10.5 or 16” 300 blk out for hunting

[Killadocg23]

Gents.

Torn between getting a 10.5 or 16” 300 blackout upper for hunting. I would like to suppress it sometime in the future. Can I get away with a 10.5 for hunting ? Looking for experiences with either. Thank you

[jason812]

Like most things, it depends. The powder is burnt in about 9" of barrel so you won't gain much going to 16" over 10.5". With a 10.5" you will either be a pistol or get the government approval to be an SBR. A 10.5" with a suppressor will be about the same length as 16" without. In and out of a vehicle or walking around, the 10.5" will be handier. If it were me, I would do 10.5" with a pistol brace but I have one even though it is my backpack truck gun and I don't hunt with it. So I might be biased in my decision. I have no interest in subsonic for hunting.

I did shoot an elk with mine at less than 50 yards with 110gr Barnes Vor-TX. Little farther back than I wanted (quartering away) and got it more in the lung than heart but it bucked for a couple of seconds and fell over dead. It was a mercy kill on an old animal that was suffering and needed to be culled. The bullet didn't exit the carcass and due to the volleyball sized cyst on the opposite shoulder, I didn't investigate the internal damage done. It was gross.

I did have to take a picture like a big game hunter because I don't know when I'll ever get another chance to shoot an elk.

[The Annoyed Man]

I have a 10.5” SBR in .300 Blk. You don’t need a 16” barrel, and it will suppress just fine with 10.5. Be aware that at least some suppressor manufacturers won’t warranty any damage done to their can if used on a less than 10” barrel. Such is the case with my AAC 762-SDN-6.

And as Jason said above, you’ll be getting all the velocity available from the caliber from a 10.5” barrel.

[The Annoyed Man]

Another thing.... given 2 barrels of similar profile and same twist rate, firing the same load/bullet, with one of them being 10.5” long and the other one being 16” long, the 10.5” long barrel should be marginally more accurate, being stiffer by virtue of its greater ratio of diameter to length. It may not be a big difference, but there should be a difference ... although it may be a small enough difference that shooter input may mask it.

[Killadocg23]

Thank you gentlemen very much. I am going to order the upper now.

[Killadocg23]

I have a 10.5” SBR in .300 Blk. You don’t need a 16” barrel, and it will suppress just fine with 10.5. Be aware that at least some suppressor manufacturers won’t warranty any damage done to their can if used on a less than 10” barrel. Such is the case with my AAC 762-SDN-6.

And as Jason said above, you’ll be getting all the velocity available from the caliber from a 10.5” barrel.

Thanks for the info. What can are you running with your set up. I would like something to be able to run with my 9mm Glock as well at the 300 blk.

[Beiruty]

A suppressed 10.5" 300BLK pistol with a brace, and digital night scope is more than enough to eradicated turf diggers.

[SigM4]

What can are you running with your set up. I would like something to be able to run with my 9mm Glock as well at the 300 blk.

While there are definitely some cans out there that will suppress both rifle and pistol calibers, they do so at the expense of weight and reduced effectiveness on both. It also requires multiple mounting systems due to the differences in how pistol and rifle cans attach; this adds to the overall cost. At the same time many newer pistol suppressors are rated to suppress subsonic 300 BLK rounds, but are not rated for supersonic 300 BLK.

Multi-caliber suppressors currently on the market:

• SilencerCo Hybrid 46
  SilencerCo Omega 36M
  Liberty Cosmic
  Liberty Mystic X
  Griffin Armament Optimus

We’re it me looking I’d tell you to look at a good .30 cal suppressor for the rifle and a separate can for the pistol; it’ll be more effective and you’ll likely be happier with the two dedicated cans.

Take a look at the big names, SilencerCo, Dead Air, Rugged, Liberty, etc.

[The Annoyed Man]

I have a 10.5” SBR in .300 Blk. You don’t need a 16” barrel, and it will suppress just fine with 10.5. Be aware that at least some suppressor manufacturers won’t warranty any damage done to their can if used on a less than 10” barrel. Such is the case with my AAC 762-SDN-6.

And as Jason said above, you’ll be getting all the velocity available from the caliber from a 10.5” barrel.

Thanks for the info. What can are you running with your set up. I would like something to be able to run with my 9mm Glock as well at the 300 blk.

See above in red for the can on my SBR. I run a Rugged Obsidian45 on my Glock 17 and 15, as well as on an Springfield XDM45 and a 5” 1911, and on my Ruger PC9 9mm carbine. It is not rated for rifle cartridge pressures. Most pistol cans aren't rated for rifle-type pressures. If you want one can to run on both rifle and pistol caliber platforms, look to one of the multi-caliber setups like a Griffin Optimus system, that is designed for that purpose. But I don’t know how well that system works across all calibers. My AAC 762-SDN-6 suppresses 5.56 NATO/.223, .300 Blk, and .308 Winchester just fine. With an adapter, it would also suppress my AK47, and with a threaded barrel and a mount, it would suppress my .30-30. AAC's website says it will also work on 6.8 SPC, and I don’t see why it wouldn’t work on 6.5 Creedmore or a .30 Carbine as well. I don’t know for sure if it would be safe to use on a .30-06 or a .270, and it would almost certainly be eventually torn apart by a .300 Win Mag or .300 WSM, or other magnum caliber in that class.

FWIW, some of us on this forum, myself included, have manufactured our own cans on a Form 1, and not only is it MUCH cheaper, but ATF approval of the form takes weeks, not months or years....although I can’t speak to what effect the current COVID-19 shutdowns might have on the Form 1 approval process. I have a Form 1 can that I have used on both 5.56 and .308 to good effect. You can also make pistol cans, or combination rifle/pistol cans using this process.

[SigM4]

I run a Rugged Obsidian45 on my Glock 17 and 15, as well as on an Springfield XDM45 and a 5” 1911, and on my Ruger PC9 9mm carbine. It is not rated for rifle cartridge pressures. Most pistol cans aren't rated for rifle-type pressures.

You can run the Obsidian (and many newer pistol cans) on 300 BLK subsonic rounds down to an 8” barrel with Rugged’s blessing, though I’ve always wondered why anyone would. That said your caveat about rifle pressures is valid as a subsonic 300 round is fairly meek in the world of real rifle pressures.

[johncanfield]

I have a 16" 300 blackout AR and Form 1 can I machined. Subsonic ammo is really quiet but I've always wondered how effective it would be on a large hog, sorry to say I've not shot a hog with that gun .