Who here hunts with 300AAC?

[Army203]

Just trying get some info on hunting with 300AAC. How well it works for you, do have a bullet or load type you like for white tail? Ect..

I am looking at using 300AAC this next season for hunting white tail here in Nebraska. The average shot here is well within 250 yards. Looking to buy a BMC 16inch upper, add some 1.5-6x glass or 2-8x glass to it. I may even suppress it since I can..no pun intended. Like I said something short range and the deer in east Nebraska aren't that massive.

I have heard that Barnes 120 stuff works well for white tail, has anyone used subsonic well? I am a complete noob to this round, but I know I want to use an AR and run it suppressed. I have a good 308 bolt rifle I like for larger game...mule deer..elk ect.

[cjd3]

I don't see the 300blk as a bad round for hunting, just not a great round. At least for Nosler, you'd need 1800 fps at the target for optimal bullet performance, so it should work well for upto 200 yards, but I doubt you can take it out much farther. Subs just won't cut it for a clean kill. I'd thread your 308 and suppress that. I'm threading my .30-06 for my fall moose hunt.

[SwissyJim]

Well, I have not hunted with mine, but I was gearing up to do so on a caribou hunt here in AK. Sadly that hunt fell thru but my luck may be improving... my nephew just bought a Piper Super Cub, which should expand our areas of hunting drastically.

That said, I was looking into bullet selection and actually did my own gel testing. Granted, this linked test was for subsonic stuff but I also did supers as well. As far as subsonic, very few bullets expand at those speeds. I was thinking of using the Lehigh Defense 194g round as my testing showed it did expand. I was cautioned to be careful to avoid a shoulder shot as the shoulder blade may deflect the bullet due to the lower speeds and interfere with the expansion. They do sell loaded ammo with this bullet that you can order.

As far as supers, which really was my first choice, there are more options. The Barnes is a solid option... I only had the 110g to test, and they have released the 120 since. If the 120 performs as well as the 110 then it would be good to go. The 110 did great as far as expansion both at the close in initial test (20ft) and at the 110yrd distance. Another round to look at was the Remington Hog Hammer, I believe in 125g, as it also did a good job with expansion. I liked the super rounds due to the higher speed and energy transfer. But, taking something with suppressed subs would be awesome.

Other ammunition that is loaded with regular 308 bullets may not, and probably will not, expand upon impact. If you go for the head shot only, then no big deal. I know a guy that got a 100yrd head shot on a caribou with his 300blk and he used a 208 Amax subsonic round.

[Army203]

I don't see the 300blk as a bad round for hunting, just not a great round. At least for Nosler, you'd need 1800 fps at the target for optimal bullet performance, so it should work well for upto 200 yards, but I doubt you can take it out much farther. Subs just won't cut it for a clean kill. I'd thread your 308 and suppress that. I'm threading my .30-06 for my fall moose hunt.

I gave that some thought, but the deer here aren't that massive. Most people still hunt with 30-30, and 243. I just don't want to lug my bolt gun around when I can use a light AR. That was my worry about subs. I didn't know if I would get enough of an energy dump to be a clean kill, but then in all my years of hunting I have seen animals do some strange shit after getting hit.

Well, I have not hunted with mine, but I was gearing up to do so on a caribou hunt here in AK. Sadly that hunt fell thru but my luck may be improving... my nephew just bought a Piper Super Cub, which should expand our areas of hunting drastically.

That said, I was looking into bullet selection and actually did my own gel testing. Granted, this linked test was for subsonic stuff but I also did supers as well. As far as subsonic, very few bullets expand at those speeds. I was thinking of using the Lehigh Defense 194g round as my testing showed it did expand. I was cautioned to be careful to avoid a shoulder shot as the shoulder blade may deflect the bullet due to the lower speeds and interfere with the expansion. They do sell loaded ammo with this bullet that you can order.

