Why isn’t there a revolver in 300 blackout? It’s not a pressure limitation. The platform is already there from Smith & Wesson with their 9x43 offering.
Is it the old bottleneck case in a revolver issue? It’s not that much of a bottleneck.
It’s a quite popular cartridge now. New shooters aren’t buying revolvers?
“Turn up the heat, and cast cheap!”
Barry54
Having no rim, wouldn't you need moon clips? I rarely see a revolver at my range, much less a new one.
The Smith and Wesson uses moon clips for their 9x43 revolver. The BFR chambered in the same is a single action.
“Turn up the heat, and cast cheap!”
Barry54
No market or they would make it. S&W makes the 350 legend on their X frame already. It would have a very niche market and be like a lot of the 'cool ideas' Taurus has had over the years....yet we don't see them. I always thought the Taurus Raging Bee in .218 was a cool idea. Seen one lately? They were gonna do a version of the Judge in 28g as well but that fizzled out. The incoming generation of shooters, as a whole, just do not care for revolvers. The manufacturers hold no opinion other than money so if they would sell, they would get made.
It is a monumental task pleasing the 'gun crowd'. I would like to see some pre-war reproductions made with modern materials and practices. A Roth-Steyr or Nambu in 9mm....Hi-Standrd 22 or even a modernized broomhandle...ANYTHING besides the same square blocks or 1911...Something to actually LOOK at would be cool. ....but I guess we see why that don't happen.....Olympic Arms failure with the Wolverine comes to mind.
He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.....Nahum 2:1
I had the same thought when I responded on the .32/20 thread but did not mention it.Originally Posted by Barry54
I would have no need for a pistol in either caliber but a lot of folks like the .32/20 as a pistol round. Brass for the .32/20 can be scarce at times and the .300BO will never have that issue. It a more robust case and would be easier to reload too.
I expect most .300BO users are "ninja" wannabes and not revolver fans.
Don Verna
Let's look at all the "why not's"
Cartridge OAL.
Revolver cylinder frames not long enough.
Frame strengths if you do stretch out a cylinder frame window.
Rimless case.
Bottleneck case. (This has always caused issues in revolver cylinders.)
If made,, too many idiots would try & make it into something it wasn't designed for.
And lastly,, not a big enough market to sell enough to justify the huge investment it's take to design & build them. Niche markets do not pay the bills.
Yes,, the .300 BLK is popular,, with the AR loving crowd. That same crowd looks down upon, or ignores, or fails to appreciate revolvers in general as "too old."
As to the mechanical why not list S&W already produces a large frame revolver that accommodates that cartridge length and moon clips that fit.
BFR makes revolvers for the 360 buckhammer, 45-70 and so on. They even list one in 30-30 so that makes me think that the lesser bottleneck of the 300 blackout shouldn’t be an issue.
All your points on the human side of the equation are likely spot on.
“Turn up the heat, and cast cheap!”
Barry54
I really don’t think it’s a question of no one being interested in revolvers I think one of a major reasons for their not being as popular as they once were is the cost. Let’s face it. You can go out and buy two decent 9 mm semi autos for what is gonna cost you for one Smith & Wesson 357 magnum. Give or take. yeah add that to the fact that Internet lore has convinced anyone that conceal carries that they have to have 30 rounds at a minimum to protect themselves and nobody wants to deal with a six round revolver. When you open up YouTube and you see a plethora of keyboard commandos touting how they carry three 17 round magazines for their 9 mm because that’s the minimum you should have it doesn’t matter that statistically most civilian involved. Self-defense scenarios are handled in three rounds or less.
Long, Wide, Deep, and Without Hesitation!
I got to involved in the revolver question I forgot to address the op’ s original question. Why no 300 blackout revolvers. To that question I would ask why would I want one? I mean the original idea of the 300 blackout was to come up with a relatively hard hitting cartridge for use a closer distances that could be shot efficiently subsonic suppressed. Can everyone agree that that was its original purpose? How do you reply that to a revolver? I mean, sorry Hollywood but smacking a suppressor on a revolver is probably one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen come out of Hollywood lol. Kind of defeats the purpose of the round doesn’t it I mean, it might be interesting and a fun project for someone that’s got the funding knowledge wherewithal to do it but not something I’d be interested in. Certainly not something I’d wanna strap on my waist and carry around all day long. It might be a tad bit on the cumbersome heavy side. I mean, I know there’s a company out there making a 4570 revolver I believe it’s BFR but I’m not 100% sure on that but that certainly ain’t something I wanna carry all day long. What would its practical application be? I mean, let’s not forget order for something to be produced by one of the major companies there has to be people that want it. They gotta be able to sell enough to make it profitable even take something like the taurus judge. More of a gimmick than anything else. There’s a heck of a lot better revolvers for shooting 45 colt and as far as 410 out of a pistol length barrel, not the most effective tool in the toolbox.
