Because I wasn't an AR guy, I didn't know much about .300 Blackout. I knew it was a .223 cartridge with the neck enlarged to hold a .30 caliber bullet, but could still function in the guts (boltface, mags... &c.) of an AR operating system. But that's it.
So. What's it good for? Is it comparable to Commie 7.62? Thutty-Thutty? .30 Carbine? Is it subsonic?
To wikipedia! Learn, T-Bolt!
Looks like an improvement on the wildcat .300 Whisper. And this would be the 'official' SAAMI round.
Subsonic? Sure, put a heavy bullet in there, like 220 gr. Done. Good. Your choice, light and fastish and regular, or slow and heavy and subsonic, seem to be the flavors. Some folks like subsonic for suppressed pig hunting action.
The 'bottle' is smaller than with the 5.56x45mm NATO round.
It's on the low side of the energy curve for deer hunting. And really it is about the same at the M1 Carbine, on paper. Interesting. The 'standard' .300 round being 10 grains heavier and 300 ft/s faster. So... a negligible difference.
Oh, you're in for it now!
ReplyDeleteThe lovers of the boutique rounds are like furry fans!
You dissed their baby.
This was the point that Colonel Cooper made 25 years ago in "To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Tell the Truth", that there was very little to be gained with wildcat cartridges, and most of what was touted as "new" was of negligible improvement, by any measure, over some cartridge that existed before Hoover was President (with the possible exception of the .308 Win).
ReplyDeleteTbolt,
ReplyDeleteNot to be a poo, but 300fps is kinda a big deal in the rifle world, especially with the added grain weight. As a matter of fact, that's the difference between 300 win mag and 30-06 too.
30-06
150 grain @ 2910 fps
180 grain @ 2700 fps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30-06
300 win mag
165grain @3260 fps
190 grain @ 3083 fps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_Win_Mag
And for that matter, thats a similar distance between the 7.62x39 and the 308 winchester
7.62x39
123gr @ 2421fps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.62x39
308 winchester
150gr @ 2820fps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.308_Winchester
And not many people would argue that that isnt a significant step up in performance when put in that perspective.
What abnormalist said.
ReplyDeleteSo, instead of almost as crappy at a .30 carbine it's a little better than almost as crappy as a .30 carbine, check.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't call a .30 carbine "crappy". At 100 yards, it still has the energy of a .357 Mag at the muzzle. It's not a 600-yard Camp Perry round--and neither is the .300--but used in the roles that these cartridges were designed for, they're optimum. You don't play golf with one club, so why try to make every shot with one rifle?
ReplyDeleteMurphy, but that's the gist of almost every discussion about guns on the internet. That and you're holding it wrong.
ReplyDeleteThey all fall to hardball! Revolvers don't jam! 19 out of 20 solid torso hits shot down a Zero but craps where it eats!
ReplyDelete*headdesk*
The Remington 125gr (Premier Match OTM) load claims 2,215 fps which is just a bit slower than 7.62x39mm.
ReplyDeleteSo, almost as good as a crappy AK.
Let's ask Frank James! Farmer Frank's killed a metric crap-ton of stuff with .300 Whisper. Wonder what load he likes?
ReplyDeleteAh, here it is: 240gr Sierra Match Kings.
"So, almost as good as a crappy AK."
ReplyDeleteRight! And you know how 7.62x39 just bounces right off people, which is why Food Court Team Six switched to the more potent 5.56mm. ;)