I’m a bit of a Johnny Come Lately to the world of .300 BLK. Our boy Leghorn is all about it, and has been since the beginning, but I’m a bit of a late adopter. Namely, the 300 BLK really only shines in a NFA length barrels equipped with a silencer. I had to do a bit of paperwork to do it right, but once that cleared, I went searching for a barrel. Given my success with their Intermediate barrel, my first call was to the fine folks at Odin Works for one of their 10.5 inch barrels…
One of my biggest gripes with the 300 BLK craze has been accuracy. I’ve yet to find a factory gun that shoots to the same standard as my .223 Wylde chambered competition rifle, and while I’ll be the first to admit that the 300 BLK is not designed for long range accuracy, I have a problem with having a gun in the safe that doesn’t shoot well to some extent. Given how well my other Odin barrel shoots, I had high hopes for this barrel, and I was not disappointed. But first, installation.
Installation is no different than any other AR 15 barrel. Odin is nice enough to include a low profile gas block as part of the package, but you’ll still need to pick up a gas tube to fit the pistol length gas system. Odin sells one for $12, and it fit perfectly. One of the things I appreciated quite a bit is that Odin marks their gas port and gas block with two very clear lines so alignment is a ten second affair. Once fitted, I screwed a muzzle device to the end, my silencer to that, and headed to the range.
Using a nice magnified optic and a steady rest, I ran several types of ammo from cheap 150 gr. plinking ammo to premium match ammo through my new barrel and the absolute worst group I put together was a group that measured under an inch and a half at fifty yards.
Any of the subsonics I fielded did quite well with the exception of Sig’s 220 gr. load that grouped the worst of anything I put through. Quite surprising was how well this barrel liked Gorilla’s Troop 220 gr ammo. It consistently turned in sub MOA five shot groups at 50 yards and while they drop off in elevation pretty rapidly past that point, they maintained good accuracy out to the hundred yard line. At very reasonable prices, this has become my new favorite plinking ammo for hearing protection free shooting. My Odin barrel likes it quite a bit as well.
One of the design considerations that AAC had when putting .300 BLK together was that it be able to shoot fairly aerodynamic, light bullets at moderate velocities. My new barrel seems to be quite fond of Remington’s 125 gr. OTM factory load which is leaving the stubby barrel at a touch over 2050 feet per second. That makes it a solid contender well out to the quarter mile line before going subsonic and losing stability. Given how well it shoots, I’m actually giving some thought to running that load in this gun at this year’s Pecos Run n Gun.
On the reliability front, I’ve been stunned at how trouble free this whole package is. Where I’ve found that many stubby .300 BLK guns won’t cycle subsonics without the added backpressure of a silencer, this gun has no such problems. Silencer or not, subsonic or supersonic, this rifle runs and runs. Based on the pile of brass I’ve accumulated for reloading down the road, I’m several hundred rounds down the tube without a single failure to eject, fire, or chamber. The added backpressure of silencer equipped shooting has ensured that this gun is very dirty, and yet I’ve had no problems.
Specifications: Odin Works .300 Blackout 10.5″ Barrel
- Profile: Medium
- Length: 10.5″
- Gas placement: Pistol
- Rifling: Button 1:8 twist
- Material: 416R Stainless Steel
- Hand-Lapped
- M4 Feed ramps
- Threading: 5/8″-24
- Price: $220 including low profile gas block
Fit, Finish, Build Quality * * * * *
This is a stout little barrel that came neatly packaged free of defects. The bore is very smooth, and a light down the barrel shows a very nicely polished chamber. The threading is cut well and easily accepted a barrel nut and muzzle device with no issues. Odin goes a bit further to mark the barrel with gas port location, making gas system alignment a breeze.
Function * * * * *
In several hundred rounds, I have yet to have a single failure of any type regardless of super or subsonic ammo, silencer or not.
Accuracy * * * * *
Simply stunning. This is the most accurate .300 BLK barrel I’ve ever been behind, and seems to shoot factory ammo quite well. Given that, and the reliability I’ve experienced, I had no problem promoting this rifle to home defense status.
Overall Rating * * * * *
At $220, this isn’t exactly a cheap barrel, and given the persistent “out of stock” status, you’ll probably have to wait a bit to get one, but the attention to detail and accuracy are worth every penny for those looking to build an accurate short barreled rifle chambered in .300 BLK.
That’s some awfully expensive plinking ammo.
Yeah the only thing that could be worse is if Beretta released a .300 BLK barrel for the ARX100 😉
“One of my biggest gripes with the 300 BLK craze has been accuracy. I’ve yet to find a factory gun that shoots to the same standard as my .223 Wylde chambered competition rifle, and while I’ll be the first to admit that the 300 BLK is not designed for long range accuracy…”
You don’t have a problem with “accuracy” with the Blackout, you have a problem with it’s “precision”.
*its. Damn typo.
^this
Sweet. Great groups. That Remington ammo has also treated me really well in the couple of .300s I’ve put it through. I expect it from the Gorilla but the apparent consistency of the Remington stuff was a nice surprise.
I was pleasantly surprised by the remington 120 grain OTFB ammo also. I get fairly consistent 1.5″ groups at 100 yards from my 16″ KAK industries barrel.
I’m surprised the Sig didn’t group for you, they had the best groups out of my 16″ Olympic (Washington says no to SBR’s) other than the Remington’s.
