I need a new handgun...lets talk guns today. :D

Good conversation about 300blackout and "suppressor ready". I agree- choose the mounting system you want first and then go from there. Once you go in one direction you won't want to change as it gets expensive. Check out DeadAir Xeno as well as the Plan B (Q). I have KeyMo but might have gone with Xeno if I were starting now (lighter but still solid mounting).

for 300 blackout, here is the issue. There are 4 different ways to run this round (it's what makes it so versatile, but also makes it almost impossible to run in all 4 configurations without changing anything) listed in order of most gas produced at the top and the least gas produced at the bottom. The difference in gas is what makes an AR difficult to tune for all 4. Usually you can choose any 3 (like 1-3 or 2-4):

1) supersonic ammo with a suppressor (125gr usually, referred to as "supers")
2) hypersonic ammo without a suppressor
3) subsonic ammo with a suppressor (200gr+ ammo, referred to as "subs")
4) subsonic ammo without suppressor

You need to decide what your main usage with be and make sure that whatever upper you buy/build will work with the combinations you will run most of the time. For myself, I will only run subsonic ammo in my 300blackout and 90% of the time it will be with a suppressor. If you want to hunt with it, ballistically the supers are better and easier/cheaper to find ammo that will work well for hunting if you don't' care about the noise. Again, for me I have a 6.8spc that if I want to hunt and don't care about the noise I would be using that. If I want quiet performance for hunting, shoot 300 blackout subs with Maker bullets (designed specifically to expand at subsonic velocities).

 

Both my 300Blk are set for:
208gr to 220gr subs.
Zeroed for 100yds
AAC 7.62-SSD (older)
At 200yds there's a 31" drop to account for.
Not ideal for reach in my current configuration.

Anything longer and I'm going to be using a different tool.
FAL, AR-15 set for 75gr, Bolt .308, etc..

 

Had a good post about 300BO but accidentally swiped left and it clear out my post.

300 BLK out is fun for one box of subsonic at the range. Then in real life, there are a lot better, less expensive rounds to go with. Deer and Hogs react to subsonic shots just like supersonic so might as well just use supersonic. I've not tried subsonic at night which is probably more effective but the ranges you have to shoot at suck. I don't know why 300BO has such a big following. It's not very good at knocking things down in my experience. If someone asks, I usually point them in different directions. My 300 BO is my 4th or 5th AR and it's in the back of the safe for a reason.

 

Too many 300 BO post to copy.
I’ve only played with a few 300s so my range of knowledge is limited. As posted above my 300 sees 1 setup and round. And that holds true for all my rifles. I don’t jump bullet weight or speed and it is ether always suppressed or not. My 300 is 8.5” with a DD can shooting 220 gr subs. It’s perfect for home defense and goes into my backpack when dogs might show up during a bow hunt. Thus it sees very little use even though it’s one of my absolute favorites to shoot.
Now @gt#179 got me thinking so I took it out for some testing for those of you that want to shoot all different variations of setups. Shot subs and supers ranging from 125 gr to 220 gr. Shot all canned and un canned. Not a single issue.
This was my second AR 15 pistol I built before I was sure I even liked the platform so it is a bargain basement PSA that ran about $300 before sight and can.

Fvck that’s a weeks worth of post

 

It's fun but indeed that's about it. Subs suck as night as you're likely dependent on a can to provide backpressure so they'll cycle and the smoke becomes extremely difficult to see through, especially on shorter barrels. Great caliber for nightstalking Hollywood assassin shit, shit in real life.

And yet I find myself irrationally attracted to the prospect of 8.6, which I am quite confident just magnifies all the downsides of .300blk. Yet I still want lol. Manbrain I guess.

 

Yeah I’m not much on mortar ballistics but I’m also drawn to the 8.6 for its energy. That said I’ve tried to justify building one and it’s just not worth it to me. A customer has a few variations of 8.6 and absolutely loves them.

 

i had my subsonic bolt gun zero'd for 100 yards and spined a deer at 50 yards because the ridiculous arc. That made me say no more to the subs

I'm currently in a no replacement for displacement mode and using the 16" 308. It just crushes compared to the 6.8 or 223. The extra weight isn't noticeable for the length of time I'm hunting.

I also zero'd my henry 30-30 and with the hornady Lever revolution bullets, I was shooting 200 yards on steel easy. I didn't think that would be feasible. I'm really impressed.

 

I thought about the 8.6 but bought a Marlin Dark 45-70 and a mold to cast 500gr lead bullets. Need to get a can on order (DA Primal more than likely) and hoping that this will scratch the itch of throwing big chunks of lead downrange quietly.

 

Man 'o man....I've so much to learn.

Purpose of the .300 for me is just 'because'. No hunting. Home defense. Outdoor shooting/range.

All i hear is 'the .300 was made to be suppressed'. Since I want to start wading in the suppressor pool, and I have a binary triggered lower laying around, I thought why not.

