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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
AR15/10 Rifles
Is the Love Affair Over? (300BO)
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<blockquote data-quote="azsugarbear" data-source="post: 2129347" data-attributes="member: 4809"><p>The 300 Whisper (grandfather of the 300 BO) was designed on the back of a napkin over dinner by JD and some special force guys. They had been complaining that the 9mm subsonic was just not enough. It was taking multiple shots to put a bad guy down quickly. JD came up with a cartridge that was based off the 221 Fireball (same base dimensions as the 5.56 Nato) that became known as the 300 Whisper. When AAC wanted to SAAMI spec the 300 Whisper and produce it for the mass market, JD was not interested. So they changed the design by a few thousandths of an inch here and there to sidestep patent issues - and the 300 BO was born.</p><p></p><p>Make no mistake, the 300 BO/Whisper was and always has been mission-specific: sub-sonic lethality at relatively close range. To make it a commercial success, AAC and the ammo makers had to broaden its appeal. It was never intended or designed to be a "do all" caliber. It does one thing extremely well. And it can do a couple of other things OK - as long as you understand ballistics. Many guys tried to load the 300 BO with heavy rifle bullets (230 gr. Sierras come to mind) expecting great results. The fact that these bullets needed at least 1,800 fps minimum velocity to expand never entered the equation. They thought that a tumbling bullet would be just as effective. What they got were inconsistent kills.</p><p></p><p>If you want great killing power with sub-sonic performance, you need to load 30 cal. bullets designed to open a pistol velocities. Lehigh defense makes great bullets and ammo that accomplish this purpose. Several other companies make just the bullets like Outlaw State. The other end of the spectrum is to shoot super-sonic rifle bullets with enough velocity to reliably open at the distances they hope to shoot at. Because of the small case, this necessitates lighter 30 cal. bullets to reach those velocities. This creates another problem: light bullets bleed off energy/velocity rather quickly. You need a chronograph and then a ballistics program to understand where your velocity drops below the minimum velocity required to open reliably. Most guys didn't do this. They thought they had a 30-30 round in an AR platform. This was not the case. The 300 BO can take deer and pigs reliably using varmint style bullets that open quickly out to a range of 100-150 yds, but again - that was not its original mission.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="azsugarbear, post: 2129347, member: 4809"] The 300 Whisper (grandfather of the 300 BO) was designed on the back of a napkin over dinner by JD and some special force guys. They had been complaining that the 9mm subsonic was just not enough. It was taking multiple shots to put a bad guy down quickly. JD came up with a cartridge that was based off the 221 Fireball (same base dimensions as the 5.56 Nato) that became known as the 300 Whisper. When AAC wanted to SAAMI spec the 300 Whisper and produce it for the mass market, JD was not interested. So they changed the design by a few thousandths of an inch here and there to sidestep patent issues - and the 300 BO was born. Make no mistake, the 300 BO/Whisper was and always has been mission-specific: sub-sonic lethality at relatively close range. To make it a commercial success, AAC and the ammo makers had to broaden its appeal. It was never intended or designed to be a "do all" caliber. It does one thing extremely well. And it can do a couple of other things OK - as long as you understand ballistics. Many guys tried to load the 300 BO with heavy rifle bullets (230 gr. Sierras come to mind) expecting great results. The fact that these bullets needed at least 1,800 fps minimum velocity to expand never entered the equation. They thought that a tumbling bullet would be just as effective. What they got were inconsistent kills. If you want great killing power with sub-sonic performance, you need to load 30 cal. bullets designed to open a pistol velocities. Lehigh defense makes great bullets and ammo that accomplish this purpose. Several other companies make just the bullets like Outlaw State. The other end of the spectrum is to shoot super-sonic rifle bullets with enough velocity to reliably open at the distances they hope to shoot at. Because of the small case, this necessitates lighter 30 cal. bullets to reach those velocities. This creates another problem: light bullets bleed off energy/velocity rather quickly. You need a chronograph and then a ballistics program to understand where your velocity drops below the minimum velocity required to open reliably. Most guys didn't do this. They thought they had a 30-30 round in an AR platform. This was not the case. The 300 BO can take deer and pigs reliably using varmint style bullets that open quickly out to a range of 100-150 yds, but again - that was not its original mission. [/QUOTE]
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AR15/10 Rifles
Is the Love Affair Over? (300BO)
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