300 AAC BLACKOUT

[Altair]

Great info...the 110g Vmax looks like a great HD load. I noticed that was 16" barrel, could it be safely driven to ~2100 or more in a 10.5"?

I'm getting 2150fps in my 10.5" Noveske with the 110gr V-Max. It is supposed to be in spec for 300BLK (I got it before the 300 BLK hit the market). I'm using 20.0gr of W296 and a pistol length gas system. As with any handload, start low and work up and use at your own risk.

[rsilvers]

I tried some Sierra 110 Varminters and could not get them to feed. I will have Brassfetcher test them anyway - as they can be used in bolt rifles.

An expanding subsonic round which feeds in an AR is something I plan to get developed in 2011. In addition to the loads which are out now, I am working on six more factory loadings with LE/self-defense/hunting supersonic ammo being the highest priority (after the 123 supersonic and 220 subsonic which are already a done deal).

[tpd223]

I've only seen the one bare gel test at MV, what happens at 100 yards and a few hundred less fps?

Well, at point blank range it is basically a giant 60gr .223 TAP in performance, so I'd be guessing that at greater range it would expand instead of fragment, but that is a SWAG on my part.



I've been looking at rounds that I can use to allow me to deer hunt with my carbine (in KS we have to use .23cal or larger for deer).
The 6.8 and 7.62X39 are options, but need new bolts, barrels and magazines.
The 6.5 is a good choice but my reading tells me I'd have more issues to deal with that I'd like.
The 6mm-.223 versions allow the use of standard mags and bolt, but throws a bullet barely better that using a .223 to hunt. I also see a danger in having the same mags loaded with very similar looking but different caliber ammo.

The .300 seems to be what I have been looking for;
more of a plug and play system using standard bolts and mags (if the caliber goes totally tits up I can always just install a new 5.56 barrel and I'm not out too much investment),
throws a bullet of weight and speed to fits into the traditional deer hunting realm (30-30, etc.),
less danger of me sticking the wrong mag/ammo into the gun and blowing myself up.


In that past I have read with interest some of the articles written by JD Jones. He noted that on target effect on big game of the .300W with the 220gr bullets was similar to what he saw from .44mag 240gr bullets. Although at point blank the .44mag is more "powerful", at distance the .300 keeps it's speed far better due to a bullet shaped more like a jet plane than a brick, so this makes some sense to me. He noted that the 220gr bullets got sideways rather quickly, which would easily explain what he was seeing in on game effectiveness.

[rsilvers]

http://www.americanrifleman.org/Webc...nch%20copy.pdf

[rsilvers]

[broylz]

i am very interested in this. bullet design will be key to its effectiveness and popularity, i think.

that said, there are alot of dead animals to this and similar calibers based on pure shot placement as well.

[Ned Christiansen]

The Sierra 110 Varminters are just to wide-open on the hollow point for reliable feeding. I think the gun could be modified to work with them but to me it didn't seem worth it.

[Altair]

The Sierra 110 Varminters are just to wide-open on the hollow point for reliable feeding. I think the gun could be modified to work with them but to me it didn't seem worth it.

What overall length are you using when having feed problems with the Sierra Varminters? I've shot them quite a bit from my build using a Noveske 10.5" 300FB barrel without any problems feeding but I use a fairly long OAL and de-ribbed PMags.

[usmcvet]

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.

I had never thought of lower noise signature that's great.

[usmcvet]

"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.

Ned

In June '10 Vermont changed the law so LE & Fish & Wildlife folks can now have silencers. It might be worth a look. Here is a link it is section 4010.

http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/...13&Chapter=085