Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles 300 ACC vs. 5.56 Nato?

I'd be concerned about long term availability of 300 BO ammo, let's face it it's most likely to run it's course as a specialty/fad round and in the future you'll be hard pressed to find factory ammo for it. .223/5.56, so long as you can legally purchase factory ammo you'll find it.

No round is ideal and IMHO at in the house distances I would expect for all intents and purposes that the 5.56 and 300 BO will be about equal.

I can't see a 300 BO unless you're planning to run it suppressed with heavy for caliber bullets.

Do not see a scenario where I would choose either birdshot for a shotgun, or a frangible round for a handgun or a carbine, for use to engage an armed combatant in deadly force. I have used frangible breeching rounds for their intended purpose, and I do know we have unintentionally killed with those rounds while breeching, but if intentionally using deadly force, I would choose ammunition tested and approved by either the FBI or the military for such an intended purpose. You need a dependable and proven level of penetration to be effective, which you will not get with either the birdshot or the frangible. It is pure folly to believe they are a wise choice.

As to bleeding ears and bedside earmuffs, having experienced incoming rounds from close quarters, I will say that blasts in my direction were more dramatic than the blasts going away, but I never stopped to think, crap that was loud. On the other hand, I do recall forgetting my ears while discharging an sbr during training. I DID STOP THEN AND SAY CRAP THAT WAS LOUD. My ears rang for several minutes. So for me, brief engagements were more like shots made while hunting, there was a certain degree of auditory occlusion. So in that context, I'd likely never don earmuffs at my bedside when I retrieve a firearm to investigate a bump in the night.

I gotta disagree with all three of those points.

The 300 Blk is still growing in popularity, and doesn't appear to be going anywhere soon. Even if it did, you make your own from 223 brass and 30 cal bullets; two of the most common reloading supplies in this country.

The 5.56 and 300 do not perform similarly. High velocity light bullets vs lower velocity heavier bullets.

Subsonic 300 Blk is about one of the poorest choices you could make for defense, especially using the commercial 220gr stuff, which doesn't tend to expand or upset much. It's not a rifle round at that point, just a mild pistol round with really poor terminal performance, except for a few boutique bullet choices. You'd be better off just using a 45 or 9mm with good bullets.

This. I'm partial to an 8.5" suppressed BO

A 110 Barnes TAC-TX can run 2100+fps from an 8.5", will expand immediately, and will still penetrate 20" of ballistic gel. Rather nice marriage for an effective SBR at close quarters. Likely best choice in such platform for home defense.

The Leheigh (SP) controlled Chaos loaded by gorilla looks NASTY.

What is factory ammo?

If you ever saw 1000 fps wounds and expanded bullets from 194 lehighs you would be impressed.... I was.. almost an inch wide exits... but thats not a normal round I realize. Which once again points out the need to choose the projectile and shot placement both very carefully..

75 -77 bthps still ride in my 223 house mags mostly, if not its 68/69 bthps...

You suffered permanent hearing loss from that one round you fired. Anytime your ears ring from a noise, you suffer permanent damage.

Auditory exclusion might keep one from being distracted by a noise, but it does not prevent damage anymore than not noticing a cut keeps one from bleeding.

Dammit boy, apparently you have influenced my agency. I heard in Inservice last week that they intend to relieve us of our shotguns.

Being of a school which is older, and alive because of my shotgun, I am a bit itchy about giving up my dozen gauge.

I have, and similar from bigger bullets as well. You are right, but you're one of the few who takes the time to understand what's needed for subsonic performance. Most don't seem to want to think about it that hard, or pay for the quality bullets. For example just a few posts up, somebody recommending 220gr subsonic loads; that would be a non-expanding bullet with very low terminal performance, and about the worst choice you could make in this application.

Even with good bullets like the Lehigh, heck even my 358 with 255gr expanding subsonic hollow points, you get basically the performance of a decent pistol round, but guys talk about it like they expect rifle performance, which isn't the case at all.

nope, you are right, you don't get it all.

But I'll take 200 yard capability thats fairly quiet... put it where it counts, lights out.

Home defense... honestly I think its over thought. 50% of the time my 45 has lead handloads in it... I"ll use what I have....

I like the electronic earmuffs that offer a slight amount of amplification. Of course I am a hypocrite that sold my one and only Eotech because I did not like to take the time to press a button, while now I am considering putting on ear muffs and turning them on. After shooting all my adult life even with ear protection I am legally deaf over 3000 hertz.