I have a bud who is going to barrow one of my AR's to join my son and I night hog hunting. His AR in't suppressed and mine are, and that is the reason we want him to use my rifle. He has a 640 FLIR thermal scope we can mount on this rifle (the rifle my son and I will use are thermal scoped,) but it is going to be a 10.5" 300BLK.

Looking at available supersonic 300BLK I see some Barnes bullet options, but I worry about the 10.5" velocity and the TSX. What are your suggestions? Range typically runs from 25yds or so to maybe 100yds. Some thing cheaper than the TSX would be welcome too, but it isn't a big deal. I am not set up to reload the 300BLK, so factory ammo only please.

Thanks,

JPK

My son has used this stuff with good results, from a 16 inch barrel.

https://www.remington.com/ammunition/centerfire-rifle/hog-hammer

My nephew used my .300 blk with the Remington 120 gr OTFB ammo from Walmart.  Massive damage. One shot kill.  I'd post pictures but photobucket is down again.

The Barnes 110gr Supersonics are supposedly the gold standard...designed to expand down to a fairly low velocity and the projectiles are specifically designed for 300blackout use.  Besides, out of a ~10" barrel your 300 will still be zinging them out there at pretty descent velocities.

Another vote for the Barnes 110grain Tac Tx. I've taken deer with it from my 8inch SBR, no problem. Hogs...at least here...are hunted as nuisance animals and I'll shoot them with FMJ if I'm not looking to harvest the backstrap.

Same here

Thanks for your input guys.

Re the cheap bullets, I make that comment from two perspectives. One is the obvious cash out the door perspective but the other is that in my experience, and talking typical supersonic hunting cartridges, the lower the velocity the better cheap, basic cup and core bullets perform, and not infrequently the more poorly expensive controlled expansion bullets perform. The inverse has also proven true, and that is at high velocities the basic cup and core bullets come apart and the controlled expansion bullets come into their own.

After you guys pointed out the TAC load I looked at specs and Barnes engineered that bullet to open up at 1400fps, which is plenty low enough. I found a review where the load clocked 2,181fps out of a 10.5" barrel. Sounds great.

JPK

Same here again.  8" has killed every critter I have put in the crosshairs

Why are you worried?

Shorter barrel = lower bullet velocity
Barnes TSX bullets are said to need about 2000 fps to expand and perform to their reputation's standard
Barnes TTSX bullets perform down to 1800 fps
Barnes 110 grain Tac TX in .300 bo are specifically designed to still expand at velocities down to 1400 fps
I think he was doubting the performance/velocity threshold of Barnes bullets at a slower velocity (less than ~1900 fps).

Exactly, there's a misconception about .300blk IMO..very few projectiles are designed for it, most are designed for .308 speeds. There are a few that work well but many that simply don't.  

Even in a 16" the velocities just really aren't anything special. The Barnes 110 black tip is phenomenal but very expensive. The 125TMK is designed for .300 IIRC, too.

Other than that most .308 projos only perform down to around 1800 and with a short .300 you're not getting much more than that at the muzzle so not much effective range.

No reason to go short unless you have a can and like to run subs (also very few effective projectiles here), other than that I really think it should be in a 14.5-16" barrel with a 120gr at around 2300fps. Nearly identical to x39 ballistically but in a legitimate AR platform and much better bullet selection.

That's how I view my 16" .300, at least.

I use Barnes Tac-Tx 110's when I wanna kill something. I've used some fmj stuff too and it work well but not DRT effective. I also like the Controlled Choas and Controlled Fracturing loads from Lehigh Defense.

Barnes 110gr recent kills.

Sorry about the slow response.  Just noticed this thread again.





I think that's pretty good performance for cheap Walmart ammo.

Nice!

It was slow on the chrono for me but this is what is in my HD mag for my .300.

Looks like it handled that pig no problem.

I have been shooting Stand One Armory's 300 Blk loaded with a 125 gr. Hornady SST.  16" barrel and the velocities are consistently around 2160 fps at the muzzle with a suppressor.  I believe the bullet would still perform and open up at the lower velocities you would get from a shorter barrel and the distances you intend to shoot at.  I have stretched the range out well past a hundred which means the velocity is lower and they always seem to have plenty of punch.