300AAC Reloading

Reloading equipment, methods, load data, powder and projectile information.

300AAC Reloading

Post by madang55 » 09 Jun 2018, 9:55 pm

1st thing, I'm new to this forum so be gentle. Is anyone else out there reloading 300 AAC? There is so little available in published data, would really like to get in touch with anyone who has been at it for a while. I have a Rem 700 Tactical, 16 1/2 inch barrel etc.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by gunnnie » 11 Jun 2018, 6:19 pm

Am running Ruger Ranch in 300BO. Currently reloading pills from 110 to 125gn in weight. Still developing loads that produce consistency in accuracy. The best I've got with this rifle to date has been .475" @ 100m withfactory ammo loaded with 125gn SMK pills.
No unting with it yet.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by madang55 » 11 Jun 2018, 7:54 pm

Thanks for that.
Yup just starting at the 110. Choice of powders is the problem. I'm limited to ADI 2205 2207 at the moment, got any other suggestions?
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by Mitch » 11 Jun 2018, 8:11 pm

Speer 130gr HP
AR2205 x 18.0gr
2.005" OAL

Hornady 110gr Vmax
AR2205 x 17.7gr
Can't remember OAL off top of head.

The 130's shoot better and hit harder so thats what i run.

Also use some 220gr HP for subs that are awesome
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by madang55 » 11 Jun 2018, 9:26 pm

Ah! the light comes on. I have the 110gr HDY SP. Some 165gr Sierra's and some 200gr HDY ELD-X. I can use the 208gr load data for the 200's (says ADI) I might wait till ADI catches up with a few more projectile weights before I try "guessing" powder weights for the 165's. A box of 130gr is on the shopping list. OAL from the ADI book for 110gr is 2.040 so I will use that as well. And there is a guy asking if its worth reloading!!! What would Sheldon say?? Too much fun I say. I am really looking forward to putting some rounds on paper and then there are some ferals gonna get a big shock up at the farm.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by Mitch » 12 Jun 2018, 9:07 am

For me I didnt like the 165's.

Not enough oomph to expand them well.

Stick to the 110's or 130's and you will be sweet.

Also if you want to do subs then be very careful what bullet you use or you will get no expansion
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by wanneroo » 12 Jun 2018, 12:24 pm

I have loaded several thousand rounds of 300 Blackout. It is versatile but finicky compared to other rifle cartridges. I think as each year goes by and more shooting and testing goes on, the database of knowledge on this cartridge gets better. There is quite a bit of data out there now compared to even 3-4 years ago and most of the new updated reloading manuals have 300 BO included.

My regular target load is a 147-150g FMJ bullet. These work great for plinking/target shooting. If you want to go supersonic and for distance then your 110-130g bullets is where that will be. Subsonic loads with 175-220g bullets have the equal power of a 45 ACP pistol cartridge except you can get a little more range. These are probably fine for up close varmit elimination. Here in the USA a lot of people have begun using polymer coated cast lead bullets for subsonics.

Here in the USA we now have Hodgdons CFE BLK powder which is a 300 BO specific powder. I have a couple of pounds but have not used it yet. I also have a few pounds of IMR 4227 and haven't tried that yet either. Mainly using Lil Gun powder. Tried Hodgdons H110 but didn't work well with heavier bullets.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by wanneroo » 12 Jun 2018, 12:41 pm

madang55 wrote:Ah! the light comes on. I have the 110gr HDY SP. Some 165gr Sierra's and some 200gr HDY ELD-X. I can use the 208gr load data for the 200's (says ADI) I might wait till ADI catches up with a few more projectile weights before I try "guessing" powder weights for the 165's. A box of 130gr is on the shopping list. OAL from the ADI book for 110gr is 2.040 so I will use that as well. And there is a guy asking if its worth reloading!!! What would Sheldon say?? Too much fun I say. I am really looking forward to putting some rounds on paper and then there are some ferals gonna get a big shock up at the farm.


As I experienced with H110 powder, some powders might not work well with certain weights of bullets, so you'll find that out perhaps.

Once you get it figured out, 300 BO is a good cartridge for shooting out to 300 meters and I find it quieter than 223 and will work just great on varmits and ferals.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by gunnnie » 12 Jun 2018, 5:32 pm

Powder wise I'm using Lil'Gun and Win 296, rather than the ADI stuff.
The 296 is almost a full case with the 110-125gn pills without being a compressed load.
I also bought a box of the LeHigh Defence 78gn pills to try but not impressed with their accuracy ability.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by madang55 » 13 Jun 2018, 7:05 pm

Thanks guys. I always liked the Win powders, but they are going to get harder and harder to get I think. I will annoy my shop to see if they will get the CFE BLK. Give anything a go, but that's reloading ain't it.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by sungazer » 14 Jun 2018, 4:53 pm

