When To Choose A .308 Over 5.56?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Nightvisionary
I would say that is a major oversimplification. With the exception of two limited production Barnes bullets a 300 Blackout with a 9-12 inch barrel will be at or near the minimum expansion velocity at the muzzle for every .308 bullet currently in production.
I'm not sure saying 300 BLK doesn't perform optimally with bullets not designed for it should be considered an issue.
For defense inside of 100 yards 300 BLK with the 110gr Barnes black tip is going to be hard to beat, even out of a very SBR. Make that 200 yards for a 16". With these combinations, the bullet is traveling fast enough for a rifle wound profile and you get reliable expansion and s barrier blind full copper bullet. I'd call this combo for this application cake and eating it too.
After that it gets a bit more gray as the 300 BLK slows down and drops faster. That said, the Barnes black tip reliably expands to 1300 FPS which ends up around 400 yards out of a 16".
And as for availability, the Barnes black tip has been pretty much the only premium ammo that was available through the BLK ammo shortage.
-john
When To Choose A .308 Over 5.56?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
C-grunt
308. 16-24 inch barrel topped with a good low or high powered optic depending on the mission/terrain. 0-1000 yards
While I don't disagree, why .308 over 300 Win Mag or such?
-john
When To Choose A .308 Over 5.56?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
3ACR_Scout
I'm confused - I was only comparing .300BLK to 5.56, not .308
The reason NV brought up .308 is a number of 300 BLK ammunition is made with bullets designed for .308. And, as he says, those combos aren't typically optimal for performance out of 300 BLK. On the other hand it opens the door for less expensive practice ammunition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
3ACR_Scout
Is it just because there's no real benefit to a 10.5" .300BLK when you can go shorter and still have good performance?
Yah, you can go shorter. Should still get good performance from the 8.2" offerings.
-john
When To Choose A .308 Over 5.56?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
3ACR_Scout
but it's my understanding that it still offers ballistic benefits over 5.56 in SBRs even if you're not suppressing it.
Yup. 300 BLK doesn't lose much in even very short SBRs.
-john
When To Choose A .308 Over 5.56?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
C-grunt
To me the 300 BLK has finally legitimized the PDW concept (excluding the KAC thats not available). Up until now the PDWs have all been lacking in the terminal performance department especially at range. An eight inch 300 BLK has great close end terminal performance but still has some legs under it if the gunfight moves out to a couple hundred yards.
Over all a good characterization about the performance of the SBR 300 BLK when using good defensive ammunition IMO.
-john