New to Reloading 300 BLK Advice

[treillw]

Gonna start reloading 300 BLK subs. Any advice? Mainly wondering what the best projectiles are for plinking and maybe shooting a deer? What is the best way to go about getting brass? I probably want around 500 pieces.

Thanks!

 

[Axlrod]

For brass, I use reformed lake city 5.56 from gun broker or Midway and new Starline brass. Haven't/won't hunt with it, so no idea what to use for bullets.

 

[RifleDisciple]

1. Brass: I bought some once fired 300BLK factory brass from an individual. Tons of places to buy lake city converted brass, but the once fired headstamped stuff was affordable second hand. It was mixed headstamp, but this is not a precision gun, so mixed was fine by me.

2. Projectiles: Easy button for subs is any match style 200+ grain jacketed bullet. I have used the 208 ELD-M and it works well for subs, not the cheapest, but not over the top either. For a little more work and a little less cost buy some 200 grain cast and powder coated bullets. You need a neck expander die and a Lee Factory Crimp Die. I don't find the cost savings on the cast bullets to be worth the 2 additional dies and 2 additional steps. But maybe the cast bullets are cheap enough now to justify. For the volume I shoot in subs I'll stick with jacketed bullets for 35-45 cents each.

2.5 Expanding Subs: The most available expanding subsonic projectile is the Hornady 190gr Sub-X bullet. I have not gotten to try them on animals yet, but this fall I will certainly try. They get mixed reviews but are still considered the most cost effective bullet designed to expand as sub speeds. For more reliable expansion looks to the all copper options, but they cost double or more. Keep shots on game inside 100yd due to rainbow trajectory.

3. Powder, depend on local availability. CFE-BLK is plentiful and gassy, so if functions my AR-15 pistol in 300BLK. about 11.5gr for a 16" barrel and 12.0 grain in a pistol barrel is a good start, but work down on your gun for safety. If you are using bolt action or single shot, then use a faster powder with lower charge weight to save a few DB's. Lil'Gun is a common one.

 

[tstith]

Agreed with previous post. You can use 300AAC specific brass or chopped and reformed LC 5.56 brass. Harbor freight 2" chop saw, then size and trim to spec. ALWAYS anneal. I get more loads out of 300 brass when annealed. Otherwise, the case mouths crack within about 3 loadings.

After owning 300AAC in 8" and 16" configurations for about a decade and loading for the caliber, I would never try to take a deer with a subsonic round. To be honest, I played with subs a little bit in the beginning, it was cool to be quiet with a can, but that caliber only really serves some purpose with supersonic ammunition. I use the 150gr FMJ for plinking, the 110gr Varmageddon (or Midway blem 110gr ballistic tip AKA V-Max) for critters, and 110 Barnes Tac-TX bullets for any hunting/self-defense ammo. The latter load works really well on hogs. Performance wise, the 110's over a near max load is about the best performance you're going to get from the 300.

I hope this helps. WIN 296 and H110 are going to be your friends with this caliber.

 

[waspocrew]

300 BLK subsonic is way too much fun.

For hunting, don’t just use any projectile - it needs to expand at these low velocities. Maker and Lehigh defense make excellent expanding subsonic projectiles. The 190 SubX is more affordable, but the performance seems lacking from reports. Sierra now has a 205 gr expanding projectile as well.

I’ll be using the 200 gr Maker this year on whitetail does.

For plinking, I usually use blems from Midway or Shooters pro shop. Midsouth even has some 220s available as well.

For brass - either form your own from 5.56 (just watch vids on YT) or buy some with factory headstamp like Starline and others.

When loading for subs and testing charges at the range, work your way down from higher charge to lowest. Otherwise, I’d your charge is too low, you risk having a squib in your barrel.

 

[ryanww]

My "accuracy" loads are blem 220gr sierra MK bullets in the same headstamp brass.

For less expensive loads I have used 3 different bullets in mixed brass that give decent accuracy at 50 yards, but have not pushed them farther:
Leatherhead 220 gr coated bullets. They are not being made by leatherhead anymore but I believe another company has continued.
Missouri bullet 215 OEM grooveless coated bullet.
Everglades 220 plated version 2 bullets.

 

[98XJRC]

I'll be the one to step on the super side of things.

Anything once fired and reformed would be fine, depending on how deep into it you'd like to go you can do it yourself. As for plinking I use either a 147 or 150 gr fmj with LilGun behind it. It's been a great relatively inexpensive plinking load for me out of my 8.5" SBR with SilencerCo Omega on the front. I also have 125 gr Speer TNT and Barnes 110 Tac-TX loaded as well, but those are more for hunting and HD.

