What is the reason behind the popularity of this round, other than it fitting on an AR platform?
.300 AAC Blackout
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Sub sonic 200 Gr bullets make it really quite with a suppressor.
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Sub sonic 200 Gr bullets make it really quite with a suppressor.
Originally Posted By: bigj_16
What is the reason behind the popularity of this round, other than it fitting on an AR platform?
Billt460 has said it all and said it well.
I pretty much think it's a gimmicky round myself.
Ballistically same as a AK-47 round which most AR shooters consider obsolete then build a cartridge the same and it's all the rave.
I have 2 300 Blackouts in the AR platform and another in an Encore single shot pistol. 1 set up as an AR pistol (registered as a pistol) with an 8.5 inch barrel and another set up for hunting with a 16 inch barrel and I absolutely love both. The pistol, since it's registered as such is legal to carry loaded with a 30 round mag in my vehicle at all times. Very handy for impromptu varmint control. The pistol is also very quick for clearing a home being so short. The 16 inch rifle, like I said is set up for hunting and is good out to 200 yards on deer sized game with 110 or 120 grain Barnes TAC-TX ammo and very little recoil.
Bilt460 is mainly on point but I would like to add a couple points.
1. 300 BLK round can be much more accurate than the 7.62x39. An inch or less groups at 100 yards is not uncommon with quality ammo.
2. As a rule you can get higher quality ammo in 300 BLK than what is normally available in 7.62x39.
3. 300 BLK is very efficient in short barrels. I don't lose tons of velocity in my 8.5 inch barrel.
4. When suppressed, the 300 is a dream to shoot. It's so quiet that you can often hear the bullets impact the game you are hunting. Even better in a bolt action rifle.
It doesn't have the power of a 30-06 or the low cost ammo of an AK but it does some things that other rounds can't do.
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Thanx for all the input, guys. I have a little more insight now.
To me the absolute biggest drawback to this round is cost. It's phenomenally expensive for what it is. This place is just down the road from me, and they're charging $542.00 and $592.00 a case of 1,000 rounds for S&B and Magtech. (Pull the scroll bar on the right about 2" down). That's almost DOUBLE for what most 5.56 MM is going for. And close to what you can buy bulk .308 for. And when you consider it's basically just a modified cut down .223 case with a larger bullet, and about the same amount of powder, the cost makes even less sense.
https://www.unammo.com/
Sure you can get around that by handloading. But the cases are still a PITA to make in the kind of quantity you'll need to do the same amount of shooting with as you would with a 5.56 MM. Not to mention it's time consuming to cut and trim them to length. You can buy .300 AAC Blackout brass ready to go. But again it's cost prohibitive when compared to 5.56MM.
When you compare this added cost, and it's ballistics to the AK round, it's just too expensive. At least to do any kind of high volume shooting with.
I have one and am looking forward to getting it all together soon. I have been cleaning Wal-Mart out of the Remington .300 Blackout every-time I go. I also have a .458 SOCOM upper to try out also. Just need to wait for all the ranges to open, they are all closed due to fire danger.
The downside that I have seen is people brain [censored] and load a magazine of .300 Blackout into an AR with a .223/5.56 upper. I have different color magazines that I know are for certain calibers.
JHZR2
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Originally Posted By: bigj_16
What is the reason behind the popularity of this round, other than it fitting on an AR platform?
Yrs back I used to go regularly to the Knob Creek MG shoot in Kentucky, right next to Fort Knox!
They shoot a lot of suppressed stuff. They have a separate range in the back so you can really
enjoy suppressors with ear plugs out. My pal had a pre-'86 2-stamp MP5SD we used to run on the
"jungle walk" course in the back - nice! 
Key issue: It's the hi volume hi speed gas at the muzzle that make the suppressor less
effective in .223, etc. Flight noise from a supersonic round doesn't carry that far, more like
a fast whizzing sound, not a bang. Any bang you hear is the unsuppressed portion of the blast,
not the sound of the actual bullet.
The heavy .300 blackout round delivers decent energy with way less chamber pressure acting on a
larger sectional area of the bullet then the much smaller .223!
Locally up here a few weeks back, cops where at the range using small muzzle cans on ARs, reduced
the .223 blast to a light .45 report, looks like their guns were set up for CQB use. Compact cans
(suppressors) only do so much, I'd rather have the MP5SD, way quieter, the action sound you hear
thru your cheek bone (cheek weld to the stock) is a bolt 'clunk' rather then a "skretchy screen
door" sound of an AR bolt carrier and buffer spring cycling! LOL (But I'll still keep the AR!)
