So I joined the .300 BLK ranks

[MachIVshooter]

Went to the Tanner gun show in Denver today in search of a few small odds and ends, like an extractor for a buddy's M1 carbine, a new pistol case, etc. About halfway through the show, I round the corner of a table and see some decent looking shorty uppers, including one in .300 BLK. I look it over; Good fit, decent finish, though with faintly visible (but uniform) tool marks on the upper. Barrel looks good inside and out, a basic but nice looking CL knurled free float hand guard. Then I noticed the price: $339, including BCG and CH. What? How? So I yak with the vendor a little, he gives me the low down on SOTA Arms. OK. I'll think about it. He says "let me see what the best I can do is". I tell him I hadn't come up here with the intention of dropping more than a few bucks on small bits. "OK. I'll check anyway", he says. Alright. He comes back "I can do $312".

Damn.

Out comes $150 cash and my card for the balance.

Dropped another $70 on 3 boxes of ammo, got the heck out of there before my checking account attenuated any further. Shouldn't have done it, as I just dropped $600 last week between DSA and JSE on more parts for my 22" bull barrel build. Oh well. Bills are covered, you only live once, and you can't take it with ya.

Got it home, checked it over again, snapped it onto my SBR lower and mounted an extra Bushnell 1x32 AR optic I'd grabbed on sale awhile back

Hand guard will change once I have a suppressor on it. Just ordered dies, as I have piles of 5.56 brass, and couldn't afford to play much with .300 BLK factory FMJ ammo at $0.75/round or more and north of $1.25 for expanding or subsonic loads once shipping is accounted for.

Has anyone else ever dealt with SOTA? It seems they've been operating for about 3 years, but this is the first time I've encountered the brand. I get the impression that they want to compete with PSA.

Anywho, We'll see how she shoots!

 

[Magnuumpwr]

No experience with SOTA arms. Nice looking gun and welcome to the "dark side"!

 

[A Pause for the Coz]

I have a bit of experience with SOTA arms. I live about 12 miles from their shop.
I built my 300 black out using one of their carbine uppers.
Mine is a great gun. Shoots cast bullets like a dream.

The only Issue I had was I needed to upgrade the ejector spring to a heavier spring kit.
But that is a common ailment with AR's.
So if you get any fail to ejects. just buy the $12 kit. Problem solved.

I just built a 5.56 upper using one of their flat top receivers and a Green Mountain 20inch 1-12 upper for 55gr bullets.

 

[Grumulkin]

I have two SOTA Arms uppers and no complaints at all.

 

[Walkalong]

Nice looking setup.

 

[Ibmikey]

I just built a 300 Blackout pistol with an 8" CMMG barrel that is a hoot to fire, I shoot supersonic in all my 300 Black AR's and it works just fine. I took a 350# Texas hog with my AAC Handi Rifle and 125 gr TNT bullet and use pulled 147 gr bullets for general plinking. I can reload for about the same price as my .223''s. Welcome to the contraversal world of the Blackout.

 

[gojuice101]

Nice looking gun. I've never used SOTA arms complete uppers, but I have used their barrels for a 300BLK build and a 5.45 build (and plan on going back again soon for a .458 SOCOM). I've had no problems with anything from them. Shoots great and seems to be high quality.

Good luck with it. I love the 300BLK. But I've never shot factory ammo through mine because I could never find it. It is definitely a reloader's caliber.

 

[urbaneruralite]

Had good luck with a SOTA upper, too.

 

[Jackal]

I dont reload (I've tried, its nauseatingly boring/tedious to me). At or near .308 prices for factory ammo for what amounts to an AR version of 7.62x39 just doesnt jive with me (yes I know they make x39 AR's). I have nothing against it other than price. When 300blk hits 35 cents per round for quality bulk FMJ, I'll buy into it gladly. Until then, .308 and x39 will have to fill my .30 needs.

 

[suzukisam]

If you Google around you can buy 1k brass cases for like 90 bucks.. not even worth converting the 223. Just built a pistol also. The Remington umc is pretty reasonable at academy sports. And it's all head stamped Barnes. Thought that was interesting

 

[MachIVshooter]

At or near .308 prices for factory ammo for what amounts to an AR version of 7.62x39 just doesnt jive with me (yes I know they make x39 AR's). I have nothing against it other than price.

Try stuffing 220 gr. bullets in a x39 to run subsonic suppressed, and you'll understand the appeal of the .300 blk.

