300BLK becomes a wildcat cartridge

[harrishmasher]

Over 90% of people who got into this caliber did so because of the promise of a cheap supply of UMC plinking ammo. That was the key marketing point for this round and is what made 300blk different from the other wildcat concepts...the fact that you don't have to reload for it and can buy cheap plinking ammo. If it wasn't for the affordable UMC plinking ammo, 300blk would have went the way of most other wildcat concepts.

For much of the last year and who knows how many more months to come, 300blk has become nothing more than another esoteric non-mainstream wildcat cartridge. It is affordable commercially available plinking ammo that separates mainstream cartridges from wildcat cartridges. And 300blk has been a wildcat cartridge for most of the last year and will remain that way for a while.

Over the last many months that I can't find ammo, I become less and less interested in this round and find myself loving my 5.56 more and more. I'm sure the majority of people who jumped on the 300blk bandwagon along with me feel the same way.

I find 6.5 Grendel and 6.8SPC to be very interesting rounds. But I never got into them because I, like most others, prefer to buy rifles that we can shoot regularly and train with. For me and most others, a caliber needs to have widespread industry support and readily available affordable plinking ammo to seriously consider it. Had I known the ammo industry and Remington in particular was going to abandon 300blk production, I and many others would never had gotten into the caliber in the first place. 300blk would have been nothing more than a curiosity for us like other wildcat cartridges.

I know the current climate has made it a little difficult for all calibers. But even over the last few months I never had a problem finding affordable commercially produced ammo for my other calibers. Just go to http://gunbot.net/. You will see there is plenty of affordable ammo in all other calibers but zero 300blk. Even 6.8SPC is readily available and even cheaper than any 300blk that might be kicking around out there.

Had I known the ammo industry was totally going to abandon this round, making it a wildcat cartridge, I never would have got involved.

[mbogo]

While the recent gun- and ammunition-buying hysteria obviously impacted the manufacturers' ability to produce rounds other than 5.56, 9mm, .45ACP, and .22LR, anyone who has paid attention over the last twenty-five years has seen Remington do this again and again.

In an attempt to sell new guns, 'new' cartridges are created and/or standardized. In the recent past, Remington has introduced/standardized then essentially abandoned the .35 Whelen,, 8mm Remington Magnum, 7mm STW, .416 Remington Magnum, 7mm Short Action Ultra Magnum, 300 Short Action Ultra Magnum,, 6.8mm Remington SPC, .17 Fireball, etc.

mbogo

[harrishmasher]

While the recent gun- and ammunition-buying hysteria obviously impacted the manufacturers' ability to produce rounds other than 5.56, 9mm, .45ACP, and .22LR, anyone who has paid attention over the last twenty-five years has seen Remington do this again and again.

In an attempt to sell new guns, 'new' cartridges are created and/or standardized. In the recent past, Remington has introduced/standardized then essentially abandoned the .35 Whelen,, 8mm Remington Magnum, 7mm STW, .416 Remington Magnum, 7mm Short Action Ultra Magnum, 300 Short Action Ultra Magnum,, 6.8mm Remington SPC, .17 Fireball, etc.

mbogo

You would think with the hundreds of thousands of 300blk rifles that have been sold ( a lot more than the other calibers you mention), some major ammo manufacturer would want to cash in on that by providing some affordable plinking ammo? The demand for 300blk ammo is crazy, and there is zero supply. Markets aren't supposed to work that way.

I never thought this would happen, but on other forums I frequent, when someone inquires about buying a 300blk rifle, I tell them not to because they are going to very disappointed when they buy a new rifle and can't ever actually shoot it. I love the caliber, but what good is it if you can't shoot it? I'm regretting my substantial investment in 300blk more and more everyday.

[300Blk]

Ha anyone noticed this thing going on - you know, where ammo is in demand and no one can keep up making it fast enough?

It will be in good supply again.

[300Blk]

anyone who has paid attention over the last twenty-five years has seen Remington do this again and again.

In an attempt to sell new guns, 'new' cartridges are created and/or standardized. In the recent past, Remington has introduced/standardized then essentially abandoned the .35 Whelen,, 8mm Remington Magnum, 7mm STW, .416 Remington Magnum, 7mm Short Action Ultra Magnum, 300 Short Action Ultra Magnum,, 6.8mm Remington SPC, .17 Fireball, etc.

That is not what is happening. There are many more 300 BLK loads in development for introduction this year and next.

[harrishmasher]

Ha anyone noticed this thing going on - you know, where ammo is in demand and no one can keep up making it fast enough?

It will be in good supply again.

Actually haven't noticed it at all in any other caliber. I have bought thousands of rounds of reasonably priced plinking ammo in all calibers over the last few months. Tons of reasonably priced ammo available everyday in every other caliber other than 300blk, right here is a perfect example:

http://gunbot.net/

In fact I have had zero problem finding .223, 9mm, .45, .22lr through the whole crunch on Gunbot. Even 6.8SPC, and much cheaper than any 300BLK you can find kicking around. Like $2-$3 per round for UMC on Gunbroker, the ONLY place you can find any 300blk ammo as people gouge out what they have laying around in their closets.

