AR .300 Blackout with Supressor - Hunting Tool or Range Toy?

[SwaneeSR]

Interesting day at the rifle range. It was pretty busy, me and my buddy got the last two spots. I was working on testing some hunting loads in my .30-06 and a .30-30 I had purchased last year.

The station next to me opened up and a gentlemen plops down with a suppressed .300 blackout AR build. It was his first time out and he was testing three different loads for the first time. His plan is to use it for hunting this Fall.


It was a heavy rig, I handled it with and without the supressor. Not a lightweight mountain rifle.

The supressor worked amazing. I had thought a supressed rifle was just a range toy.

Have you considered the Pros and Cons of purchasing a suppressor for hunting?

Swanee

 

[agtman]

It was a heavy rig, I handled it with and without the supressor. Not a lightweight mountain rifle.

.300BLK ARs don't have to be heavy ... It depends on how they're set up: what barrel length and profile? Is it wearing a heavy rail system with "stuff" hanging all over it (bipod, flashlight)? What optic? Simple RDS v. big weighty scope, etc.

My .300BLK is a 10.5" SBR running a RDS and an SDN-6 can. Not bad at all.

The supressor worked amazing. I had thought a supressed rifle was just a range toy.
Have you considered the Pros and Cons of purchasing a suppressor for hunting?

Suppressors have long been more than "range toys" for rich guys. And now that more and more states have legalized suppressor-hunting, they're especially popular for hunting predators and invasive species, like hogs.

Heck, I've hunted squirrels with my suppressed Ruger 77/22 (with a Surefire Ryder can ... )

The three most immediate benefits in the field are (1) the can renders the rifle's discharge hearing-safe for the shooter (and those with him), (2) shooting suppressed doesn't disturb people living near where the hunting takes place, or their pets or livestock (especially important during the early morning/early evening hunting of hogs that have invaded farm areas or residential communities), and (3), because the can operates to reduce the concussive blast and flash, it distorts the sound pattern to the extent that the animals frequently can't tell where the shot came from - if they detect it at all - and so sometimes they run or scatter toward the hunter(s) rather away from them.

 

[jmorris]

I hunt with suppressors but I have a lot of rifles in more effective rounds than 300 blk, so mine is just another toy.

 

[dubbleA]

Earth shattering news...a suppressed rifle can be used as a range toy or a hunting tool. It just depends on the individual, their wants/needs and local laws. Nothing wrong with either.


I built a suppressed 300BO SBR AR and use it for range work and hunting. It works well for both purposes. Shoot nothing but 200-240grs with subs.




200 yard group on steel

 

[agtman]

Very nice set-up, dubbleA. Obviously, the hog likes it too.

What can do you have?

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

On the ranch we allow them for hogs, and they work great for that duty. We strongly discourage them for deer and are on the verge of disallowing them. The round itself performs well, especially with bullets designed to expand at subsonic speeds, but the problem is with the shooters. Subsonic .300blk has a pretty significant ballistic drop at typical deer hunting ranges. Only shooters with a lot of practice with the platform can accurately judge the range to the deer and adjust the shot well enough to get a humane kill shot. When you step down to subsonic rounds the shot placement needs to be a lot more precise because the wound channel is a lot smaller. As a business, we much prefer the .458 SOCOM if someone wants to hunt suppressed. It seems to have much more authority on the terminal end of things.

 

[dubbleA]

agtman,

Thanks
Its a can I made on a Form 1.
At 1 5/8"x8" it fits under the JP hand guard.

 

[eldon519]

I used to work with some South Africans that ran small hunting preserves on the side. They said suppressor use is extremely common there, and one of them wouldn't let people hunt his ranch without them. It was one of those funny moments when I was blown away listening to him talk about how hard it was to get a pistol there, and he was blown away by how hard it is to get a suppressor here.

 

[marksman13]

I don't hunt without a suppressor. Period. I'm no fan of the 300 BLK, especially when it comes to subs though. I much prefer the 6.8 SPC or 277 Wolverine in supersonic loads for hunting.

 

[SwaneeSR]

Not a great photo of the supressed rig at the range Sunday.

Sure opened my eyes about supressors.

 

[SwaneeSR]

I do know there was a lot of variation between the 125 grain supersonic and 200 grain subsonic round. The shooter was a handloader who cut .223 in a chop saw and formed his own .300BO brass. Sounded very doable. I think I understood him correctly.

When you run into a cool thing like this, it is difficult not to be a big pest. The guy was there to get some things figured out on his rifle, not chat with everyone else. He was kind enough to give me some basic information. Really nice guy.

He did mention that the supressor was in a legal trust. I assume so it could be passed down as an inheritance. Also, he mentioned that if sold, there is some transfer delays or if the device is shipped in for repair. Supressor ownership seems to have some hassles, if you think about it, it makes no sense. It is actually preventing/reducing noise pollution and hearing loss.

Swanee

 

[SwaneeSR]

Thank you for the information. I didn't know that suppressor use is so common here in the U.S. And overseas.

 

[taliv]

we have a whole forum for that.... "NFA Firearms and Accessories" the 8th link below rifle country.

 

[SwaneeSR]

Thanks taliv

I went and read the article. It seems like some common sense national legislation is needed to move supressors out of the category of Grandpa's machine gun, that discussion is not for the rifle forum.

 

[Pilot]

Earth shattering news...a suppressed rifle can be used as a range toy or a hunting tool. It just depends on the individual, their wants/needs and local laws. Nothing wrong with either.


I built a suppressed 300BO SBR AR and use it for range work and hunting. It works well for both purposes. Shoot nothing but 200-240grs with subs.

