Let's talk about 300 Blackout..

[FORKLIFT252]

I have been looking all over youtube and have seen meny ways to
convert .223 to 300 Blackout. One vid intriged me.
It was a progresive press with auto case feeder.
One station had a dillon case trimer. I don't recall if
the brass was formed first then trimed or vice versa.

However it seemed the fastest way to form Blackout brass
from .223 and the easyest.

Any body try it?

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[Spray-n-pray]

I know a fella on this forum who has. I saw his setup, and it was pretty sweet. Let's see if he chimes in here.

 

[Nwcid]

Sure it is the fastest and easiest. I guess it just depends on how much you want to spend. Not sure which set up you saw but the ones I have seen cost in excess of $2000. Guess it just depends on how much $$$ you have and how many cases you plan on doing.

 

[nrc]

I made a batch just for giggles once with a single stage press and a trim die. Brad is my go-to guy now: BradsWarehouse.com - Custom made 300 AAC Blackout Brass

100 trimmed cases for $20
or
100 trimmed, squared, chamfered cases $28.

(edited to add: I have no affiliation with Brad whatsoever. I have purchased from him several times and been very happy with the product.)

 

[FORKLIFT252]

I got a batch coming from him as well... I just have a 5 gl. Bucket of 223.
Right now im trying to load winchester 147 gr. with lil gun powder.
Any ideas of a start load and max?

 

[AMProducts]

Forming the brass is fairly easy, however this cartridge has been a bigger initial success than any of the few dozen that have been released over the last dozen years or so. Also, factory brass is available brand new for $12/box, and ammo is $14... I've been looking into the caliber, I finally bought another lower and all the other bits, now I have a barrel on order.

Lil'Gun and this caliber seem like a perfect match to me, fork, why not start out with some 148gr .357 mag loads (start light!).

 

[FORKLIFT252]

I got a 9 in AR and shot it for the first time to day.....WOW!!!
I got some 110gr with 15.8 gr lil gun....zeroed my mbus in 5 rounds.
So I got some 147 gr and 14.5 gr lil gun. Still shot well
I just wanted to get too 2000 fps. However more possible with 16 in
than 9. Soooo you think 357 mag might be a loose guid?

 

[PolishedBrass]

What about bullets?
Shouldn't the majority of .308 bullets ... even WWII pulls work? (I am actually wanting an answer)

Never reloaded but I had all the best reloading gear and sold it ... but with considering this round ... and the plentiful .223 cases and plentiful .308 bullets ...
I am seriously considering it.

 

[Nwcid]

Yes it can be run with almost any .30 cal bullet.

It appears this thread is about shooting supersonic ammo. This round (starting with .300 Whisper) was really designed as a SS round for use with silencers using heavy 200gr + bullets. IF you are running SS with a silencer this is a great round but for supersonic the are much better choices out there.

I have had a .300 "Whisper" for several years now but I only use it with SS ammo. If I want to shoot "fast" .30 cal this would be my last choice of gun.........

 

[FORKLIFT252]

so what would be your choice for fast 30 cal
and still in the AR platform?

 

[gunfreak]

A friend of mine and his wife are processing .223 brass for there Nephew and his Dad who have started a venture making .300 BO. As I gather the Nephew is current military and gets tons of brass

 

[jquirit]

Lil'Gun and this caliber seem like a perfect match to me, fork, why not start out with some 148gr .357 mag loads (start light!).

AMP, just a bit of clarification: did you intend to say .357 mag loads for powder metering? When I first read it, it threw me off as it almost sounded like trying to load a 148gr .357 mag bullet into a .300 BLK case...

 

[nrc]

I got a batch coming from him as well... I just have a 5 gl. Bucket of 223.
Right now im trying to load winchester 147 gr. with lil gun powder.
Any ideas of a start load and max?

Hodgdon says 16.5 starting 18.0 max for 135gr bullet - I would reduce to 14.0 gr for the 147gr and work up slow.

Advice on the 'net is what it is though - so if you give them a call I'm sure they would give you a more scientific recommendation.

 

[AMProducts]

I was suggesting using the same powder loads from .357mag 148gr bullets to load lil'gun 147gr bullets in .300AAC...

However, I don't think that's necessary anymore... I just got a copy of the 2012 hodgdon powder reloading magazine which has a huge section on .300BLK.
So here are some new loads (loads are all from the hodgdon book)


Bul.Wt Primer Powder charge vel COL
110gr VMax WSR Lilgun 18 2379 2.1
110gr Vmax WSR IMR4227 19.0 2050 2.1
125gr NosBT WSR LilGun 17.5 2006 2.050
134gr SMK cci400 h110 18.0 2199 2.020

Looks like more than a few good 2000FPS+ loads there.

 

[Dan-Dee Sales Inc]

What happens to a 300 when someone forgets and accidentally chambers a 5.56 round and pulls the trigger?

223 brass is about 3/8" longer. I do not think that bolt will lock

 

[FarmerTed1971]

What happens to a 300 when someone forgets and accidentally chambers a 5.56 round and pulls the trigger?

Personally I'd be afraid of the exact opposite situation.

 

[Burt Gummer]

Personally I'd be afraid of the exact opposite situation.

No kidding. I was thinking about this the other day. It isn't possible is it? The round wouldn't fit into the chamber/barrel.

 

[Swedish K]

after poking around a bit it appears that in most situations it can't happen - however there are some who claim to have seen pics of an accident - the claim is that the crimp was too light and the bullet collapsed back into the case far enough for a lockup - the result was a destroyed weapon - the 30 cal bullet was greatly elongated and stuck in the barrel. apparently in spec 300 blk brass (empty) when placed in a 5.56 chamber protrudes approximately .02" beyond where the bolt would be in battery for a weapon with proper head space. In theory it would be difficult for it to happen but a combination of bad head space, brass out of spec, and a loose crimp on a bullet could cause it. I know one thing for sure - if I had both a 5.56 and a 300 blk, or was shooting with someone who did, I certainly would not be using forward assist to seat the bolt if there was any chance that a mix up might have occurred.

 

[nubus]

The 556/223 case is longer, but still smaller at the neck than the bore of a 300 BLK. I think it would chamber, but may or may not ignite if the bolt held the base well enough. I personally, cough, cough, have shot .357 SIG out of a .40 barrel and the bullet left the barrel and hit about 8" low at 20 yds. I think you'd have the same results with the 556 in a 300 BLK. You might get a baffle strike if you were running suppressed. But as stated above, if you do the opposite and the the bolt manages to lock... KABOOM! As far as loading the round, there is a lot of data out there now, and getting 2000+ fps is likely going to require a bullet lighter than 147 grn. I have been playing with the 110 grn V-MAX bullets with good results. Still plenty of energy for deer and smaller game. Really close to 6.8 SPC ballistics, especially in the shorter barrels. Your Lil'Gun should work fine, but you definitely want to select from the fastest burning powders available for the load with that short of a barrel. All of the data I have reviewed tops a 150 grn out around 1800-1900 fps. 300 BLK is also now included on Hodgon's online data. Keep in mind, the fastest loads listed may not give you the fastest results beacause of your barrel length. Refer to the burn chart and try the fastest powders for the most FPS from that shorter barrel.

 

[FORKLIFT252]

Thank you nubus...2000 fps might be a strech for 147gr
But I'm just trying to maximize the 147....so far its the cheapest.
I havent been able to find much data.