300 AAC BLACKOUT, 7.62x35mm for AR15 Platform..

The 300 Blackout seems to have the potential to change an M4/M16  AR15 " mouse-gun" into a .30" Cal hard hitting and versatile rifle - but with a 'silenced' sub-sonic loading readily available. - There is a strong lobby-group that maintains that a .30" calibre round is the basic minimum size bullet to fully perform as a military infantry round.

All that an AR needs is a change of barrel to accept the Blackout rounds. Yes, that's right - the 300 BLK feeds and works from the .223" magazines - And the rounds can be produced by cutting-down .223" brass. The 300 AAC Blackout was SAAMI approved on January 17th  2011. The round has better ballistics than the "Russian" AK round (7.62x39mm) but loads and feeds reliably through the AR15 platform  - which the "Russian" doesn't.

                              .300" AAC BLACKOUT CARTRIDGE DIMENSIONS.

I hadn't ever heard of this new cartridge until a mate "Cutless" told me that he'd invested in a bolt-action rifle in 300 Blackout and I responded "Hwwwww-whaat?" - So "Cutters" then told me about this new versatile cartridge that had military user potential for the AR15 type guns - and he explained that it was the sub-sonic silenced use that was interesting him for use on our regular pistol club range.

              Hickok45  shows what the 300 Blackout is all about when 'hushed':

- There's been no problem making AKs in the NATO calibre .223" - indeed the AK102s seem to prefer that loading for accuracy to their own 5.54x39mm round - but the American "Black Rifle" has not been able to digest the 'iron curtain' AK 7.62x39mm feedstock anything like as well because of the greater taper of the cases (I nearly said "brass" but they are mostly steel cases that I've seen!).

 300AAC BLACKOUT plastic tip, 125gn Match, 220gn Sub-Sonic, - 5.56x54mmNATO, and the 7.62x39mmRussian.

The next 'big deal'  is the subsonic capability of the 300 BLK whereby it can perform as a sub-machine gun calibre something like the 9MM Luger but more powerfully, and with a 220grain projectile that retains  498 ft lbs of energy.- Heavier hitting than 9mm but still light recoiling. - And the sub-sonic works fully in the rifle action too.

 The 'mouse-gun' argument has always been that the AR15/M4 .223 NATO round is too small and too light to be effective and that the .30" calibre is a "proven" minimum calibre. - Now it may be that the new .30 AAC Blackout (7.62x35mm) is the answer to the problem of just what .30"Cal. might work in the All American Black Rifle. By the stories that I've found on-line the accuracy potential is very good.

 - This is kind-of to ignore the possibility that the US of A might swallow its pride and adopt the AK platform like its troops at the front did at every opportunity in Vietnam. - That's not going to happen.

Advanced Armament Corporation of Atlanta Georgia, (AAC) kept in mind the need to be able to simply adapt the M4/M16 AR15 platform throughout its development work on the 7.62x35MM  300BLK. And I'm beginning to think that they may have made a giant step forward here.

- Down here in New Zealand despite the tight regulation on gun licencing and the registration of handguns and some 'restricted'  types, - 'Silencers'  or sound moderators are not controlled and may be built, fitted, and used at the shooters discretion. - I've been known to jokingly suggest that moderators might even be made compulsory in an effort to both reduce 'noise pollution' and as an effort to stop hearing damage that is all to common among the old-time shooters ( - "what's that?).

When "Cutless" first held-out a 300 Blackout round (7.62x35mm) to me I thought it looked somewhat like a .30"  M1 Carbine round (7.62x33mm) - they are of a similar appearance.

- Now call me 'fickle' but when I first researched this new 300 AAC Blackout round I was being somewhat cynical and maybe had a bit of a sneer on my face (Ooh I hope I didn't - but "deep down, I'm pretty superficial"(Ava Gardner))

 - But now I've watched a few video clips and had a chance to appraise its versatility - Hmm, well I could be tempted away from my AK admiration to consider this novel concept for the AR15 platform. - I mean, like black IS the new gold, and I really do like shooting a quiet gun that can hit hard. Let me think about this!
Marty K

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