300 AAC Blackout (7.62x35mm)
Encyclopedia
300 AAC Blackout, SAAMI
short name "300 BLK" is a rifle
cartridge
developed in the United States
and originally chambered in the M4 rifle.
round has run up against firm opposition from those who argue that the 30 caliber round provides the minimum, if not ideal, performance necessary for the modern battlefield soldier. While 5.56mm NATO has enjoyed widespread acceptance in military circles, the fluid nature of the missions that some special operations groups encounter often demand a round that not only provides better performance in the high energy standard velocity rounds but also one that can offer subsonic performance greater than the current standard 9mm submachine guns now in use.
In an effort to satisfy this need the 300 AAC Blackout (whose existence was first made public by an article in Military Times.) was created by Advanced Armament Corp. in cooperation with Remington Defense, under the direction of AAC's Research and Development Director Robert Silvers.
Project goals were:
Meeting these goals allowed the development team to negate many of the perceived drawbacks inherent to other large caliber cartridges when used in the M4 platform. Colt Firearms and other arms makers had previously chambered AR pattern rifles and carbines in various 30 caliber rounds but several issues were encountered. In the case of the 7.62×39, its relatively severe case angle caused feeding issues unless specially modified AK47 magazines were used and even then results were less than outstanding. Modified bolts were also needed owing to its larger case head diameter. Rounds such as the 6.8spc and 6.5 Grendel had similar part-interchangeability issues but did allow for the use of the standard M4/M16 30 round magazine albeit with a reduced capacity.
Wildcats such as the 300 Whisper and 300-221 addressed these issues but their widespread use in single shot handguns along with the lack of an industry standard cartridge dimension meant that a great number of the popular loads on both the supersonic and subsonic end of the spectrum were less than ideal in the AR pattern weapons. Many of these rounds required an excessively long overall cartridge length that would prohibit feeding in a STANAG magazine
while using powder charges that were not compatible with the pressure requirements of the M4 carbine. This was particularly noticeable when using subsonic ammunition in conjunction with a silencer as short stroking and excessive fouling would occur similar to that which was seen in the earliest variants of the M16 in Vietnam.
By keeping the M4 in mind as the primary host during load development the designers were able to work up a host of cartridges that would satisfy not only the ballistic requirements set forth but also ensure mechanical reliability with the fewest changes to the weapon itself with only a simple barrel change being necessary for a complete conversion.
300 AAC BLACKOUT was approved by SAAMI
on January 17, 2011.
Component primed brass was distributed in March 2011.
On October 23rd, 2011, SSG Daniel Horner of the USAMU used 300 AAC Blackout to win his 4th USPSA Multi-Gun National Championship.
460 metres (503 yd) 125 grain supersonic 200 metres (219 yd) 220 grain subsonic
Saami
Saami or SAAMI can stand for:*Sami people*Sami languages*Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute...
short name "300 BLK" is a rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
developed in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and originally chambered in the M4 rifle.
History
Since its inception as the standard US military primary issue rifle ammunition the 5.56×45mm NATO5.56x45mm NATO
5.56×45mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the United States and originally chambered in the M16 rifle. Under STANAG 4172, it is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries. It is derived from, but not identical to, the .223 Remington cartridge...
round has run up against firm opposition from those who argue that the 30 caliber round provides the minimum, if not ideal, performance necessary for the modern battlefield soldier. While 5.56mm NATO has enjoyed widespread acceptance in military circles, the fluid nature of the missions that some special operations groups encounter often demand a round that not only provides better performance in the high energy standard velocity rounds but also one that can offer subsonic performance greater than the current standard 9mm submachine guns now in use.
In an effort to satisfy this need the 300 AAC Blackout (whose existence was first made public by an article in Military Times.) was created by Advanced Armament Corp. in cooperation with Remington Defense, under the direction of AAC's Research and Development Director Robert Silvers.
