More on the 300AAC Blackout

bpost

First, it needs a name change. Call it a 300 AAC or the 300 Blackout or the 30 Whisper but the name as is is too long. [:)]

If you form cases from 223 brass you should neck turn even those cases in spec. The reason is wall thickness variances especially the last .040 of the neck just before the new shoulder. I found 95% of the cases, some from the 1970's up through new production to require that last bit of neck to be turned down. I also found most reformed cases were not uniform in neck thickness. Uniform neck thickness is important for good repeatable accuracy. I think this little pea-popper has the potential to shoot surprisingly well. Warmer weather will help with that final determination.

Accuracy was OK, barely with unturned cases, fliers were common. Once I got all the cases neck turned I found 15.5 grains of Vhitorvhi N110 pushing 125 grain Berger bullets shot bug-eyed groups at 100 yards. [^] Lil Gun will be my go to powder for this round due to the insane costs of Vhitorvhi powders once the N-110 is gone, I only have one pound.

Lil Gun has pushed everything from 100-190 grains with good reliability in the neck turned cases. Before I turned the necks feeding issues were common. Accuracy with the 130 Hornaday with book max loads shot very well.

I did not have the LEE primer shell holder at the time but discovered the little 223 case head fit the 3/8" battery powered drill chuck just fine. I simply chucked the case into the drill lubed the mandrel and case neck a bit and fed it into the K&M neck turning tool. It did frustrate me a bit getting the case stop set correctly to trim the neck and just bite the shoulder a bit but it was worth the effort to get it right.

Now that the weather is improving I plan on trying some 168SMK's to see if investing in a sound suppressor is worth the bother for the heavier sub-sonic bullets and loads.

Does anyone have experience with suppressors and how using one can impact accuracy?

charliemeyer007

The few cans I got to play with were on stuff that were not tack drivers to begin with. I would expect a good fitting and designed suppressor has little negative effect on accuracy.

I just worked over a newly acquired Lyman mold 311359 a 110 gr gas checked spire point. I haven't located my 30 cal. gas checks yet for them. The plan is to cast them for a buddy's M1 30 carbine. I have the CH 308 bullet swaging press with a RN, Flat Point and perhaps Spire nose punches. I think I still have some 1/2 jackets left for making the Speer type "Plinker" bullets. Pro-Tip the little swaged bullets are not up to 30-06 velocities but did nicely at carbine levels.

dakotashooter2

Lets face it . This is just a slightly souped up version of the 30 carbine. A cartridge which was deemed by most as adequate, but little more. The 300 stands ballisticaly near the 30-30 and 7.62 X 39 yet seems to be Gods newest gift to the shooter. The ONLY real advantage I see in this cartridge is it's use in the AR platform. We are seeing claims of a 300 yard cartridge yet most seem to consider the 30-30 and 7.62 x 39 150-175 yard cartridges and the 30 carbine slightly less.

I'm not saying their is anything wrong with it just that I'm not sure it is all it is hyped up to be.

MG1890

Unless you are shooting it subsonic why bother with the cartridge???

It does make a cheap and easy 30 caliber AR15. And, regardless of velocity, a 220 grain bullet is going to put somebody out of action.

bpost

quote:Originally posted by MG1890
Unless you are shooting it subsonic why bother with the cartridge???

It does make a cheap and easy 30 caliber AR15. And, regardless of velocity, a 220 grain bullet is going to put somebody out of action.


I would say it is because it is on the AR platform, uses AR magazines and it easy on the wallet to shoot IF YOU RELOAD. I intend on shooting mostly cast bullets out of it 1900-2,000 FPS. There are a lot of choices for that job.

It would make a nice deer rifle with 130 grain hunting bullets but the 45-70 Encore is better. [;)][:D]

Mobuck

Cast bullets in a direct impingement gas system? I'd expect that to plug up the works fairly quickly.

bpost

quote:Originally posted by Mobuck
Cast bullets in a direct impingement gas system? I'd expect that to plug up the works fairly quickly.


It might be a real issue with plain based bullets but with a gas checked bullets it will be fine, I hope. [:0][:I][:D]

Mobuck

My concern is with lead and lube being scraped off by the gas port and then being blown into the gas tube.
Not saying it won't work, just wondering about the results. I have no intentions of using lead but guess it is an option should I change my mind.

bpost

I shot a lot of them yesterday. Everything was fine. the load was 16.2 grains of Lil Gun pushing the Lee 155 2R bullet. Feeding was flawless

The bullet lube is 50/50 Alox-Beeswax it proved to not be an issue for the gas tube. After firing I did a close inspection of the gas system. Except for a slight oily film on the top of the bolt all was normal. As far as lead actually scraping, I see no signs of it. The bullets are cast out of wheel weights and gas checked.

Time will tell but this sure reduces the cost of shooting! As soon as we dry out a bit I will do some accuracy testing to see how that works out.

charliemeyer007

Excellent. I have run my cast bullets barefoot because I don't think gas checks are worth a nickel a piece. A buddy just got a "checkmaker?" for doing his 45 Colt stuff. He says there is a one step system for making them that I going to look into instead of the two operations his current system.