Reaper

Ultra-short .300 Blackout barrels round-up Part 2

In the second part of this ongoing series detailing as many commercially available ultra-short (sub-7″).300 Blackout barrels as possible, I’m not only adding two more to the lineup, I was able to obtain more ammo to test last articles barrels with as well. The two new barrels are both from KAK: the first is their venerable “Baby Blonde” 6.25″, the other is their brand-new 4.75″ (nickname in progress). Some additional chrono data will be included here for the V Seven 6.5” and the Right To Bear 6” barrels tested in Part 1. If you like time travel, jump to Part 3.

Due to the limited quantity of a couple ammo types, some of the chronograph data is somewhat limited. I’d like to have multiple 5- or 10- shot strings for each ammo type through each barrel, but it wasn’t possible. Likewise, accuracy testing should also be considered preliminary, as none of these barrels are totally broken in before grouping starts, I simply don’t have an extra hundred rounds per barrel. I do get a good sense of how these function (while suppressed or unsuppressed), general velocity data and which ammo each barrel prefers. This will allow me to pare down the ammo selection for a final accuracy review later.

So let’s talk tech specs on this article’s newcomers:

KAK 4.75″ with Micro Gas Tube and AR15 configurable buffer system, data from KAK.

Stainless Steel 416R
1:7 Twist
5R Rifling
Micro-gas length (1.5″ shorter than pistol length system)
.125″ gas port size
.750″ gas block journal
M4 feed ramps
5/8×24 threaded muzzle
10.48 ounces (barrel alone)
Special tuning might be required, this barrel requires a short barrel nut or modified grooved barrel nut to clear the micro gas tube (covered in installation below)
Price: Currently $200

KAK 6.25″ “Baby Blonde”

Stainless Steel 416R
1:7 Twist
5R Rifling
Pistol length gas system
.125″ gas port size
.750″ gas block journal
M4 feed ramps
5/8×24 threaded muzzle
13 ounces (barrel alone)
Price:Currently $199

Both of these barrels I assembled onto uppers. Both used ALG Defense handguards, which had to be trimmed down by about 9″. The 4.75″ barrel’s micro length gas system required I make some modifications to the barrel nut: I cut it in half (the forward half provided support for the long handguard, which wasn’t there anymore) and notched out the barrel nut on top-dead-center. I made sure there was enough material left on the nut to support the barrel. The Baby Blonde was assigned the tan handguard and the 4.75″ the black handguard.

KAK 6.25″ barrel with cut down ALG handguard

KAK 4.75″ with modified ALG barrel nut

Both barrels received an AAC 51t suppressor mount for subsonic work, the Baby Blonde getting a three-pronged flash hider and the 4.75″ barrel getting a Breakout (mistimed 180°, I’m swapping mounts often so not too worried about it. The barrels in Part 1 had mistimed muzzle devices as well, just hidden beneath a flash can or suppressor).

All firing was done from a Caldwell Stinger shooting rest at 50 yards for groups and through a Caldwell Ballistic Precision chronograph at the recommended 10-foot distance. Both KAK uppers shared a 4x Trijicon ACOG with ACSS reticle.

9 different ammo types were tested, but that bears some discussion. My on-hand supply of Barnes RangeAR was very limited, and I only had three rounds of Reaper Controlled Chaos. I ran the Reaper round through the 4.75″ barrel, as data can be found for it from 6-7″ barrels. Abbreviations for the two barrels will be, Baby Blonde (BB) and 4.75″ (475) and additional data for the barrels from Part 1, V7 6.5″ (V7) and Right To Bear 6″ (R2B). Chrono data from Part 1 for V7 and R2B will be inserted here as well.

SUPERSONIC ROUNDS

All rounds listed below cycled through both barrels with mil-spec BCG and standard weight buffer. Last round locked the bolt back with each ammo, unsuppressed.

