is the 300blk passing fad or permanent trend??

[greyling22]

Gaze into your crystal ball and tell me: Is the 300 blk something of a fad that will pass and then there will be a lots of lightly used uppers and reloading bits coming to market, or is it a permanent hotness and there will rarely be used bits available?

 

[gbeecher]

Product niche

Neither one, I think it fills a needed void in caliber/cartridge for the AR platform. Special operators especially will probably find a need for it.

 

[Ken70]

OP, bet you own a 6.8 SPC. That's the one that is going to be a passing fad. Ammo is expensive, buyer at Walmart accidentally ordered some; that mistake will be corrected.

300 exact opposite, just reform 5.56 or .223 brass, .30 caliber bullets, you're in business. If you can legally own a can, even better...shooting and not annoying the neighbors into calling cops.

 

[Warp]

Gaze into your crystal ball and tell me: Is the 300 blk something of a fad that will pass and then there will be a lots of lightly used uppers and reloading bits coming to market, or is it a permanent hotness and there will rarely be used bits available?

I believe it won't disappear, but it will never be mainstream.

Think 10mm AUTO.

It'll be out there, but selection/pricing/availability will NEVER even touch that of a major player like 5.56/.223. But I do believe .300 will demolish cartridges like 6.8 going forward.

With the .300 all you really need to swap is the barrel. Everything else is the same, even the same magazines, as 5.56/.223. Same basic brass. Common .30 bullets. Great suppressed, great in a short barrel, a decent amount of manufacturers of it (considering), what's not to like?

 

[peyton]

I got two rifles in 300 blackout. At Christmas I went home for R&R from Afghanistan and could not find one bullet to shoot out of them Still, I think it will stick around, it gives more performance than the 30 carbine and not the recoil of the .308.

 

[meanmrmustard]

I'd like to have one for hogs, sadly, hogs haven't been a nuisance here yet for which I'd have a reason to buy a BLK.

That said, I don't shoot suppressed often nor really need to. I can get the job done, whatever that may be, with heavier 5.56 rounds. If I need barrier penetration, I have 762x39.

I wouldn't say its like 10mm Auto. But rather, kinda like 357 SIG: While its fun to shoot, if you don't reload it's expensive. I can get 10mm cheaper than Sig locally, same with 556 vs 300.

It's a one trick pony: Suppression is where it shines. If you go "can less", its an answer sans question.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

The 300BLK is just AAC's and Remington's grab at commercializing the .300 Whisper and making some money. J.D., Jones was the first to wildcat it, and he tried to make it "proprietary" so HE got all the money and controlled manufacture, etc. AAC and Rem found the way around that, and offered it mainstream. It's been around for maybe 20 years. It isn't going away.

 

[Warp]

I'd like to have one for hogs, sadly, hogs haven't been a nuisance here yet for which I'd have a reason to buy a BLK.

That said, I don't shoot suppressed often nor really need to. I can get the job done, whatever that may be, with heavier 5.56 rounds. If I need barrier penetration, I have 762x39.

I wouldn't say its like 10mm Auto. But rather, kinda like 357 SIG: While its fun to shoot, if you don't reload it's expensive. I can get 10mm cheaper than Sig locally, same with 556 vs 300.

It's a one trick pony: Suppression is where it shines. If you go "can less", its an answer sans question.

You can probably get "10mm", aka .40 S&W in a longer case, for less than .357 SIG

 

[Walkalong]

It's here to stay. It will never reach .223/5.56 popularity in the AR, but it will have a strong following both in sub sonic and super sonic loadings.

My wife shot .223, 9MM, and .300 BLK ARs today. She picked the .300 for the pink AR she wants. (Supersonic 147 pulled bullets)

Yep, here to stay.

 

[MagnumDweeb]

You reload your .223 brass four times then trim and resize it for .300 BO. Take .308 projectiles (uses the same bullets found in .308 Winchester) and you are good to go. Factory ammo is a tad expensive but reloads are great. Get a slight crack in the head of the cartridge then trim down to the shoulder and resize it to spec and you have a .300 BO cartridge. I have over five hundred spent rounds of .223 brass that I've reloaded over four times that have been cleaned and deprimed waiting to be turned into .300 BO come December when things calm down.

I cast 245 Grain LRN rounds and shoot it at 1100 fps out to fifty yards for easy shooting, or I can load it to 135 grain FMJ and do 2000 fps for one hundred yard shooting. It's main advantage is that even with suppressed sub-sonic ammo, you can still use a slide-fire stock.

.300 BO may never go mainstream, but it will have a place amongst salvagers like me.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

I'm of the the opinion that we have had all the cartridges we have needed for at least the last 50 years (5.56x45 is close enough to 50 yrs old). I could make a strong argument we've had all that we have needed for the last 100 years.

