300 Blackout AR15

Everyone likes to make energy comparisons to 9mm and 45 ACP but when we are talking about subsonic terminal ballistics, energy is essentially irrelevant because the bullet will most likely over penetrate anyway and waste a portion of that energy.

Subsonics are best terminally if they tumble on impact. This requires a long bullet like the current 220gr SMK or the 208 AMAX.

One thing that subsonic .30 cal bullets will do that 9mm and 45 will not do is penetrate soft body armour. We did some penetration testing and it is shocking just how much kevlar a subsonic rifle bullet will penetrate.
 
Suputin said:
Everyone likes to make energy comparisons to 9mm and 45 ACP but when we are talking about subsonic terminal ballistics, energy is essentially irrelevant because the bullet will most likely over penetrate anyway and waste a portion of that energy.

Subsonics are best terminally if they tumble on impact. This requires a long bullet like the current 220gr SMK or the 208 AMAX.

One thing that subsonic .30 cal bullets will do that 9mm and 45 will not do is penetrate soft body armour. We did some penetration testing and it is shocking just how much kevlar a subsonic rifle bullet will penetrate.
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you should do a level 3 vest test, since level 2 will stop a .40 but still transfer enough energy to kill whomever is wearing it. it would be really interesting to see how the spitzer bullet effects penetration on a vest.
 
heavenIsAlie said:
you should do a level 3 vest test, since level 2 will stop a .40 but still transfer enough energy to kill whomever is wearing it. it would be really interesting to see how the spitzer bullet effects penetration on a vest.
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I don't happen to have a 3A vest to shoot full of holes but I am very certain a subsonic .30 cal would go right through it.

In the testing we did we used a 2A vest .... because I got one for free. That vest is made up of 21 layers of kevlar fabric. In the end we discovered that a 150gr FMJ subsonic fired at a distance of 100 yds would go through 42 layers of kevlar (we folded a vest panel in half) plus the wood 2x4 the vest was stapled to and then disappeared into a dirt berm.

In an earlier test that same 150gr FJM bullet blew through one side of the vest, then transited 16" of wet phonebook before punching through the bottom of the 5 gal pail and disappearing into the dirt below.

Considering the two tests above it is reasonable to assume that a subsonic .30 cal bullet could quite easily penetrate a thick kevlar vest, entirely transit the wearer and then blow through the back side of the vest with enough residual energy to pose a serious hazard to anyone standing behind the victim.

Keep that in mind and consider just how amazingly quiet that same bullet can be when fired from the correct platform.
 
It's a neat little cartridge and the easy to form brass from 223 is a big plus as it could even be free if you shoot at a range regularly and don't mind once fired stuff.
 
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