User Panel
Posted: 6/8/2018 4:11:04 PM EDT
Cross post front m AR Pistols - I want a 300 blk out for suppressed use using a Sig SRD762 Can. This will be a home defense, hunting (small whitetails rarely over 110lbs) and plinker. I will be using a barrel less than 9". This will be a pistol using an SB Tactical SBA3 brace. Lower will be an 80% and I will most likely rattle can the entire gun (except suppressor). I typically woods hunt so less than 100 yd shots are most common. I have a 308 bolt action for longer shots. I also reload and make all my hunting rounds already. This is my first pistol AR.
I like PSA mainly because they are cheap, effective, local and as accurate as I will ever be. List of PSA 300 BLK uppers Anyone have experience with PSA 300 blkouts listed? Issues or recommendations on the finishes? Really leaning towards the pistol length 7.5" with 7 inch handguard 1/8 twist. Or should I build the whole upper using a nice Faxon or Ballistic Advantage barrel with adjustable gas block since I will be shooting suppressed majority of the time. |
|
My 8.5" upper. Wouldn't go shorter than 16" for hunting to get the most out of the round. Attached File
|
|
I've taken 4 deer with a 9.5" build and super sonic 125 gn Noakes Bt bullets. Great for shots inside 150 yds.
|
|
Quoted:
My 8.5" upper. Wouldn't go shorter than 16" for hunting to get the most out of the round. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/447589/IMAG0943-569925.JPG View Quote |
|
I "built" an 8.5" 300BO pistol from a complete upper and complete lower from PSA.
I've made no modifications from how PSA built the uppers and lowers. I tested 190gr Nosler Custom Comps (the only one I loaded subsonic), 168gr SMK's, 150gr FMJ's, and 110gr Barnes. Every one of them functioned the gun starting at minimum loads. I do intend to have it handy for a "just in case" hunting weapon. Definitely not to start any sort of argument, the light/very light bullets are the only ones I found that you can expect to expand at common .300BO velocities. The Barnes is the only one I'm aware of designed to expand down to 1300FPS, which extends the effective range of the bullet by a significant amount, even with the 8.5" barrel. If you aren't looking for expansion, then shoot whatever you like...your bullet selection is going to be very large. I've not yet had a chance to accuracy test any of the loads mentioned, but since I'd like to get some expansion, the 110gr Barnes is what I'm going to use for any potential hunts, as long as it's not ridiculously inaccurate in this gun for some reason. As mentioned previous, I didn't see huge gains from longer barrels in load comparisons either...although 25FPS/inch is about the same as .308. |
|
Quoted:
From the research I’ve done, it appears that after 9 inches of barrel length you enter the realm of diminishing returns. Every publication I’ve read on the subject recommends a 9 inch barrel for optimal performance. Longer only increases bulk and weight with little appreciable velocity gain. View Quote Barnes black tip: 8.5" 2020 fps 16" 2410 fps I like that extra fps and muzzle energy on the target. Have taken many hogs when I was living in Florida with both set ups. More DRT with the 16" barrel versus the 8.5" barrel. |
|
Quoted: I get the whole 9", however I'm getting 400fps more out of my 16" barrel versus my 8.5" barrel Barnes black tip: 8.5" 2020 fps 16" 2410 fps I like that extra fps and muzzle energy on the target. Have taken many hogs when I was living in Florida with both set ups. More DRT with the 16" barrel versus the 8.5" barrel. View Quote My chrono showed noticeably lower numbers compared to my 16" when I fired my supers through my 9.5" pistol but closer to 250fps. That may not sound like a lot, but when used in hunting situations where expansion out to distance is more critical, that can be important. For close-in self defense, maybe not so much. Application is everything. |
|
Quoted:
I would not go shorter than 8" Getting a 220 gr bullet to 1050 fps out of an 8" barrel requires quite a bit of pressure. You can go to lighter bullets and get the velocity but lose the heavy bullet selections. Even though it is subsonic heavy bullets still drive up pressures. I have taken to shooting cast bullets in the 245 gr range out of an 8" bbl and am having a lot of fun with that project. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/85714.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/92432.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/84788.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/82707.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/82628.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/82786.JPG View Quote |
|
Quoted:
What scope are using the hog plex? Point taken on the 8” min barrel length, seems like 8.5 is going to be my magic number. Basically a decent quality 1-4x20 leupold or vortex. Primary arms has the ballistic advantage 8.5” barrel for $99 prolly bite on that to get the project rolling. Bad thing is I am overseas for 18 more months. Makes the wait for the suppressor easy View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
I would not go shorter than 8" Getting a 220 gr bullet to 1050 fps out of an 8" barrel requires quite a bit of pressure. You can go to lighter bullets and get the velocity but lose the heavy bullet selections. Even though it is subsonic heavy bullets still drive up pressures. I have taken to shooting cast bullets in the 245 gr range out of an 8" bbl and am having a lot of fun with that project. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/85714.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/92432.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/84788.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/82707.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/82628.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/125658/82786.JPG |
|
@Unkydon that’s a fine piece of glass.