Project goals were:
- Create a reliable compact 30-cal solution for AR platform
- Utilize existing inventory magazines while retaining their full capacity
- Create the optimal platform for sound and flash suppressed fire
- Create compatible supersonic ammo that matches 7.62×39mm7.62×39mmThe 7.62×39mm round is a rifle cartridge of Soviet origin that was designed during World War II. It was first used in the RPD machine gun. Due to the worldwide proliferation of the SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, the cartridge is utilized by both militaries and civilians alike.The 7.62×39mm...
ballistics - Provide the ability to penetrate barriers with high-mass projectiles
- Provide all capabilities in a lightweight, durable, low recoiling package
Meeting these goals allowed the development team to negate many of the perceived drawbacks inherent to other large caliber cartridges when used in the M4 platform. Colt Firearms and other arms makers had previously chambered AR pattern rifles and carbines in various 30 caliber rounds but several issues were encountered. In the case of the 7.62×39, its relatively severe case angle caused feeding issues unless specially modified AK47 magazines were used and even then results were less than outstanding. Modified bolts were also needed owing to its larger case head diameter. Rounds such as the 6.8spc and 6.5 Grendel had similar part-interchangeability issues but did allow for the use of the standard M4/M16 30 round magazine albeit with a reduced capacity.
Wildcats such as the 300 Whisper and 300-221 addressed these issues but their widespread use in single shot handguns along with the lack of an industry standard cartridge dimension meant that a great number of the popular loads on both the supersonic and subsonic end of the spectrum were less than ideal in the AR pattern weapons. Many of these rounds required an excessively long overall cartridge length that would prohibit feeding in a STANAG magazine
STANAG magazine
A STANAG magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56x45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement 4179 was proposed in order to allow the military services of member nations easily to share rifle...
while using powder charges that were not compatible with the pressure requirements of the M4 carbine. This was particularly noticeable when using subsonic ammunition in conjunction with a silencer as short stroking and excessive fouling would occur similar to that which was seen in the earliest variants of the M16 in Vietnam.
By keeping the M4 in mind as the primary host during load development the designers were able to work up a host of cartridges that would satisfy not only the ballistic requirements set forth but also ensure mechanical reliability with the fewest changes to the weapon itself with only a simple barrel change being necessary for a complete conversion.
300 AAC BLACKOUT was approved by SAAMI
Saami
Saami or SAAMI can stand for:*Sami people*Sami languages*Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute...
on January 17, 2011.
Component primed brass was distributed in March 2011.
On October 23rd, 2011, SSG Daniel Horner of the USAMU used 300 AAC Blackout to win his 4th USPSA Multi-Gun National Championship.
Performance
Maximum effective range =| Barrel | Cartridge | Velocity | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 in (228.6 mm) barrel | 300 AAC Blackout, 115 gr UMC | 2120 ft/s (646.2 m/s) | 1136 ft.lbf |
| 16 in (406.4 mm) barrel | 300 AAC Blackout, 115 gr UMC | 2295 ft/s (699.5 m/s) | 1344 ft.lbf |
| 9 in (228.6 mm) barrel | 300 AAC Blackout, 125 gr OTM | 2030 ft/s (618.7 m/s) | 1143 ft.lbf |
| 16 in (406.4 mm) barrel | 300 AAC Blackout, 125 gr OTM | 2215 ft/s (675.1 m/s) | 1360 ft.lbf |
Cartridge types
- 115 CTFB UMC Remington Arms Co. 21504
- 220 OTM SUBSONIC commercial version, Remington Arms Co. 21509
- 125 Premiere Match commercial version, Remington Arms Co. 21503
- 125 Premiere AccuTip Remington Arms Co. 21516
- SAAMI Proof Load Remington Arms Co. 21824
- SAAMI Reference Load Remington Arms Co. 21666
- SAAMI Dummy Load Remington Arms Co. 21960
Availability
The following companies are making or have announced 300 AAC BLACKOUT products:- AAC - uppers, rifles, silencers, and ammunition.
- Adams Arms - rifles and uppers.