Key issue: It's the hi volume hi speed gas at the muzzle that make the suppressor less
effective in .223, etc. Flight noise from a supersonic round doesn't carry that far, more like
a fast whizzing sound, not a bang. Any bang you hear is the unsuppressed portion of the blast,
not the sound of the actual bullet.
The heavy .300 blackout round delivers decent energy with way less chamber pressure acting on a
larger sectional area of the bullet then the much smaller .223!
Locally up here a few weeks back, cops where at the range using small muzzle cans on ARs, reduced
the .223 blast to a light .45 report, looks like their guns were set up for CQB use. Compact cans
(suppressors) only do so much, I'd rather have the MP5SD, way quieter, the action sound you hear
thru your cheek bone (cheek weld to the stock) is a bolt 'clunk' rather then a "skretchy screen
door" sound of an AR bolt carrier and buffer spring cycling! LOL (But I'll still keep the AR!)
Originally Posted By: BobsArmory
1. 300 BLK round can be much more accurate than the 7.62x39. An inch or less groups at 100 yards is not uncommon with quality ammo.
Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
AK's are not long-range tactical weapons. I saw a recent report that said over 96% of ALL shooting encounters happen inside of 150 yards, whether police snipers, personal protection, or even hunters. Inside this 150-yard window, an AK is just as lethal as any other long gun in 30 cal range.
Originally Posted By: billt460
Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
AK's are not long-range tactical weapons. I saw a recent report that said over 96% of ALL shooting encounters happen inside of 150 yards, whether police snipers, personal protection, or even hunters. Inside this 150-yard window, an AK is just as lethal as any other long gun in 30 cal range.
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A rifle dynamics AK will cost you $2,000 or more with no optics. I can't find a guarantee of accuracy that states .5 to .7 MOA on their website. Subie, can you find that info for us?
I know it’s also popular with the AR pistol crowd, especially now with the fairly new ruling regarding brace usage. Also as was mentioned the Numbers I’ve seen show not much loss in velocity when used in a shorter bbl. Going down to a 10.5” bbl from 16” you’ll lose 150-200fps. That gives you pretty good power in a small package.
300 blackout and .458 x (1.5"???) are getting popular amongst the hog shooters down here (non supressed, $10,000 fine, and/or two years in jail)...they are having great results versus their traditional 30-30s and .308s (and yes 7.62x30 in cheapy Norinco bolt actions after their SKS' were confiscated in 1996).
Slightly off topic One pig shooter who was at the range before Christmas when I was messing with the B92 in .44Mag, getting 10 shot 2-1/2" groups (with factory sight) at 55 yards commented that he might have found his new answer...if only he bought mine
How many rifle shooters can hold and shoot 3 MOA from field positions? I'll go way out on a limb and say very few. All this worry, want, and "need" over accuracy is moot, unless the shooter / hunter / soldier / cop, who is holding that weapon can deliver said accuracy to the target. The bottom line is most any AK platform rifle is capable of delivering accuracy beyond what the person pulling the trigger is capable of. If you don't believe that, take a trip to Arlington National Cemetery. Far too many occupants were put there because they were hit in the field of battle with AK-47 rifles.
Go to most any public shooting range on any given day, and look at the groups most guys are getting with their AR-15's. Most all AK's are capable of delivering accuracy beyond that. Again, I'm talking field positions here. Civilian hunters / soldiers / and cops clearing houses don't shoot from bench rests, at targets in the next county. As was mentioned in a previous post, over 90% of all shooting happens within 150 yards.
No one "needs" a sub MOA hunting / self defense rifle, anymore than they need a 650 H.P. V-12 Ferrari to get to work. If someone simply likes and wants it, that's fine. Most guns and high performance automobiles are purchased under those simple parameters. It's when we start bringing "need" into the conversation, that things start going south in a hurry.
Originally Posted By: billt460
How many rifle shooters can hold and shoot 3 MOA from field positions? I'll go way out on a limb and say very few. All this worry, want, and "need" over accuracy is moot, unless the shooter / hunter / soldier / cop, who is holding that weapon can deliver said accuracy to the target.
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Don't get your logic here.
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