Just about to purchase a small supply of .300blk ammo to set aside as home defense load.
Top choice has of course been the 110gr black tips, but I have been considering other loads, such as Hornady’s Vmax and Nosler Varmageddon. The black tips look good, but penetrate a bit much (20") for my tastes.
I’ve seen the gel results on the Vmax, which look good. Have not found any gel results for the Varmageddon load, although some report decent success while hunting with it. And the price is pretty decent as well.
Does anyone know if it would be a good defensive load at .300blk velocities? And what the minimum velocity for expansion is?
I recall reading the Varmageddon doesn’t feed reliably in the AR platform.
In general, there are only a few choices for optimal performance defense in 300 BLK IMO.
My choices would be limited to the Barnes black tips or the Lehigh 78gr.
Projectiles designed for 308 Win typically won’t move fast enough to open/fragment reliably in 300 BLK.
You want something light and designed for 300 BLK when talking defensive applications.
Each projectile is going to have its own expansion/fragmentation envelope.
IIRC, the Barnes 300 BLK ammunition expands down to like 1300FPS and the loaded ammo exits a 16" barrel at around 2300FPS.
To illustrate the variability, Barnes has a non 300 BLK black tip that will fit, but doesn’t expand at nearly as low of a velocity.
Note that expansion isn’t the whole story. Around 2000FPS and higher the wound profile changes. So over 2000FPS you have optimal performance. Below 2000FPS, but fast enough to expand you get pistol HP-like performance, and below that, you’ll be getting pistol ball-like performance.
not sure on the loaded varmageddon feed issues, didnt even realize nosler was loading their own. Whats the OAL if you know? I know the 125g ballistic tip is a well liked bullet for 300blk and a lot of deer and hogs have been taken with them.
110g VMAX is also a good choice.
Obviously the 110g black tips.
All 3 are available for reloading or in factory ammo.
Otherwise the LeHigh stuff is damn impressive, although I have only played with their subsonic offerings.
Not sure the overall length. I know it’s the same bullet, loaded to the same velocity as Nosler is loading for Noveske’s line of ammo.
Hadn’t heard of any feeding issues with AR’s, but there also isn’t a ton of info either. I know a few people are using them as inexpensive plinking loads, and a few over at 300blkTalk have been using them on deer and hogs with some success. But I really want to see gel performance, and I also really want to know the thresholds of expansion.
The 110gr Barnes black tips are on my list as well, I am hoping to pick up a few boxes this week. But, it does penetrate a bit more than I want for a HD load. Probably a good choice though when I take my .300blk as my car gun.
The Lehigh rounds seem really promising, although pricey and scarce. I might try some of those as well.
The 110 Vmax look just about perfect for HD, 12-13" of penetration and a big cavity. Also wish I knew how fast they need to be to expand.
In the end, all of my defensive firearms have multiple loads that I keep for them, so if I run into issues getting one type, I have a fall back. That’s the samething I am trying to do here.
Nosler just had an over run of the Varmageddon loaded ammo, and is selling for $13/box of 20. Just ordered a bit to test out. Worse case scenario, it becomes training fodder.
This isn’t the thread for it, but you really need to do some research on terminal ballistics, and why 12-18" of penetration is considered the gold standard. A standard birdshot will never meet.
I know what the gold standard for penetration is. We talking home defense rounds. 300 doesn’t have a good option that won’t hit someone in the next room over. The national average LEO engagement where shots were fired was 30% hit rate. You really think the average Joe with a 300BO is going to be more successful?
For typical home invasion I’d rather have a shotgun with bird shot that will stop someone (not necessary to kill everything) and not over penetrate to my wife or my kids.
Just because the gold standard for functional expansion (like the LeHigh round I suggest) is 12-18 doesn’t mean the additional consequences don’t matter
30% hit rate with pistols. 300blk rifle, with someone who actually trains seriously will have a much higher hit rate. Birdshot is a joke. If you take your life seriously, use a serious round and train seriously…
Birdshot will not reliably stop a threat. The best way to prevent over penetration is to hit your target.
The rep said that there have not been any gel tests for this load. Also, the rep said that most nosler bullets are designed to expand to 1800fps, but it should expand lower than that considering its design.
Well, to be fair, I’m asking something different than what the bullet was designed for. There is some conjecture as to whether or not that particular round was designed for .300blk, or designed for .308win then stuffed in a .300blk casing.
The rep told me that at higher velocities, the round is designed to expand/come apart violently for varmints. At lower velocities though, it should still expand, but not as violently. Basically, just like the VMAX. Unlike the VMAX though, we don’t have gel tests. We do have individuals who have hunted hogs and deer with it successfully though.
I don’t have ability to do any gel tests, and the range I belong here to in Vegas only allows paper and steel targets, so water jug or wet pack tests aren’t real feasible either.
The additional consequence of using bird shot is not stopping your attacker, who then kills you and your family. The likely hood your family will be behind an attacker when you pull the trigger is small; the likely hood of bird shot resulting in an non-incapacitating would is great. If you really want to use a shotgun, and want to balance between over penetration and terminal ballistics, the best choice is #4 buck.