300 black out needs cheap ammo bad. 60 cents a round is no bueno. Hornady steel match at 40 cents a round would be hot. And why doesn’t anyone make 147-150 grain, subsonic, plinking ammo at 30 cents a round or so?
I’m just gonna leave this here
http://www.ozarkordnance.com/300-AAC-Blackout_c_13.html
Ozark has the best prices I’ve found, but they use some harder primers. I’ll have a light primer strike out of a Ruger American Ranch or a CVA single shot about 1/10 rds, but then that round will fire just fine in an AR platform. Just a consideration…
Never had a problem with their primers or their customer service. I was having some issues with my 300BLK, they were kind enough to send me some of their 110 grain to try. Now given that I, in no way shape or form am I a precision shooter, with a lighter spring I got my FTE’s fixed and when I finally worked my way down to the 110 got .837 groups at 25 yards. Close enough for me. Especially with .42¢/round ammo. The 110 was way more accurate than the 150 and the 147….ymmv.
Ozark does list rounds with two different types of primers: gold(AR/Semi), and silver(bolt/single). I don’t know the actual difference but that could be where your issue is.
Love ozark. They’ve been consistently the cheapest and best ammo I’ve found for my 300. I got a bunch of PNW range ammo when it became available after the last big scare. It was good looking ammo but i was 4-6″ at 100yds. Ozark was way cheaper and it gave me 1.5″ at 100 in the same setup. Only gripe I’ve got with ozark is that shipping can be slow.
Never mind I didn’t see the “subsonic” I’m an idiot.
Have fun getting light subs to function reliably in an AR.
I kinda lost interest in 300BLK after I got my DPMS G2 AP4 and slimmed it down with a MWI forend. 300BLK is pretty neat in theory and with the can, but I had to come to grips with the fact that I’m not a government/PMC funded operator operating operationally. Using subsonic on the range is kind of a waste since everyone else is shooting rifles. I kind of don’t have a purpose for it. I could hunt with it, but my .308 weighs the same and can use the same can.
It is cheap to reload, and uses the same powder as my .357 (love the H110 loads), but as of right now ammo is cheap in 5.56 and 9mm so I don’t really have to. Sierra makes a 110gr HP .308 round that with 20gr of H110 and 1.975″ OAL makes it super cheap to shoot if your rifle will feed it.
Funny enough, for a “boutique” round its likely what I’ll shoot most next time the ammo costs swing around again.
Agreed on all points for ARs–the advantages are slim when you consider what you can do with a 308, but I do see an advantage in a bolt action. With a short action design and overall thinner platform, a 300blk bolt action is carefree to carry out to the deer stand. For scrawny Texas whitetail, anyway.
Wouldn’t you get the same advantages and even more power out of a .357 bolt or lever action rifle?
Apparently my memory is awful, .357 almost matches 5.56 out of a lever action rifle. Must have been thinking of .44.
Cute post (” operator operating operationally.”) but 300 BLK is actually not prohibitively expensive if you reload. It has a lot of ballistic advantages over 5.56 and the .308 is arguably overkill in most applications under 500 meters.
There aren’t too many critters that a 300BLK would take down that a 5.56 wouldn’t. And any that would would likely be unethical to take the shot with a 300BLK. Its a cool round, but its utility tends more towards predators of the 2 legged variety.
The 300 BLK is better than the 5.56 at punching through and degrading barriers like concrete blocks. It’s also way better in the subsonic department with 208-240 grain rounds than anything that could be put into a 5.56.
Confused as 1:7 twist is generally held to be better for subs, while slower rates (like 1:10) are ideal for lighter supers. 1:8 has always been considered a poor compromise.
Why should I now believe that a $200+ 1:8 barrel is truly 5 out of 5 stars? It goes against a so much of other peoples experiences….
I’m not sure if you tried it, but the Barnes 110 grain TTSX ammo has been pretty accurate in my 16″ 416R stainless build. I’m getting about 3/4 MOA at 100 yards with a good scope on top. Perhaps that’ll be inferior to my new Aero Precision .223 Wylde upper, or to what you’re using, but 3/4 MOA is fine for most of my purposes. That Barnes load works pretty well on deer, too.
I can get factory loaded .30 caliber 123gr fmj.s at 2340fps for $8 a box of 20. And on that note. Did you all know you can shoot a .223 cartridge out of a 7,62×39 AK. I heard that you could and tried it myself. The 223 fireforms to the 7.62s chamber and the extractor on rhe AK is strong enuff to hold the 223 in place. I had to pry the empty out with my pocket knife, but it did shoot and I hit a paper plate at 10 steps.I do crayz stuff all the time. LOL Put wax on a 380 cartridge an you can shoot it in 9×18 mak. A 300weatherby will shoot 300win mag.tape around 44 cartridge works in a ,45. Pour half the powder out of a 410 and shoot arrows gotta take the fletching off.
Please get life insurance, For the Children. Real policy’s will pay double for accidental death.
You don’t do “crayz” stuff.
You simply do stupid shit.
And when you finally manage to blow up a gun and hurt yourself — let’s hope it’s only you that gets hurt — you’ll be whining about “junk guns” and expecting someone else to pay for your injuries. Here’s a cool experiment you can try: take a 7.62mm blank, chamber it in a .308 rifle, put the muzzle in your mouth and pull the trigger. I bet you can hold the pressure in your cheeks.
So why not just put a can on my .30 carbine or 7.62×39 AR Pistol and shoot lowpo heavy bullets?? Maybe I’m missing something??
Is your barrel’s twist rate fast enough to stabilize heavy bullets?