T/C Encore Pro-Hunter rifle, .300 AAC Blackout, 16 1/2 " barrel

[exile]

So, I recently purchased a T/C Encore Pro-hunter rifle with a 28" barrel in .243 caliber. I will use the original barrel for deer, coyotes, etc.,. However, I wanted another barrel for plinking, fun, cast boolits... I have decided on a .300 AAC Blackout barrel. The problem is, the barrel is only 16 1/2 inches long, making the total length of the rifle only 30 1/2 inches long. I plan to shoot this barrel a lot, and I am concerned about muzzle blast with the barrel being so short. I know everyone shoots a 16 inch AR with no problem, but the way the Encores and Contenders are set up, with a rifle barrel this length, it seems like muzzle blast could be a problem? This will be basically the same rifle length and barrel length as the new H & R Handi-rifle in .300 BLackout. The barrel is back-ordered, so I am asking these questions while I am waiting for the barrel.

Also, I am somewhat concerned about having enough eye relief, so I have considered buying a long eye relief scope, such as those made for Scout rifles. I have purchased Luepold rings and base for the rifle.

So, am I just being an alarmist, or are these things really something to be concerned about? I would be happy to purchase a longer barrel and avoid the problem altogether, but a longer custom barrel would probably cost me twice as much.

Also, what manual can I buy that will give me both jacketed and cast loads for the .300 Blackout? I have several manuals including the Lyman Cast boolit manual, but of course, there are no loads for the .300 Blackout in any of these manuals.

Finally, can someone from Nebraska tell me if this cartridge is legal for deer? I would probably not take a shot beyond 75 yards, but I would like to try it if the opportunity presents itself.

I apologize if these questions have been covered somewhere in another thread, but most of the stuff I have seen deals with AR's, rather than T/C's and Handi-rifles. I have watched some Youtube videos where muzzle blast is an issue with 16" Encore rifles in larger calibers, but I think that the muzzle brakes used in those videos might be the issue rather than just barrel length.

Thanks for your opinions.

exile

[HATCH]

http://www.hodgdon.com/basic-manual-inquiry.html

[leadman]

I have an 18" barrel for my Contender and it not overly loud, especially with 200gr cast boolits. The 300 is not a really high pressure cartridge like a 243 or 6ppc (have both in 16 1/2"). There should be no reason to go to a long eye relief scope with a standard T/C stock unless you want to shoot it as a pistol.
I shoot my Encore with the 6ppc and 243 Win barrels as pistols and rifles and can tell you they do have alot of muzzle blast. I have shot the 300W as a pistol and it was mellow. These all have rifle scopes on them.

[dlamp]

Remington UMC
Technical Information
Caliber: 300 AAC Blackout (7.62x35)
Bullet Weight: 115 Grains
Bullet Style: CTFB
Case Type: Brass

Ballistics Information:
Muzzle Velocity: 2280 fps
Muzzle Energy: 1344 ft. lbs.

im pretty sure that its 900 ft. lbs at muzzle in 400 ft. lbs. at 50yd here in nebraska

[nhrifle]

You won't have any problem with that barrel length. The 300 AAC is very, very mild to shoot, and the muzzle blast is quite subdued.

[exile]

Thanks guys, I feel better. I think (although I don't know) that if I was shooting that barrel length in a pistol, the muzzle might be further out, but the way the rifle seemed to be when we measured for a 16 1/2 inch barrel seemed awfully short.

Gunblast did an article lately on the H & R rifle. If I remember correctly he was shooting a 150 grain gas checked boolit over 5.5 grains of Trail Boss. Sounds like fun.

Thanks for the responses.

exile

[LUCKYDAWG13]

my 17" 308 is a joy to shoot love itAttachment 60077

[exile]

Wonderful rifle, glad to hear that you enjoy it.

I have another question for anyone who reloads .300 Blackout. If you form your own cases, when you do so, do you find that that you have to turn the necks on .223 or 5.56 after forming to .300 Blackout brass in order for them to be in spec? If so, what type and brand of tool do you use to neck turn your cases?

exile

[Dolomite_supafly]

I know this is a few months old but I just found it.

I do a lot of shooting, reloading, casting and experimenting with the 300 BO. I have built an AR and two bolt guns so far and getting ready to build a Savage pistol in the caliber. I absolutely love the caliber. I was in a helicopter crash and I am very recoil sensitive from it. As far as recoil goes it is similar to a 7.62x39 with supersonic loads, depending on loading. Subsonic loads with the 245 grain cast bullet is about like shooting a 223 with lightweight bullets.

The 300 Blackout is hardly new. It is identical to the 300 Whisper with one creat exception, the neck. The developer realized it would be eaiser and more popular if you could just cut the 223 case off at the shoulder, size and load. So the neck on the 300 Blackout is a little wider/thicker than a standard 300 Whisper based on the 221 Fireball. So, the answer to your question is no, you do not need to neck turn the brass at all.

I shoot 99% subsonic loads. I load a 245 grain cast bullet that I designed when all other "300 Blackout" bullet molds out there were not working well for me and most other people. Accurate Molds added my design to their catalog last year as 31-240E. It allows the bullet to be loaded anywhere from 2.10"-2.26" without exposing a lube groove. That was the problem with most current designs. With the lube groove exposed you would contaminate your powder if the bullets would sit in the hot summer sun or if you decided to load to prevent this the OAL was generally so long it would cause problems with feeding from a magazine. I am using COWW exclusively without issues.

If you are shooting out of a bolt gun or don't care about cycling you can do all kinds of fun stuff. I size 00 buck balls down and load them for a lightweight plinker. I also load 86 grain FMJ pulls from 7.62x25 Tokarev and have even loaded 2 of them in the same case, one facing forward and one backwards.

My bolt gun may or may not run a rimmer version of this caliber. You can use 357 Magnum brass to make the brass except it will have a rim. There is a few people who are turning the barrels of the Handi rifle to use either rimmed or rimless bullets interchangeably. My pistol will be based upon a Savage Striker pistol and will be suppressed using a silencer once my Form 1 comes back and I build it.