300 Blackout vs 308 Winchester: Cartridge Showdown

The thirty-caliber projectile has been a mainstay in military forces since 1892, when the Krag-Jorgensen replaced the old.45-70 Trapdoor carbines. The cartridges changed, but the projectile remained the famed thirty-cal for decades. We’re at a point where if you need a relatively large round, it will be a .30 caliber round. Two of the most popular .30 caliber rounds are the .308 and .300 Blackout. 

These are very different rounds that keep the same big .30 caliber projectile. The two rounds have an ocean of differences but a few things in common. Both are designed for semi-automatic platforms but have been expanded into various other platforms. These two cartridges are extremely popular and tend to be in the top ten rifle rounds if such a list were ever produced. 

That’s what they have in common; let’s dive into the ocean of differences that lie between the two.

History of the .308 Winchester

The .308 Winchester is tied to the military’s 7.62x51mm NATO round, which has served countless countries, including our own, in various platforms. Right in the middle of developing the 7.62 NATO round, Winchester saw the cartridge’s potential and, in 1952, released the .308 Winchester. 

The .308 Winchester and 7.62 NATO are not identical. They use the same projectile and case, but .308 Winchester rounds tend to be loaded to higher pressures. The rule of thumb is that 7.62 NATO rounds can work in .308 rifles, but .308 rounds shouldn’t be fired from 7.62 NATO weapons. 

The .308 Winchester popularized and even created the idea of a short-action caliber. Calibers with an overall length of less than 2.8 inches are considered short-action cartridges. The .308 Winchester allowed for a shorter action, which allows for a smaller, lighter gun that’s also much easier to push into a semi-auto rifle.  

The .308 Winchester has remained popular for hunting, competition shooting, and full-power semi-auto rifles. 

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History of the .300 Blackout

The .300 Blackout is a young buck first created in 2009. It comes from the famed suppressor company AAC, which aimed to fulfill a specific niche. AAC created the .300 Blackout to fulfill the same niche that 9mm submachine guns filled but to offer the same power as a real rifle round. The 9mm submachine gun niche is a short and quiet weapon with a suppressor and subsonic ammo. 

The .300 Blackout would be as compact as a suppressed 9mm submachine gun and just as quiet with subsonic ammo and a suppressor. The .300 Blackout cartridge offers both supersonic and subsonic loadings, and you can swap cartridge types on the fly without the need to tune the gun. 

The .300 Blackout is an intermediate cartridge in the same family as the 5.56. While the round was designed for semi-auto and selective fire platforms, it has also been popular in bolt-action, single-shot, and various large-format pistols.

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Accuracy and Ballistics 

Accuracy will always come down to the shooter, the rifle, and the ammunition. The .308 might have an edge in its longer lifespan. The round has been used fairly extensively in moderate-range shooting competitions and has had years of developmental momentum, producing a ton of niche loadings designed to squeeze a ton of performance out of the old round. Both cartridges have match-grade rounds, but the .308 has more match-grade rounds. 

When you talk ballistics, you’re talking full-powered rifle rounds versus intermediate ones. The difference comes down to case size and case capacity. The 51mm case of the .308 is a fair bit longer than the 34.7mm length of the .300 Blackout. More cases mean more case capacity and powder; therefore, the survey says! More range. 

The .308 Winchester round can go quite far. It’s not pinned to intermediate rifle distances. Hitting targets at 800 yards isn’t out of the question for an average shooter with a stable platform and a good rifle. The .300 Blackout is going to tap out much earlier. 

This is a heavyweight versus featherweight fight. The .300 Blackout throws a large projectile out of a short case, resulting in a short-range round. While great shooters with custom rounds and good rifles can ring steel at 800 yards, that won’t be the average user experience. In fact, it has the same energy at 700 meters that 5.56 has at 500 meters. 

In reality, when it comes down to hit probability, the max range of the .300 Blackout round with supersonic loads is around 500 yards. That’s tapping the round out with the average gun and user. Most .300 Blackout shooters will be best served within 300 yards. The hefty subsonic rounds tap out at around 100 to 150 yards. 