 

[Luked]

Built one for my daughter to deer hunt this year with.
Shooting 125gr Sierra Pro hunters on top of 19gr of CFE Blk.
Bought 100 rounds of Starline brass.
Not planning to have her shoot any long distance since its her first time hunting and shooting. But I shot it at 100 and it will hold a solid 1" group pretty easily.
Im liking the thing about as much as she does. I might end up using it some also.

 

[Shooter Mike]

300 BLK subsonic is way too much fun.

For hunting, don’t just use any projectile - it needs to expand at these low velocities. Maker and Lehigh defense make excellent expanding subsonic projectiles. The 190 SubX is more affordable, but the performance seems lacking from reports. Sierra now has a 205 gr expanding projectile as well.

I’ll be using the 200 gr Maker this year on whitetail does.

For plinking, I usually use blems from Midway or Shooters pro shop. Midsouth even has some 220s available as well.

For brass - either form your own from 5.56 (just watch vids on YT) or buy some with factory headstamp like Starline and others.

When loading for subs and testing charges at the range, work your way down from higher charge to lowest. Otherwise, I’d your charge is too low, you risk having a squib in your barrel.

Agreed. Here’s a 190gr Maker REX I pulled out of a deer last season. From 71yds at 1085fps. Had to use H110 to achieve the necessary lower case fill to seat the bullet. CFE BLK wouldn’t fit.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hunter121212]

A few years ago before prices climbed drastically and before I loaded 300BLK, I picked up 10 pounds of Lil' Gun for a few other calibers. After buying a 300BLK and messing around with IMR 4227 and H110 with bad results (in a semi-auto, unburned powder all over inside the action), I noticed my stash of Lil' Gun had load data for any weight of bullet you might wanna run through a 300BLK, and with the higher velocities than most other powders for bullets 150gr and lighter.
I have some Speer 130gr bullets loaded up that I might try on deer eventually, but I still opt for other rifles when deer season rolls around.
For plinking, I like pulled 2nds from MidwayUSA, and I've also been lucky enough to score 125gr and 150gr bullets on a local classified website for as low as 0.05 each.

 

[Lwink]

I’ve been liking the berrys plated 220 with cfe blk for my range loads. Have been reliable and can find them for $0.25 each or less in moderate qty like 500, can even find blems sometimes. Also have used Nosler 220 grains from the blem store for similar pricing. I just bought a few thousand brass, likely range pickup, from a forum when I started, they get dirty with a suppressor but last long enough.

 

[wilsoN_]

I've had the stuff to reload for my 10.5" 300blk pistol, I grabbed some 208 ELDM awhile back and have 8lbs of CFE BLK, am I going to run into case volume issues with the CFE BLK?

 

[Lwink]

I've had the stuff to reload for my 10.5" 300blk pistol, I grabbed some 208 ELDM awhile back and have 8lbs of CFE BLK, am I going to run into case volume issues with the CFE BLK?

I think you’ll be fine. I’ve used cfe blk for almost all my subsonic loading including thousands of 220grain match kings and Nosler custom competition. 8lb will last a good while!!

 

[Dan in Alaska]

Gonna start reloading 300 BLK subs. Any advice? Mainly wondering what the best projectiles are for plinking and maybe shooting a deer? What is the best way to go about getting brass? I probably want around 500 pieces.

Thanks!

Advice? I hate prepping brass, so I either buy new Starline brass, or I use range pick-up 300 Blk brass. S&B seems to be plentiful at the range, it doesn't have crimped primers, and it seems to be pretty decent brass.

I don't think the hassle of making blackout brass from 223 brass is worth the hassle, when I can get new Starline brass, on sale, for about 25-cents a piece.

For super-sonic plinking loads, I like the 110gr Hornady V-Max and 125gr Speer TNT with W295/H110 powders. They are fairly cheap and very accurate! For subs, I like the 190gr Sub-X, 208gr ELDM, and 220gr HPBT with Lil' Gun powder.

You didn't mention what type of firearm you're using. I have a couple of bolt-action blackouts, and one 10.5" SBR. The bolt guns will eat anything, of course, but the AR needs enough gas to cycle. My sub-sonic SBR load is a 220gr HPBT with A1680 powder, and it seems to cycle just fine in all the different ARs I've tried them in. My Lil' Gun loads seem to cycle fine in my SBR, but they don't cycle in my friend's 8" AR pistol.

For hunting loads, I use the 110gr Barnes Tac-TX bullet with W296. My son used this load to whack a couple of pigs, and it worked great. I don't see why it wouldn't do the same for deer.