300 AAC/ whisper for deer ?

Leadbelly

Leadbelly

New member
Wondering if any of you guys and gals had used this round on deer or any other critter for that matter. How has it preformed for you, and what's it capable of? Are there any hand loading problems associated with this round? I'm looking at a Remington 700 sps with the ugly stock, if anyone has used this setup I would like to hear how it's preformed?

Thanks LB
 
Ballistics wise i believe its similar to a 30-30, which has been killing deer since before there were cavemen.
 
It is effective on deer. Lots of loads now in the 110-130 gr that you can launch supersonic that are effective on deer sized game. The 110 barnes black tips are great but rare and expensive, the nosler accubond is nice and so is the hornady sst. Then you can also get some loads for yotes and such in the 110 vmax and speer.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. While its not really as powerful as a dirty thirty its in the same class. I actually have a choice between the .300 or a .308 sps. While I am leaning .308 I do like micro rounds like 32/20 25/20 .22 hornet etc. the short ranges that I hunt makes this round somewhat appealing, but after reading on the link to .300 forum seems the quality on the sps Remington's are hit or miss so I'm kinda on the fence still.
 
If you are using any bullets other than the Barnes Blacktip, Barnes SBR, or perhaps the Nosler BT bullets I would limit shots to 125-150 yards. Beyond that you will drop below minimum expansion velocities for almost every other 308 bullet.
 
i recently took my 300 aac out on a hunt. i shot a few different small game with it. with subsonic 220's, EVERY animal ran off and was not found. i have shot 3 coyotes with it and i have tracked them in the snow as far as a mile and never found one of them! i have found bullets that are supposed to expand with subsonic velocities but they cost about $1.50 each!

i switched to some 150 grain round nose bullets for the last night hog hunting. while i killed a pig with those bullets, i am not impressed with the 300 aac for hunting. there are far better choices for hunting. the tiny little shell is impressive in what it can do, but no matter how you cut it, a 300aac is on the LOW end of acceptable use for big game.
i have loaded 125gr speer tnt bullets. i have found them in the pile of logs i use for my target backstop. the recovered bullets were bent like a banana but did not expand. those bullets were recovered at 100 yards, shot into frozen wood, and fired at near max loads. finding an accurate load for the stubby little round is not as easy as for most calibers. my upper is a d-tech, so i do not suspect that it is the upper, but most loads are nowhere near 1 moa at 100 yards. while i did eventually find a subsonic load that was genuinely under 1 moa, it is EXTREMELY sensitive to charge weight, seating depth, and brass consistency.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: 6724
"... while I did eventually find a subsonic load that was genuinely under 1 moa, it is EXTREMELY sensitive to charge weight, seating depth, and brass consistency."



What load/bullet/velocity?? What twist do you have.

I am looking into getting or building a bolt action 300 AAC and it is for ballistic testing at very long range - 500 and 1,000 yds (I have optic set-ups with several hundred moa of elevation)...

I am looking to shoot 200gr to 220gr match bullets at ranges that they come into the target at the angle of a half court basket ball.

... but I am looking hard before I spend.

 
I have shot this caliber extensively over the last year. I have tried bullets from 110 grains to 240 smk's. I have tried AA#5, #7 and 1680, Vihtavour 320, 340 350 and N110, H Lil gun, H-110 and if i could get my hands on some trailboss I would try that too. I have shot small pistol primers, small rifle primers and magnum rifle primers. I have shot naked and HBN lubed bullets. I even loaded up some old sabots that I have and tried both 55 grain and 75 grain sabot rounds (without my suppressor of course). I have both a remington 700 aac 1x7 twist and a 8" Noveske barrreled ar-pistol also with a 1x7 twist barrel. I can tell you that my Remington will shoot both sierra 110 grain jhp and 125 grain sp bullets under an inch at 100 and around 1.5 inches at 200 yards supersonic. The best subsonic combo I have tried is with AA 1680 and sierra 220 matchkings. It will shoot around one inch at 100 yards with both guns using that load. I shot a five shot group at 100 yards that measured .655 at 100 yards last week using 150 grain hornady round nosed bullets and H lil-gun. Looks like that load will show promise after i test it a few more times. That load ran about 1070 fps in the bolt gun. (didn't try it yet in the Ar).