I really like that. Did you build it? What scope, and what AR components did you use?

 

[agtman]

The round itself performs well, * * * but the problem is with the shooters. Subsonic .300blk has a pretty significant ballistic drop at typical deer hunting ranges. Only shooters with a lot of practice with the platform can accurately judge the range to the deer and adjust the shot well enough to get a humane kill shot. When you step down to subsonic rounds the shot placement needs to be a lot more precise because the wound channel is a lot smaller.

I'm glad someone understands that the principle of ethical hunting remains the same regardless of the means or tools used to take game.

Suppressed rifle or not, ensuring a quick clean kill is every hunter's obligation, and that includes having the marksmanship skill to do it.

 

[gotigers]

both.

The 300blk is a very fun range toy and it is a decent caliber for mid sized game.

 

[agtman]

* * * It seems like some common sense national legislation is needed to move supressors out of the category of Grandpa's machine gun ...

The suppressor industry for some years now has been lobbying members of Congress in an effort to educate them on the auditory-health benefits that come from using suppressors on firearms - and not just for hunting, although that specific use is obviously potentially huge as more states continue to legalize suppressor hunting for all (or most) categories of game.

Not claiming it'll happen soon, ... but the goal of the lobbying effort is to get Congress to legislatively remove suppressors (or "silencers") from the NFA's definitional section of what constitutes an "NFA firearm," even though suppressors themselves are not "firearms" as we normally use the term. But they're right there in the statute with SBRs, SBSs, full-auto weapons, and "destructive devices."

By "de-listing" suppressors from the NFA's definitional section of regulated items that fall under BATFE's jurisdiction, that agency's involvement, as well as all the federal-paperwork hassle just to obtain them, would be eliminated.

Acquiring and owning suppressors could still be subject to the requirements of state law, however, so even if they got de-listed from the NFA, you'd still need to know if your state was suppressor-friendly.

 

[Tirod]

It's amazintg that the Korean army issues every soldier a suppressor. But the US won't, even tho the impact of gunfire is a known threat to hearing and causes thousands of veterans grief every year.

Yes, hearing protection is issued.

No, we don't have it all the time, it was taken back off the uniform. I showed up for "training" and discovered I was in Less Than Lethal Munitions with live fire for 5 hours. No plugs provided and none on me. The Army still doesn't get it right.

After I retired from the Reserves I was working at a factory in close proximity to large turret presses and earplugs were mandatory, with annual hearing tests to prevent the company any liability from exposure. All I got when mobilized was one up front and one on outprocessing to document what could have been prevented.

We very much DO need to change what is going on as it's a failure of the health care system and prevention. But the 'third rail' of firearms isn't something that anyone wants to mess with. There's no consolation that when Improved Carbine tests are run that compatibility with suppressors is mentioned - so what the A2 flash hider is a suppressor mount when there isn't any to attach?

Yes, you CAN just walk into some hardware stores in Europe and buy one off the shelf - if anything, they REQUIRE you to. It's the NFA and it's disarmament bias that prevents it.

 

[atomchaser]

The american public has been conditioned by Hollywood that silencers are the tools of criminals and deranged snipers. Until the public views them differently, the politicians aren't going to touch any changes to the way they are regulated.

 

[agtman]

Yes, you CAN just walk into some hardware stores in Europe and buy one off the shelf - if anything, they REQUIRE you to. It's the NFA and it's disarmament bias that prevents it.

That is the very sad fact of the asymmetrical view of the ownership of firearms v. suppressors between us and most European countries.

Whereas in most of Europe it's harder than heck to even obtain a rifle or pistol, once you have one, you can walk into just about any sporting goods store and buy a suppressor for it, literally "off-the-shelf," with no paperwork, no CLEO sign-off, and no restriction. The Europeans view the use of sound suppressors as both a means of protecting auditory health (yours & others) and a display of good social or sporting manners when you go to shoot or hunt with the firearm.

Here, 2A generally protects our right to own firearms, and guns of all types (as well as certain accessories) are much easier to acquire and use here, but we have jump through Euro-style bureaucratic "permissions" just to render them hearing-safe.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

have a buddy who runs a pig hunting operation and he told me a few guys have showed up with 300s with subsonic stuff and his opinion is that there very lame.

 

[marksman13]

I would agree with that opinion. If you are hunting over bait and can make a very precise head shot or if you are hunting in open country where you don't have to track a wounded pig through the swamp, 300 BLk subsonic stuff is fine. Otherwise, supersonic is the way to go and preferably not a 300 BLK.

 

[jmr40]

The problem with 300 Blackout as a hunting round is the lack of speed. Most hunting bullets need 1800-2000 fps at impact in order to expand, some as slow as 1600 fps. The heavier bullets don't come close to that at the muzzle. The mid weights will get there at the muzzle, and maybe out to 100 yards, but that is about it. The lightweights get decent speeds, but most are designed as Varmint bullets.

It'll work as long as the shooter understands it's limitations and chooses ammo and shots carefully. But there are so many better options, I consider it a step down from 223 as a deer round.

 

[climbnjump]

The lightweights get decent speeds, but most are designed as Varmint bullets.

There is an exception to that. Barnes has both 110 and 120 gr copper TAC-TX bullets specifically designed for the 300 BO. From the user comments on sites such as MidwayUSA, they work quite well on hogs and deer.

I used the 110 gr bullet (supersonic load) in an AR pistol last fall to take a whitetail buck at 125 yards. It was a double lung pass through and the buck piled up after running 30 yards. The exit hole was large enough for me to stick my thumb into.