Recoil 

Big cartridges, increased case capacity, and heavy bullets equal recoil. The .308 takes the lead in recoil by a fairly large margin. Jim Harmer at Backfire.tv has created a fantastic recoil energy table that compares cartridges and calculates recoil based on a like-for-like ratio. According to the table, the .308 Winchester recoils more than four times harder than the .300 Blackout.

The .308 has 18.27-foot pounds of recoil energy. The little .300 Blackout has 4.02 foot pounds. That’s a significant difference between the two cartridges. The .308’s long range and high foot-pounds of energy on target mean you must deal with more recoil. 

Numbers are great, but what does it mean for you as a shooter? The recoil you feel will vary on the rifle. Semi-autos have less recoil than bolt actions due to the energy absorbed by the action cycling. ARs shooter softer than Remington 700s. 

The cartridges are downright soft in a semi-auto platform. The .300 Blackout is a bit softer than the .308, but neither will beat you to a pulp. The .308 might be described as stiff, and the .300 Blackout soft. 

When we move to a bolt-action rifle, the recoil of both rounds increases. The differences are minor, and the .308 isn’t going to beat you up, regardless. Neither cartridge will cause your jaw or other things to clinch. Suppose you are recoil-sensitive and shopping between the .308 Win and the .300 Blackout. In that case, the .300 Blackout will be the softer shooting cartridge. 

Cost 

Neither round is affordable—they aren’t priced at .223 or 5.56. However, the .300 Blackout can be found for about 55 cents per round if you shop around. That gives you bare-bones FMJs and steel cases. The .308 will cost you at least 75 cents per round. Ammo-wise, it’s clear that the .300 Blackout is the cheaper round. 

What about rifles? Again, the .300 Blackout gets a fair bit cheaper. Lots of budget companies can sell cheap ARs in .300 Blackout. One of the big benefits of the .300 Blackout round is that it can use AR-15 magazines, bolts, receivers, charging handles, and basically everything a 5.56 rifle uses except the barrel. This makes it easy to produce cheap .300 Blackout rifles. 

The .30is foundlf in the AR-10 platform. AR-10s aren’t as popular ans widely produced as the AR-15 seriesFull-sizeded AR-10 rifles are not the cheapest guns, and even budget-worthy AR-10s are pricier than cheap .300 Blackout rifles. 

When we get into the bolt-action realm, the prices start to coincide. Both cartridges are typically found in short-action rifles. However, the .300 Blackout can also be used in the rare micro-action. Either way, there isn’t a huge difference between the price of bolt-action rifles in either caliber. 

Let’s Talk Suppressor

Suppressors are popular these days, and both of these cartridges are capable of being suppressed. If you want to maximize sound suppression, then you need subsonic cartridges. Subsonic rounds move much slower than supersonic cartridges and lack the supersonic crack, making them quieter. 

The .300 Blackout was designed to be a suppressed cartridge from the ground up. Loadings were made for supersonic and better-suppressed subsonic cartridges, making subsonic loadings for the .300 Blackout incredibly common. If someone creates a .300 Blackout load, they must create a subsonic option. 

The .308 Winchester does its best work with supersonic cartridges. Subsonic full-powered rifle rounds are a bit of an interesting conundrum because they don’t have the advantages of full-powered rifle roundsSubsonic .308 loads existds. Still, they are somewhat rare and always expensive. 

With .308 subsonic rounds, you get some consistency issues. There is a lot of room inside the case and not a lot of powder. When powder moves, it becomes less consistent and can create consistency issues. Additionally, semi-automatic platforms might not be adequately tuned to run reliably with subsonic .308. 

With all this said, the .300 Blackout is the more accessible and suppressable cartridge. The .300 Blackout is the way to go if you are chasing a quiet rifle. 

In The Real World 

The .308 Winchester offers you more range and energy in the real world. It’s a cartridge capable of putting down larger games at longer ranges. The recoil and power make it a bit tricky for home defense. Compact .308 caliber rifles are not all that home defense friendly either. 

The .300 Blackout cartridge is smaller and easier to suppress. It’s better suited for home defense but can be a capable cartridge for hunting within 200 yards against medium game. 

If you want to maximize power and range, the .308 is the way to go. If you want less recoil, more control, and a quieter experience, go with the .300 Blackout round. Both cartridges have their place, and I’m curious to know which caliber you’d choose. Let me know below. 

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