Barnes RangeAR 90gr:

475 Average 1961 fps. Standard deviation (SD) 21
BB Average 2080 fps, SD 51
V7: Average 2166 fps, SD 37
R2B: Average 2104 fps, SD 19

Reaper Controlled Chaos 110gr:

475 Average 1792 fps, SD 31

Barnes Tac-TX 110gr:

475 Average 1846 fps, SD 6
BB Average 1946 fps, SD 8
V7: Average 1977 fps, SD 14
R2B: Average 1923 fps, SD 8

Federal All-Copper 120gr:

475 Average 1662 fps, SD 45
BB Average 1714 fps, SD 15
V7: Average 1794 fps, SD 8
R2B: Average 1735 fps, SD 8

ADI MSR 125gr Sierra Matchkings

475 Average 1651 fps, SD 60
BB Average 1751 fps, SD 32
V7 Average 1775 fps, SD 20
R2B Average 1740 fps, SD 10

Ammo Inc Jesse James 150gr soft point

475 Average 1613 fps, SD 18
BB Average 1661 fps, SD 10
V7 Average 1698 fps, SD 13
R2B Average 1642 fps, SD 14

SUBSONIC ROUNDS

Will indicate if the round cycled (CYC), or locked the bolt carrier on last round (LB) suppressed (SUP) or unsuppressed (UNSUP).

Ammo Inc /Stelth/ 220gr

475 Average 863 fps, SD 22. CYC and LB UNSUP and SUP.
BB Average 880 fps, SD 19. CYC and LB UNSUP and SUP.
V7 Average 931 fps, SD 11. CYC and LB UNSUP and SUP.
R2B Average 906 fps, SD 25. CYC and LB SUP, CYC with no LB UNSUP.

Fiocchi 220gr subsonic

475 Average 819 fps, SD 33. CYC and LB UNSUP and SUP.
BB Average 821 fps, SD 8. No CYC or LB UNSUP, positive CYC and LB when SUP.
V7: Average 810 fps, SD 14. CYC and LB SUP, CYC but no LB UNSUP.
R2B: Average 835 fps, SD 9. Did not CYC UNSUP, CYC AND LB while SUP.

Discreet Ballistics 190gr subsonic

475 Average 831 fps, SD 23. CYC but 50% LB UNSUP, CYC and LB when SUP. BCG was getting real dirty at this point. Added lube.
BB Average 864 fps, SD 38. NO CYC or LB when UNSUP, positive CYC and LB when SUP.
V7 Average 904 fps, SD 19. CYC and LB SUP, CYC but no LB UNSUP.
R2B Average 870 fps, SD 27. CYC and LB SUP, 50% CYC and 50% LB when UNSUP.

Remington 220gr subsonic round

475 Average 889 fps, SD 8. CYC and LB both SUP and UNSUP
BB- test data recorded on video, memory card ran out of memory. Data lost.
V7 Average 930 fps, SD 38. CYC and LB SUP, CYC but no LB UNSUP.
R2B Average 900 fps, SD 31. CYC and LB when SUP, did not CYC or LB UNSUP.

ACCURACY

I’ll mention it yet again that these accuracy results are preliminary, as all of the barrels I’ve received have been factory new. Once broken in, groups usually shrink somewhere between “noticeably” and “significantly”. Some of this can be seen in the (in)consistency of groups, where two groups from the same barrel with the same ammo will perform very differently not two minutes later. I wanted to get some groups to see what ammo types each barrel preferred, to pare down the options later. More exhaustive accuracy testing to come. Accuracy results for V7 and R2B found in Part 1. Unlike Part 1, called flyers were simply discarded. Here’s results sorted by barrel.