I didn't buy this for plinking; I have seven 5.56 rifles for that. This is gonna be suppressed for fun, and for predators.

 

[jmorris]

I am kinda with Jackel except I do reload and actually had a bunch of .223 brass converted because I was working on a device to convert brass for a local business. Pallamento running a black Friday sale with 8.5" barrels for $79 is why I have an SBR upper for the round. I have played mostly with light supers though.

But I already have a 458 socom that can deliver much more energy than the 300 ever could. If I were just looking for a 220g sub load, I would likely just go with a 45 acp, lot less work and expense. Subsonic there is not a huge difference in trajectory between them at any useable range, even with the 300 loaded with high BC bullets and "bricks" out of the 458.

 

[MachIVshooter]

But I already have a 458 socom that can deliver much more energy than the 300 ever could. If I were just looking for a 220g sub load, I would likely just go with a 45 acp, lot less work and expense. Subsonic there is not a huge difference in trajectory between them at any useable range, even with the 300 loaded with high BC bullets and "bricks" out of the 458.

.458 SOCOM, .50 Beowulf, the et al. are certaily thumpers, and very appropriate for suppression. But there is a drawback (besides recoil); you can get, what? 8 or 9 of them in a 30 round mag?

 

[suzukisam]

Not to mention the cost of 458 brass. I load 45/70. Bullets get pricey fast. Especially in the Barnes and what not. Don't get me wrong I love 458 socom.. Just nowhere near a practical as blackout

 

[jmorris]

.458 SOCOM, .50 Beowulf, the et al. are certaily thumpers, and very appropriate for suppression. But there is a drawback (besides recoil); you can get, what? 8 or 9 of them in a 30 round mag?

To be honest I am not sure, I hunt with 20 round mags and they allow 7+1, more that most of my hunting rifles.

Not to mention the cost of 458 brass. I load 45/70. Bullets get pricey fast. Especially in the Barnes and what not. Don't get me wrong I love 458 socom.. Just nowhere near a practical as blackout

I already had a good stock as I reloaded for 45-70 for years before the 458 came out. I really like the 405g Remington SP bullets and they cost less than a lot of the .30 cal bullets ($6 less per hundred vs the 220 smk).

However I agree brass and bullets are not dirt cheap. Why I brought up the fact that a subsonic .452 bullet fired from a 45 acp case is not a bad alternative to a 220 grain .308 bullet going the same speed. Already a bigger hole, don't have to cut, form and trim brass, use less powder and bullets cost less (half the cost).

 

[Lycidas Janwor]

Went to the Tanner gun show in Denver today in search of a few small odds and ends, like an extractor for a buddy's M1 carbine, a new pistol case, etc. About halfway through the show, I round the corner of a table and see some decent looking shorty uppers, including one in .300 BLK. I look it over; Good fit, decent finish, though with faintly visible (but uniform) tool marks on the upper. Barrel looks good inside and out, a basic but nice looking CL knurled free float hand guard. Then I noticed the price: $339, including BCG and CH. What? How? So I yak with the vendor a little, he gives me the low down on SOTA Arms. OK. I'll think about it. He says "let me see what the best I can do is". I tell him I hadn't come up here with the intention of dropping more than a few bucks on small bits. "OK. I'll check anyway", he says. Alright. He comes back "I can do $312".

Damn.

Out comes $150 cash and my card for the balance.

Dropped another $70 on 3 boxes of ammo, got the heck out of there before my checking account attenuated any further. Shouldn't have done it, as I just dropped $600 last week between DSA and JSE on more parts for my 22" bull barrel build. Oh well. Bills are covered, you only live once, and you can't take it with ya.

Got it home, checked it over again, snapped it onto my SBR lower and mounted an extra Bushnell 1x32 AR optic I'd grabbed on sale awhile back

Hand guard will change once I have a suppressor on it. Just ordered dies, as I have piles of 5.56 brass, and couldn't afford to play much with .300 BLK factory FMJ ammo at $0.75/round or more and north of $1.25 for expanding or subsonic loads once shipping is accounted for.

Has anyone else ever dealt with SOTA? It seems they've been operating for about 3 years, but this is the first time I've encountered the brand. I get the impression that they want to compete with PSA.

Anywho, We'll see how she shoots!

Fantastic! I've been thinking about getting a 300blk upper (complete upper) that can just snap right onto my DPMS lower. The one thing stopping me is the cost. The barrel is the most important thing and this is where the bulk of the $ is going IMHO.

