Bolt action 300 blk for marksmanship

[AkMtnRunner]

I am looking at picking up a cheap rifle in of intermediate cartridge to build marksmanship skills. All of my other rifles, except for a 10/22, recoil a lot more and are pretty expensive to reload for. Most of them also can’t be threaded and host my 30 cal suppressor either.

The Ruger American Ranch in 300 BLK seems like a good route for this purpose. I am kind of intrigued about the challenge of shooting at longer ranges with the 300 blk. The 6.5 grendel sounds neat but 6.5 bullets are more difficult to find than 30 cal (which I have a few boxes of already).

Besides the features of the Ranch rifle, it doesn’t need to be stellar, just more accurate than I am to show me my faults.

Am I on the right track or am I not seeing something?

 

[kharb22]

What about a rimfire bolt gun? I have one that I built for 22 PRS matches, and banging steel at 350 yards with it makes me giggle. I'm not sure on 300 blackout, but as long as it's fairly accurate, I'm sure it would work.

 

[Keith Stone]

Agree with above on the 22 rimfire. They can be very accurate and a ball to shoot. If you are wanting to reload, 223 could be an option for affordability and learning the wind. If you want to work in recoil management the 308 is hard to beat for overall fundamental work.

 

[Lawnboi]

I trying to wrap my head around the 300 blackout and it’s purpose


Why not a 223?
-Dirt cheap to load for
-More components
-Better ballistics

Rimfire is nice too but for a training rifle the 223 is about perfect. I bought mine for training and now it’s my most used rifle.

 

[archp625]

I trying to wrap my head around the 300 blackout and it’s purpose


Why not a 223?
-Dirt cheap to load for
-More components
-Better ballistics

Rimfire is nice too but for a training rifle the 223 is about perfect. I bought mine for training and now it’s my most used rifle.

I am the same way. The internet tells me I need one. But my heart does not. The only benefit I see if sub sonic rounds through a suppresser. Besides that, it seems like a crap round for anything longer that 80-100 yards.

 

[Lawnboi]

I am the same way. The internet tells me I need one. But my heart does not. The only benefit I see if sub sonic rounds through a suppresser. Besides that, it seems like a crap round for anything longer that 80-100 yards.

Same thoughts. Even though subsonics sound cool I can’t wrap my head around an application for them.

 

[wind gypsy]

I’d have a hard time justifying one over a 223 for that role.

 

[RS_Non-Res]

"...to build marksmanship skills" and ... not "too expensive"

Daisy Match Grade Avanti 753 - $0.03/shot, not quite as precise as Olympic-grade air rifles that cost 10x as much, can shoot 2 sessions per day in the basement if you want.

 

[jbp7hl]

300 BO is fun to shoot.

 

[Reburn]

Tikka 223, swfa, Mesa precision stock and be done. If you want to get fancy a vudoo 22 trainer.

Nah I have a blackout and its a pig. Completely useless unless your shooting suppressed sub sonic. The rounds are so dirty and so inconsistent its a complete waste for a training gun.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

I appreciate the input so far, especially the counter arguments. I should reinforce that I am not interested in great ballistics for this rifle. I would actually welcome the dialing and/or holdover challenge. I won't be shooting any animals with this as I have much better rifles for that anyway. I would like to shoot a lot subsonic so that is a leading reason to go to the 300 blk. But I do get that 223 bullets are about as cheap as they come, after 22 lr and BB's I will certainly be using the 10/22 for higher volume plinking but I am a bit worried about the inconsistency of the ammo's accuracy and I would like to have some recoil so I would like a center fire.

Reburn, that would be an excellent rifle, too good for this purpose . Tell me more about 300 blk being dirty and inconsistent. Is that still true with handloads?

 

[OrangeMan73]

I'll be a contrarian. 300 blackout is awesome and is cheap to shoot if you reload. I bang steel all day with it at 400 yards and that's in an AR. I've actually wanted a bolt action version myself for similar reasons. Look for a Rem Model 7 or Kimber Adirondack.

I'll take it a step further and say I actually like shooting 110 supers more than heavy subs. Energy isn't anything to be shy about either and will do its job for smaller critters (deer or less). It's different, but if you're looking for confirmation, I give you 2x .