KAK 4.75″

Barnes 110: 1.33″–2.54 MOA

Federal 120: 2.91″ & 7.5″–5.55 & 14.3 MOA

Ammo Inc JJ 150: 1.57″ & 1.8″–2.99 & 3.43 MOA

Discreet Ballistics 190: 1.88″–3.59 MOA (stabilized)

Ammo Inc /Stelth/ 220: 1.9″–3.62 MOA (slight yaw in bullets, no baffle strike)

Remington 220: 1.82″ & 1.64″–3.47 & 3.13 MOA (some rounds yawed slightly, most stabilized)

Fiocchi 220: 1.6″ & 2.05″–3.05 & 3.91 MOA (stabilized)

KAK 6.25″

Barnes 110: 2.29″ & .99″–4.3 & 1.89 MOA

Federal 120: 1.6| & 1.98″– 3 & 3.78 MOA

Ammo Inc JJ 150: .91″ & 2.1″–1.73 & 4 MOA

Discreet Ballistics 190: 1.92″ & 2.39″– 3.66 & 4.56 MOA (stabilized)

Ammo Inc /Stelth/ 220: 1.79″ & 3.4″–3.41 & 6.5 MOA (stabilized)

Remington 220: 1.11″–2.11 MOA (stabilized)

Fiocchi 220: 1.03″ & 2.22″–1.96 & 4.23 MOA (stabilized)

KAK 6.25″ subsonics

KAK 4.75″ supersonics

KAK 4.75″ subsonics

KAK 6.25″ supersonics

Conclusion:

There’s the raw data so far, take it as you may. A couple observations: The KAK 4.75″ barrel is right on the edge of usable length. The lighter supersonic rounds had an immense concussive effect and blew the charging handle back with each round. A linear compensator/blast can is a necessity. The lighter subsonic round by Discreet Ballistics stabilized just fine and looks to be a good fit with this tiny barrel. For those saying such a barrel is essentially a pistol caliber carbine, the 90gr bullet was moving at ~1961 FPS, for 769 foot-pounds of energy.

The KAK 6.25″ barrel is a healthy step away from the edge, showing marked performance increases in velocity (naturally), accuracy (three groups in the 1-2 MOA range) and stabilization of subsonic rounds. Supersonic rounds didn’t blow the charging handle back with each shot, nor was the concussive effect nearly as profound.

A few groups were wildly inaccurate, so I’ll be going over each upper to check assembly again. Even a cheap barrel shouldn’t ever drop a 14 MOA group, so I’ll see if there’s anything mechanically incorrect.

I’ll keep working on this project as new barrels arrive (still waiting on Vertias/SLR upper and Modern Outfitters MC6-SD) and as opportunity permits more testing. Next time I’ll be strapping on a much higher magnification optic, and as I’ll be shooting each barrels preffered ammo, groups should decrease on the whole. Thanks for reading!

A special thanks to Discreet Ballistics, Ammo Inc, Fiocchi, and Federal for sending out ammo! A similar thanks to V7, Right to Bear and KAK for sending barrels, gas blocks and rails. Without their assistance, I couldn’t get an article like this off the ground.

-Rex Nanorum

@Rexnanorum

YouTube Channel

Ultra-short 300 Blackout barrels | Round-up Part 3

In the third part of this ongoing series detailing as many commercially available ultra-short (sub-7″).300 Blackout barrels as possible, I’m only adding one more barrel to the lineup, a 5″ slinger from Veritas Tactical, assembled into an impressive upper in conjunction with SLR Rifleworks, utilizing their 4.25″ Helix forend. I was also able to acquire one more ammunition type, Federal’s American Eagle line of 220 gr. subsonic rounds. This round received chronograph treatment from most barrels, and accuracy testing from the Veritas Tactical/SLR upper. Further data will show up in the final article. Be sure to jump back and check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.

Much like I’ve mentioned in the previous two articles, the accuracy and chrono data is preliminary and not totally exhaustive. The barrel’s aren’t broken in before accuracy testing (just the rounds used for chrono data). The final article will likely show improved accuracy for all barrels after a break-in period and a good cleaning. I’d like to shoot more groups for accuracy and more strings of fire for chrono data, I simply don’t have hundreds of rounds for each barrel.

Here’s the tech specs for today’s shooter.