As far as supers, which really was my first choice, there are more options. The Barnes is a solid option... I only had the 110g to test, and they have released the 120 since. If the 120 performs as well as the 110 then it would be good to go. The 110 did great as far as expansion both at the close in initial test (20ft) and at the 110yrd distance. Another round to look at was the Remington Hog Hammer, I believe in 125g, as it also did a good job with expansion. I liked the super rounds due to the higher speed and energy transfer. But, taking something with suppressed subs would be awesome.

Other ammunition that is loaded with regular 308 bullets may not, and probably will not, expand upon impact. If you go for the head shot only, then no big deal. I know a guy that got a 100yrd head shot on a caribou with his 300blk and he used a 208 Amax subsonic round.

See, I have to hunt on private land here. What little public land their is, is over hunted in our short rifle season. So even using a non-sub round suppressed would still make the local farmers happy. Especially since upland seasons runs the same time as big game season.

I will look into the 120 barnes more. I use barnes for my 308 blot gun and have great expansion and penetration on Elk and Mule deer in Montana and Eastern Washington with 168gr.

What length barrel were you using for your 110 test? How was accuracy?

[Joelski]

Sadly, Ohio doesn't allow necked cartidges for deer hunting yet... Nor does the state allow 30 caliber. The smallest is .357 and darn near any straight-walled common cartidge up to .500 S&W in rifle caliber as well as pistol, however there is no caliber limit for feral swine or coyote and suppressors are now legal as well, so I'm heading out to stalk 'yotes! I've never encountered feral swine in my parts of the state, but buddy has land near the old county landfill that is infested with coyotes. Since there's no closed season and no bag limit, its pretty fun to go out and blast away. We've hunted those bastards since I was a kid; not much waiting, either; they come to you instead of the other way around! :D

[Aberration79]

The round is plenty for the distance I will be shooting at. Under 300. Heck probably under 100 most of the time.

[DutyUse]

I'm planning to use my 8.5"and suppressor combo for whitetail in 2016. Right now I'm leaning towards the Lehigh rounds. However I don't foresee taking a shot past 100 yards though.

[Army203]

I'm planning to use my 8.5"and suppressor combo for whitetail in 2016. Right now I'm leaning towards the Lehigh rounds. However I don't foresee taking a shot past 100 yards though.

Funny, I am doing some research on the Lehigh rounds right now. Looks like the 194gr is a beast when it comes to a sub round. I am also liking the 115gr controlled Chaos round.

[DutyUse]

I'm pretty much set on using the 194gr maximum expansion exclusively. For a subsonic round cooking out of a sub 9" barrel its absolutely devastating. Great penetration and expansion while maintaining 100% weight retention. The weight retention is key in my opinion. Some of the other rounds are intriguing, but IMHO any round that breaks up, or separates into pieces isn't good for deer hunting where you plan on consuming the meat. To much unnecessary damage outside of the vitals and into the meat. I don't know about you but I don't want to be picking metal out of my back straps when I'm cooking

http://youtu.be/JDym4GXrPRw

Check out the wound track on the 194ME at about 3:30 into the video. This and other first hand accounts from trusted sources convinced me personally.

[SwissyJim]

I gave that some thought, but the deer here aren't that massive. Most people still hunt with 30-30, and 243. I just don't want to lug my bolt gun around when I can use a light AR. That was my worry about subs. I didn't know if I would get enough of an energy dump to be a clean kill, but then in all my years of hunting I have seen animals do some strange shit after getting hit.



See, I have to hunt on private land here. What little public land their is, is over hunted in our short rifle season. So even using a non-sub round suppressed would still make the local farmers happy. Especially since upland seasons runs the same time as big game season.

I will look into the 120 barnes more. I use barnes for my 308 blot gun and have great expansion and penetration on Elk and Mule deer in Montana and Eastern Washington with 168gr.

What length barrel were you using for your 110 test? How was accuracy?

I have an 8.2" barrel with a Specwar762 suppressor, and for the test with the 110's I was getting MOA without trying too hard. The Lehigh 194 can't be beat for sub use. I did get my hands on some Maker bullets 200gr sub expanding rounds but I have yet to gel test them.