 

[Walkalong]

Need is one thing and want is a whole nother thing.

 

[Comrade Mike]

My guess is it's another AR fad round that will be cool for a whole and then fade to obscurity. The .223 is here to stay.

 

[meanmrmustard]

You can probably get "10mm", aka .40 S&W in a longer case, for less than .357 SIG

Nope, dumbed down, plain vanilla 10mm Auto. Not Norma, but not short and weak either.

I shop locally, and tend to find good deals at hardware stores, gun shops, and I'm a 20 minute drive from Grafs.

Still cheaper than Sig.

 

[Warp]

I'm of the the opinion that we have had all the cartridges we have needed for at least the last 50 years (5.56x45 is close enough to 50 yrs old). I could make a strong argument we've had all that we have needed for the last 100 years.

Except there are newer cartridges that do things you couldn't/can't do with the old ones.

 

[greyling22]

nope, no 6.8, in fact, I sold my 223 upper right before the latest insanity. still kicking myself on that one. like new predator pursuit for 575........... sigh.

I've been thinking of picking up a blackout upper and loading it with cast 200grn bullets, but I'd love to find somebody getting out of it and not pay new price for it. Certainly not panic price for it. I was just wondering if I waited a year or two if there would be a glut of unwanted uppers on the market, or if they were all going to be snapped up and kept like they currently are.

 

[meanmrmustard]

One must remember there are a few also that companies have tried to build upon or better, succeeding really in neither.

6.5x55 Swedish comes to mind. Over 100 years later, and its still one of the best 6.5 cartridges out there, really only hindered by the long action needed. Just an example, as I can buy 6.5 Swede cheap, and don't reload it myself.

That said, it is my opinion that it is a good cartridge for the AR platform; the rifle can be swapped to different niche cartridges via changing uppers and bolts/barrels accordingly.

 

[-v-]

I'd say it'll stick around. Its biggest selling point is all you need is a barrel change to shoot .300BLK out of an AR15. No new bolt, no new mags, nothing else changes. The new bolt(?) and different mag that 6.8 SPC needs is a bit of a turn-off for some people since thats an entire new investment. Plus since 300BLK brass can be made from .223 brass will also ensure it sticks around for quite a while.

 

[wally]

Except there are newer cartridges that do things you couldn't/can't do with the old ones.

Fer instance?

 

[Warp]

Fer instance?

Does the .45 ACP fit into a pistol the size of which will fit .45 GAP? (grip size mostly)

What 50+ year old cartridge can be fired in a rifle that was a standard AR15 chambered in 5.56 with nothing more than a barrel swap, same everything else?

What cartridge out of an AR will do what .300 does suppressed with a short barrel?

What semi auto cartridge fits into a .45 ACP size pistol and provides full-house .357 magnum power levels?

 

[Ken70]

nope, no 6.8, in fact, I sold my 223 upper right before the latest insanity. still kicking myself on that one. like new predator pursuit for 575........... sigh.

I've been thinking of picking up a blackout upper and loading it with cast 200grn bullets, but I'd love to find somebody getting out of it and not pay new price for it. Certainly not panic price for it. I was just wondering if I waited a year or two if there would be a glut of unwanted uppers on the market, or if they were all going to be snapped up and kept like they currently are.

Check Slickguns for AR deals. Regular .223 rifles are just about back to pre-panic prices. 300 BLK uppers from DSA are the best deal out there..You just have to wait.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

The .300 Blackout/Whisper throws a 220gr bullet out to 400 yards accurately, and still retains more energy at that range than a .45ACP has at the muzzle. AND, it can do that in relative silence (subsonic, no hypersonic crack) with the addition of a sound suppressor. Not too many other cartridges can do ALL of those things.

 

[Elkins45]

If you want to shoot cast boolets from an AR, the 300 Blackout is the best choice because of parts interchangeability with 223 and the ability to make brass for cheap. Well, at least it was cheap before the panic.

Cheap brass, cast boolets, relatively small charges of pistol powder, no special bolts or mags needed...what's not to like?

 

[cfullgraf]

I also think that 300 BLK is here to stay but it will not be super popular like 223 Remington modern sporting rifles.

I feel it makes a dandy home defense cartridge with supersonic ammunition.

 

[C-grunt]

I think it's here to stay because it makes a great hunting round for the AR. My uncle lives in a small town in Oklahoma and I was surprised this last deer season of the acceptance of the general hunting population towards the AR as a deer rifle.

Several of my uncles friends bought 6.8 rifles but were complaining about how everything was different. 300BLK gives near 30/30 ballistics and all you need is a new barrel.