Summer Time In A Shooter's World

So, it's about to be summer time and in the world of a teacher/coach that means time to get things done! Now, what that means in the world of a teacher in Texas is; there's time to do things in the morning before 11, when it gets too hot! After that, it's an inside proposition. For me, nothing much has changed. I absolutely have to do some work on my ARs. Although, I've finally had some time this spring after swim season finished, it's been the rainiest spring around here in many years making outdoor ranges all but unusable. 

I've had my Aero Precision M4 built for some time, but haven't even gotten the scope sighted in! Actually, I've had the carbine and the pistol both finished for some time and the only thing I've gotten done is to shoot them with the CMMG 22LR conversion bolt due to being relegated to an indoor range. 

I actually did make it to a range with my friend Sean, but they prohibit the use of full metal jacketed rounds, so...... yeah. The first order of business this summer is to get out to the range on a dry day and sight in my ARs. Then I can start on a my next build. 

Start another build!?! Yup.... I'd really like to have a .30 caliber gun. And for me, the 300 AAC "Blackout" is the one. In the image above, you can see (left to right), the typical 223/5.56 which the majority of ARs are chambered for, then the 300 Blackout and the .308 Winchester, which is also known as the 7.62 x 51 "NATO". The Blackout is essentially a 30 caliber (.308) bullet in a cut down 223 cartridge case. If you're wondering about the purpose of this little cartridge with the big bullet; here's the concept.

Originally, there was the 30-06 cartridge which was the standard of the U.S. military back when engagements were fought at 600-1000 yards. By the 1950's the army decided that it didn't need to be quite so big, and was able to accomplish essentially the same thing with a shorter casing which gave us the 308 or 7.62 NATO. 

Within the next 10-20 years, it was found that wars were fought differently and the 223 or 5.56 NATO was created to fit in the new M16/AR15. OK, history lesson over. Here's the deal. The 5.56 was designed to kill or mame a human and the 55 to 62 grain bullets it typically fires is simply too light to consistently bring down larger game. In fact, in many states, the 223 isn't a legal hunting caliber for deer-sized or large game. What does that mean? Am I going to start hunting? Well.... maybe......

Here in Texas (and also in most other states), the feral hog is an increasing problem. I have a number of friends with or have access to property, so chances are pretty good that I could be invited out to do a little "hog shootin'". These things are not really "big", but they are built heavy and are difficult to bring down. So, the order of the day is a heavier bullet. Something along the lines of a 150 or 180 grain 30 cal would be much more suitable than the 223. Then, why not the 308? Well; one vitually never get a shot of longer than 150 yards at most. Also, there are two other factors. One is that my eyes aren't much good beyond 100 yards anymore anyway and two, The 300 Blackout is designed to run in the M4/AR15 chassis and therefore, I don't have to get involved in learning and acquiring parts for another, bigger, more expensive platform. Therefore, the use of the much smaller converted 223/5.56 case is not relevant. The limited, sub-300 yard range of the Blackout works out just fine.

In fact, the 300 BLK shares (or can share) everything with it's AR15 5.56 brother except for the barrel. In fact, all I really need to do is to build another upper that has a 300 Blackout barrell attached. No need to even change magazines! However, it's my intention to build mine as a pistol like the one pictured above, but with a 10" barrel vs. the 7.5". Based on what I've been able to find on ballistics of this round says that you don't lose much velocity until the barrel gets into the sub-8" range. Why build a 3rd gun? 

That's rather more complicated. One, I caught a sale on a lower for $30. Two, I have some random parts for it laying around. Three, it'll keep me from having to take guns apart to shoot different calibers, and potentially the most important reason is, four, who knows what's going to happen politically with the "scary black guns"! Since I can do this pretty cheap and quick, it sure doesn't hurt anything to have another AR in the closet. 

I'm not trying to get here, but I like to have choices.