Anyone reloading 300 Blackout?

[SGT_Calle]

Figured I would throw the question out here. I'm slowly collecting supplies, doing research, and looking for successful recipes.

So far I've got some once-fired brass, CCI 400 primers, and an assortment of bullets:

From left to right:
125gr Sierra Match King
150gr Hornady SST
170gr* Lehigh
200gr Sierra Match King

*the Lehigh are actually 150gr with room in the "hollow point" for a .17 caliber 20gr projectile, hence 170gr.

The biggest thing I'm missing right now is powder variety. I have Lil Gun and IMR 4756. I would like to get my hands on some H110.

Here it all is, I repurposed a tackle box as my 300 Blackout reloading box.



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[John Ralston]

Not yet...would love to have an AAC Barrel for my Mdl 7

[SGT_Calle]

That's what I'm loading for, a AAC Micro 7. As I understand it, the bolt guns offer a lot versatility in loading, versus loading for an AR platform. I'd still like a 300 upper though, but I'll save up for a nice can first.


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[Odin Bravo One]

The AR version simply needs enough gas/ass to cycle, and when necessary, some hardware to help. Lots of folks bitching about not cycling the gun while shooting heavy projectile, light charge, subsonic ammo, unsuppressed and wondering why the gun won't run. Wrong application of the wrong idea. I had to tweak (load over) published SS data to get my suppressed gun to run properly with my chosen bullet weight, acceptable velocity window, rifle, suppressor combo. Published velocity has it over SoS, but practical reality is that it is so minimally over that my deaf ears can't really tell the difference in terms of signature reduction. And a little extra velocity (as long as its not into dangerous pressure levels, which at or barely over SS is very unlikely!) never hurt anything. In the case of my 12" gun, it's what it needed to run right, added minimal fps MV, acceptable increase in CP, and hits hard inside it's intended role and applications.

I had been using H110 and a buddy's data, so no surprise that I had to tweak here and there as we were using distinctly different guns (breach loader vs AR) with different performance objectives.

For powder, I'm getting ready to try a run with Accurate 1680. Burn rate is very good for the dimensions and geometry of the explosion inside of the casing, and has lots of favorable reviews from folks loading the 762x39, which is a similarly sized case, and has similar performance, dependent on the similarities between chosen components intents/uses. Lots of .300BLK specific data on the Accurate site to get started with a wide variety of projectiles, (published) velocities, and applications from uber light and fast 110's to bruiser 220/230's that some animals would be able to outrun.....if they could hear it.......

My desired end state is to develop a single sub-sonic load that will maintain similar in-flight ballistics gun to gun (breach/AR), provide acceptable accuracy, and provide improved signature reduction over 556/762x51 guns with similar characteristics. I'd also like a rocket little bullet eventually that could stretch the legs on the range out to 200+, but that will have to take a number behind midget, moving, work, and the other 1000 things that have priority over reloading and bullet development.

Maybe someday.....

ETA: right now I am limiting myself to the heavier projo's.....in hopes that I can find that right bullet, powder charge, velocity, inflight & terminal ballistics combo to give me what I am looking for. I'd rather just buy commercial, but the times they are a changin'. I'm not really in it for the scientific knowledge, just to find that happy compromise load and start cranking them out so I can shoot the BLK more than I talk about it.

Bullets on the bench now:

Hornady 180 A-Max
Hornady 208 A-Max
175 SMK
200 SMK
220 SMK

I'm happy to borrow or steal any data anyone has on Accurate 1680 and these bullets.

[SGT_Calle]

I've been lurking on a 300 blackout forum (off-shoot from silencer talk) where the general consensus is that 1680 is ideal for AR loads. You definitely have a better goal in mind than I do right now Sean. I think I'm going to concentrate on some accurate supersonic loads for now and save my heavier projectiles for when I finally get a can. I'm waiting for the AAC Hunter to hit my local class 3 shop, they think it will be around June.

[John Ralston]

I checked out that forum, and the powder selection looks to be very similar to the 45 Colt with heavy bullets...therefore I have LOTS of powder that is suitable. Unfortunately I don't have 1680 in any qty. My dad has a bunch that he uses for his 22 K-Hornet though. Of course I still need a barrel for my Mdl 7 too!

I have a great deal of WC820- surplus, with a burn rate close to AA9, although said to be H110 burn rate. In the 45 Colt, with 300+ grn bullets it didn't work out that way (H110 burn rate), but maybe in the 300 Blk it might be. I was running the 45 Colt near 50Kpsi (custom 5 Shot Ruger Bisley), so that definitely gets you into an area the powder wasn't intended for originally. That being said, some of my pistol loads had single digit SD's and it burned really clean.

Lil gun is also a great powder in the 45, but as some noted on the 300 Blk Forum, it is kind of dirty.

I generally don't immediately pick the powder that gives the most velocity for any given bullet, I usually go for ease of metering, near max velocity with less than max pressure, and above all else...ease of purchase. If I have lots of it, great, if the LGS always carries it, great, if I have to always order it...not so great. I have had GREAT results with the surplus powders I have tried in the 45 and in my 223 Bolt Gun. Prep your brass like it was for a match gun - weigh, trim, debur flash holes, etc. and I bet you get some great loads.

Hope things work out for you.

[Al T.]

Hey Calle, I'll keep an eye peeled here - I'm in PSA and Sportsmans about once a week.