I have never really understood the appeal of this cartridge and still to see it. On a side note i was doing some web surfing and was looking at the McMillan site and specifically the new ALIAS CS5 http://www.mcmillanfirearms.com/firearms/alias-cs5/ here they are talking about a Subsonic 200grn 308 Winchester round In there gun they are saying it delivers 0.5 MOA accuracy. If such a round can be used in a standard 308 what advantages does the Blackout give? Why would you choose a Blackout over a standard 308? I am not having a go at the Blackout at all as I know very little about them so all feedback is genuinely wanted
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by madang55 » 14 Jun 2018, 7:15 pm

Because everyone has a 308.
The way I understand things is....and any corrections are most welcome.
If a 308 is sub sonic, and a 300 is sub sonic, whats the difference? To be sub-sonic they both leave the barrel at around the same velocity, giving the same projectile weight the same down range result? A 308 has a larger case capacity therefore you are tending to have more vacant space after loading? The 308 was never intended to be sub-sonic, the 300 was. I don't even know if I will use the heavier bullets as subs, but the lighter weights, 110gr to 165gr etc, will come in handy for what I'm looking at doing. The 300 has way less recoil and my wife and daughter wont be intimidated by it. Its something new and until it proves to me to be not worth the effort, I will have some fun.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by madang55 » 15 Jun 2018, 11:24 am

By the way, Wanneroo, thank you for the info, appreciated
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by sungazer » 15 Jun 2018, 11:42 am

madang55 I am not poo pooing the cartridge or the fun and uses it has just trying to find its place in my head. I can see it is designed for short range predominately with a short barrel and a high twist rate to compensate for speed. Also the twist rate helps in stabilizing heavier projectiles. Using heavier projectiles to deliver a lot of energy is also one of its features.
Shooting the lighter pills at 1500-2000fps is going to help with the recoil for sure compared with a 308 that would be pushing them out faster.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by madang55 » 15 Jun 2018, 9:13 pm

Not a problem. After I put some rounds onto paper I will let you know how it performs on the ferals up at the farm. It will also be interesting what the property owner thinks of the noise compared to the 12g and 223 in the middle of the night.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by Kinross » 16 Jun 2018, 5:50 am

H110 works well with the Barnes 110 grn tac tx and nosler 125 BT. Not sure if you can get the black tips there in OZ . They put nice holes in pigs out of the AR
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by Oldbloke » 16 Jun 2018, 10:08 am

sungazer wrote: If such a round can be used in a standard 308 what advantages does the Blackout give? Why would you choose a Blackout over a standard 308? I am not having a go at the Blackout at all as I know very little about them so all feedback is genuinely wanted


Agree, for hunting anyway. I could probably achieve the same with my 30-06.

Buying one of these limits you , you can't load it up to 308 performance if you decided to hunt bigger game, only further down. With a bit of tinkering it's amazing what can be achieved re-loading. Very flexible.

At the end of the day when hunting it's unusual to need a highly specialized cartridge. And sticking to popular time proven cartridges usually means easier to get ammo and cheaper ammo, components included.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by wanneroo » 16 Jun 2018, 12:13 pm

sungazer wrote:I have never really understood the appeal of this cartridge and still to see it. On a side note i was doing some web surfing and was looking at the McMillan site and specifically the new ALIAS CS5 http://www.mcmillanfirearms.com/firearms/alias-cs5/ here they are talking about a Subsonic 200grn 308 Winchester round In there gun they are saying it delivers 0.5 MOA accuracy. If such a round can be used in a standard 308 what advantages does the Blackout give? Why would you choose a Blackout over a standard 308? I am not having a go at the Blackout at all as I know very little about them so all feedback is genuinely wanted


A lot of the advantages will probably not be of use to Australians due to the laws.

300 BO was designed for military and LE use as a suppressed round to be fired out of a 9 inch AR barrel. After it was developed the civilian market saw the advantages in use for short range shooting or suppressed shooting. The ass end of the cartridge is a 5.56/223, so you don't have to change magazines or bolts. And it uses commonly available .30 cal bullets. With all that commonality, it's very easy to adapt weapons to it and not difficult to reload for, especially now that specific powders are being developed for it.

I find for target shooting loading a 147g FMJ, it's quieter than a .223 and just as easy to shoot.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by wanneroo » 16 Jun 2018, 12:17 pm

madang55 wrote:Because everyone has a 308.
The way I understand things is....and any corrections are most welcome.
If a 308 is sub sonic, and a 300 is sub sonic, whats the difference? To be sub-sonic they both leave the barrel at around the same velocity, giving the same projectile weight the same down range result? A 308 has a larger case capacity therefore you are tending to have more vacant space after loading? The 308 was never intended to be sub-sonic, the 300 was. I don't even know if I will use the heavier bullets as subs, but the lighter weights, 110gr to 165gr etc, will come in handy for what I'm looking at doing. The 300 has way less recoil and my wife and daughter wont be intimidated by it. Its something new and until it proves to me to be not worth the effort, I will have some fun.