- All Weather Arms - brass processing.
- AR-Stoner - barrels.
- Atlanta Arms - ammo.
- Barnes Bullets - bullets.
- Black Hole Weaponry - barrels.
- Brad's Warehouse - converted brass.
- Bushmaster Firearms - uppers and rifles.
- BWE Firearms - rifles, uppers, and suppressors.
- CMMG - barrels, uppers, and ammo.
- Compass Lake Engineering - AR barrels.
- Cor-Bon - ammo
- Delta Company Arms - rifles, barrels, uppers.
- Dillon Precision - reloading conversion kits.
- Double Tap - ammo.
- DPMS - rifles and uppers.
- DS Arms - rifles and uppers.
- Forster - reloading dies.
- Grim Reaper Tactical - barrels and uppers.
- Gunn - ammo.
- Hornady - ammo, dies, brass.
- Lee - reloading dies.
- L.E. Wilson - case gauges.
- Lewis Machine and Tool - barrels, uppers, rifles.
- Loki Weapon Systems - uppers/rifles.
- Lone Star Armory - 300 AAC BLACKOUT marked lowers.
- Lothar Walther - barrels.
- LWRCI - rifles.
- Match Grade Machine - Thompson barrels.
- McGowen Barrel - Savage and other barrels.
- McCourt Munitions - ammo.
- Model 1 Sales - AR barrels/uppers
- Montana Rifleman - barrels.
- Noveske - rifles and uppers.
- Olympic Arms - rifles and uppers.
- One Shot - ammo.
- Pac-Nor - barrels.
- Pacific Tool and Gauge - reamers and gauges.
- PNW Arms - ammo.
- Primary Weapons Systems - rifles and uppers.
- Rainer Arms - barrels.
- Raven Armament Company - ammo and uppers.
- Redding - dies.
- Remington - ammunition.
- Right 2 Bear Ammo - ammunition.
- Robarms - XCR Micro rifle.
- Ron Williams - barrels.
- RUAG - ammo.
- Satern Custom Machining, Inc. - barrels.
- Selph Arms LLC - barrels, uppers, re-chambering, and rifles.
- SI Defense - barrels.
- Sig Sauer - rifles.
- Smith & Wesson - rifles, uppers.
- Sierra - bullets.
- SilencerCo - silencers.
- Southern Ballistic Research - ammo.
- Southwest Ammunition, LLC - ammo.
- Spike's Tactical - uppers and rifles.
- Summit - ammo.
- Surefire - 300 BLK sound suppressor.
- The Bullet Works - bullets and ammunition.
- Triton Arms - AR barrels.
- Ultra Tech - ammo (Australia)
- Umlaut Industries - 300 BLK caliber marked Rifles, Upper and Lowers. 16" and 10" Factory Title II.
- White Oak Precision - AR barrels.
- Wilson Combat - rifles, hunting and self defense ammunition.
Predecessors
- Pioneering work by the USAF Armament Lab at Eglin Air Force BaseEglin Air Force BaseEglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles southwest of Valparaiso, Florida in Okaloosa County....
in the late 1960s produced the 7.62×28 cartridge which propelled a 172gr match projectile to the 1050 ft/s (320 m/s) range but suffered from various reliability issues. - More recently, popular wildcats such the 300-221, 300 Fireball, and JD Jones' proprietary version of them, the .300 Whisper.300 WhisperThe .300 Whisper is a wildcat cartridge in the Whisper family, a group of cartridges developed in the early 1990s by J.D. Jones of SSK Industries...
, have furthered the concept.
See also
- .300 Whisper.300 WhisperThe .300 Whisper is a wildcat cartridge in the Whisper family, a group of cartridges developed in the early 1990s by J.D. Jones of SSK Industries...
- 7.62×40 Wilson Tactical
- Table of pistol and rifle cartridges by yearTable of pistol and rifle cartridges by yearTable of selected handgun, submachine gun, rifle and machine gun cartridges by year....
- List of rifle cartridges