[SGT_Calle]

Thank you Al. I'll be down that way around the 19th but I think we're heading straight out to Myrtle for some sort of conference.

[Odin Bravo One]

Prep your brass like it was for a match gun - weigh, trim, debur flash holes, etc. and I bet you get some great loads.

Heard that!

I use 700x for just about everything but my Major 9mm loads, and BLK. Keeps it simple for my simple mind. Higher math, walking upright, and keeping my knuckles out of the mud takes all of the effort I can muster, so if I can simplify my re-loading life by having limited choices, I will. Again, I'm not into it for the science, the experimental, the "what if", or anything else generated by an over-active curiosity. It's simple economics to me. I can shoot more .45 ACP if I reload than if I tried to buy commercial. And in this market, buying commercial is not even an option for me.......Sean M doesn't = Sean D Rockafeller. With a 13 year old step-son, and a Tommygun, I need to save where I can to avoid cringing when I think about quarters flying downrange at 600 rpm. And let's get real.......when a 13 year old boy going to the range asks "Can we bring the Tommygun?".....I turn into a 13 year old boy.......the one who happens to have the aforementioned TG.

Brass prep was always an area where my GAFRS came up short. I'll toss casings into the tumbler and let them stew overnight, then toss them into an ammo can or ziploc, but that's about the extent of it. I used calipers solely for OAL considerations.

However, now.......with BLK, I simply don't have enough true .300 BLK casings to make reloading worth while. And there are none on the shelves. And while I have managed to score some ammo and casings from friends in the "industry", it is not a reliable method for maintaining my supply. So I have turned to 556 brass, and converting it over. What a time consuming, tedious task, actually requiring both of my remaining brain cells to be functioning in tandem!!! I have spent weeks converting a batch that is almost done, but it seriously made me question my desire/dedication to this round. Especially since it is such a limited application round, and I have very limited application platforms for it.

But I did discover patience. And it sucks. Mostly for people who have too much time on their hands best as I can tell.

And I found attention to detail. Actually made it through an entire evening without drool on my bench as I was concentrating vs. mouth breathing.

I also discovered the value of "measure twice, cut once". I mean, I learned that in 7th grade woodshop. But I got to learn it again after measuring once, and cutting 500 pieces that were too short to be useful for BLK (or anything else other than maybe a thimble)...........but as my buddy Pat Rogers has often reminded me......"Only after repeated, demoralizing failure, has learning occurred". I usually learn alot from Pat. Or re-learn......whatever. Either way, lots of repeated and demoralizing failures.......

But taking the time to cut, de-burr, re-size, de-prime, trim, de-burr, remove primer crimp, uniforming primer pockets & flash holes (thats a real word I swear) ,all to a common spec (actually even using the SAAMI specs.....I know, just silly talk right?), followed by hand priming, hand measuring each powder charge, and loading on a single stage press has turned in some ammo that was easily on par with with commercial grade ammunition. By commercial grade, I mean like Remington Thunderbolt bulk pack .22LR........ nearly 80% of my meticulously hand crafted loads ignited. And a good 35% actually hit in the same zip code as the target.

In all seriousness, I learned a ton about basic reloading by slowing it down, going back to the basics, and into the minute details of case prep/conversion. I skipped the basics and went straight to twin 650's for my entry into rolling my own ammo, so there was a lot I took for granted. I'm not getting the consistency in results on target just yet, but I really think it is a matter of recipe/ingredients, and not an issue with consistency of brass prep and external dimensions. If the internal explosive geometry is off or changes piece of brass to piece of brass (like different brands), or seating depth for the projo is wrong, or I use less than optimal components for the purpose......all of the consistency in the world can't help me.

And while my final goal with the BLK is to get my magic "do all" round that I can stockpile, I am not "mass producing" like I do 9mm, 9MAJ, or .45ACP. I can get 583 +/- rounds out of a pound of 1680, and most of my BLK shooting is done on a breach loader. The AR I can train with 556, and I have a reserve of commercial SS 220's for TZA. Yet, I like having the option of producing a quality round, with tight quality control, that can give me the downrange performance I can't get elsewhere.

It has been a very educational journey so far, and like I said......while not in it for the Discovery Channel aspect of it......surplus, available, and cheap(er) powders are an attractive alternative to the conventional wisdom. Looking forward to any data you feel like sharing.

PS- I don't own a chronograph, so I use a lot of "published" velocities from the data source. Sometimes I guess and say that one "felt faster than the last one", but TLG always busts my chops about failing to provide quantifiable data when I report my results...... So if anyone has compiled some useful data, I always find it educational to examine it, even if it turns out I can't use it. I like picking up lessons learned from other people. Mostly because it doesn't cost me anything!!!

[SGT_Calle]

That was the best post so far! I laughed, I cried, I drooled.

I'm not to the point of cutting down .223 brass yet. I have 100 pieces of Remington brass that I've fired once and I'll recycle those for a while.
On the subject of single-stage, I am going the same route. I can't really say that I'm in this for the scientific discovery either, but I am interested in it (and I'd like to pick up an inexpensive chrono in the near future). I don't think of it as a round I am stockpiling, especially compared to 45, 9, & 5.56. I think it's more likely to see use as a suppressor host and experimenting platform. Or maybe I just bought it because I wanted something unique. Either way, I really like the rifle, even if it doesn't fill a need.