300 Black Out Question.

[fishfurlife]

Okay, I will start out by saying that I don't really give a crap about this setup. I like to hunt as much as I enjoy shooting and a 300 Black Out is far from a hunting round in my eyes. I have friend that has picked up a Remington 700 in 300 black out. 16" barrel and has a Specwar 7.62 can on the gun. Trigger is around albs. Zeiss glass. I have been trying to help him get a load worked up that will at least go sub moa and preferably sub .80".

I will not kid anybody here and act like I know a lot about subsonic rounds and how they act compared to "normal" rifle rounds. What I will admit to is the fact that trying to tune this gun is completely kicking mine/our ass. Currently, the best grouping that either of us has seen out of it has come from factory loaded remington's. 1.4"ish. I am seeing groups that would make a guy think that we were sighting in a freaking Hawkins muzzle loader. We have shot Hornady's, Nozler, Berger, and Sierras. It has almost become as frustrating as it was when I tuned my .243. At least the .243 started out making bad groups that were about 1.25"

Can anyone here give me a direction that these god forsaken calibers seem to prefer? Closer to lands? Farther to the Lands? Lighter bullet? Heaviest Bullet? Powder? This is wearing me out......

 

[Okie4570]

I've just began this process myself with a single shot handi rifle. All three supersonic loads I've tried have shot 3/4" groups, using different amounts of H110 and 125gr ballistic tips. I've got a zillion old Speer 180 and 200gr bullets using Reloader 7, and have loaded a few just trying out the can and seeing how loud it is. It's quiet, haven't run it through a chrony yet, and haven't sit down at the bench yet to see how it shoots.

Does it shoot any better with the can off? Not that it's supposed to matter.

 

[fishfurlife]

He is slightly hung up on this suppressor thing at the moment. I suggested the exact same thing that you tried with lighter supersonic loads. He "bought this thing to be quiet"! So that is what I am trying to work around with him. It's a cool gun to shoot but that is about it. We tried to run some lighter loads through it this evening just for grins at subsonic and they basically fall out of the air like a rock. 155's were shooting about 12" lower than 208's with around 11.3 grains of H4189. He wasn't a big fan of that. I honestly don't care about bullet drop because they will all drop like a rock past 100 yards as far as I am concerned. I am aiming for a consistently tight group. I don't care how much the bullet drop is compared to "X" subsonic load.

 

[Okie4570]

My intent with theses subsonic loads is for my kids to use at 50y or closer, so distance won't really be a factor here either. I'll hopefully get to try to group some loads next week.

 

[fishfurlife]

I should mention that he is a seasoned shooter. Loads a boat load more rounds than I ever have. However he has just recently taken on the idea of precision shooting. Up until recent, he just loved to shoot. Pistols, AR's and such. More of a quantity over quality. So getting him slowed down in his loading process to be more precise has been a little bit of a chore. Granted, he is safe in his ways and makes sure that he keeps within recommended values. He just loads in bulk, which seem to be a little more laxed than loading for precision. I keep telling him that we aren't loading pistol rounds here where you check every "x" number reload to make sure your powder is staying somewhat consistent.

 

[Okie4570]

Could make a difference. I still do all my rifle rounds one at a time, single stage press, weighing out each one, sorting brass by weight...etc.

 

[fishfurlife]

As do I. I have been forcing more precision when loading when I am there. Still doesn't seem to be helping. Meh...

 

[Okie4570]

As do I. I have been forcing more precision when loading when I am there. Still doesn't seem to be helping. Meh...

Tell him you want to borrow his gun and reloading components for the weekend and do it right lol.

 

[dennishoddy]

I'm not a .300 blackout user, but in general, there has to be a velocity/twist/length of bullet/OAL issue.
The combination of length, weight and shape of a projectile determines the twist rate needed to stabilize it, as I'm sure you already know.

A Winchester 180 grain round nose .30 cal in a 30-06, won't shoot the same as a Barnes TTSX in the same weight.

My Browning Stainless stalker loves a 168 grain Sierra HPBT loaded where the lands just touch the ogive.

Using a 168 grain Barnes TTSX for elk, I have to back it off the rifling .007. Barrel harmonics and bullet design is the only thing IMHO that would account for that.

 

[HiredHand]

I can't offer an advice about loads, but this the author of this article wasn't impressed with the accuracy of the Model 7 rifle he tested out.

"I tested four different loads for accuracy: two supersonic .300 AAC Blackout offerings, a supersonic .300 Whisper load and a subsonic .300 AAC Blackout product. The rifle definitely preferred the suppressor mounted. Accuracy was nothing to brag about, but I suspect a better stock-bedding system would vastly improve performance. Only one five-round group of the 25 I fired measured less than 1 MOA at100 yards. Sound reduction with the subsonic/suppressed load was excellent, and that load also proved the most accurate overall, which was a surprise."

http://www.shootingillustrated.com/index.php/32935/300-aac-blackout-model-7-rifle/