.300 BO, what do you think?

[TXAZ]

Neighbor asked about a 300 BO (rifle) for home defense.
I have no experience with it.

What do you think?

[HiBC]

I can only tell you "from my point of view" Factors matter. I'll start with owning thousands of once fire 5,56 brass and 50 years handloading experience.

Price of ammo is not an issue for me. I can cut and form brass from 5.56

I have parts,tools,and experience with putting together AR-15s. I also have an M-1 Carbine,

I like the M-1 carbine.

I'm not into suppressors. I'm talking 125 gr or so supersonic loads. In my case,I bought a 10 in 300 Blk barrel and built a pistol. FWIW,no brace. Just a buffer tube.

From that perspective,the cartridge splits the difference between a 30 carbine and 7.62x39. Its not going to "impress" anybody. Yawn.

But those cartridges served OK in battle with ball ammo. We have Hornady Varmint Grenades,Nosler Ballistic tips...

Few doubt the effectiveness of a 357 Magnum with 125 gr JHP. A 125 gr 30cal Ballistic tip at 2000 fps + compares pretty well.

Its not exactly the same,but the 10 in AR pistol in 300 BLK is about as light,handy,and effective as an M-1 carbine in my opinion.

Remember,though, my ammo supply is covered.

[stagpanther]

Within 100 yds it's plenty potent, though I would still watch out for over-penetration if that's a concern and care needs to be taken for the selection of the right ammo.

[jmr40]

While it would probably work I think there are better options. I can only think of a single reason why I'd choose one over the much more common 223/5.56 round. And that is firing it suppressed. If your plan is to use a suppressor then go for it. Otherwise 223 is the better option.

[imashooter]

Sold mine recently. Punches a substantially bigger hole than the little Mattel .22. Go for it.

[jonnyc]

I've got a 16" for accurate supersonics and a 10.5" for hard-hitting subsonics. One of my favorite shooting calibers.

[Sharkbite]

I use a 9” 300blk rifle as my “go to” gun. Using 110gn vmax bullet i get impressive performance.

With my gemtech 300blk suppressor its quiet enough for “oh crap” use

[HiBC]

I'll add this. If you are going with a 16 in+ barrel, I think the advantage goes to the 5.56. The barrel length improves the 5.56 ballistics . I might put that in the "No Brainer" column for non-suppressed. I don't know enough about suppressors to comment on them.

I was building a 10 in bbl pistol. The 300 Blk will be more efficient in the short barrel.

There will be a flash and blast advantage (within reason) for the 300 BLK vs 5.56 with pistol length bbl.
The 5.56 just does not have enough powder burning/acceleration time with handgun length barrels.

IMO,the 10 in bbl works out pretty well for forend length.

[Pistoler0]

300 BO is expensive to shoot if you do not reload (today about a buck a pop vs. 45 cents for 223)

and I think its main reason for being is for performance when shooting suppressed.

[JustJake]

There are a lot of pistol and rifle cartridges that will work as well or better for "home defense" , and are less costly to practice with.

At best, the .300BLK is a niche cartridge designed to fill a niche role, which it does very nicely in suppressed SBR (10") platforms. In that set up, it has potential military/SF uses, or in the hunting context, maybe as a very short-range, hearing-safe "hog blaster."

But that set up also makes it a two tax-stamp/NFA proposition, unless the weapon is a non-NFA "pistol"-type AR, but the can itself would still require a stamp.

Either way, once used in a real-world "home defense" shooting against an intruder, be assured the local Gendarmes will confiscate your weapon and suppressor, and then impound them into the police property lock-up. There they will remain until such time as someone in authority decides your use of deadly force was justified ... and even then you still may have to employ an attorney to get them returned. (A lot depends on the laws of your state regarding such matters).

Personally, if I'm forced to shoot an intruder, I'd rather have the coppers confiscate (even if only "temporarily") my 12ga Rem 870, or maybe my Glock 20 and 15-rd magazine, or maybe my Colt Series 70 1911 and 8-rd Wilson magazine, ... rather than my spendy, hyper-tacticool SBR and the can attached to it, no matter how fun it is to contemplate hosing-down a burglar or other home invader with it.

[raimius]

With supersonic ammo, it sits a little under 7.62x39, which is to say, reasonably effective out to a few hundred yards. With subsonic ammo, it performs a bit better than .45acp.
So, it would make a good or acceptable self-defense rifle, depending on ammo and range.
.223 is definitely cheaper to practice with, and with proper ammo choice will do just as well.

[MarkCO]

"We" have too many choices. Not all bad, but we split hairs as a result.

I had both a 16" and a 10.5". I shot 110s to 240s both Supers and Subs. I made my own brass and never fired a single factory load. I sold them both, primarily for overlap and, at the time, not a lot of good "HD Sub load" bullets to be found. That has improved some.

If you are going to delve into the "One caliber for everything" in an AR15 mental exercises, I'd argue for a 6mm or 6.5mm due to the much better BCs for long range. If you restrict yourself to say 300 yards and closer, then sure, the .300 BO might be a good candidate for an all-around. I have two friends that have just one AR15, for whom I put together 300BO uppers.

Most of what I did with the .300BO, I now do with the 10mm (16" DI) AR15, and it works a little better for those roles. For plinking suppressed, I use the .308 bolt gun.

[Shadow9mm]

Cool but very niche. For home defense it shouks be adequate, but so are lots of other cartridges that are more common and less expensive.

[TrueBlue711]

I'm a big fan of the cartridge, but agree with the point that it stands out as a great suppressed round (as I have mine).
Do I have mine as my home defense gun? Yes.
IF I didn't have it suppressed, would I still be using it for home defense? Maybe. Its 10" barrel is nicer to navigate through enclosed areas with compared to a standard 16" barrel (again, this is if not suppressed), but I would probably use a pistol if that was my primary factor.

[rickyrick]

Funnest cartridge I’ve used to this point.

Should work as well as any pistol cartridge fired through a longer barrel, probably better than many. It’s reliable and it’s an easy conversion.

[Geezerbiker]

For home defense, I'd take a pump shotgun over any rifle.

Tony

[Austin HiPowers]

For me the fact that it is so easy to supress (hard bang in a room isn’t fun) and they come in a pistol size platform makes it an excellent choice for HD. Over penetration is indeed an issue but I see basically more pro’s then con’s.

[USCS]

I like it, I reload so ammo availability and pricing doesn’t effect my decision tree as it does for others. I prefer the 125 Nosler Ballistic Tip for defense, and the 120 Barnes TTSX for hunting.