Is .300 Blackout a “Dying Round”?
- Thread starter TXAZ
- Start date
Shane Tuttle
Staff
Personally, I think it's more of a niche cartridge. Is it dying? Not so sure about that. Many said the same thing for 10mm. To counter my own argument, .45GAP appears to be all but dead and it was a niche cartridge. I'm slowly building an AR15 in the .300 for myself whether it's going to be dead or not. I think it will stick around because the bullet selection for it is plentiful (in regards it's commonly made) and you can easily use 5.56 brass to fabricate the cartridge instead of relying on a brass manufacturer to provide it. The suppressor market is booming and it really performs well going subsonic. The combination of those two aspects opens up the door for an option to use for home defense.
Are there better options for what I provided? I'm sure there is....for some. The key, to me, is that it's AN option that accommodates enough of a demographic to keep the .300 around.
Are there better options for what I provided? I'm sure there is....for some. The key, to me, is that it's AN option that accommodates enough of a demographic to keep the .300 around.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
I don't think it's a dying cartridge at all. Being late to the party, as usual, for a long time I had a hankering for an AR in 7.62x39 but it never quite happened. I only recently "discovered" (i.e. woke up to) the fact that the .300 Blackout provides the same ballistics with none of the downsides.
dogtown tom
New member
.300 Blackout dying? ROFL
From the AR's I transfer its the second most popular behind 5.56/.223....a distant second but still waaaaay ahead of .458 Socom, .50Beowulf, 6.5 Grendel 7.62x39 and any other. More .300Blk than all those combined.
It's so unpopular that only a handful of little known companies like Lancer and Magpul make specific .300Blk mags (although any 556 mags work just fine)
It's the reason that 5.56 silencers don't sell nearly as well as 7.62.......hog hunters want to use one silencer on both.
From the AR's I transfer its the second most popular behind 5.56/.223....a distant second but still waaaaay ahead of .458 Socom, .50Beowulf, 6.5 Grendel 7.62x39 and any other. More .300Blk than all those combined.
It's so unpopular that only a handful of little known companies like Lancer and Magpul make specific .300Blk mags (although any 556 mags work just fine)
It's the reason that 5.56 silencers don't sell nearly as well as 7.62.......hog hunters want to use one silencer on both.
ballisticxlr
New member
Dying or not, it's an answer to a question which was already answered and it answers it in exactly the same way the .300whisper answered it decades ago. The reasons the .300BO was created as its own thing were to get around licensing issues, create an adoptable standard for chamber dimensions and to submit it to SAAMI instead of CIP. It won't die because it has a niche to fill and it's really good in that role but it's also pretty flexible.
deadcoyote
New member
I have a .300 blk and a 5.56 AR. I love the blackout round but had to start reloading as it’s damn near impossible to find ammo. My local gun shops specifically state it’s incredibly popular and folks always want the ammo.
For me, an odd consideration but I have younger kids. .44 magnum HMS cowboy loads and subsonic .300 blk is their favorite to shoot due to low recoil and report.
For me, an odd consideration but I have younger kids. .44 magnum HMS cowboy loads and subsonic .300 blk is their favorite to shoot due to low recoil and report.
I have no suppressors. My interest is supersonic. My bullet choices are approx 125 gr .Maybe Ballistic tips.
I don't look at ballistic numbers the same way I used to. If I'm going to use an AR with a 16 in plus bbl.the 5.56 has a lot going for it.
But,IMO,when bbl length gets down to 10 in pistol length, the 300 blk might be a more effective 100 yd cartridge,IMO.
It splits the difference between a 30 M-1 Carbine and 7.62x 39,even with a 10 in bbl it gets 2000 fps with a 125 gr 30 cal bullet.
Its at least as "adequate" as a 125 gr 357 magnum handgun load.
With the little Harbor Freight 2 in chop saw and the cartridge case fixture,converting 5.56 brass is easy. Same bolt,same magazine.I stock H-110 and small rifle primers.And 5.56 brass. Logistics are simple.
