300 blackout deer rifle?

ed# 5

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what do you think of the 300 blackout as a deer round how does it compare to other AR rounds? what bullets work best?

Ed
 
I'd use one for a short range deer and hog rifle. My 300 Blackout shoots 1/2" groups with Winchester 296 powder and Barnes 110 Tac-TX bullets
 
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There are better AR rounds for deer. Want a short range hammer? .450B or .458Soc. Want a mid range deer killer? 6-6.8, 6.8, 6.5.

Nothing wrong with the Blackout for deer, except it's painfully slow. I wouldn't waste my time building one for that purpose. Even the x39 gets more out of an AR than the blackout. I used a Whisper, what we called the blackout before AAC renamed it, for several years, one in a 24" one in 18", and had an XP-100 barreled in whisper at 14". Nothing impressive to me in the least, so I don't still have them.
 
there's nothing wrong with the blackout's capabilities for deer hunting - you just have to understand what you're working with, and the velocity limitations on your bullet selection.


a lot of its performance is what you're expecting out of it.


is it an effective deer killer, absolutely. is it a 300 wizbang ultramag? never will be.



if you're in factory ammo - pretty much the barnes 110gr blacktips are *the* ammo to go with.

its a solid 150 yd deer round.


if you're a handloader, there are a nice selection of bullets out there that work, and more hitting the market every day. take a look at some of the stuff maker bullets has in the works, or lehigh.


will it do everything a x39 will do - [beeep] yes. in fact some of us are loading x39 (hornady .310 123gr sst's) in our blackouts with amazing results (some folks resize them to .308 , others leave them be)


as a buddy of mine likes to say - there's only one degree of dead. Lots of calibers will accomplish that. pick the one that makes you the happiest and go kill stuff. If you do your part they'll do theirs
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which only holds true when discussing the subsonic side of the caliber.


110gr supers at 2350
125gr supers at 2150
and 135gr supers at 2050 or so arent anything to sneeze at.

this is balistic gel testing of the 110 barnes tac-tx



some testing of a 110gr vmax load





so its not just a 45acp with good ballistics
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I've taken 17 deer as part of a cull with Hornady 208 sub-sonics. All shots were from a blind and ranges were limited to 40 yards. I never had one take more then a step or two. I also done a bunch of shooting with the Rem Hog Hammer 135 load and would feel confident at 125 yards with it.
 
300blk is only cool with a silencer and subsonic ammo. Otherwise what's the point? It's a terrible cartridge ballistcaly. Crazy how folks build them in states where silencers are illegal. WHY?
 
Man, you guys are harsh. Why all the 300blk hate here? I just built a 16" carbine, and I love it. I'm in Illinois - we're not allowed to have anything fun at all. No SBR's, no cans, no rock 'n' roll switch...and I still love it. Since everyone here has gone all negative nancy and pointed out the cons, here's a few pros:

Only difference between .300blk and a 5.56 rifle is the barrel, which means you can use the same mags you already have. That alone can save you some $$. If you don't want a dedicated 300blk rifle, you can also just build an upper and pop it on your favorite hunting lower. Its also worth a mention that the ballistics and trajectory are NOT as bad as some would have you think. If you use a 125 or 150 yard zero, the holdover is totally manageable. I think the only ones who are afraid of a little bullet drop are the ones who don't know how to range a target, but I digress.

I do think 300blk is a great option for deer, at least until deer start wearing some kinda body armor.

Anyway, FWIW, mine shoots really well with 125 grain Speer TNT's and Nosler Ballistic Tips.
 
Ive assembled several 300BO ARs for some friends.. After working up loads for them i wasnt impressed at all either. I normally shoot 223 and 6.8 and couldnt find anything in the 300bo that i liked. Subs were fun for a little while but they didnt kill anything good at all.
The best shooting one was a 8.5" Noveske barrel and 110gr Vmax But it was really slow velocity.
If i hunted really close stuff i might would consider one. but on the farm there is rarly a shot under 150 yards.
After using the 6.8 for so long i really love the 120gr SST in it. And the ole faithful 223 has never let me down on deer or hogs, just takes a follow up shot sometimes.
 
When velocity and energy get that low, and range so limited, I'd rather switch to a pistol caliber and benefit from much wider bullets. YMMV. I love the 44Mag out to ~125 yards on deer, if I felt I had to hunt deer with an AR I'd probably built a 458 SOCOM. Nice wide bullets designed to do the job at the given velocity. I like my 30cals moving faster with more hydrostatic action.

Again, YMMV. The 30-30 has killed a lot of deer, but it's kind of on the weaker side, and the 300 Blackout is even weaker.
 
6.5 Grendel or 6.8 SPC would be much better choices in a standard frame AR15 than 300BO. I think even a 5.56 with 62 or 70 grain barnes TSX would be better.
 
I built a 300 this year for my kids to deer hunt with. I figured being recoil friendly and having the adjustable stock will make for a good rifle for kids. Plus the 300 is now legal in Indiana whereas other calibers are not. In addition when my wife says, "You're building another rifle?" and I reply, "It's for the kids." it ends there and all is well.
 
Originally Posted By: NonnieselmanDoes indiana have a law for caliber restrictions? 6mm and larger?
243 and anything 30cal, nothing in-between. Stupid regs but I have a 243 and now a 30 cal and another wildcat round that Indiana allows.
 
Originally Posted By: NonnieselmanWow.... that is ignorant. Mississippi we have no caliber restrictions.

MS has different topography and population density.

This is what happens when an ignorant legislature takes the place of the DNR. The law, the way it was worded when passed, was completely illogical as the "cartridges" they designated were not real designations.

Essentially, after the legislature made their play, the DNR gave up, threw up their hands, and opened it up to everything in the calibers of the "cartridges" the law designated. Which is how we ended up in this Frankenstein situation.
 
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