Veritas Tactical 5″ barrel:

Stainless Steel 416R
1:8 Twist
5R Rifling
Patent-pending “Micro Gas-Tube”
.936″ gas block journal
M4 feed ramps
5/8×24 threaded muzzle
14.2 ounces (barrel alone)
Price: $189.99 (barrel alone)

The Veritas Tactical upper was put with the same SBR lower I’ve used for all other barrels in this project, with the same Geissele SSP trigger used as well. I did make a change in the optics department, swapping out the Trijicon ACOG for a Leupold VX-3i LRP 4.5-14x. All firing was done from the Stinger shooting rest, as per my SOP for this series.

First let’s look at the chrono data for the American Eagle line of subsonic rounds, as run through all five uppers.

American Eagle 220 gr.

V7 6.5″ – 844 FPS average, Standard Deviation (SD) 41.8
R2B 6″ -848 FPS average, SD 26.8
KAK 4.75″ – 760 FPS, SD 36.2
KAK 6.25″ – 813 FPS, SD 6.1
Veritas 5″ – 783 FPS, SD 21

The rest of the chrono data for the day was all done with the new barrel from Veritas.

Ammo Inc’s Jesse James 110gr: 1696.8 FPS, SD of 52.9

Federal All-Copper 120gr: 1622.6 FPS, SD of 10.2

Ammo Inc’s /Stelth/ 220gr: 831 FPS, SD of 18.1

Remington “White box” 220gr: 834.4 FPS, SD of 25.5

Fiocchi 220gr: 790.8 FPS, SD of 17.9.

The Fiocchi round was the only one that failed to lock back the bolt carrier on the last round when firing unsuppressed. This didn’t repeat later during accuracy testing, so an extremely dirty bolt could have exacerbated low gas pressure.

I ran 5 types of ammo through the Veritas/SLR combo. Below are group sizes in inches (@ 50 yards) and MOA for the average. Notable groups (good and bad) in bold.

Veritas Tactical:

Jesse James 110gr: 1.61″ & 2.5″, 3.92 MOA average

Federal 120gr: 1.7″ & 1.7″, 3.25 MOA average

Ammo Inc /Stelth/ 220gr: 1.8″ & 4.7″, 6.2 MOA average (some bullet yaw)

Discreet Ballistics 190gr: .92″ & 2.2″, 2.97 MOA average (did not cycle unsuppressed)

Fiocchi 220 gr: 3.1″ & 2.95″, 5.77 MOA average.

Some similarities are to be noted between this barrel and others tested in this series. The Federal 120 gr. copper round is still the most consistent, group-to-group and between various barrel lengths, with exception to one zany group out of KAK’s 4.75″ barrel. Subsonics have shown (understandable) tendency to lose a little stability when fired from barrels 5″ and under. The 190 gr. round from Discreet Ballistics continues to impress, both in volume (quietest, unscientifically) and in recoil, where it is by far the lightest.

Veritas Tactical makes a very nice barrel/gas system. The same goes to SLR Rifleworks, who’s handguard is both light and strong. Price wise, the barrel comes in the middle of the pack, above Right 2 Bear and below V Seven Weapon Systems. Performance thus far has been on par with the rest of the pack, which is a good thing. As with the other barrels, I’m expecting improved performance after the round count racks up. I’m off to find some ammo!

-Rex Nanorum

@rexnanorum

Reaper Outdoors | Controlled Chaos .300 BLK

Reaper Outdoors | Controlled Chaos .300 Blackout

I’ve viewed .300 AAC Blackout as an excellent round since its inception. I’ve also acknowledged that it isn’t a magic “wonder round” that can do it all. It is another good tool to have in the tool box and excels at its intended function. As with any new offering, it has taken some time to mature as many of the early loading used adapted .308 projectiles which were not designed to perform well at .300 blackout velocities. Time has passed and many ammunition manufacturers have seen the popularity of the .300 blackout round and they have responded by designing new projectiles tailored specifically for optimal performance within the .300 blk envelope. Some very good rounds have been released since that time. I was recently given the option to take a look at one of these rounds, the 110 gr. Controlled Chaos round, by Reaper Outdoors.