I didn't buy my 300blk rifles so I could desperately scrounge around on Gunbroker to pay $3 a round to shoot them, or turn my home into an ammo manufacturing facility.

[harrishmasher]

anyone who has paid attention over the last twenty-five years has seen Remington do this again and again.

In an attempt to sell new guns, 'new' cartridges are created and/or standardized. In the recent past, Remington has introduced/standardized then essentially abandoned the .35 Whelen,, 8mm Remington Magnum, 7mm STW, .416 Remington Magnum, 7mm Short Action Ultra Magnum, 300 Short Action Ultra Magnum,, 6.8mm Remington SPC, .17 Fireball, etc.

That is not what is happening. There are many more 300 BLK loads in development for introduction this year and next.

Yes Remington has "introduced" several Match rounds over the last year. They do a tiny run of it, and it's gone and not heard from again. What good is that? Plus it is expensive match ammo. We need plinking ammo! The $12.99 per box stuff we were promised when you sold us this concept!

They can introduce all the 300blk loads they want to, what good is it if they don't actually manufacture any of it?

Maybe this will change a year down the road, but the last year for 300blk ammo has absolutely sucked, and this total lack of availability makes it no better than any wildcat cartridge. So until someone really starts making 300blk ammo in any real quantity, and affordable ammo at that, 300blk is a wildcat cartridge with no ammo manufacturer support.

[BC98]

You would think with the hundreds of thousands of 300blk rifles that have been sold ( a lot more than the other calibers you mention), some major ammo manufacturer would want to cash in on that by providing some affordable plinking ammo? The demand for 300blk ammo is crazy, and there is zero supply. Markets aren't supposed to work that way.

I never thought this would happen, but on other forums I frequent, when someone inquires about buying a 300blk rifle, I tell them not to because they are going to very disappointed when they buy a new rifle and can't ever actually shoot it. I love the caliber, but what good is it if you can't shoot it? I'm regretting my substantial investment in 300blk more and more everyday.

I think one thing to remember is that the demand for 300 BLK ammo is dwarfed by the demand for .223/5.56 rounds. The rounds are produced on the same loaders. As a manufacturer, would you cut into production runs on something that you will sell all day, ever day for the forseeable future for a round that may only run for short time?

It's an opportunity for smaller ammo makers and remanufacturers to step in and fill in the short term needs while larger manufacturers catch up. Or it's an opportunity for enthusiasts to take a step into reloading that they may have been waiting to do until later.

[harrishmasher]

You would think with the hundreds of thousands of 300blk rifles that have been sold ( a lot more than the other calibers you mention), some major ammo manufacturer would want to cash in on that by providing some affordable plinking ammo? The demand for 300blk ammo is crazy, and there is zero supply. Markets aren't supposed to work that way.

I never thought this would happen, but on other forums I frequent, when someone inquires about buying a 300blk rifle, I tell them not to because they are going to very disappointed when they buy a new rifle and can't ever actually shoot it. I love the caliber, but what good is it if you can't shoot it? I'm regretting my substantial investment in 300blk more and more everyday.

I think one thing to remember is that the demand for 300 BLK ammo is dwarfed by the demand for .223/5.56 rounds. The rounds are produced on the same loaders. As a manufacturer, would you cut into production runs on something that you will sell all day, ever day for the forseeable future for a round that may only run for short time?

It's an opportunity for smaller ammo makers and remanufacturers to step in and fill in the short term needs while larger manufacturers catch up. Or it's an opportunity for enthusiasts to take a step into reloading that they may have been waiting to do until later.

That misses the point. People jumped on the 300blk bandwagon because of the promise of $12.99 per box UMC ammo and because they didn't want to reload for a wildcat cartridge. It is these 2 things that made 300blk so successful and not a wildcat cartridge. And that is why people got into the round. So now there are hundreds of thousands of 300blk rifle owners that can't shoot their rifles and they are pissed. They were sold a bill of goods that was not delivered. And essentially have a rifle that shoots an esoteric wildcat cartridge.

[talonxracer]

anyone who has paid attention over the last twenty-five years has seen Remington do this again and again.

In an attempt to sell new guns, 'new' cartridges are created and/or standardized. In the recent past, Remington has introduced/standardized then essentially abandoned the .35 Whelen,, 8mm Remington Magnum, 7mm STW, .416 Remington Magnum, 7mm Short Action Ultra Magnum, 300 Short Action Ultra Magnum,, 6.8mm Remington SPC, .17 Fireball, etc.

That is not what is happening. There are many more 300 BLK loads in development for introduction this year and next.

But those future releases do nothing to garner support from the shooting world and those who put down hard earned money for a weapon without commercially available ammo, I know several people who have sold off their 300BLK's for 6.8spc's because of ammo availability TODAY, they don't reload and could care less what will be available tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year, they want to shoot today.

Sure Remington has other chamberings to produce, but you would think that they would put EXTRA effort into a newly released round that they are backing,,,I really hope it isn't true, but this is starting to sound more and more like any of the other rounds that Remington has created/backed, released and then dropped, trusting Remington to support a new round is like trusting the IRS......that is their track record.