Remington UMC 220gr 300BLK

[Deadwing]

I purchased 500 rounds of Remington UMC subsonic 220gr 300BLK ammo to get me started while i get my reloading equipment set up and work on some loads of my own. I've read mostly good things about this ammo. I have shot tons of UMC ammo in other calibers, and I've never had a problem with any of it. So, i was a bit surprised to see this when i opened the first box of UMC 300BLK:



Every bullet in every box i've opened so far has that same blemish near the tip of the bullet. The blemish is identical on every bullet. It can just barely be felt as i run my fingernail over it, so it's not very deep. I'm sure it'll function just fine, but it makes me wonder about the overall quality. And that makes me just a bit nervous about sending this ammo through my new Saker 762. Even though that blemish will probably only affect long range accuracy, i can't help but think "baffle strike waiting to happen".

Have any of you purchased any of this ammo recently and encountered the same blemish? If so, have you shot it yet, and how does it perform?

[toolboxluis00200]

Have u try contacting Remington about it??

[Deadwing]

Not yet, since it's the weekend and all. I'll shoot them an email monday. I'm more or less curious about what experiences others have had with this ammo recently.

[titanse05]

The reviews that I've seen with this stuff is that it goes supersonic intermittently, primers fall out and accuracy is suspect. I have no personal experience with it however.

I was going to avoid it and go with Gemtech's 187gr Subsonic offering with my first batch of 300BLK.

[Deadwing]

I read the same regarding primers and going supersonic. IIRC, the supersonic issues primarily occurred in longer barrels, such as 16". Shorter barrels didn't seem to have the issue. Can't remember what the deal was with primers, but it mustn't have applied to my situation or been too big of a deal since I decided to buy the ammo anyway. Accuracy wise, from what I read it was accetable inside 150 or 200 yards. But, groups really opened up quickly much beyond that, which I fine by me given the nature of this load and what I plan to use it for.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Gemtech stuff. I'll check it out.

[Deadwing]

Since contacting Remington, the only reply i got from them was the typical "Thank you for contacting us. We're sorry to hear you have a problem with our product" with no useful information. So, i sent an email to Silencerco asking for their opinion. Silencerco replied quite fast and were far more helpful then Remington. Silencerco's response was that as long as the bullets aren't key holing, then it should be fine to use with the Saker 762. They further stated that even if i should have a problem with the ammo that results in a baffle and/or end cap strike, that i'm covered by their lifetime warranty and that they'd take care of me. Talk about phenomenal customer service.

At any rate, i did a quick and dirty zero of my rifle using this ammo unsuppressed a few weeks ago and found it had fairly open groups (4" or so) at 50 yards. Not great, but the bullets were stabilized when they hit the target and none key holed. So with an itchy trigger finger and Silencerco's email as a confidence booster, i went out to the mountains with a buddy today and shot about 100 rounds of the UMC ammo suppressed. All of it functioned 100%, no failures or malfunctions of any kind, and none went supersonic as had been reported in some of the reviews i read. It is dirty as hell, though. Accuracy is the same as without the can, and is good for plinking 8" steel at 25-50 yards. I'll shoot what i've got left, but won't likely be buying any more.

[titanse05]

Thanks for the update. I won't be buying any of this stuff either as it seems to be pretty common with this stuff. I'll be buying some of the Gemtech 187s this month and will report on it. Although, I don't expect anything negative.

[Deadwing]

I looked at the Gemtech 187gr subs, and almost bought some to try. But then i discovered that Silencerco has their Harvester ammo on sale for $19.95/box. I purchased some of the 220gr SMKs and the 208gr A-Max. Both function flawlessly and group extremely well. Another reason i didn't jump in on the Gemtech is that there aren't many details on the projectile, other than it's polymer tipped and weighs 187gr. Sierra Match Kings and Hornady A-Max projectiles are a known quantity. I may still get some to try if i can find any locally. Shipping for a few boxes costs just about half of what it'd cost to ship a whole case, which is ridiculous.

[titanse05]

I'm buying this first batch for plinking and for the brass for reloading so not knowing everything about the projectile doesn't bother me. If I was going for uber accuarcy I'd go with the Silencerco offerings no doubt.

AIMSURPLUS has a good price on the Gemtech 187gr Subs and for me works out to $431.47 shipped for a 500 round case ($0.86/round)

[SINNER]

It's far from cheap but for off the shelf sub sonics the Hornady 208gr AMax is by far the most accurate and consistent I have shot. I was not impressed with the Gemtech for accuracy although it is very quiet.