The projectile in the Reaper Outdoors .300 load is the 110 grain offering from Lehigh Defense. This is an all brass projectile that is designed to penetrate to a certain depth, then expand quite violently, transferring energy in such a manner that it can temporarily shut down a targets circulatory and nervous systems. Some impressive gelatin testing results can be found on the Lehigh website here. The advertised data shows this round coming out of a 16″ barrel at 2315 ft/s and staying supersonic past 350 yards.

I wasn’t able to get a hold of enough rounds to do my usual battery of testing: zero, three 10 round groups for accuracy and a real world flesh test. So, I got a quick zero and hammered out a few informal groups. As I only had access to a short range on the day of test fire, I was only able to group at ~30 yards. Anything worse than one ragged hole would be a failure but the Controlled Chaos round didn’t let me down. I fired one round into the hard packed dirt at point blank range, dug it out and stuffed it back into the brass casing for display (pictured below). Dirt being a much better barrier than meat, the bullet stopped about 4.5″ deep with one shard disappearing into the ether never to be seen again. Take a look at the bullet below and imagine that tearing through a nice big buck.

Given a very limited number of rounds with which to conduct testing, I don’t feel like I can give a true assessment of this round. I do feel like I can say I’m excited by what I’ve seen so far and can’t wait for deer season to start so I can take out the last few rounds and hopefully get a metal on flesh test complete.

Suppressed Armament Systems | Titanium Brake and Mount

The Suppressor market is an interesting thing to watch over the years. Many manufacturers come and go, with trends doing the same. First, everyone wants the most efficient suppressor, then the cheapest. It’s tough for many machine shops to find the niche where they can stand out. Suppressed Armament Systems (SAS) has certainly found theirs; Titanium cans that are as durable as a hunk of granite while weighing as much as a fistful of sand.

How does a 7″, 11 oz can rated for .300 Win Mag sound? Meet the Reaper MX . I picked up this suppressor for a customer back when I owned a class 3 gun shop in Southeast Alaska. He moved in another direction without having fired this one so I became the lucky beneficiary of that choice. I’ve used this can on .308, .223 and .300 Blackout for years and its light weight and efficient design have kept it at the front of the gun safe. The thread-over-muzzle-brake (TOMB) mounting system is one of my favorites. It combines a muzzle brake (protecting the baffles of your can) with a taper-fit thread mount. This suppressor has never come loose on me, something a few “industry leading” manufacturers have come up short on. A blast diverter is offered as well, something I’ve reviewed before and love.

Specifically today, I’m writing up their TOMB mount in titanium. Part of my ongoing ultralight rifle build series that aims for a sub 6 pound AR-15 (with suppressor and optic), this Ti mount is the lightest way for me to get the lightest can I own onto the lightest rifle I can build. It comes in at a diminutive 1.9 oz and is only 2.25″ long.

Mounting is easy and the SAS TOMB includes a peel/crush washer to make timing the brake a breeze. More than just a vehicle to mount a suppressor, this brake holds its own as well. Recoil reduction is extremely effective from this little fire breather. Vertical muzzle climb wasn’t reduced nearly as much, but this isn’t a compensator and that really isn’t the priority here. We’re talking direct recoil coming way down, shot-to-shot recovery speed going way up and if you so choose to mount either a blast diverter or suppressor, one of the best methods I’ve seen yet.

Suppressed Armament Systems has impressed me from the start with their amazing craftsmanship and commitment to producing the best products they can. It’s hard to believe my little Reaper can handle the .300 magnum, but the proof is there. SAS doesn’t make the least expensive suppressors or mounts, but they may be the best you can find. The Reaper MX runs ~$1000 and the TOMB brake/mount in titanium runs $199. Check them out!