Again, although I grew up hunting as a young kid (8-ish) and did so for 25 yrs, I only had experience with shotguns, .22 rifles, and an occasional shooting of a handgun. So I've been away from 'firearms' for 20 yrs and just want to 'experiment' with different types/styles/calibers/etc, even though the .300 round is on the 'niche' side.

 

There's a company out there making SR-25 pattern uppers in this cartridge, too. Really want a 12" Fix with their can in a bad way and then that upper just for funsies.

 

Well if you jump into that world, may I at least defer you back to my original response to your earlier post. Don't cheap out with stuff like DB on this one. Some stuff, it's ok. But .300blk might be the last caliber I'd cheap out on. It's just too finicky and you're liable to end up with a gun that short strokes on subs or beats the shit out of itself on supers. Even with higher end stuff, that's a very real possibility if you match it with the wrong suppressor. Ask me how I know.

 

Yeah, 300blk makes perfect sense for use with the binary lower...5.56 is not expensive enough.

 

I guess roadracing and trackdays wasn't expensive enough either?

You can swap/switch AR lowers right? Maybe a .22 conversion with the binary in my AR lower? Or maybe the 16" 5.56 upper I have mated with the binary lower? Maybe the 8" .300 blackout upper with the binary lower?

I'm spending $1000 on a blackout setup. I see $3000-6000 pistols, $1600 uppers, etc on here. As if those $6000 handguns aren't expensive enough.

Your point is, i don't know, pointless.

 

I hate to ask what your idea of skimping on is.....Less than $3k? lol.
Can i get a 'non-skimped out on' 8-10" complete upper for $500?

Any recommendations in THAT price range and not your price range?

 

Not necessarily price as, with a little bit of patience, quality doesn't always have to be crazy expensive. Companies that come to mind for .300blk uppers that I'd trust are BCM, Sons of Liberty, CMMG, Daniel Defense, Q, Noveske, Radian, LMT, Knight's Armament. I'm sure there are others but those are the ones that spring to mind. The first half of that list make uppers that can be had for the $700-$900 price range with a little patience and knowing where to look. The second half is the range of diminishing returns and probably not where you care to be. But I would at least recommend holding out for something in the range of those first 4 or so.

I've admittedly been kinda snobby about gun stuff in the past but in recent years have grown to appreciate more budget minded options for what they are. And I'll actively recommend stuff like PSA or Aero for dudes just starting out or someone just wanting a plinker (though I still advocate for a at least PSA or Aero - lower than that is just unnecessary). But .300blk is simply a different monster. I honestly believe there is no perfect .300blk. Even the Gucci ones are high maintenance bitches. And the budget ones are just shit. I honestly believe getting a cheap one will just result in hatred of the cartridge, which frankly might even happen anyway.

 

I got a 7.5” psa upper. Shoots fine but only have 60 rounds through it and probably won’t get much more. Barnes 110 black tips group well

 

300 blk was built as a special forcesz suppressed subsonic from the start. It can do a lot more with 110gr certain bullets, but so can a 308. IMO, its use is what it was designed for. For me, it's my home defense gun that I grab when I have to go check what that noise was outside. And it's very good for that purpose.

Now the 8.6... that's a different beast. It was built to be a sub gun for big game. The TWIST is what's so insane. It can honestly do some sick stuff, including strong armor penetration from a freaking subsonic round. I can't go and start a whole new thing. I'm slowly working towards my next new thing already!

 

Yep as I posted above. My $300 complete 8.5” PSA shoots all bullet weights ,sub , super and canned or uncanned with zero issues.

 

Ok no offense but you've both stated your rifles have absolutely minimal rounds through them lol. And I promise, if your .300blk short barreled firearm is cycling subs reliably without a can, it's doing so at the expense of beating the absolute shit out of itself on supers, whether that be from a WFO gas port or light buffer or both. And I'm not saying that because it's more budget friendly; I'm saying that because that is the nature of the round. There's a reason the higher end .300blk rifles tend to either short stroke or be on the ragged edge of short stroking when running subs unsuppressed.

Especially for home defense, that isn't exactly ideal. Aside from the fact that you've significantly increased the risk of catastrophic failure on a tool that could be used to save your life, you're also further compounding the limited visibility issue generated by shooting short barrels at night, especially suppressed. Even with mine being on the ragged edge of tuning, in the woods at night 3 rounds was about the limit before I was forced to either move or simply wait for smoke to clear. It went up to about 5 in a field with more airflow but inside a house is going to be like the woods or worse. It was bad enough to make me reconsider my own approach (I also built mine originally for HD) and start playing with alternatives, including longer barrels and flow through cans.

You could theoretically mitigate these issues with an adjustable gas block but for a newer shooter who likely doesn't have the tools, knowledge, or desire to do that type of work, they're going to end up spending another ~$200 for the parts and labor and at that point you're now knocking on the door of simply better built stuff. Not to mention the appeal of buying something ready to go off the shelf.

 

Search yt ‘ 300 blackout budget build psa vs zev vs mcx’

enlightening for me anyway