Hey you all, new to the forum.  Thanks for any advice.  I am currently putting together the parts for a .300 blackout build.  Will be using the rifle for pig hunting and recreational shooting.  I currently have a bushmaster lower, vltor stripped upper, and a bunch of msc lower pins, springs, drop in trigger, grip, etc my co-worker gave me.  My next piece to purchase is the barrel and bca.  I am very interested in the Noveske barrels because the come with an installed gas block and a head spaced bolt (as well as a great reputation).  They are however, very expensive.  If I decide to go a more cost effective route, how much do I have to worry about head spacing issues?  Are there head spacing issue with .300 builds?  If anyone has any recommendations for barrel/bcg please hit me up.

Thank you!

Ben

New barrel new bolt from reputable manufacturers and you're gtg. If you're concerned, take it to a shop and have them check headpspace with go no go gauges.

that would be paying for a well known name and great product. You can get other brands for 1/2 that price and will shoot just the same. Save your money. Sounds like your first build. Get familiar with the 300blk and shoot more rather than throw all your money into a barrel.

Just get a CMMG barrel and a AIM bolt and call it a day. You'll be happy with it. Where exactly are you hunting for pigs in WA?

Most bolts and barrels go together. The key item is that the barrel extension comes pre head spaced on the barrel and that sets it up for home assembly. If a vendor offers a matching bolt headspaced for that barrel then it's a good thing but the expense does go up. Buying them separately can save a bundle of money as you can take advantage of sales and offers not always available as a complete set.

Case in point my 6.8 barrel was ordered as a 16" with headspaced bolt and with a nitride carrier, complete, which ran over $350. The AR pistol I'm building has a $89 barrel and I'm placing an order for a $79 BCG complete, about $170. Things like this are why the 6.8 ran over $1,100 and the pistol under $600.

The net result is still a bullet being projected out of the barrel and most of it's ballistics are still controlled by the quality of the ammo's construction. A barrel can only make an incremental difference, ammo can run from sublime to lame. Shooting white box or surplus fodder out of that Noveske barrel won't do very much for it at all, it's still cheap low powered ammo.

On the other end, if you are shooting for the last few percentages of accuracy or performance then the better barrel is the goal. But you have to be that good a shot to even realize it, too. A lot of guys buy high grade stuff but the reality is they are not always top 5% in their class. It's a pride of ownership sort of thing, rather than need of user. Like the difference between a real estate broker wearing a Rolex or a combat pilot. The one is all about image, the other actually needs that level of performance.

I blew the money on the 6.8 and have yet to find the limit of its accuracy, with the cheaper build I'm running 5.56 and trying to find the limit of my skill more affordably. Therefore it should be obvious which will go to the range more and get more rounds thru it. 6.8 or .300BO, it's commercial priced ammo, not surplus, and that means I can shoot 2-3X more 5.56 and gain the incremental edge in skill.

As a hunting rifle with a few boxes of ammo thru the year, the alternate calibers are fine. But if any extensive practice is part of the goal, not so much. That is why 5.56 is still the king of cheap and what most practice with to become better shooters.

Look at SOTA arms...their .300blk barrels are well known and gtg.  I have a 16" version that I hunt with.  I put a Rubber City Armory BCG in it (not cheap) and it is gtg.  as a previous poster said, buy from reputable companies and you won't really have a problem.

I assume you have a CMMG barrel. Has it been accurate enough and has the weapon been reliable with that barrel in it? About how many rounds do you have through it? I have been eyeballing the CMMG 12.5" to cut down to 9".

I used an Alpha Shooting Sports stainless barrel in my 8" .300 with a YHM QD can, and it's plenty accurate.

Thank you for the advice!  Much appreciated!  I think I will just start watching brownells/midway/impact guns and wait for something reputable to go on sale.

I will be going to Texas to hunt.  Have family down there.  Hahaha I haven't heard of any wild pigs in WA

http://ballisticadvantage.com/shop/barrels/300-blackout.html

I have an 8.5" CMMG, why not just get an 8-9" instead of having one cut down?

My Noveske barrel did not come with a headspaced bolt.  

I threw in a new M16 brownells BCG.

No problems at all.

When I built mine, times were difficult.  Finding a barrel for anything was tough.  I was lucky to find one on the EE and snatched it up.  I paid a bit more, but you sometimes have to pay the price for expedience.

8.5" isn't going to work out for this build (handguard vs can) or I would go that route. Other companies generally don't offer what I am looking for, so I always have to do some element of custom work on all of my uppers. It takes me about an hour to chop and thread an AR barrel, so it really isn't too big a deal. I like hacking on things anyway, see avatar