I've shot 308 subsonic out of a Rem 700 with a suppressor. It's very quiet but the same as 300 BO but 300 BO is in a more compact package than a 308 sized firearm.

I find for new shooters 300 BO is a great cartridge for shooting out to 300 yards.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by sungazer » 16 Jun 2018, 5:25 pm

Wow that is something I didn't know. Dont know really what I imagined the case would be. A really good idea to use the 223 case. I would think it would need a pretty fast powder for a case like that and a short barrel esp 9 inch. You are right never get a 9 inch barrel over here, however the 16 inch or whatever the rules are would still make it a light and compact rifle with little kick if using the lighter pills. For the casting crowd (junkies :) ) it would be a cheap round as well.

Personally I tend to buy guns to use them at there mid to upper capabilities at least so far, and if I want a cheaper or smaller round get the smaller rifle.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by SCJ429 » 16 Jun 2018, 5:36 pm

I can understand why you would use a Blackout in an AR platform. For other applications would a 45/70 with a load of Trailboss get the job done and be more fun. Not knocking the blackout, love the fact that it is different.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by Member-Deleted » 16 Jun 2018, 5:56 pm

Interested if anyone has tried cast pills in the 300bo?
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by madang55 » 17 Jun 2018, 3:23 pm

Its interesting that all the talk is that it was designed for use with a suppressor? My take is that the sub sonic loads through a gas operated system, i.e. AR, require the suppressor to provide additional pressure for the system to cycle efficiently? Especially when the burn time and barrel length are so limited. The short range shooting, i.e. within limited spaces, buildings etc, means they have a round that wont necessarily go through walls and cause unnecessary casualties. The use of suppressors will be when the SOG don't want the bad guys to know they are there. The 300 will need to prove to be REALLY good for them to want to replace what they have now in that regard. IMO
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by wanneroo » 18 Jun 2018, 11:46 am

sungazer wrote:Wow that is something I didn't know. Dont know really what I imagined the case would be. A really good idea to use the 223 case. I would think it would need a pretty fast powder for a case like that and a short barrel esp 9 inch. You are right never get a 9 inch barrel over here, however the 16 inch or whatever the rules are would still make it a light and compact rifle with little kick if using the lighter pills. For the casting crowd (junkies :) ) it would be a cheap round as well.

Personally I tend to buy guns to use them at there mid to upper capabilities at least so far, and if I want a cheaper or smaller round get the smaller rifle.


Well when it was designed it was designed for that 9 inch barrel with a suppressor. Once it caught on in the civilian market though, most Americans are shooting them out of a 16 inch barrel plus as to have anything shorter on a rifle requires a $200 tax stamp and months of approval time(short barrel rifle) or it can be classed as a pistol but with no stock only a "brace" allowed. So over the past 6-7 years there has been rapid development of the cartridge to suit other barrel lengths and gas systems. In my opinion unlike 308 Winchester or 30-06 which have been around for decades, this cartridge is relatively new and over the coming years will develop and optimize further.

Some make their own 300 Blackout brass out of 223 or 5.56 brass by using a chopsaw and then reforming the case. Many manufacturers make their own specific brass now. Much of the brass I use is a mix of 223 and 5.56 cut and reformed by a company that does such things. Really all 300 Blackout is, is a 223 case cut down to accept a 30 caliber bullet. That's it.

We have small casting companies here in the USA making 200g plus coated lead bullets for 7 or 8 cents a bullet, that makes for close range quiet subsonic target or varmit shooting.

I find a lot of people are critical of the cartridge, but I think people need to understand that it's meant to be a close range quiet round and for hunting it will take down anything up to a deer or roo. It's not intended for long range shooting or large game.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by wanneroo » 18 Jun 2018, 11:53 am

Johno wrote:Interested if anyone has tried cast pills in the 300bo?


It is becoming rapidly popular here in the USA. Do a search on Youtube for coated 300 Blackout bullets, you should see a number of videos pop up.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by sungazer » 18 Jun 2018, 1:56 pm

Wanneroo sorry to take this off topic but a quick question What is the legalites of the Ruger Charger? We see in Australia it is listed as a pistol however there are stock kits around that have a fixed butt stock that effectively make it a short barrel rifle.
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Re: 300AAC Reloading

Post by wanneroo » 19 Jun 2018, 11:08 am

sungazer wrote:Wanneroo sorry to take this off topic but a quick question What is the legalites of the Ruger Charger? We see in Australia it is listed as a pistol however there are stock kits around that have a fixed butt stock that effectively make it a short barrel rifle.


Here in the USA, it's a pistol. Anything you put a stock on has to have a 16 inch barrel, however there is a vague legal area of using an "arm brace" on a pistol. Anyone can make a short barrel rifle, however it requires a $200 tax stamp and approval with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, which takes months of waiting.
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