Took the plunge and decided to drink the .300 Blackout Kool-Aid!

[imarangemaster]

Got the upper, dies and brass. Had powder, primers and projectiles, and a Stag lower with an H buffer and GI M4 recoil spring. Put it all together today and started loading some Sierra Matchking 125 grain (300 Blackout specific) OT match loads with 18.2 grains of WW296 and CCI #41 223 primers. Seem to feed fine cycling by hand. Sweet looking round, kinda like a 5.56 with a hard on! Will battle sight it tomorrow at work, so I can carry it as a patrol carbine. I am not a fan of the Hornady dies, so I will probably replace them with LEE with a powder feed and factory crimp dies. Pics tomorrow.

Interestingly enough, the 125 grain .308 from a Blackout only uses 18.2 grains of WW296, whereas the 110 30 Carbine .308 use 15 grains. The Blackout, though, has over 50% more energy than the carbine, with only 3 grains more WW296 and 15 grains bullet weight. !

[imarangemaster]

Just a brief range report: Due to situations beyond my control, i did not get to anywhere I could shoot the Blackout until just before dusk. . THe load was modified 5.56 Lake City brass, 18.2 grains of WW296, a CCI #41 primer, and a Sierra Matchking 125 grain OT made specifically for the .300 Blackout.

The sights are a set of no-name, flip up metal (aluminum and steel) front and rear BUIS, as my M4 is a flat top front and rear. With the rear sight centered in the housing, it was dead center on the rail, as was the front sight post dead center on the rail. I could not mount my red dot, as I don't yet have my riser so I can co-witness red dot and iron sights. The stock is a no-name M4 stock with USGI M4 spring and an H buffer, and the BCG is M16.


I had 35 yards marked off, and leaned on the corner of the pickup bed for stability. I stupidly left my portable frame and targets at home, so I decided I would today just see if it was in the ball park, and check for function with a 30 round magazine. I selected a rock that was about 4 inches square, and set it on the bank 35 yards distant. First round was dead center, just grazing the bottom 1/2" of the rock. According to my ballistic calculator, that is perfect for a 200 yard POA/POI zero! Dang! I'll see if it needs fine tuning on paper.

The subsequent 29 rounds all seemingly were dead on as well. As far as recoil, there was little or none, certainly no more than a 5.56 full size AR, and maybe less than an M4. It is non-existent compared to a 7.62x39 in an AK platform, even though ballistically it is about equal. Some of the lack is probably due to the H buffer and the heavier M16 BCG.

An interesting note was that, even though I had no muzzle device on it (it is a "featureless" Kalifornication build so I can use high-caps), there was little if any muzzle flash, even though it was twilight. Probably due to the WW296 powder being optimized for M1 Carbine and now .300 Blackout loads from 16-18" barrels.

In closing: I LOVE THIS .300 BLACKOUT. This is now my absolute favorite long gun, even surpassing my beloved Winchester USGI 1944 M1 Carbine. I am carrying it as my patrol carbine on my high country security contract.

[Midmichigun]

Imarangemaster....
Great report.
I recently fired a 300blackout AR with a monolithic upper. I can't remember the brand, but did in fact enjoy shooting. The recoil as I recall, was somewhere between an AR in 5.56 and an AK in 7.62.
My buddy was doing a Cerrokote job for a fella, and was function testing the rifle.
Out of the box of ammo that we fired, most of the brass was dented. It appeared to be coming from the ejection of the spent shell, instead of the brass deflector. Ejection was smart and predictable, as we found most of the shells in a small area.

I debated about doing an AR in 300, but have debated instead about 7.62x39. As the money spent on the lower and mags, would eventually be caught up with cheaper ammo....