#10MinuteTalk - 300 Blackout: Discrete, Effective, Versatile

This was my project at AAC and Remington, and I will add to this conversation about why we created 300 BLK when 300 Whisper(R) already existed. The first was that 300 Whisper was not a SAAMI cartridge, and without it being in SAAMI, Remington and other large ammo companies would not load for it. Second, the military wanted to be able to switch from subsonic to supersonic and not have to adjust the gas block. I worked with Remington to create subsonic loads that purposely made more gas so that they would cycle the action that was set up for supersonic. 300 Whisper, at least how it was commonly loaded with fast powders, would not do this. Third, we created custom bullets that were 110-115 grain but with a very large ogive so that they would be magazine-length. This prevented them from shifting forward in the magazine if bumped. The long ogive was designed to have the same diameter at the rib of the magazine that normally rested on the case neck as the neck of a 5.56mm case. This kept the rounds from canting inwards, which allowed you to load a full 30 rounds without hanging up in the magazine. Not every ammo company understood any or all of this, and even today, many or most don't. I had permission from Remington to not keep it a trade secret because we wanted the cartridge to succeed, and so were open to helping other ammo companies. We worked with Hornady, Barnes, and some others. Also, 300 BLK is the first cartridge that was used by the military with expanding projectiles. As for the name, the official name is 300 AAC Blackout, and the short name is 300 BLK. There are no other names. Also, 300 doesn't begin with a "."  300 BLK has more energy from a 9 inch barrel than 5.56mm from a 16 inch barrel, making the supersonic particularly good for SBRs or PDWs. I am using a 6.5" barrel myself, and the military uses 5.5, 6.75, and 7.75, but started with our 9 inch barrels for the first combat use. The problem with 7.62x39 is that it doesn't really work in an AR. I tried it for a while, and broke three bolts due to the larger boltface. If you load an AR-style magazine, it jams up if you put in more than about 10 rounds. Also, the case is too large for efficient subsonic use.

I absolutely love these cartridge talks.

There may be more efficient ways to burn money but 300 blackout is a damn fun way to do it.

I learned of the 300 blkout on a deployment to Afghanistan in 2010 and without saying a lot a buddy of mine from a certain team started using it. Since then I am heavily invested into the 300 blkout. I have my 300blk 8.5" AR PDW/Truck gun, a 11.5" upper receiver for hunting, & my Encore Pro Hunter 6" pistol barrel with a 1-5 twist. And I use my suppressor on all three firearms. It's got to be my favorite caliber to have fun with. Plus my buddies daughter likes to hunt with it my 11.5" AR set up.

A few years ago, I got to shoot a suppressed full auto AR in 300. It's rapidly becoming my favorite cartridge.

Ryan, Jim, and Mark, now that you have touched on the idea, how about a 10 minute talk on subsonic hunting with commercially available loads and the comparison of those cartridges.

I haven't even watched this yet, but as soon as I saw this in my feed my reaction was "YEEEESSSS!!!"

Take a look at Maker Rex bullets. They do some amazing things in critters at sub sonic speeds. 300blk is a fantastic cartridge for hand loading. The selection of bullets in 30cal are second to none. The powder charges are small so a little goes a long way. One of the most unique aspects of the cartridge is the ability to shoot semi auto subs and supers back to back, no changes needed in a properly speced AR. There aren't a lot of center fire cartridges that you can do that with.

Now that we’ve covered the baby blackout, which with a 1:5 barrel that transfers rotational energy into expansion, you should look into covering Q’s new project, the 8.6 Blackout!! Same concept of fast twist and retained energy in a super fast twist 1:3 barrel!! SCIENCE!

Glad to have you guys back for cartridge reviews again... Please more!! 🤗

Would love you guys to do a 10min talk on the 338 Federal! It’s a secretly effective and versatile round!

Excellent discussion on the 300 BLK!!! Thank you for posting this. There seems to be far more 300 BLK naysayers than proponents, but I love my 300 BLK carbine and pistol. I might have missed the words in the video so forgive me if you said this, but this cartridge gets its high performance in a small package because it uses pistol powder, not rifle powder. It’s an ingenious design! I handload and I use 110 gr Nosler Varmageddon bullets: 2415 fps in my carbine; 2200 fps in my pistol. As long as I hunt within the bullet’s kinetic envelope (which you must do for ANY bullet), the 300 BLK is a solid performer. That many dead feral hogs can’t be wrong. Lightweight, accurate, and reliable.

300 blackout is my favorite caliber. The best lethal cartridge suppressed and out of short barrels.

The true beauty of the 300 aac is the amount of variety / creativity a reloader can have with it. Using the right powders with the right bullets, I can run 110g , 120, 125, 150, and 200g bullets all on the same build with no issues or adjustment. So many 30 cal projectile options

AAC Developed it at the request of Special operations to replace the 9mm (MP5) for CQC .

So glad this is back it’s one of my favorite podcast series you do!!

The 300BLK subsonic loadings may burn all their powder charge in 9", but supersonic loadings have been proven to still gain velocity and therefore energy in 16-20" barrels. This fact disproves the often repeated statement that 300BLK burns all it's powder in a 9" barrel. Reference Mrgunsngear 300BLK videos.

Glad this series is back!

That was great! This round is a "love-hate" for many. I'm glad you guys looked at it for what it is. A great little round with some good performance.

If you do the 6.8 SPC podcast, please compare it to 6mm ARC and 6.5 Grendel. I feel these are the 3 medium bore premium cartridges a person has to choose from in a gas gun.