in terminal ballistic performance around 10.5-12", and completely craps the bed shorter than that, 300BLK works great in 8-10" barrels.

Point being, all the really cool things people say about 300BLK are actually about suppressed, SBR'd carbines. And it just happens that BLK makes that type of weapon shine.

My HD gun is an 11.5" 5.56 AR. I came very close to building it in 300BLK, but for me ammo cost and availability won out (even though I reload almost everything I shoot). I wanted one gun to rule them all. If you have a great 16" carbine to complement the HD gun, then an 8-9" BLK with a can is a no-brainer.