I really like to build loads and shoot the smallest groups I can. (It is a sickness I don't have under control yet) Shooting suppressed, even supersonic rounds are impressive. I can attest that those sierra 110 jhp bullets running supersonic are not fur friendly this side of 200 yards and put down coyote sized critters with authority. I would imagine that a 125 grain bullet out to 200 yards would be an acceptable round on deer sized game but shot placement has to be there. Recoil is light so it would work for kids.

I run a nightforce 3.5 x 15 and have marks on the turrets in different colors for subs and supers out to 300 yards for quick reference while hunting. There is quite a difference between supersonic rounds and subsonic rounds in drop so you have to have a lot of movement in your scope. I have yet to shoot a coyote with subsonic rounds as I am worried those smk's will pencil through and well... quite frankly..it is too much fun watching what those 110's can do at 100 yards.

This round is not and will never be a .308. If you want a cool little round, that also fits in an Ar-15, that shoots a bigger bullet at reasonable distances very quietly then you will love the blackout.
 
my subsonic load that i finally found to shoot at 1 moa or better is 11.1gr of 1680 with a sierra 220gr match king. i have used winchester 223 brass reformed, and 221 fireball necked up. the load in the winchester brass hits about 2 inches different in elevation than the 221 fireball brass! if the charge is even 1/10 of a grain off the accuracy goes to 1.5 moa or larger. my upper is a d-tech with pistol length gas system and 1-8 twist, 16". accuracy with the supersonic rounds has never been stellar. it is good enough for the range at which the caliber would likely be used, but i dont think it will ever be one ragged hole with any load. the best i think i have gotten with supersonic rounds is probably about 3/4" with 3 shots, with 5 probably closer to 1".

this is my second 300aac upper, the first was a gunbroker purchase with an unknown parts assembler. it was the same configuration as the d-tech. the old upper NEVER shot under 1.5 moa with anything i put in it. i got rid of it for that reason.

while i own one, i am coming around to the realization that the caliber is more of a fad and cool guy thing than a practical round. trajectory with the subs is so rainbow that with a 100 yard zero, a 50 yard fox is a clean miss without holding under. off the top of my head, i think the round is almost 5" high at 50 yards with a 100 yard zero and almost 4.5" low at 130 yards. without subsonic rounds it is no quieter than a 308 or a 223.

i have not given up on it yet, but for a hunting caliber i think the writing is on the wall.

if it matters, the lower is a quality lower with a timney 3lb.
 
Last edited:
if you are using supersonic rounds, there is no reason in my mind why you would ever pick the 300aac over a 223 or similar round for coyotes. 223 with a decent bullet will put down a coyote as good or better and has a much better trajectory, and the bullets are cheaper.
 
Originally Posted By: LeadbellyThanks for the feedback guys. While its not really as powerful as a dirty thirty its in the same class. I actually have a choice between the .300 or a .308 sps. While I am leaning .308 I do like micro rounds like 32/20 25/20 .22 hornet etc. the short ranges that I hunt makes this round somewhat appealing, but after reading on the link to .300 forum seems the quality on the sps Remington's are hit or miss so I'm kinda on the fence still.
Iv got 2 SPS both guns shoot great. Both are 308s with 20" barrels. As far as a 300 a shoot a 30 Bellm it has just a little more getty up than a 300. Its shooting out of 16" barrel. Good on deer to about 250 yds. With good shot placement. The 125s sux out of it on deer. I shoot one deer with 165 SST at 150 yds. Performance was below average.
 
