Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 300 blackout from a ruger American ranch

Thinning out big herds of hogs at the ranch here in TX with sub-sonic loads and a Supressor. The Ruger American Ranch is already threaded. And cost half of what an AR15 in .300 Blackout cost. Mine is on order along with a new .30 cal. Supressor. Also great low recoil round for the kids to shoot out of deer blinds, and they don't have to wear hearing protection.

There is no good reason to own one unless you want a 9 or 10 inch barreled, 2100 FPS pistol or SBR shooting barnes 110 grain bullets. The Ruger American thing sounds cool as well, I wish this had not been mentioned... in for a penny in for a pound...

There is no good reason to want one except that you want one. At the prices you can get an American for, sounds like cheap fun, less than a lot of .22s.

Ross Seyfried did an article years ago on shooting the 30-ish caliber rook and Cadet rifles. This sounds pretty much like a similar proposition, in a plastic kinda way.

The Nosler ABLRs might be a good match for the 300 BO for hunting. The ABLRs being advertised to open up down to 1300 fps.

In the 16" bbl, I'd guess it's possible to get the 190gr ABLR to about 1700 fps range, the 210gr maybe 1500 fps or so.

With the BC's of the ABLRs they should retain 1300 fps to 200+ yards.

when I saw ruger American I was thinking more on the lines of a bolt action and not a semi auto. all that being said i'm all for buying whatever ticks one's clock. I like a lot of "different" chamberings, the 300 Blackout just hasn't caught my eye for whatever reason. have fun guys.

When the .300 Whisper first came out I read that the long Matchkings would tumble when they hit anything, and do a lot of damage.

I shot a doe with a subsonic 220 Matchking out of an AR 3-4 years ago, and she left a decent blood trail, but was not recovered. I believe I hit her a little too high, but I am sure it would have been a bang-flop with a typical deer caliber.

Earlier this year I shot a eating-size pig with the 220gr Outlaw State, which is said to be designed to expand at subsonic speeds. The pig was unimpressed with the first shot, and kept walking with no reaction. After a couple good hits it finally laid down, and was finished with a .45. The .300 entrances looked the same as the exits.

240 Matchkings are hard to obtain; I may try them at some point to see if they are better killers when launched at subsonic speeds. I know one member was going to try the Lehigh defense, but I've not yet heard how they did.

I may at some point get a can for the .300 AR, to use for hog & predator control with subsonic loads. The house gun, a Daniel AR, is a .300.

To me, the 300 BO is still a niche cartridge for niche applications. Unless you're shooting suppressed, there's very little that can't be done better with something else.

Sounds like an ideal cast bullet gun... Someone is selling converted .221 brass on Cast Bullet Forms... cheap and he gets great reviews....I may need one of these....3 Cents for primes... a few grains of maybe Red Dot for a mild "Rook Rifle" load.... brass should last about forever.... got enough lead to last a life time....

Are these shipping now?

Personally I'd prefer a boltgun over a semiauto for a couple reasons.

- Boltgun will function with any type load, no gas requirements for reliable function.

- With the boltgun no need to chase brass.

- The boltgun stays cleaner, and is simpler to clean.

I wonder if it will fit in the magazine?

I wouldn't expect any problems with the 190/210 ABLR regarding OAL and standard mag length.

Shouldn't need to be any longer OAL than the 220-240gr commercial ammo.

Thanks for posting that link. I am seriously impressed with .5 inch groups at 100 with the supersonic loads.

Shane, I agree completely about the bolt vs. semiauto option. I don't want to chase brass and I prefer to clean with an occasional swipe of the boresnake.

The factory ammo is generally held to 2.08" OAL, and a while back one of AAC's guys posted that length gave best function in AR's. FWIW, both of mine functioned perfectly at 2.24" (mag length in an AR-15 mag) and gave better accuracy. I have not tried any of the bolt guns, so can't comment on what works in them.

They all have 1 in 8" twists, which may not work for cast bullets.

I actually see more than one niche for it:

- subsonic suppressed, where applicable
- beats pistol caliber carbine ballistics and is an alternative to them
- with full power loads, approaches 7.62x39 and .30-30 killing power and may be better than a 5.56 (may being the key word)
- indoors, even without a can it is quieter than most rifles, and is shorter, handier, and much higher capacity than defensive shotguns.

Logistics-wise they have the advantages of 5.56 magazines and bolt face.

There is one advantage I have noted when stand hunting. If I shoot a deer at my stand with something on an '06 case, like a .270 or .25-06, I may not see deer for 2-3 days in the same place, I assume due to the muzzle blast. With smaller cases they may be back shortly thereafter. So as long as you're confident in the load, you may get more opportunities with rounds like this one.

YMMV

Along the same lines, if you load your own, subsonics can be loaded with faster powders that are much quieter than anything that cycles a semi-auto.

The supersonic loads are good suppressed too; mine seems a little louder than a .22 rifle, but not as loud as a .22 pistol.

The Ruger American Ranch is a bolt action Rifle, not a semi-auto, just to clarify to some.

Yeah, you'd think they would have shied away from doing a re-run on the "ranch" name.

I think the concept is good just the accuracy of the previous version ! Eeek

Mike

the "beats pistol caliber carbines and shotguns in many ways for home defense" is a very good reason. I don't know if your 9mm, 45 cal, 40 cal, 10mm,.357 or 00 buckshot would do this and he is using just a 10 inch barrel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDTvbzExaPI

"Are these shipping now?"

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=453022853

This guy has had several, so they are in the loop. Think you will find them cheaper once they get around a bit more. Also saw a couple of the 223 'Ranch' rifles on gun broker a week or so ago.

Jerry