 

[Reburn]

I appreciate the input so far, especially the counter arguments. I should reinforce that I am not interested in great ballistics for this rifle. I would actually welcome the dialing and/or holdover challenge. I won't be shooting any animals with this as I have much better rifles for that anyway. I would like to shoot a lot subsonic so that is a leading reason to go to the 300 blk. But I do get that 223 bullets are about as cheap as they come, after 22 lr and BB's I will certainly be using the 10/22 for higher volume plinking but I am a bit worried about the inconsistency of the ammo's accuracy and I would like to have some recoil so I would like a center fire.

Reburn, that would be an excellent rifle, too good for this purpose . Tell me more about 300 blk being dirty and inconsistent. Is that still true with handloads?

My 300 Bo is a AR with a 8" SBR with a dead air sandman Ti on it. Using subsonic rounds everything I have tried pre ammo shortage is extremely dirty. ES and SD are all over the place. My gas block is adjusted so the gun functions correctly with suppressor and sub sonic ammo. My gun still shoots 10 shot 1" groups at 50 yards. A 300bo with super sonic ammo is basically a nuetered 308. The round was really designed to be run out of a ar subsonic and suppressed. I have not handloaded for it. The trajectory of a 200 grain bullet at subsonic speeds makes a rainbow look flat. my particular gun at a 50 yard zero will have 45" of drop at 200 yards and be going 965 fps. 121" drop at 300. For training I would perfer to have a gun with similar feel to my hunting rifle and a similar trigger. There isnt much use IMO to trying to practice with a sub sonic bullet. And if your going to shoot super sonic 300BO why not just use a 308. Sub sonic rounds are still not hearing safe so without a can your still not in the hearing safe zone. With a can I guess it could work. I bet you will need to clean frequently due to carbon though.

With all that being said a 223 or 308 is still the best bet. Or just use the hunting rifles you already have.

Also to be said. At subsonic ranges funny things happen to bullets as they get extended flight time on them. Even my gun has agyroscopic stability factor of high 2.xx When I miss at 200 yards its hard to say if something happened that upset the bullet due to subsonic ranges or I had a round with a 85 fps ES or if i did something wrong.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

Thanks for the additional input. I am already a huge fan of the 308 win so I may lean more in that direction.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

Thanks for the additional input. I am already a huge fan of the 308 win so I may lean more in that direction.

I'd say go for it but maybe consider a 7.62x39 instead.
I grew up with an sks and I had a blast shooting 27 cent rounds at long range targets.
I recently got a 7.62x39 AR upper and love the crap out of it.
Ammo and components are about the most abundant on the planet, and its a better round than the anemic 556

 

[SomeJackassOnAForum]

300 BLK was designed as a replacement for the MP5 SD which was a suppressed, short barreled 9mm. The idea was to give face-shooters a little more authority in close-quarters when shooting bad people while having the option to switch to supersonic alternatives should things end up poorly requiring longer engagement distances and less discretion.

If you want a cheaper alternative for precision practice, 300 BLK is not it. Get a decent .223 and enjoy shooting it. You can take 77 gr bullets out to 1000 yds for a fraction of the cost of most centerfire arrangements.

TL;DR, 300 BLK is "intriguing" for suppressed semi-auto close in shooting. For anything else, there are better options.

 

[Rknight]

While I love my 300bo and it’s super cheap to load for (supers and subs), if I was going to get something like you described I’d be picking up a .22 or .223. Right now I’m deciding between a cz .22 and a .223 for a bolt action trainer

 

[tak]

I love my 300 blk bolt gun.

All of the above comments are correct, but man, a bolt gun in 300 blk is an absolute hoot. Stupid quiet with subs also.

I have shot it out to 400 on steel, and I've actually hunted quite a bit with it. Now, we are talking meat hunting in the Texas hill country. ie. whitetail does that weigh about 80lbs. I've killed 9 deer from 20 yards to 150 yards with 300 blk, and the damage was more than I expected. I am NOT advocating hunting with 300 blk, but it can be done, selectively at close ranges, with good supersonic projectiles. I started using my 300blk AR in some of my bow stands because I knew I could get close.

Anyway, it's become one of my favorite guns to shoot, and I set it up as a small version of my favorite 308.

 

[WCB]

.223

 

[MSElkHunter]

I bought my son one of these to deer hunt with about 2 years ago. His gun is very accurate. If you just want to practice and play around I think it would be a good choice.


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