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CatfishKev

300 AAC blackout for predator hunting (subsonic)

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Been watching some videos on YouTube with some pretty convincing subsonic ammo. I got an AR10 sitting with an 80% lower I will soon finish but I'm thinking about selling it to go this route and just make it the predator gun.  I want to be able to kill a lion if the opportunity presents itself and want to know what range I should stay within to stay lethal with some of these more modern cartridges. 

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I currently have a suppressed 300 BO.  The early problems with this setup was finding rifle bullets that would perform at suppressed velocities.  There are a couple of good sub-sonic bullets to use at this point in time, but they sell at a premium.

This problem can be avoided by shooting suppressed pistol calibers.  Handgun bullets typically move at/near sub-sonic velocities (some will exceed speed of sound of sound).  The 45 ACP is a great stopping round that is hard to push above sub-sonic levels.  Great performing bullets are cheap and easy to find.

Take a look at the ‘new’ Extar EP platform.  Currently available in 9mm (not ideal for suppressed), it will be coming out in both 10mm and 45.  For the price, you can’t build anything similar on an AR platform.

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On 3/10/2019 at 5:21 PM, azsugarbear said:

I currently have a suppressed 300 BO.  The early problems with this setup was finding rifle bullets that would perform at suppressed velocities.  There are a couple of good sub-sonic bullets to use at this point in time, but they sell at a premium.

This problem can be avoided by shooting suppressed pistol calibers.  Handgun bullets typically move at/near sub-sonic velocities (some will exceed speed of sound of sound).  The 45 ACP is a great stopping round that is hard to push above sub-sonic levels.  Great performing bullets are cheap and easy to find.

Take a look at the ‘new’ Extar EP platform.  Currently available in 9mm (not ideal for suppressed), it will be coming out in both 10mm and 45.  For the price, you can’t build anything similar on an AR platform.

Thanks for the response. I currently have a 30cal peasant can. 1 can several brakes that it connects to.  So i wanna stay within that caliber.  I don't mind shooting premium ammo as it will only be shot at game, not for fun or plinking. 

Assuming I want to stay supressed, with the 300BA and good ammo what would you consider my ethical kill zone for an animal like a lion?

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Kill zone for lion should be the same as any other rifle: the pocket behind the front leg.  Assuming you are using the heavy-for-caliber bullets in a suppressed 300 BO, I would keep my shots to 100 yds. and under.  I reload for my 300 BO.  The best performing bullets at subsonic speeds that I have found are the 220 gr. rebated boat tail and the 225 gr. roundnose  from Outlaw State Bullets; and Lehigh Defense Bullets in the 198 and 210 Controlled Fracturing and the 194 gr. Max Expansion.  I have heard from others that Corbon and Lehigh Defense offer the best loaded ammo for 300 BO.

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This stuff is really cool.  I just ordered a Daniel defense 300 bo with a pinned on suppressor and a 7” barrel (I think).  Total barrel length is legal.  I probably won’t see it till fall but this is the pipe dream I have for it.  

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8 hours ago, azsugarbear said:

Kill zone for lion should be the same as any other rifle: the pocket behind the front leg.  Assuming you are using the heavy-for-caliber bullets in a suppressed 300 BO, I would keep my shots to 100 yds. and under.  I reload for my 300 BO.  The best performing bullets at subsonic speeds that I have found are the 220 gr. rebated boat tail and the 225 gr. roundnose  from Outlaw State Bullets; and Lehigh Defense Bullets in the 198 and 210 Controlled Fracturing and the 194 gr. Max Expansion.  I have heard from others that Corbon and Lehigh Defense offer the best loaded ammo for 300 BO.

Lol, sorry, by killzone I was speaking about lethal range. Which you answered with 100 yards.  I saw the outlaw state and lehigh defense on YouTube, pretty cool stuff. 

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That’s going to be a bastard when that lion hangs up at 250 yards and you have a weapon with the same terminal performance as a sling shot...

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2 minutes ago, cjl2010 said:

That’s going to be a bastard when that lion hangs up at 250 yards and you have a weapon with the same terminal performance as a sling shot...

Listen here smartypants. The 300BA is for a specific area. I'll have heavier firepower at the other areas. The BA is for when I'm in stealth mode in treehugger territory. 

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The blk has been my main predator rifle for many years. I have even taken a lion with it. 

The terrain I hunt is tight and rarely  have a shot past 50 let alone 100 yds.  My sbr blk is perfect for me for how/where I hunt. 

For me though, I would never hunt with subs.  Not for predators anyway. Too many people have tried with too much failure or marginal success for me to do it in good conscience. 

In an AR platform the subs just aren't  that much quieter to validate the difference in performance compared to supers. 

Unless performance is secondary to suppression.  Just not worth it to me.  

Just my opinion.  

 

 

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AR10 blackout? Is that a typo. I dumped the blackout a long time ago for the grendel. It works excellent with the can. I went the total opposite, did a AR15 204 Ruger with the can at 3900 fps...

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Think he wants to ditch the AR10 build to build a .300 blackout.  I own an AR10 in .308, Ar15 rifles in 6.5 grendel and 5.56 and also 2 AR pistols one in 7.62x39 and one in 300 blackout.  With the pistol braces on the market, the pistol platform is probably the way I will build my next couple.  SBA3 is fantastic and keeps the length of the rifle compact with a suppressor.  

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That makes a lot more sense, I guess I read that wrong.

sbr 7.5” aac subsonic with a can is a fun gun. Wouldn’t be my first choice for hunting predators at 100 yards though

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Too many people have 'hyped' or tried to push the 300 BO beyond its intended purpose.  It is not a "do-all" or general purpose round.  It was originally designed as a more lethal round for suppressed AR15's than the currently-available pistol rounds: mainly the 9mm.  In this capacity, it does an outstanding job.  Better ballistics & more stopping power while remaining subsonic.  It can also take hogs and deer with good results using lighter bullets at supersonic speeds that approach the ballistics of the venerable 30-30.  However, if I am going with a supersonic round, then there are many choices that will surpass the 300 BO in my opinion.  My 300 BO is a dedicated suppressed rig and is both quiet and deadly out to 100 yds.  If stealth is the primary goal, then it is hard to beat the 300 BO.

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As stated above I currently have an ar10 in 308 in the works. Considering trading or selling for the blackout with a can. Awhile back I posted a thread about hunting a very small sliver of private land surrounded by an archery only hunting area which happens to be one of my favorite hunting spots. Due to it being archery only the predators are running rampant including lions and i want to see better deer numbers in my area. Even though im technically legal to hunt with a rifle on this small area i dont want to attract the wrong attention and make it become an issue. This is why i want subsonic. I want to clear the predators without drawing unwanted attention.  

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