I have a couple of 300 BLK 9" AR pistol kits w/ KAK flashcans coming (sooner than expected
) and now I need to start reloading for them.A little info so you may get an idea of what kind of loads I'm looking for.
These will be truck/get home guns. These are to supplement our EDC handguns in the event something goes south. On every work day my wife and I go in opposite directions and are about 20 minutes from home for each of us and about 30 minutes from office to office. If I'm out in the country then that time can be greatly increased. Mine will eventually be SBR'd and hopefully suppressed. The wife's will need to stay a pistol as not to violate the 1000' GFZ at her place of employment. Ideally they will be loaded with premium subsonic self-defense loads for the first 20 round mag or two. The loadout will be rounded out with a couple of more 30 round mags with "cheaper" subsonic loads. Subsonic is desired for reduced recoil and, hopefully, reduced noise and concussion. As these may need to be deployed indoors or in a car trying to keep the crack to a minimum is desired. While hearing protection will be at hand, there may not be the time or desire to put them on or there may be others in close proximity. While any round will still be loud, taking the edge off of the blast would still help. Suppressors are desired but will have to wait until the coffers are rejuvenated.
Weg has what appears to be a good subsonic load for the Lehigh ME in the companion topic so that will be one of the first I'll try. With Lehigh bullets coming in at over a $1.50 each I probably won't be loading up many mags with them. Enter the cheaper 220 Sierra Match King that seems to be a standard for subsonics. I can't find any definitive information on how well it will really work in a soft target. Some say it will start tumbling immediately while others say it may take several inches to start tumbling. It seems in all cases there is over-penetration. Twist rates and velocity seem to play a big part but I can't get all the dots to connect to make any real evaluation. I would really like to avoid over-penetration if possible.
First question, Does anyone have any good subsonic loads to share that also includes some comparisons regarding expansion/tumble, noise, penetration, and flash? Anecdotal info is useful, first-hand info is better.
Second, Does anyone know of any expanding subsonic bullets? Lehigh ME, Maker REX, and BlackOutBullets (sold out) are what I have found. The Lehigh is the only one I've found gel tests on. The REX looks promising (and significantly cheaper). Do you have any experience with any?
Another thing I like about the 300 Blk is you can run supersonics in them without much ado. I'd also like to load up some coyote supersonics to have on hand. It is easier to find load data on supers but maybe someone here has a favorite or two they would share.
And lastly, any good practice/plinking loads?
After numerous hours of searching the web I don't think I've reached any good conclusions. It seems most sites focus on accuracy, which is important, but say nothing about terminal performance. Most sites that address terminal performance are mostly for supersonics.
If we want to post the load data in the Anyone Reloading .300 Blackout thread i think that would be great. It would help to keep all the info in one place for easy reference.