I have 400 rounds of the SilencerCo ammo on its way now I am looking forward to trying out.

I have had poor luck with the Remington subs. About 25% went supersonic out of a 16" barrel. Groups were horrible from every rifle I tried them in. The shorter barrels were much better for staying below supersonic though.

[gatordev]

I managed to score some Hornady 208gr at $.65/round from PSA last week. Isn't my choice for a HD round, but to run some rounds through a new gun with subs, I couldn't resist.

[titanse05]

I managed to score some Hornady 208gr at $.65/round from PSA last week. Isn't my choice for a HD round, but to run some rounds through a new gun with subs, I couldn't resist.

Dang I missed out on any 300BLK related deals as I was too busy buying components for my wife's 223 build.

[Deadwing]

I'm buying this first batch for plinking and for the brass for reloading so not knowing everything about the projectile doesn't bother me. If I was going for uber accuarcy I'd go with the Silencerco offerings no doubt.

AIMSURPLUS has a good price on the Gemtech 187gr Subs and for me works out to $431.47 shipped for a 500 round case ($0.86/round)

I bought a bunch of brand new Federal 300BLK brass on sale from Midway a while back. I think it worked out to $0.21/piece. This Remington UMC will be good for plinking, and the brass is nice. So i don't feel too bad about it. I'm sure the Gemtech stuff will be fine if all you want to do is plink and reload the brass.

It's far from cheap but for off the shelf sub sonics the Hornady 208gr AMax is by far the most accurate and consistent I have shot. I was not impressed with the Gemtech for accuracy although it is very quiet.

I have 400 rounds of the SilencerCo ammo on its way now I am looking forward to trying out.

I have had poor luck with the Remington subs. About 25% went supersonic out of a 16" barrel. Groups were horrible from every rifle I tried them in. The shorter barrels were much better for staying below supersonic though.

I've found the Silencerco ammo to be very good stuff. It's super quiet with the can and accuracy is much improved over the UMC. Luckily, my 300BLK barrels are short. Hopefully that'll keep the UMC stuff from going supersonic.

I managed to score some Hornady 208gr at $.65/round from PSA last week. Isn't my choice for a HD round, but to run some rounds through a new gun with subs, I couldn't resist.

Dang, that is a score! The question is, will they ever ship it out? As for a HD round, I've got some Barnes TAC-TX 110gr bullets i need to load. I need to do some research and find a good projectile to use for a subsonic HD round.

[gatordev]

Dang, that is a score! The question is, will they ever ship it out? As for a HD round, I've got some Barnes TAC-TX 110gr bullets i need to load. I need to do some research and find a good projectile to use for a subsonic HD round.

It's sitting in my "ammo closet." They actually shipped very fast this time (I think on Black Friday). The whole reason for my .300 BO experiment was to build up a rifle that won't cause me significant permanent hearing loss if I ever had to shoot it indoors (so, sub-sonic), wouldn't shoot a round that would go whizzing through things and hit something outside the house, and is very effective at internal ballistics. I really don't plan to shoot the gun much, but instead have it ready to go if there's ever a bump in the night (though hopefully not). Or if someone ever invites on a pig hunt!

Based off of what I've read (in part thanks to Swissy Jim) and have seen on videos online, Lehigh Defense's 194 ME was the answer. The Hornady stuff is repeatedly reported as a very accurate round, but just keeps going through flesh. The Lehigh destroys its target but pretty much falls apart and just becomes shrapnel by the time it's hitting the second dry wall.

The Lehigh stuff should be here today (got some on sale on BF, as well), so I'm hoping I can zero the gun with that stuff and call it good.

[Joelski]

I bought a bunch of brand new Federal 300BLK brass on sale from Midway a while back. I think it worked out to $0.21/piece. This Remington UMC will be good for plinking, and the brass is nice. So i don't feel too bad about it. I'm sure the Gemtech stuff will be fine if all you want to do is plink and reload the brass.



I've found the Silencerco ammo to be very good stuff. It's super quiet with the can and accuracy is much improved over the UMC. Luckily, my 300BLK barrels are short. Hopefully that'll keep the UMC stuff from going supersonic.



Dang, that is a score! The question is, will they ever ship it out?

Right???

I scored an Aimpoint Pro H1 for $399 in that same sale and it's still "processing"...

I figure they're processing how to retract that deal and not pay back my money.