Long, Wide, Deep, and Without Hesitation!
A 14” Contender isn’t the most practical either, but there sure a lot of them out there.
Not sure what AAC claims, but JD Jones intended the 300 Whisper to do both. Subsonic, and supersonic.
The powder to load the 300 overlaps with magnum revolver powder. There’s always been subsonic and supersonic reloading data for it.
“Turn up the heat, and cast cheap!”
Barry54
The chambers would be a pain to make compared for normal revolver chambers in the cylinder. Plus I suspect you'd have a big disparity in performance between supersonics and subsonic loads. I bet you may have a tendency to stick some bullets in the bore with subsonics when you vent some pressure through the barrel/ cylinder gap.
And 300 BLK is likely a yawner for ballistics in a shorter barrel- minus additional velocity from pressure loss through the B/C gap.
The way I see it, you'd get no improvement in ballistics over current revolver offerings, with the added baggage of increased manufacturing cost and functional complexity due to bottleneck chambers.
If a major revolver maker saw a market there, I bet they'd jump on it. The fact that none have suggests they may not envision much sales potential to justify messing with the complexity when they can stick to straight wall cartridges like 350 Legend, 454 Casull, 460 S&W, 500 S&W, etc.
There are plenty of AR pistols in 300 blackout with 7.5” barrels. Subtract the length of the brass and that leaves 6.132” or so of barrel left like a revolver would be measured. As to the cylinder gap, it’s almost an eighth inch gas port on those barrels, so there’s a measurable loss there as well.
H110/W296 produces top velocity in 300 blackout, 357 magnum, 41 magnum and so on…
“Turn up the heat, and cast cheap!”
Barry54
The Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Carbine is close enough in my opinion.
The 28 gauge Judge ran afoul of US law by being a cartridge handgun larger than .50 caliber.
It had to have a rifled bore to avoid AOW restrictions.
I think that I got that right…..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Which also shines with H110…
“Turn up the heat, and cast cheap!”
Barry54
Barry54. It can be done. Buy yourself a donor gun, send it to your favorite smith, wait awhile, pay some money and you’ll have one. I’m not kidding. People have customs built all the time. They have a good idea, a gun like they want is not being produced, so they have it built.
Before you think it’s waste of your money, understand it’s a hobby. It’s not supposed to be cost effective. It’s supposed to be FUN. And you could enjoy your 300 BO revolver for decades. Amortized over 20 years of fun, it might be a really good idea to get it started now.
Or, have a look at the 327 Federal Magnum, 30 Carbine (as has been mentioned) or heavy load a 32-20 (in a strong gun), or do a custom 300 BO.
"Time and money don't do you a bit of good until you spend them." - My Dad
Hamilton Bowen is right here close by, if it can be done...that dude can do it.
He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.....Nahum 2:1
I watched an 18 minute video by Hickok45 on the 30-30 BFR. He fired 18 rounds and extraction didn’t seem bad. He did mention the cylinder being difficult to turn, but it didn’t happen during the video. There’s several available on gunbroker currently. It’s more powder than I want to burn and a case capacity a little too large for the platform. But it could cure the thirty caliber craving quickly.
Still seems to me that the smaller bottleneck 300 bo would be a better choice.
“Turn up the heat, and cast cheap!”
Barry54
The BFR is available as a 300 BO. It is on the menu for their "build a custom gun".
For 30 cal, the 30 carbine and 327 are good enough if you want a standard sized revolver.
For more than 30 carbine, the BFR in 30-30 or 307 are king of the hill. Seems to me, getting a 30-30 BFR with an extra cylinder for 300 BO ($350) would make more sense than a BFR in 300 BO only.
Now if I was going with a BFR for hunting, 35 cal would be much more tempting than 30 cal. Probably 350L if factory ammo is desired, possibly 357 Max for reload only.
Last edited by P Flados; 03-14-2025 at 05:57 PM.
My opinion is that there isn't a ready market for it, plus a few technical difficulties. In no particular order:
1. Bottleneck cartridge in a revolver.
2. People younger than about fifty seem to think revolvers are out of style, and won't work anymore.
3. Most people that are into the .300 Blackout, seem to want to suppress them and you can't effectively suppress a revolver.
4. You can't waste as much ammo with a 6-8 round cylinder as you can with a 30 round magazine in an AR.
5. I have to believe there are wildly differing POI between super sonic and sub sonic loads.
I think reason #2 is the big one; few shooters want one, so the factories wouldn't have a good return on investment.
Robert
One big thing. .300BLK is meant to be suppressed for at least for 50% of the time. No go with a revolver. After I bought my suppressors my revolvers have sadly just sat. I have no interest in shooting them anymore.
Dan Wesson 744V .44mag, S&W Mod 19-4 .357 , S&W Mod 17 K22, Stevens Favorite .22mag 30GM, ADC .45/410, CZ SP01 9mm
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