Reaper Tips: Don’t Touch the Barrel

As with any situation in the precision rifle community, we need to beware the terms ‘always’ and ‘never.’ We can’t know what sort of situation we might face in the field, and we don’t want to rely strictly on anecdotal advice to guide us should we encounter a situation with unusual demands.

For instance, what happens when the target you are engaging lies beyond a fence, and the only available support for your rifle is the fence in front of you? We’ve been told to never rest our barrel on an object while shooting, but what if there’s no other way to effectively take the shot?

There are three things that we must first understand before doing so, the first being that when we rest our barrel on an object, we are actually bending the metal and disturbing the harmonics of the barrel. When we place the barrel against an object, the barrel will naturally move/bend away from the object on a molecular level as the barrel vibrates when fired. Second, we need to know that the amount of pressure we apply to the rifle while the barrel is resting on an object will greatly affect how much the barrel bends away from the object, thus greatly increasing the amount of error we see downrange.

Lastly, we need to know that the amount of error we will see downrange is also in relation to where the barrel is resting on the object. For the serious, tactical precision shooter, you can take your rifle out to a controlled rifle range and document your data when resting the barrel on an object less than half an inch in diameter (or on a fence). Take note of where the rifle barrel rests, and document the changes in bullet elevations. You can document the bullet impacts when the rifle barrel rests near the base (closest to you), the middle portion of the barrel, and the forward section of the barrel. This should be done at the 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 yard lines.

Reaper Tips: 4 Precision Rifle Shooting Errors

For those who remember the alternate shooting-position videos, I decided to go a little more in-depth with some of the most common shooting errors that I’ve seen on the range. These errors do not solely apply to the alternate shooting positions, but to precision shooting in general.

Shooter confidence

Shooter confidence will play a huge role in alternate positions. The mere lack of confidence can push a shot off target. Most, if not all of the shooters that I talk to say that alternate positions are just too hard and uncomfortable—the reason they don’t practice them.

My usual response to such a statement is, “How comfortable is it to comb your hair with your right hand?” Typically the answer is, “Very.” I use this example to illustrate the fact that no one is born excelling at a task; you simply practice it over years and years until it becomes second nature. The same rule applies to alternate shooting positions.

The key to practicing alternate positions is not to use live rounds on the range. The best shooters in the world do not shoot as many live rounds as they dry fire. The key to confidence is practice through dry fire.

Anticipation

Anticipation is one of the most common errors that I see in precision shooters who shoot using alternate positions. You can typically see the anticipation before the shot even breaks. Once again, a lack of confidence and lack of dry-fire practice can contribute to this.

I stress dry-fire practice because it’s scientifically proven that it does work. It trains our brains to expect that when the trigger is squeezed to the rear, we’ll only hear the click of the trigger and see that the reticle remains on the target without any lateral or horizontal shift. This rules out shooter anticipation when a live round is fired.

Natural point of aim (NPA)

If we ignore our natural point of aim during an alternate position, we will experience one of two, or both, results: The shooter will either experience a miss due to muscling the rifle on target, or will not able to reacquire the target after the shot is fired. When the shot is fired, if the rifle rises straight up and then back down to its point of origin, the shooter has a good NPA.

Breathing

If we hold our breath while in an alternate shooting position—when our diaphragm may also be compressed, reducing lung volume an additional 30 percent—we are only exacerbating a problem. Always remember that the first thing compromised while shooting and holding your breath is eyesight. The eyes will begin to flutter, shift, and tunnel vision will set in if holding one’s breath is taken to its extreme (holding breath longing than than five seconds).

The flutter in the eyes is then transferred to the facial bone structure, which is then transferred to the rifle. The rifle will begin to jump with the rhythm of the heart if breath is held for a prolonged period. Given that the lungs are similar to balloons when fully inflated, and the heart is located in between the two, the ‘thump’ of the heart will be felt more powerfully when the lungs are inflated than when they have less or no air in them.

Now get out there and practice.