6724,
Thanks for the info, that's the kind of information I was looking for. This rifle will not be used as a dedicated predator gun. I've been using the .17 Remington for a few months now and while I haven't hunted or taken much game with it yet I'm really liking it for those purposes. The .300 would mainly be used for deer and around the farm duties. I'm moving this summer and a round that's cheap to shoot and capable of taking deer at the extreme close ranges I hunt in a short package with less noise and flash and blast is very appealing.

Bfr4570,
I looked at another sps today that had a much better look to it. It is chambered in .300 AAC and sports a 16 inch tube, seems there are more than a few floating around my area. I would like to try it out and might pick it up it a week or two. I'm keeping a eye out for a .308 sps with a .16 barrel but not sure how much velocity you would lose with that short tube. I doubt the .300 would lose much velocity using slow magnum handgun powder. Thanks for the input on the sps rifles there seems to be a lot of mixed reviews on them and I appreciate the real world experience.
 
Wyoman,
Thanks for sharing all the load work you have done. This is the kind of info I was looking for. That 150gr hornady round nose load sounds interesting. I have used that bullet in the 30/30 for years and even pushed it to 2500 fps out of a .300 savage with good results on game. Keep me posted how that load works out, I've got a decent supply of those in storage and might save me some cash on components if I end up with a .300. Even though I strive for one hole groups, I can hunt confidently with less, especially at the sub fifty yard hunting scenarios I find myself in every fall. Again thanks for sharing all your load results. On a side note what kind of velocity are you getting or would you expect to get from 150 gr bullets. I'm thinking bullets intended for the 30/30 pushed 1800-2000 fps would give decent expansion while retaining a respectable weight at the short ranges I hunt.
 
Originally Posted By: 6724i recently took my 300 aac out on a hunt. i shot a few different small game with it. with subsonic 220's, EVERY animal ran off and was not found. i have shot 3 coyotes with it and i have tracked them in the snow as far as a mile and never found one of them! i have found bullets that are supposed to expand with subsonic velocities but they cost about $1.50 each!

i switched to some 150 grain round nose bullets for the last night hog hunting. while i killed a pig with those bullets, i am not impressed with the 300 aac for hunting. there are far better choices for hunting. the tiny little shell is impressive in what it can do, but no matter how you cut it, a 300aac is on the LOW end of acceptable use for big game.
i have loaded 125gr speer tnt bullets. i have found them in the pile of logs i use for my target backstop. the recovered bullets were bent like a banana but did not expand. those bullets were recovered at 100 yards, shot into frozen wood, and fired at near max loads. finding an accurate load for the stubby little round is not as easy as for most calibers. my upper is a d-tech, so i do not suspect that it is the upper, but most loads are nowhere near 1 moa at 100 yards. while i did eventually find a subsonic load that was genuinely under 1 moa, it is EXTREMELY sensitive to charge weight, seating depth, and brass consistency.

I have to agree 100% This cartridge is lacking to say it kindly. Tradgectory is horrible, energy is pretty much non existant. A .223 with a 55 grain bullet is a better choice for game of all sizes. The 300 is a terrible choice for shooting anything with a heart beat...
 
Originally Posted By: CatShooterOriginally Posted By: 6724
"... while I did eventually find a subsonic load that was genuinely under 1 moa, it is EXTREMELY sensitive to charge weight, seating depth, and brass consistency."



What load/bullet/velocity?? What twist do you have.

I am looking into getting or building a bolt action 300 AAC and it is for ballistic testing at very long range - 500 and 1,000 yds (I have optic set-ups with several hundred moa of elevation)...

I am looking to shoot 200gr to 220gr match bullets at ranges that they come into the target at the angle of a half court basket ball.

... but I am looking hard before I spend.


Cat, I'll help you out a little with that this summer when I peg my elevation on mine, using the 220 scenars below the sound barrier.
 
