Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 300 Black Out? Why?

I think it would be a fun little pig gun when suppressed with heavy for caliber sub-sonics, but some of the load data I see for the lighter bullet weights looks a lot like 30-30 data so i don't really see the point in that part of it.

I have an upper on order from Primary Arms.....will let you know

I thought I wanted a Remington Model Seven in 300 Black Out, but never pursued it.

It's for the 'kiddies' who envision being a wannabe sniper or SEAL!!

Also.....SALES!!

Why not? I've got no use for it, but as Old Jack once said, shooting is all about fun and games. Personally, I'm pretty sure a 5.6x45 or .223 is the best route to cheap and easy fun, but everybody has their own notions about stuff. Not my job to discourage them.

That's kinda the way I think and i've been thinking about one for a while.

The 300 Whisper was designed for the AR platform, that is why it is the 221 fireball necked up for 220-250 gr bullets subsonic. Yes plenty of contender barrels have been chambered in 300 whisper, but it wasn't the original platform for the round.

As far as the appeal, if you want a suppressed semi auto platform for subsonic rounds, there aren't that many options out there. 9mm and 45 being the primary ones, but they really aren't great rounds for extended ranges. The 300 whisper/Blackout is an option for trying to maximize what can be done with a suppressed subsonic round.

I tried it and found it interesting, but it didn't trip my trigger. I'll be posting a complete HM Defense upper to the classifieds later today if anyone is interested.

Old70

300 Black Out? Why?

I have no idea whatsoever!

Trystan

I see it as a great deal for someone that's short on money. If you already have a AR15 your just a Christmas present away from having a possibly better deer or hog round. A CZ 455, AR15 and a shotgun is a pretty good 3 gun battery for the south. You add a spare barrel to each and you have a lot of options with not a lot of money tied up only having to buy two scopes.

It has never appealed to me.

I was out shooting my Fireball today. It is a great one.

Seafire, I asked the same question in a Facebook reloading group and was nearly crucified for my heresy of even questioning the point.

The 300 Blackout really only shines in a very small specialized area. That would be one none of us could realize. If the RRA LAR-PDS fitted with a shoulder stock and made full auto were considered it would make one hell of a sub gun. Beyond that I don't know.

At one point I saw a bunch of folks wanting them for whitetail deer. The idea is that 300 Blackout is like a 30-30 only better. It isn't. 30-30 has bigger case capacity, so it is always going to have better potential. It's funny. There's a lot of confusion at that end of the spectrum. You see all sorts rounds being favorably compared to 30 WCF:

7.62X39
357 Magnum
300 Blackout
etc.

No. I'm not a big fan of 30 WCF to begin with. These other rounds are something less. I'm not saying they're bad rounds, and you can kill a whitetail deer with them. You just are not going to have the same performance as a 30-30.

Some folks here hunt hogs with suppressed .300 Blackouts in the AR's so they can kill more hogs out of a big group.

That said, it has a rainbow trajectory and everyone I've known who's owned one has sold it fairly quickly.

The 7.62x39 is far superior in all respects except one...

The BLK uses the far better range of .308 calibre bullets. Other than that I can't see why you'd pick the BLK, unless you're shooting suppressed.

The basic cartridge was designed for the military. The goal was to create a subsonic cartridge that would feed from a suppressed AR and be lethal out to 100 yards. The original .300 Whisper used a 200-grain pointed soft point bullet. It was never originally intended to be either a hunting round or for civilian use. However, it was unique enough that neither rifle loonies nor the tacti-cool crowd could bear to leave it alone.

Case capacity isn't everything. The 30-30 may be a larger case, but the SAAMI max pressure is 42 kpsi for the 30-30, and 55 kpsi for the 300 BO. Also assuming a lever action with tube magazine, pointy bullets are a no no for the 30-30, not so for the 300 BO.

I'm not claiming the 300 BO is a wonder round, it is what it is, essentially a pointy bullet 30-30 in a more accurate platform that gives up ~200 fps for same length barrels. It's allowing a new generation to re-discover what a lower power 30 caliber centerfire will and won't do against big game.

For a big game hunting round I can't think of any reason to take the 300 BO over a .308. For a cast bullet plinker or for suppressed use the 300 BO offers a pretty good platform and if you shoot a lot of .223/556 and need another use for some of that pile of brass the BO is an option worth exploring.

I bought it in the Ruger American platform to have a low recoil deer rifle based off of the 223 cartridge. I hunt small properties, and like the idea of a lower sound and lower power rifle. It still has enough pop for deer at woods ranges and uses very little powder. It will never replace my 308, but is all I need for deer in a very compact and easy handling package.