New to forum. Dont have a single AR

[TREX1]

Thinking of a 300 blackout. I just dont have room for a bunch of Rifles. Was thinking about getting one in .308 and local gunsmith told me about 300 BO and showed me one built on a Spikes tactical.

Would use this for coyote, hog, deer and defense. Funny huh.

Just looking for thoughts on one to buy or what to build with

[tallburnedmidget]

Hi and Welcome!

I don't think you can have just one lol. Getting one leads to getting a suppressor. Which leads to wanting a bolt of single shot for the quietest subsonic round ever. And getting one suppressed also leads to getting a short one to use with that suppressor. Which leads to a pistol and/or SBR. Etc etc.

If you have the will power to have just one and you mainly plan to hunt with it then a 16" would be my suggestion. With a 16" barrel you can get the higher end of velocities so that .308 bullets have the best chance of expanding at the 300BLK speeds. .308 bullets are built for much faster speeds so getting every fps you can for hunting purposes is needed.

[Guest762]

Don't get me wrong,I really like my 300 blk. It's the most fun gun to shoot that I own but if you don't shoot a lot for fun and want the best caliber for hunting then go with the 308. Yes it's heavier than the ar15 platform and it's overkill for coyotes but for deer hunting it's a better choice IMO. It will throw a 168 gr hornaday sst EASILY out to 300 yards with enough speed to expand tremendously and you don't have to track things far at all,if any.
On the other hand if you want a really fun gun that you can build as a pistol with a sig brace(basically making it a SBR without the paperwork and get a supressor )where you can shoot subs quietly and enjoy shooting even more then go with the 300.
If I was only going to own one AR it would definitely be a 308.

[jwb47]

there is a reason I dont have a 308 ar any more . I never shoot at a deer much past 200 yds more often than not 75-150 yds is the norm . the blackout more than fills this role in a package much more compact and lighter . there is also the option of having a second upper In a variety of calibers . If I lived on the great plains where shots would be much farther out then sure I would probably be looking hard at the new dpms genII hunter I had a chance to handle one and they really shaved some weight of , reduced the size of the upper and lower and it balanced very well .

[ugawino]

If you're hunting white tail at 75-150 yards, 300 BLK should be fine. And you can always buy another upper in .223 for plinking, defense, zombies, irritating liberals, etc., etc.

[Justanothergunguy]

Ahhh, I remember my first AR platform rifle.
Seems like just yesterday that I was bitten by the bug and came down with the illness.
Started out with a 5.56, picked up a 22LR, then another 5.56, then I had to have a .308.
With all of the 5.56 brass and .308 bullets I figured, why not 300 BLK.

Be careful, this is much easier to catch than Ebola.
Once first contact is made its a 100% chance of infection!!
Might want to quarantine the family.

I won't even get into the reloading epidemic.

[randyrucker]

Thinking of a 300 blackout. I just dont have room for a bunch of Rifles. Was thinking about getting one in .308 and local gunsmith told me about 300 BO and showed me one built on a Spikes tactical.

Would use this for coyote, hog, deer and defense. Funny huh.

Just looking for thoughts on one to buy or what to build with

Spikes, core15, and AAC all make great stuff. Can't go wrong there. Look for sales on PSA blem stuff also.

[BadKarmaZeroSix]

You mention defense, so i will assume you mean home defense in a CQB environment rather than defending the prison in last season's Walking Dead scenario..300 is one of the best suited calibers for using specific loads for this (perhaps a subsonic load in a short-barreled upper, maybe suppressed with red dot optic and a light) and then for hunting, swap the load (remove light, swap red dot for scope or use a 1-4 or 1-6 so you can just adjust the same optic, and use a faster projectile)...and keep in mind, 300 holds pretty good ballistics/accuracy out of less-than-16" barrels...you got a HD and hunting weapon all in one, with a minor cosmetic transformation and mag swap...

If you want a zero-issue weapon that fits all of these capabilities out of the box, i gotta go with the AAC...either 9 or 12 pistol (either Sig brace or tax stamp it for SBR)...my 9" AAC is the least finicky with ammo selection, has had zero feed/fire issues, and is more accurate than the optic i have allows for at 100 yds(that will be changing soon)...there are lots of great brands out there in the 300 game now, even MORE SO if you wanna build one, but if you are gonna buy ONE to be dependant on, go with the guys that developed the caliber from a wildcat to a SAAMI spec'd flourishing trend that has swept many in the firearm community...

[hardcase]

My issue with the 308 AR is weight. Add a scope,even a 5 round mag and you are 9+pounds.

[300Blk]

I disagree about getting 308 as your first and one AR. It is significantly heavier and just not the same.

Either get 5.56mm or 300 BLK.