Originally Posted By: MPFDOriginally Posted By: 6724i recently took my 300 aac out on a hunt. i shot a few different small game with it. with subsonic 220's, EVERY animal ran off and was not found. i have shot 3 coyotes with it and i have tracked them in the snow as far as a mile and never found one of them! i have found bullets that are supposed to expand with subsonic velocities but they cost about $1.50 each!

i switched to some 150 grain round nose bullets for the last night hog hunting. while i killed a pig with those bullets, i am not impressed with the 300 aac for hunting. there are far better choices for hunting. the tiny little shell is impressive in what it can do, but no matter how you cut it, a 300aac is on the LOW end of acceptable use for big game.
i have loaded 125gr speer tnt bullets. i have found them in the pile of logs i use for my target backstop. the recovered bullets were bent like a banana but did not expand. those bullets were recovered at 100 yards, shot into frozen wood, and fired at near max loads. finding an accurate load for the stubby little round is not as easy as for most calibers. my upper is a d-tech, so i do not suspect that it is the upper, but most loads are nowhere near 1 moa at 100 yards. while i did eventually find a subsonic load that was genuinely under 1 moa, it is EXTREMELY sensitive to charge weight, seating depth, and brass consistency.

I have to agree 100% This cartridge is lacking to say it kindly. Tradgectory is horrible, energy is pretty much non existant. A .223 with a 55 grain bullet is a better choice for game of all sizes. The 300 is a terrible choice for shooting anything with a heart beat...

Guys, Guys... come on now... it's all about shot placement
wink.gif
... I've got a few kills with mine this year, with only a spinner... of course the ballistics are what they are, they aren't much better than a stick and string, but you have to build it with the mindset of "application specific", with mine having 6" of drop from 50yds to 100yds, mine is designated for nothing over 100... here's a quick youtube video I found, BUT this guy is running some good glass, pry about 2500-3000 dollar USO, takin head shots... seems to be working for him
smile.gif


 
Originally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: MPFDOriginally Posted By: 6724i recently took my 300 aac out on a hunt. i shot a few different small game with it. with subsonic 220's, EVERY animal ran off and was not found. i have shot 3 coyotes with it and i have tracked them in the snow as far as a mile and never found one of them! i have found bullets that are supposed to expand with subsonic velocities but they cost about $1.50 each!

i switched to some 150 grain round nose bullets for the last night hog hunting. while i killed a pig with those bullets, i am not impressed with the 300 aac for hunting. there are far better choices for hunting. the tiny little shell is impressive in what it can do, but no matter how you cut it, a 300aac is on the LOW end of acceptable use for big game.
i have loaded 125gr speer tnt bullets. i have found them in the pile of logs i use for my target backstop. the recovered bullets were bent like a banana but did not expand. those bullets were recovered at 100 yards, shot into frozen wood, and fired at near max loads. finding an accurate load for the stubby little round is not as easy as for most calibers. my upper is a d-tech, so i do not suspect that it is the upper, but most loads are nowhere near 1 moa at 100 yards. while i did eventually find a subsonic load that was genuinely under 1 moa, it is EXTREMELY sensitive to charge weight, seating depth, and brass consistency.

I have to agree 100% This cartridge is lacking to say it kindly. Tradgectory is horrible, energy is pretty much non existant. A .223 with a 55 grain bullet is a better choice for game of all sizes. The 300 is a terrible choice for shooting anything with a heart beat...

Guys, Guys... come on now... it's all about shot placement
wink.gif
... I've got a few kills with mine this year, with only a spinner... of course the ballistics are what they are, they aren't much better than a stick and string, but you have to build it with the mindset of "application specific", with mine having 6" of drop from 50yds to 100yds, mine is designated for nothing over 100... here's a quick youtube video I found, BUT this guy is running some good glass, pry about 2500-3000 dollar USO, takin head shots... seems to be working for him
smile.gif




unethical, and absurd.
 
Back
Top