Remington's 300 AAC Blackout

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FOG HORN a Twobirds Flying Publication

28 November 2011 By: Sal Palma FOG HORN BLOG , Facebook Remington’s 300 AAC Blackout Ammunition.

Just exactly what is a 300 AAC Blackout? It’s

a caliber that had its beginnings as the 300‐

221, a wildcat cartridge popularized by J.D.

Jones of

SSK

Industries

as

the

300

Whisper®.

The cartridge is built on a 5.56x45 case

shortened and necked to accept a 30‐

caliber bullet. When loaded with a 200 to

250‐grain bullet the Whisper is subsonic;

producing muzzle velocities of 960 feet per

second from a 9” barrel to 1030 feet per

second from a 16” barrel. There’s also a

version loaded with a 125 grain projectile

that

achieves

supersonic

muzzle

velocities

of over 2200 feet per second in a 16 inch

barrel.

J.D. Jones pioneered the concept but

stopped short of obtaining SAAMI

certification and approval, so commercially

available loads were non‐existent; those

available, were based on a variety of cases

like the 300‐221, 300 Fireball and 300

Whisper.

Advanced Armament Corporation, and their

Director of Research and Development, Mr.

Robert Silvers, at the urging of an important

customer, saw an opportunity to

commercialize the 300‐221 concept, so the

300 AAC Blackout was created ‐ and it is

now a commercial success. In fact, a

number of ammunition manufacturers are

developing their own loads with product

already entering the market.

The question I’d like to answer with this review is – Why do you need one?

Unlike other calibers, the 300 AAC Blackout

leverages the ubiquitous AR15 platform so

you don’t need to have standalone weapon

systems to gain the benefits of a 30 caliber

round. Using the versatility of the AR15 you

can readily convert your existing 5.56 x 45

AR to a 300 AAC Blackout by simply

installing an upper receiver assembly

chambered in the 300 AAC Blackout. The

bolt and

bolt

carrier

group

remains

the

same.

If you’re re‐barreling an existing upper

receiver assembly you’ll want to use a high

quality barrel with a 1:8 twist so it will

stabilize the 200gr to 250gr bullets, this is

critically important if the weapon will be

used with a suppressor. A fast twist will

mitigate the risk of a baffle strike.

Another benefit to the 300 AAC Blackout is

magazine capacities are preserved.

Since

the

load

is

built

on

a

shortened

5.56

x

45 case, you can use the same magazines

you are currently using for your 5.56 caliber

platform.

All accessories and optics you currently own

for your 5.56 rifle are usable, without

modification, on any 300 AAC Blackout

upper.

Copyright 2011, Sal Palma, dba Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved.

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Advanced Armament Corporation currently

manufactures two Blackout receivers; the

PDW, which

is

a 9”

configuration

‐the

one

I

recommend, and the 16” version.

Although NFA rules apply when dealing with

a rifle barrel of less than 16 inches, the

added cost of the tax stamp and

inconvenience of waiting for ATF approval

are well worth the benefit.

For starters, the shorter barrel will keep the

muzzle velocity at around 1000 feet per

second unsuppressed. When you add a

suppressor you will gain additional muzzle

velocity. This

phenomenon,

called

free

bore

boost, will add about 10 to 20 feet per

second to the unsuppressed muzzle

velocity. The 16” barrel unsuppressed will

generate a muzzle velocity of 1030 feet per

second, so when you add the suppressor

you could see muzzle velocities in the order

of 1050 feet per second. Under certain

environmental conditions you may

experience sonic crack at these higher

muzzle velocities. The shorter barrel

mitigates

the

risk.

The shorter barrel also compensates for the

7 to 8 inches in added length contributed by

the installed suppressor, so you have a

shorter system. This is an important

consideration for mounted operations or in

close quarters.

Everything on the AAC 300 Blackout

receiver is top of the line. The 9 inch barrel

(All NFA Rules Apply) features a 1:8 twist,

0.740 diameter at the muzzle, 5/8‐24

threads, 4150 CMV steel with pistol‐length

gas system,

M4

feed

‐ramps

and

a Black

nitride finish including chamber and bore.

AAC uses a Knight’s Armament free‐floating

URX to maintain accuracy while providing

for the mounting of accessories. The bolt

carrier group meets full‐auto specifications

(full auto operation requires a full‐auto

lower receiver). The bolt uses Carpenter

158 steel and the bolt carrier is internally

chrome lined. The gas‐key is heat‐treated

and properly

staked.

Lastly AAC includes the AAC‐51 tooth

Blackout flash suppressor with the

complete upper.

If you fall into the ranks of the “do‐it

yourself”, AAC also sells the barrel

assembly, which includes the gas block and

gas tube at a very reasonable price of $425

for the 9” configuration and the 16”

configuration.

All of the whiz‐bang stuff would be

meaningless if the

cartridge

itself

did

not

perform, so we decided to give it a try.

The test rifle used was zeroed at 50 yards.

We fired both 220 grain OTM subsonic, and

the full power 125 grain OTM from

Remington

Although some of the credit belongs to the

monkey behind the trigger, the inescapable

conclusion is that Remington’s ammunition

performed superbly. Regrettably, range

rules did not permit me to chronograph the

loads,

but

I

think

the

results

will

speak

for

them selves.

The best 3‐shot group of the day came in at

.360”

The next slide is representative of all the

groups shot during the range session.


http://www.advanced-armament.com/product.aspx?pid=896



http://www.advanced-armament.com/product.aspx?pid=896#pid=897










The 300 AAC Blackout offers universal

benefits ‐ to the SOF community lethality

and stealth.

The

law

enforcement

agencies

can also take advantage of its many

applications – a subsonic round effective to

350 yards with the same muzzle energy as a

.45ACP at the muzzle, and a full powered

load that will deliver a 125‐grain projectile

with staggering accuracy out to 600 yards.

Hunters are now able to use their existing

AR rifles where regulations prohibit the use

of small calibers. The average group size for the day was just

a hair over .55 inches. Projecting the value

out to 300 yards it is reasonable to expect a

1.65” maximum

dispersion.

Benchrest

shooters may not get overly excited about

this level of performance but I’m ecstatic –

all this from commercial grade ammunition.

Since its introduction, about 70 companies

are now

producing

ammunition

and

Blackout related products and accessories.

A clear benefit of a larger market presence

is ammunition prices have dropped from

about $45 per box of twenty to just $12.99

for a box of Remington’s 115 grain UMC,

and that too is exciting.

The worst group of the day was a .66”

probably not an ammunition issue and

more so that the monkey was getting tired

and rushed. The benefits are there, the product is

available and I can’t give the 300 AAC

Blackout enough kudos.

‐SP

I’d like to note that I reported the group

sizes as the maximum dispersion value

without subtracting out the bullet diameter.

So, the story gets better.

The

300‐

221/Whisper

has

come

out

of

the

closets of the wildcatters and hand loaders

and its name is the 300 AAC Blackout.

Finally, with its open standards, this

exceptional load is free to explode in

popularity. Every indication is that it has,

and we’re just at the ramp of the curve.

Documents

Remington's 300 AAC Blackout