AR SBR/Pistol Question

[CrazyCracker]

Looking to build or purchase an SBR or pistol AR in the near future and I'm looking for input on the .300aac Blackout vs 5.56. I've never shot the .300aac just curious as to what the big advantage over 5.56 is and is it worth the added ammo cost?

Thanks,
CC

 

[Faine]

Depends on your end purpose. If you just want a fun shooting SBR or want decent range, 5.56 is your best bet. If suppression is what you want 300blk is your best bet. Is 300blk worth it? That depends on your desire, how you see yourself enjoying this firearm. I went 300blk but I wanted suppression for my AR. I am wanting a 5.56 upper for it now as well to be able to shoot it more often at lower cost as well, but I don't see me getting rid of my 300blk upper because it's just fun. In the end the only right answer is yours. Upside if you go with one and decide you don't like it you're a barrel swap away from what you might like better.

And welcome to INGO.

 

[Jeremy1066]

Welcome to INGO. As Faine pointed out, your end result is the deciding factor. Cheap and fun to shoot would be the 5.56 flavor. The 300blk is perfect for sound suppression out of a short barrel without losing ballistic performance. The 5.56 loses a great deal of performance as you shorten the barrel as the round needs ~2500fps to accomplish what it was designed to do.

 

[jwh20]

Looking to build or purchase an SBR or pistol AR in the near future and I'm looking for input on the .300aac Blackout vs 5.56. I've never shot the .300aac just curious as to what the big advantage over 5.56 is and is it worth the added ammo cost?

Thanks,
CC

The biggest advantage for 300 BLK over 5.56 is that the 300 BLK was specifically designed to work in a short barrel over a wide loading range.

So if you are thinking short barrel pistol or SBR, the 300 BLK is a great choice especially you'll almost certainly want to get a suppressor eventually. 300 BLK will cycle well in an SBR or pistol even at subsonic loadings.

On a less practical note, I've really enjoyed my 300 BLK even though it's a standard 16" length rifle and I don't yet have a suppressor. I've been loading my own mostly and it's been a lot of fun trying the many different .308 bullets and powders. Even without a suppressor, a 220 grain subsonic load is darned quiet.

 

[Faine]

One thing that I forgot to do was ask what barrel length you're wanting. So, what barrel length are you wanting? This can make a world of difference in reliability, particularly with the 5.56 round and could also be a very important deciding factor.

 

[cop car]

Everybody should have a 5.56 AR15. That being said, anything shorter than 10.5, there is no point to having a 5.56. 300 blackout is expensive to shoot however. 300 blackout is good for barrels 5in-14.5 no point to anything longer than that.

I would do a 7.5 or 10.5 inch blackout. I personally ordered a 10.5

 

[CrazyCracker]

Thanks for the reply's guys. I've been doing some more research on the net and I think I'm going to go with 5.56.

I'm looking at going with no shorter than a 10" barrel on what ever I do decide to build and right now suppression is not in my mind set.

On that note what do some of you think about Palmetto Arms stuff? Looks like their prices are about middle of the road, does their quality match or exceed their price point? I currently own two Colts now looking for something of equal or better quality and it's hard to know these days with everyone and their brother making AR parts?

Thanks again,
CC