.300 blk die question

[pjzwtl]

I’ve recently built up a blackout for no other reason then I don’t have one and now I’m looking into the reloading toys.
I have a shit ton of 5.56 brass I can cut down but have seen mixed reviews on the die sets out there.
I know someone here must have a real world opinion on which mfg sets work for them before I drop coin on one.

 

[FP1201]

The answer to all your questions on .300BLK can easily be found here: 300 Blackout Master Thread - AR15.COM

 

[pjzwtl]

The answer to all your questions on .300BLK can easily be found here: 300 Blackout Master Thread - AR15.COM

Damn you aren’t kidding.. thanks

 

[Xae289]

I use Lee dies to load my .300 Blk. They've worked prefectly for me so far. Caveat is that I've only used Hornady .300 Blk brass with 110 gr Hornady V-Max and Barnes Tac-TX bullets, so I haven't exactly used a wide variety of components.

 

[FP1201]

I use Lee dies to load my .300 Blk. They've worked prefectly for me so far. Caveat is that I've only used Hornady .300 Blk brass with 110 gr Hornady V-Max and Barnes Tac-TX bullets, so I haven't exactly used a wide variety of components.

I have everything to load .300BLK but never loaded more than a hundred or so as I had thousands of rounds of Factory ammo.
The one thing that really stands out is Neck Thickness. (found in the link) I've cut down live blanks with a harbor freight mini=chop saw and they worked, and I've used some foreign stuff that crushed too easily.
Decide up front if you're going to go Sonic or Sub-Sonic because some rifles just don't play well using both.
The 125gr Hornady Bullets in the 2,000fps range really work well... 220gr Round Nose schmuck hard going sub-sonic.
My favorite was an AAC Built "Handi-Rifle" with a fake can attached... if was a fun little carbine sized Rifle that now resides with a young Hunter in NC.
If you're wanting a AR Pistol, the .300 works really well and it's pleasant to shoot, good accuracy, and sufficient power for Deer/Hogs and critters that walk upright.

 

[Acer-m14]

lee dies here .. and i use a arrow saw .. to cut the 223 brass down .. made my own jig ..

arrow saw .. bow hunter .. to cut arrows to length ..

 

[pjzwtl]

I have everything to load .300BLK but never loaded more than a hundred or so as I had thousands of rounds of Factory ammo.
The one thing that really stands out is Neck Thickness. (found in the link) I've cut down live blanks with a harbor freight mini=chop saw and they worked, and I've used some foreign stuff that crushed too easily.
Decide up front if you're going to go Sonic or Sub-Sonic because some rifles just don't play well using both.
The 125gr Hornady Bullets in the 2,000fps range really work well... 220gr Round Nose schmuck hard going sub-sonic.
My favorite was an AAC Built "Handi-Rifle" with a fake can attached... if was a fun little carbine sized Rifle that now resides with a young Hunter in NC.
If you're wanting a AR Pistol, the .300 works really well and it's pleasant to shoot, good accuracy, and sufficient power for Deer/Hogs and critters that walk upright.

It took me a while tweaking it to get it to cycle sonic rounds (it will only half stroke a sub) so I’m gonna stay there. I have a lot of old LC brass so fingers are crossed. Ironically the Port hole is .12 which is sized for subsonic and the port is ligned up right with the block so that’s a bit of a head scratcher

 

[Xae289]

I have everything to load .300BLK but never loaded more than a hundred or so as I had thousands of rounds of Factory ammo.
The one thing that really stands out is Neck Thickness. (found in the link) I've cut down live blanks with a harbor freight mini=chop saw and they worked, and I've used some foreign stuff that crushed too easily.
Decide up front if you're going to go Sonic or Sub-Sonic because some rifles just don't play well using both.
The 125gr Hornady Bullets in the 2,000fps range really work well... 220gr Round Nose schmuck hard going sub-sonic.
My favorite was an AAC Built "Handi-Rifle" with a fake can attached... if was a fun little carbine sized Rifle that now resides with a young Hunter in NC.
If you're wanting a AR Pistol, the .300 works really well and it's pleasant to shoot, good accuracy, and sufficient power for Deer/Hogs and critters that walk upright.

Very similar situation. I only handloaded a few hundred as well since I picked up a ton of Hornady Black 110 gr VMax back when they were really inexpensive. Those are what I use for brass. I have an upper from Moriarti Arms that I put on a featureless Aero lower build. It came with a fake can on a 16" barrel too, but I swapped the "can" out with a cap to cut the OAL for better handling. For practical purposes, I like the 110 gr stuff. I get around 2400-2440 fps with both VMaxes and TacTXes over an almost-max charge of H110. The Hornady factory ammo chronoed at exactly 2400 fps average for me.

Reliability has been perfect so far with supersonic handloads and Hornady factory ammo, as well as Magtech factory subsonics. I used it last deer season loaded with TacTX handloads and took a mature doe and a coyote. The doe ran about 40ish yards and the coyote dropped on the spot. Entrance wounds were tiny, but exit wounds were vicious – comparable to a broadhead – and internal damage was impressive.