[BoilerUp]

If you are going to have to buy a new upper anyway, you should really check out the options in 6.8, especially if you are going to go with a 16" barrel. Not that 300 BLK won't work, but I'm convinced 6.8 is the better all around hunting cartridge (I have both). Federal XM68GD (90 grain Gold Dot) in 6.8 is very effective on deer and also quite cheap (it's produced on a military contract). It's also a great barrier-blind HD round (hence the military contract).

That said, I might try my 8.5" 300 BLK pistol on deer this year only because my wife may be using my 6.8. If I do use my 300, the Barnes TAC-TX is the round I'd use and I'd probably hesitate to take a shot much beyond 150 yards. The Barnes rounds are down to around 800 ft-lbs of energy by the time you get to 200 yards, although they still have good expansion out to around 350 yards.

Debates between 6.8 and 300 tend to devolve pretty quickly, and I'm not trying to feed into that. Like I said, I run both, but I grab the 6.8 for hunting even though I absolutely love shooting my short 300 BLK.

[Former11B]

Sadly, Ohio doesn't allow necked cartidges for deer hunting yet... Nor does the state allow 30 caliber. The smallest is .357 and darn near any straight-walled common cartidge up to .500 S&W in rifle caliber as well as pistol, however there is no caliber limit for feral swine or coyote and suppressors are now legal as well, so I'm heading out to stalk 'yotes! I've never encountered feral swine in my parts of the state, but buddy has land near the old county landfill that is infested with coyotes. Since there's no closed season and no bag limit, its pretty fun to go out and blast away. We've hunted those bastards since I was a kid; not much waiting, either; they come to you instead of the other way around! :D

That's some strange law regarding cartridge requirements. Looks like I'd be getting that .45-70 after all



For 300 Blackout, there are several options:

Outlaw State Bullets:
http://www.outlawstatebullets.com/2.html

155gr Low Velocity (made for 300 BLK, 1200-2100fps)


208gr Boat Tail, subsonic applications


225gr Lead Spitzer at 950fps




And a friend loaded these 90gr Hornady XTP over 4.5gr of Trail Boss with very light crimp...they stayed subsonic and did this:

[Joelski]

That's some strange law regarding cartridge requirements. Looks like I'd be getting that .45-70 after all

Heck yeah! For the longest time, high-powered rifles weren't an option, so this is a step in the right direction!

[mustangfreek]

Good info on the boolits.

I have most of the parts for a 16"..BO as I have not hinted for a while and the kid was showing interest, and have to use atleast a 6mm/ .243 and unless your in some really open area it'd feel just fine at a shot 300 yards and in, shorter barrel which has also crossed my mind strongly would make me think about a shorter shot a little, also depends on the load and other stuff..

[SINNER]

I have killed at least 50 white tails with my .300's. Some crop damage permits and some for the freezer. I have multiple rifles from 16" to 10.5" barrels.

A few things I have found.

Subs suck for hunting. Over 50 yds and there is a 99% chance you will never find that deer. Just not enough energy or expansion. Small wound cavities and very little blood loss. A good friend shot a doe I had shot the previous month at around 65 yds and the round was wedged between 2 ribs. She was not even limping a month after a perfect shot.

Supers fly well and hit hard out to 200-250 yards. Beyond that the chances of a humane kill fall drastically. Between 50-150 yards I see very little difference between a .308 and a .300BO in shot to fast kill ratio. They may be slightly superior to a .308 at those ranges as tissue damage is reduced.


For off the shelf ammo the Barnes 120gr. TAC-TX has proven itself multiple times to me. For hand loads I have been running the 125gr. AccuBonds over 17 grs. of W296. Right around 2070 fps out of a 16" barrel and very accurate out of any length barrel I've tried.

I love hunting with the BO's in certain conditions. When I hunt field stands with possible shots over 200 yards I look to a round with more velocity and heavier bullets.