I missed out on the BA 8.5” barrel for procrastination reasons. I am a cheap bastard and the PSA is going to fit my price limit when it comes on sale. Can’t decide between the PSA stainless or the PSA nitride in 8.5”. No better than I can shoot it probably won’t make a difference. |
|
Just from looking at the pictures, it APPEARS one of the stainless offerings has a thinner barrel profile under the handguard.
If so, it's not going to reduce weight much, but I'm fairly surprised at how heavy the 8.5" BO pistol is, so if it was the same price for both, or minimally more and the weight was less (I don't see a weight listing on PSA's site) I'd obviously go for the lighter weight. |
|
So you are saying stainless. I didn’t see weights on any of their uppers except one said 3lbs. In reality not going to tell the difference we are talking about a budget upper and we won’t notice the difference in a few ounces I can’t imagine.
|
|
You are probably correct. I don't know where the point is that you will notice a weight difference.
Just weighed my PSA BO, bare, 5lbs 6oz. 8oz, which is probably unlikely given how little barrel we are talking about, would *almost* be a 10% weight reduction. It's pretty darn thick though, I'm guessing maybe 1"? Larger diameter than the gas block by an observable amount. Front seems to be right in the .72" realm, if my recollection of diameter of my other rifle forward of the block is correct. I think the gun feels relatively heavy because it's so compact...adjusting your body to account for that means the elbows are bent sharply, and your hands are only about 8" apart given the short handguard. My 16" barreled .308 with scope and adjustable stock weighs in around 9lbs, so I can see where the weight *seems* different. Stock extended, that gun is probably a foot longer than the 300BO. Realistically, probably not a concern at all. But I suppose if you want the lightest gun, and the price is the same, no reason not to go with the lighter barrel? I don't see an 8.5" barrel needing a whole lot of additional rigidity. :) But if you don't want to wait, you'll probably have to buy the first thing they have available. I see they are still sold out, I've noticed they have been for awhile, although the odd batch will pop up, they must not last. |
|
|
|
View Quote |
|
Buy a few hundred rounds of factory hunting and subsonic to start with, probably 100 each. Buy some once fired brass and reload the rest. I already reload for all calibers just need the 300blkout die. Anyone have experience with a good die.
Should have shipped my reloading stuff with me overseas dammit. Could have been doing a lot of case prep. In hindsight. |
|
I've gotten to the point of buying once fired brass that has been processed for my semi-auto rifles. It seems like there are a few that have problems with the brass not being done correctly, but if time factors into the equation, buying it ready to load may be an option. The source brass still seems cheap and plentiful enough that you can find some reasonably priced processed stuff. If you expect to do large quantities, it can also make sense to find a company that will process YOUR fired brass as well, so once you shoot up all your processed brass, you send it back for decapping, resizing and polishing.
Brownell's has the Hornady die set on sale: https://www.brownells.com/aspx/search/productdetail.aspx?sid=104236&pid=54121 Not huge savings, but some. Cheaper than the Lee set, but the Lee set comes with the factory crimp die if you are planning to use one of those. Having already processed brass, the seater die was really all I needed, but I couldn't find just a seater for .300BO that was reasonably priced. I'm guessing some other similar size .30 cal seater dies would work, but I didn't do the leg work to find out. The .308 die is just too tall. It works, but consistency over the long run would be questionable since the actual bullet seater had to be screwed in so far I couldn't lock it in place. And I'm sure had I bought just a seater, I'd have found need for a sizer. Such is reloading. :) |
|
I use the RCBS small base dies for my 300BLK reloading. Never had any issues. Had great luck with the Barnes black tip 110gr bullets with whitetails out to 150 yards. They shoot accurately further than that through my rifle, just haven't shot a deer past that distance yet.
|
|
Quoted:
I use the RCBS small base dies for my 300BLK reloading. Never had any issues. Had great luck with the Barnes black tip 110gr bullets with whitetails out to 150 yards. They shoot accurately further than that through my rifle, just haven't shot a deer past that distance yet. View Quote Thank you all for the input on reloading and the rifle. PSA already shipped Too bad i wont see it until Christmas, hopefully by then I can get an optic and an SBA3 ordered for it. |
|
|
|
|
|
Quoted:
8.5” PSA, shoots great. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/419044/43F5CED8-8E16-47CA-BFDA-F08636570985-589657.JPG View Quote |
|
Quoted:
8.5” PSA, shoots great. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/419044/43F5CED8-8E16-47CA-BFDA-F08636570985-589657.JPG View Quote |
|
10.3" Daniel Defense barrel. Also have a 16" Noveske stainless barreled upper that I take when I head out of state. Too lazy to do the paperwork to travel with the SBR.
|
|
|
Don't overlook the 125gr Nosler Ballistic tip bullets if you are reloading. They have great expansion at low velocity as well, and can be loaded to pretty decent velocity in short barrels. I can't campare directly to the 110 Barnes, but have taken 4 deer with the 125's and it has been fantastic.
|
|
|
Thanks for the bolder tips. This is what I am looking for specifically in the suppressed subsonic hunting realm. I will keep an eye out for the bullets. Any reloading data for this cartridge and bullet combination?
|
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.