I'd love to know how this SOTA complete upper shoots and I'm particularly interested in what you think of their barrel.

 

[M1key]

All right you guys. Enough...

Y'all are prolly gonna suck up even more of that A1680 powder I've been trying to find for my 7.62x39 loads.

Cut that out.

M

 

[MachIVshooter]

Well, got it out yesterday. Pretty accurate upper, but did have a couple issues.

Biggest problem was the strangest feeding & extraction snafu I'd encountered yet, many times having a spent case and a fresh round stuck in the barrel extension at the same time. After this occurred with all 3 types of ammo from both GI mags and Pmags, I swapped in a BCG from another rifle, and the problem disappeared. Turns out that was a missing extractor O-ring. Annoying, but not a big deal. No further reliability issues once that was dealt with.

Other issue is gas leakage at the block. Lots of it. Once home, I loosened the set screws and the block just fell off. Way loose. Grabbed another block, just as loose, so clearly the barrel OD is undersize. I used some .001" steel shim stock to take up the slop and act as a gasket, but SOTA is going to get a phone call over an out-of-spec barrel. That would be a real problem requiring a return to factory or spending money with a smith for someone who does not have as much experience and capability (or a box of machinist shim stock sitting around).

 

[Lycidas Janwor]

Well, got it out yesterday. Pretty accurate upper, but did have a couple issues.

Biggest problem was the strangest feeding & extraction snafu I'd encountered yet, many times having a spent case and a fresh round stuck in the barrel extension at the same time. After this occurred with all 3 types of ammo from both GI mags and Pmags, I swapped in a BCG from another rifle, and the problem disappeared. Turns out that was a missing extractor O-ring. Annoying, but not a big deal. No further reliability issues once that was dealt with.

Other issue is gas leakage at the block. Lots of it. Once home, I loosened the set screws and the block just fell off. Way loose. Grabbed another block, just as loose, so clearly the barrel OD is undersize. I used some .001" steel shim stock to take up the slop and act as a gasket, but SOTA is going to get a phone call over an out-of-spec barrel. That would be a real problem requiring a return to factory or spending money with a smith for someone who does not have as much experience and capability (or a box of machinist shim stock sitting around).

That's too bad, let us know what the SOTA people say and do to fix this issue. Thanks for the update.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Well, they responded, basically told me I'm on my own:

although we hate to hear of problems and would like to fix we
cannot as you purchased this from BAT Tactical you would need to return
to them and we would have to work with BAT Tactical to fix the issues.

What manufacturer doesn't stand behind their product that is purchased NIB from a distributing FFL???

I have the capability of machining a custom gas block to fit the undersize barrel if the shimming doesn't pan out, but I would recommend that others steer clear of this manufacturer. They are clearly not interested in supporting their products post-sale.

 

[Jackal]

Unfortunately this sounds like a classic case "You get what you pay for". Poor quality parts and even worse customer service. Clearly these are the reasons for the super low price.

 

[MachIVshooter]

^^^^

Yeah. Wasn't that cheap, though. At a similar price point to PSA, JSE, DSA, etc., I expected a similar product. You can get a basic assembled upper and BCG from any of those 3 for $350 ish, sometimes less, and they don't have issues. Both of my "Freedom" uppers from PSA, one standard that was $200 and an MOE Dissipator version that was $225, along with $89 BCG from PSA in one and $75 BCG from DSA in the other, run fantastic, as does the 16" fluted middy we got my buddy from DSA, which came in at $355 shipped with BCG and CH.

Ain't like the FF tube on this one soaked up a lot of cash, either; I could get the same one and a gas block for all of about $5 more than it would cost to do a standard delta ring, F-marked FSB and two-piece HG set.

Only reason I didn't buy a PSA .300 BLK is because they had been perpetually out of stock on the 10" model.

Should have just built from parts, but oh well. I can make it right, but most people would be up poo creek with the barrel OD issue. I'm just fortunate to have the somewhat unique ability to make a custom gas block if needed.

 

[Jackal]

I cant think of ANY other company that will tell you to take it up with the FFL dealer. In fact, its most always the exact opposite, leaving the dealer out of it and going straight to the manufacturer. I'd definitely post about this in the retail feedback section.....and maybe their Facebook page if they have one.

 

[Ibmikey]

I just deleted Sota from my homepage!

 

[jmorris]

At least it's "pretty accurate", miss simple things like OD diameter and o-rings and it could be a lot worse.