My son is an LEO and his department allows them to carry personal AR 15 pistols in .300 Blackout as an additional patrol weapon. They all bought a PSA with 7 inch barrel and Sig Romeo optic.

Their department will pay for ammo but just like everyone else they have to pay retail prices. No LEO discounts or going to the head of the line. Decently priced quality .300 Blackout is scarce and after their recent bi annual qualification their ammo closet is depleted and he and his buddies are looking to get at least 100 rounds each of decent brass ammunition. I have been able to supplement my boy with some ammunition I found locally at a $1.00 a round but not as much as I would like.

I know someone that has 300 rounds of brass SB 200 gr subsonic that will sell me at a decent price. I've read conflicting stories concerning 300 Blackout being used in short barrel unsupressed AR's. Mostly jams and failure to feed issues. I see their are suggested work arounds to correct this like changing the gas block or buffer spring and a couple of others. Others report no problems at all if you use a 220 gr or higher bullet or go to a dedicated .300 Blackout magazine. I want to add suppressors are not an option. For some reason prohibited by policy.

So I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Gorilla Ammo is a good place to look. It is a little more more expensive, but they have some good offerings and it is very well made.

200 grain is kind of pointless for defense.

I would go with 110-125 supers.

Email me at my email in my profile... I may have a connection for you. A friend is a mid scale ammo manufacturer and loves to work the LEO's.

The issue with 300 blk subs is over penetration and underexpansion.. Just my opinion.

But to answer the question of reliability is to lighten the buffer system. Also, you can open up the gas port on the barrel. But to debug the rifle, you'd need a bunch of carry ammo to do the testing.

7.5" without a suppressor is going to be brutal regardless of load. Personally I'd go up in barrel length.

I'd also go to gun broker and pony up for some quality 110-125 grain rounds.

Mr. Dubi said:

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The issue with 300 blk subs is over penetration and underexpansion.. Just my opinion.

But to answer the question of reliability is to lighten the buffer system. Also, you can open up the gas port on the barrel. But to debug the rifle, you'd need a bunch of carry ammo to do the testing.

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Absolutely correct, and to elaborate most .30 cal bullets aren't designed to expand at subsonic velocities. The few that are, are $$$$$$. Might as well be shooting FMJ's.

Subsonic 300 blk is mostly a "cool, look how quiet" toy.

Zero reason to run subsonic in an unsuppressed gun, and not much reason to shoot it suppressed for social purposes either.

My thoughts exactly Bender.

I ran it suppressed and it was "ooo... aaahh" cool but that's about it. Supersonics are nice but honestly not a lot of benefit.

Incidentally anyone looking for a blk upper??? Selling one for $400...

run supers and call it a day if your life depends on it

FunkyKO said:

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run supers and call it a day if your life depends on it

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On that same note; PSA duty guns?

LEO

The biggest issue with cycling issues mostly rest with gas port sizing. Other solutions are out there that might resolve the issue but the most notable culprit usually is the gas port. It should be at least .093 in size. I just recently fixed one of my barrels that measured .078 and it would not run until I went one size up to .093.

With that said, I only use my blackout for hunting so my perspective is much different than most here. If your son wants to shoot subs without a suppressor, go ahead. I killed many a hog (drt) that way while my suppressor was in jail. If he wants to use subs, go ahead but I would get the good expanding stuff not jacketed ones. My favorite expanding sub is a Sig Sauer 205gr hunting round. Absolute devastation. I also recently purchased a case of Grind Hard 194gr ammo that has Controlled Chaos bullets and Ive yet to test those but have heard really good things about them. I hope your son would never have to use his weapon but if he did, that Sig round would do alot of damage. As the others have mentioned, they are expensive.

On the super side of things, I stick to the Barnes 110 and 120 black tips and have a bunch of the Sig 120 hunting rounds. As I mentioned, I have a specific use case and have had much success for what I do with my blackout setups. Each pistol upper I have is setup differently but each of them equally capable.

Godspeed to your son and good luck with this project.

OP Here:
Thank you all for the responses so far. I think that I'm going to put that subsonic deal on hold for the time being. 50 years ago the Army introduced me to the M16. I learned to zero it and break it down for cleaning so when it comes to AR 15's I'm kind of a novice. I did have an AR 15 pistol in 9mm. it was a range plinker that I equipped with an optic and light, shot it a couple of times and sold it. My wife gifted me an Aero Precision AR a few years ago. I've had it to the range once. Not that I don't like it I'm just old school and would rather shoot my revolvers and carbines. As I'm kind of up there in years COVID has limited my outside exposure this past year.

Phideaux:: I'll send you an Email sometime this evening or tomorrow morning. Thank you!

Dubi, Bender and others thank you for your insight. Kind of easy to make a decision when your well informed.

Naveronski: Yup PSA. Carried in a headache rack in their patrol car. He mentioned in passing a couple of years ago that his department was going to allow AR Pistols and most of his associates were going with the PSA/Romeo setup. As he has two in college (A&M and Sam) and one about to graduate HS I knew affording a new AR wasn't on the horizon for him so it was a Merry Christmas for him that year.

One last question. Does a dedicated .300 BO magazine make a difference or is it more reliable than the standard 30 round 5.56/.223 AR magazine? Is it worth the extra couple of bucks?

Thanks again

I have dedicated 300BO mags only so that they are easily recognized compared to the 223/556. I'd hate to have a mix up there. I would recommend at least a different color/design (not necessarily one specifically designated for 300) for easy distinction especially if carrying both.

Interested...go with specs please

KorbinDallas said:

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I have dedicated 300BO mags only so that they are easily recognized compared to the 223/556. I'd hate to have a mix up there. I would recommend at least a different color/design (not necessarily one specifically designated for 300) for easy distinction especially if carrying both.

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He keeps his .223 patrol rifle in the trunk but the risk of magazine mix up is still there. I'm was thinking about buying the 20 rd magazines. Right now he has a large red rubber band around the magazines loaded with .300 BO. Thanks for the input though.

FunkyKO said:

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run supers and call it a day if your life depends on it

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This is the answer, Barnes black tips if you can find any.

I stuck with 7.62x39 for along time and swore off 300 blk. Then my suppressor got out of jail and I found a 10.5 inch Noveske barrel.

Now I'm in. It's actually my smoothest shooter and a blast to shoot. Superlative Arms bleed off AGB shooting 125gr supers.

I don't believe that cartridge to be more advantageous than other options. Just fun to shoot. I'm a 6.5 Grendel fanboy for hunting and long range. Great out of any length barrel and cheap steel ammo available.

Justice Beaver said:

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Interested...go with specs please

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I'd rather not hijack the op's thread. I posted it a while back on the OB and I apologize, I forgot my TA price was $350.

If you have questions post there so as not to hijack.

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