.300 AAC Blackout

It looks like the hottest new thing these days is the new cartridge .300 AAC Blackout. It's designed to offer hard-hitting performance out of a short barrel at relatively close (300 yards or less) ranges, but what makes it different from big-bore cartridges like the .50 Beowulf is its reasonable pricing, and the fact that it can fire from an almost unmodified AR-15--all it requires is a barrel change, because 5.56mm bolts, magazines, and other components will safely perform with .300 AAC Blackout.

Apart from that, when suppressed, its subsonic rounds are both very quiet and quite powerful.

I've been following this thread on THR and to be honest, I am somewhat impressed in the idea of such a round. Sure, it'll never be as popular as .223, but I think there's certainly a niche for it. Some people have used it for hunting with good results, and why not? Most shots fired in hunting scenarios are fired at targets within a hundred or two hundred meters of the hunter, well within .300 AAC BLK's niche. Apart from that, I feel certain that when people really start to play with reloading for it, we'll get better and better rounds for less and less $$$.

Here's the round's official propaganda site: http://300aacblackout.com/

Have a gander and post here about your thoughts with respect to the .300 AAC Blackout round.

I saw it a while back, and I was impressed. Im waiting for it to become more popular though. 6.8 is JUST getting popular enough to where Id consider getting one.

I would ask myself what does it do that other more easily accessible and cheaper rounds can't do. Second what is your intended use of this rifle? For a SHTF rifle it's best to use an ammo that can be found at any wally world or podunk bait store rather than an exotic caliber that can only be found in specialty stores. With a common caliber like .223 or 9mm there is a high probability your enemy will bring it to you.

A few years ago the .300 whisper was the new kid on the block, it's now obsolete. If you really want an AR in .30 caliber it will most likely be cheaper in the long run to go with an AR in .308. I guarantee that round will still be plentiful in 25 years, I'm not so sure about all these other new kids on the block.

I agree. The .308 is a total badass.

Well since we are talking about badass .308 ARs....

:D

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...T/d621e433.jpg

And just like smith was saying, and like I said, a round has to be easy to find before Ill get a gun in the caliber, with a few exceptions.

Basically, the military will have to pick it up in their main issue rifles for me to get one. Thats when you know ammo will be plentiful.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to get a .300 AAC BLK kit for an AR-15--all one needs to go from 5.56 to .300 AAC BLK is a new barrel. Then, you do get a significant step up in terms of power (especially at "close" range--less than 300 yards) without paying a lot more money. I can't think of any drawbacks to the .300 AAC BLK that would affect the shooting experience of an average American, under average conditions.

I go shooting ALOT. And alot of the time I dont have time to wait for ammo to come in the mail. So having a gun that you cant get ammo for at Wal-Mart is a big thing for me.

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Originally Posted by smith357

I would ask myself what does it do that other more easily accessible and cheaper rounds can't do. Second what is your intended use of this rifle? For a SHTF rifle it's best to use an ammo that can be found at any wally world or podunk bait store rather than an exotic caliber that can only be found in specialty stores. With a common caliber like .223 or 9mm there is a high probability your enemy will bring it to you.

A few years ago the .300 whisper was the new kid on the block, it's now obsolete. If you really want an AR in .30 caliber it will most likely be cheaper in the long run to go with an AR in .308. I guarantee that round will still be plentiful in 25 years, I'm not so sure about all these other new kids on the block.

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Agreed, it is always a gamble to just pick up the latest and greatest wonder-caliber shortly after it is released. On the other hand, that very hesitation by many of us to support a new caliber is what often leads to its downfall. At the very best, the caliber is widely accepted by law enforcement and ultimately the military (though ten years in the Army has convinced me that 5.56 and 7.62 NATO are not going anywhere any time soon); at the very worst the caliber finds a niche market at best and eventually becomes obsolete or is no longer manufactured. Somewhere in the middle are cartridges such as 10mm that meet some initial success and acceptance but ultimately takes a backseat to less powerful but much more popular rounds such as .40 S&W or 9mm.

I can't speak much as my current SHTF rifle is a 7.62mm Enfield, but ideally such a rifle and/or pistol will have plentiful replacement parts and ammo for the foreseeable future. The AR-15 in 5.56mm has a wealth of parts stockpiled in most parts of the country. In an absolute worst-case scenario, parts can be obtained from a local National Guard armory or picked up from others who didn't fare very well. My Enfield is good enough for me, though, as it is rugged and all but unbreakable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anonymous D

And just like smith was saying, and like I said, a round has to be easy to find before Ill get a gun in the caliber, with a few exceptions.

Basically, the military will have to pick it up in their main issue rifles for me to get one. Thats when you know ammo will be plentiful.

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True, if all hell breaks loose or society as we know it disappears (think 1984 or The Road), knowing that ammo is available for limited time in vast quantities would give me much piece of mind. I haven't stood at the gun counter and counted, but Walmart probably has over a thousand round of .223 in each of its stores (and more than that of 9mm); military bases keep many tens or hundreds of thousands of small arms rounds; and even the local police station or abandoned squad car could be a source of ammo.

That said I personally don't believe that we will ever have to worry about such a catastrophe. To each his own, and whatever interests you doesn't have to seem practical to other gun owners. If hell ever breaks loose in this country, any gun is better than none. If it gets to the point where we have to acquire and scavenge for ammo, most of us will already be dead, and weapons will likely be as available as (or more available than) the ammo to feed them with.

Yeah. Ammo of any kind is only going to last so long. Better get good at using a sling shot to kill rabbits and squirrels.