i have a buddie at work that builds ar-15s as a hobby and is well know around here for his work and apparently really knows his ****, i dont know a whole lot about guns but i was talking to him and he said this is what i should get? i wanto have a gun that i can build for around $7-800 then add a bypod and a scope to but also that can shoot around 4-450 yards and take down a deer or something. i wanto use it for a defense rifle but also can shoot a deer or something if i wanto. whatcha all think?

 

the .300 blackout is a pretty good round for most of what you want. they work very well with the AR platform and are a great defensive and light hunting round. they perform about like a .30-30 or the 7.62x39mm (AK47 round) as far as ballistics but are inherently more accurate due to better bullet design. they are basically a combination of a .308 bullet in a .223 case. they're not intended to be a long range round but would probably suffice at the ranges you'll use it. the only real downside i can see would be expense if you plan on shooting it a lot.

 

Look at the 6.8 to be honest, the 300 lacks in many areas, so much that even Savage dropped their research and let the caliber go. 6.8 is hard to get, but at least manufacturers are producing some, meaning you can get it off the shelf, but most is ordered online via vendors such as Silver State.

check out 68forums, I had one, it was nice, awesome round, but I never hunted with it, and decided to sell it off and built a .223 wylde. Just trying to give you options. Research both, but from what I gathered, the 6.8 is superior, which is why I went that route. Box of 20 is on the low end $16, usually around $20 for the good recipes. .223 can easily take down a deer, would I recommend it, no, but I will be hunting with my build.

 

The #1 beauty of 300 blackout is it's ability to keep better ballistics than 5.56/.223, but from shorter barrels. Let's say we are shooting 100 yards. A 300 blk round shot from a 10" barrel will have the same knock down energy as a 5.56 shot from a 16" barrel, and very similar accuracy as well. So a 300 blk fired from a standard 16" barrel has much more energy. To me, that sounds like it is nothing but better.
The #2 beauty of 300 blackout is it's effeciveness when being suppressed. Hornady makes a round called 300 Whisper which can be fired from an AAC 300 blackout barrel and Remington makes sub-sonic 300 blk rounds as well. Sub-sonic rounds fired through a suppressor get pretty darn quiet. Still not hollywood quiet, but pretty tame to the ear drums and no bullet crack breaking the sound barrier.
Those are the biggest and most common reasons to acquire an AAC 300 blackout rifle: If you intend to obtain NFA tax stamps for a less than 16", short barrel, AND a suppressor. Otherwise you're wasting time and a lot of money in searching for the expensive, hard to find bullets.

They do work pretty sweet though. I shot this hog last weekend with my 9" 300 blackout. He kept zig zagging back and forth at 50 yards, wondering what was going on, I think maybe deciding weather to charge or not, but I kept weraing him out, pouring the rounds into him. Found 8 hits.


And I shot two deer with my 16" 5.56 suppressed. The 5.56 did it's job just fine, as they were well placed shots and both ~120-140 yards.

 

300BO is cool.. but there is no gain goin from a 9" to 16" barrel.. with what little fast burning powder you stuff in the case its gonna burn completely before the bullet leaves the barrel..

For a SBR, 300BO is the ticket.. if your just gonna do a 16" barrel then a 6.8SPC is the way to go. It was designed for the M4 barrel and does a dang good job.

So here is how i see it..

SBR 300BO nothing else comes close...
16" the 6.8SPC is pretty dang good
16" the 5.56 works but get up to 24" and it shines.

evidence is a chrono with all the combos..

300BO doesnt pick up hardly any speed going from a 7"" to a 16"..
6.8 doesnt pick up any speed goin from 16 to 20
5.56 picks up quite a bit of speed goin from a 16" to 24"



So i say do what you wanna do and let us know

I really like my 5.56 stuff, only cause its a heck of a lot cheaper to shoot than 300BO and 6.8SPC.
but you cant beat a 240gr SMK at 950fps out of the 300BO.. thats a heavy weight!

 

ya im looking at prob getting one with a 16'' barrel. i hunt down by the border and they have been seeing alot of drug runners down there thats part of the reason i want something like an AR plus we shoot them at work and i have alot of buddies who know them in and out. but if i spend the cash i wouldnt mind using it to take my GF out so she can shoot a mulie or something. i honestly shoot archery so idk if i would shoot a deer with it but id love to get her into it and i know it can take one down i just dont know how far? i plan on buldint the gun for around 800. thne getting a bypod and a vortex vx 2 scope for it so it wont be the baddest *** gun but i hope it will soot my needs?

 

heres that part list i got so far...

Lower. around $100
dpms lower kit$70
upper and upper kit- $100
barrel -aac er shaw barrel $240
rail system-yankee hill $120
bypod- $75
vertex vx2 - $360

so im setting at about $1000-1100 ntb?

 

Ive never hunted Mulies... but i use my 223 for deer, hogs and the like. It works just as good as any other caliber out there.

another thing to look at is bullet selection..

.224" 36gr to 90gr
.277 / 6.8spc 85gr to 160gr
.308" 90gr to 240gr

308 beats them all in your selection. plus you can load up some 125gr hunting bullets and go take down majority of the game out there if you can place the bullet.

 

I'd have to disagree about the SBR thing...let me dig up some actual facts later on, someone posted really good info on one of the forums

 

that was just my testing.. your cant get a 6.8 or 5.56 to do good in a SBR on the FPS..

300bo has a small case and you can use fast burning pistol powder..