I'm not thinking of it as a big game round. Its not my choice for 250 yd prairie dogs.
My application is pretty much the same as a 30 M-1 carbine. A 10 inch AR pistol in 300 blk fills pretty much the same niche. Thats all I ask it to do.
I don't look at ballistic numbers the same way I used to. If I'm going to use an AR with a 16 in plus bbl.the 5.56 has a lot going for it.
But,IMO,when bbl length gets down to 10 in pistol length, the 300 blk might be a more effective 100 yd cartridge,IMO.
It splits the difference between a 30 M-1 Carbine and 7.62x 39,even with a 10 in bbl it gets 2000 fps with a 125 gr 30 cal bullet.
Its at least as "adequate" as a 125 gr 357 magnum handgun load.
With the little Harbor Freight 2 in chop saw and the cartridge case fixture,converting 5.56 brass is easy. Same bolt,same magazine.I stock H-110 and small rifle primers.And 5.56 brass. Logistics are simple.
I'm not thinking of it as a big game round. Its not my choice for 250 yd prairie dogs.
My application is pretty much the same as a 30 M-1 carbine. A 10 inch AR pistol in 300 blk fills pretty much the same niche. Thats all I ask it to do.
Last edited:
Dying might be the wrong term. They have sold enough that there will always be a demand for ammo. But at the same time I think it fills a small enough niche that most everyone who wants one already has one. I'd be surprised if sales of rifles and uppers hasn't peaked.
I can't use one. Anything I'd use an AR rifle for 5.56/223 does everything better and if 75 gr 223 isn't big enough 300 BO isn't enough bigger to help.
I can't use one. Anything I'd use an AR rifle for 5.56/223 does everything better and if 75 gr 223 isn't big enough 300 BO isn't enough bigger to help.
buck460XVR
New member
I don't think it is dying, it's just like many niche calibers/platform and is leveling off after the initial excitement wears off.
I think that it depends on what happens in another segment of the firearms market: suppressors. They are what economists call "complimentary goods".
It seems to me that 300 AAC was an attempt to put 7.62x39 performance into an SBR AR-15 platform, as the later round is supposed to be finicky in the black rifle and needs special mags, bolts, etc. By contrast only a barrel replacement is needed in order to shoot 300 AAC out of an AR
But in my opinion the main value added that the 300 AAC brings to the table is its better suitability for shooting subsonic rounds out of shorter, suppressed AR pattern rifles. For civilians, aside from self defense, this is very useful when hunting critters such as feral hogs.
So going back to the OP, I think that the fate of the 300 AAC round is tied to the proliferation of suppressor use: If the process for legally obtaining suppressors is opened up and made less cumbersome, I predict that suppressor use will become widespread (even standard) and the 300 AAC will find broad adoption.
An alternative for personal defense would be an AR PCC in 10mm.
Last edited:
dogtown tom
New member
The process isn't as cumbersome as some will lead you to believe.
I can sell you a silencer, a trust, scan your fingerprints and you do a selfie for your photograph, and fill out the paperwork in under ten minutes.
That ain't cumbersome.
The hardest part for most is the wait. Currently I'm getting stamps from August and September 2020. Thats 5-6 months on average.....fastest since I started doing NFA transfers and sales
Yes.
I think that if one could buy the rifle AND suppressor on the spot and walk out of the store kitted out, the 300 Blackout would be much more popular.
They all die sooner or later. Some do it quick, some take longer. And the new ones do the same thing the old ones did, only New and Improved! For example: I never saw the point with the 300 Blackout, personally. But it did replace the 30 Whisper! And it gave a whole bunch of people a reason to buy a suppressor. And it costs 4X what the 223/5,56 costs to shoot. Or the 9mm. And it has about the same energy as a 30 Carbine. But, yeah! 300 Blackout! The underachiever cartridge! Yay! Or pick your cartridge and plug it in, this isn't about 300 Blackout.