I have some Hornady 168 gr and Berry's 220 gr bullets that I plan to mess with with in subsonic loadings. Not for anything practical like hunting or defense. Just to mess around, I want to shoot them at 200 yards to simulate longer-range shooting with a more powerful cartridge.

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

I've never reloaded factory brass for 300 BLK. Only cut down brass. As others have said here it's not about the die but about the brass itself. I don't know if that ARFCOM thread has it but there is a pretty extensive list floating around of which brass is good. I've tried various 223 and 556 brass with LC being the best. LC is the only brass I use now and since I only load 220gr bullets the brass lasts forever. Nice assassin tube rounds.

 

[Xae289]

I've never reloaded factory brass for 300 BLK. Only cut down brass. As others have said here it's not about the die but about the brass itself. I don't know if that ARFCOM thread has it but there is a pretty extensive list floating around of which brass is good. I've tried various 223 and 556 brass with LC being the best. LC is the only brass I use now and since I only load 220gr bullets the brass lasts forever. Nice assassin tube rounds.

Good to know LC brass works well. Although I don't plan to cut down 5.56 brass anytime soon, diving down the rabbit hole, I found this: .300 Blackout (BLK) neck thickness - cutting .223 cases.

I actually wondered if it was a necessary step to turn or ream the neck of a cut down piece of .300 Blk. Glad to know that isn't necessary if you use the right 5.56/.223 brass to convert.

 

[pjzwtl]

Glad to here the LC brass is gtg I printed out a trim jig that’s designed to go with the Harbor freight mini chop it seems to to measure up. Just waiting on the rest

 

[FP1201]

It took me a while tweaking it to get it to cycle sonic rounds (it will only half stroke a sub) so I’m gonna stay there. I have a lot of old LC brass so fingers are crossed. Ironically the Port hole is .12 which is sized for subsonic and the port is lined up right with the block so that’s a bit of a head scratcher

Seems that "Carbine length" gas tubes are preferred unless you're running a pistol upper: The shorter the tube, the longer the dwell time... early on in the development of .300 BLK uppers, a friend of mine ordered a 20" barreled upper and it took a lot of futzing around to make it cycle reliably. The final solution was a reduced power buffer spring from Brownells made specifically for Black-Out chambered rifles.
As for the neck thickness, Lyman (and others) make a trimmer attachment that's piloted in the center with a cutter button that shaves the outside and while it's more work than trimming, it is another step....these days .300BLK brass is readily available and inexpensive, yet still many a reloader is a cheap bastard that would rather spend ten minutes of his time making a case that could be bought for pennies....besides, I had to do something with all those Blanks

 

[pjzwtl]

Seems that "Carbine length" gas tubes are preferred unless you're running a pistol upper: The shorter the tube, the longer the dwell time... early on in the development of .300 BLK uppers, a friend of mine ordered a 20" barreled upper and it took a lot of futzing around to make it cycle reliably. The final solution was a reduced power buffer spring from Brownells made specifically for Black-Out chambered rifles.
As for the neck thickness, Lyman (and others) make a trimmer attachment that's piloted in the center with a cutter button that shaves the outside and while it's more work than trimming, it is another step....these days .300BLK brass is readily available and inexpensive, yet still many a reloader is a cheap bastard that would rather spend ten minutes of his time making a case that could be bought for pennies....besides, I had to do something with all those Blanks

It’s a 16” on incher once I noodle together the supplies for my own loads I may see if I can get it to cycle subs for shits and giggles.

 

[FP1201]

It’s a 16” on incher once I noodle together the supplies for my own loads I may see if I can get it to cycle subs for shits and giggles.

16" with carbine gas is the consensus for rifle operation.
The pistol length (7.5"~10.5") seem to work really well too.
Without going on a tangent, the bat-boyz latest ruling on pistols appears to be that "braces" are a no-go without a SBR Tax Stamp, but without said brace are still good to go... honestly, I haven't taken the time to fully read and digest it. B-King's was/is offering a FTATF rebuild kit to convert pistols over to rifles... I bought one to finish out an upper receiver with a nice, light barrel and was very pleased with it.

AR15 Build Kits

AR15 Build Kits

bkingsfirearms.com

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

16" with carbine gas is the consensus for rifle operation.
The pistol length (7.5"~10.5") seem to work really well too.
Without going on a tangent, the bat-boyz latest ruling on pistols appears to be that "braces" are a no-go without a SBR Tax Stamp, but without said brace are still good to go... honestly, I haven't taken the time to fully read and digest it. B-King's was/is offering a FTATF rebuild kit to convert pistols over to rifles... I bought one to finish out an upper receiver with a nice, light barrel and was very pleased with it.

AR15 Build Kits

AR15 Build Kits

bkingsfirearms.com

I bought a 10.5" upper from PSA a long time ago (2017). So long ago in fact that it's keymod. Worked straight out of the box and no problems since. But holy hell everything is expensive now. This is what I got back then. The kits alone are $500 and up now.



ETA the blade has been destroyed of course.