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300 Blackout vs 5.56 vs 308: Which Is Best For You?
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May 10, 2024
To learn more about popular hunting calibers like the 300 Blackout, .223 Remington, 5.56x45mm NATO, and .308 Winchester visit: https://huntingguns101.com/optin1615146914565?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=HG101&utm_term=YT&utm_content=300vs223/556vs308 In this video I talk about how the 300 AAC Blackout, .223 Remington, 5.56x45mm NATO, and .308 Winchester compare to each other. I think most shooters and hunters, but especially those who like using Modern Sporting Rifles, probably agree that the 5.56x45mm NATO, the .300 Blackout, and the .308 Winchester are all effective cartridges in certain situations. However, even though there is a small overlap in their capabilities, there are a some major differences between the 300 Blackout vs 5.56 vs s 308 Winchester that you should be aware of. Indeed, the cartridges represent three distinct ways of thinking: smaller, lighter, and faster for the .223/5.56 vs bigger, heavier, and slower for the .308 vs a middle of the road compromise with the .300 Blackout. This is part of the reason why those cartridges have dedicated followings and why there seems to be so many misunderstandings concerning their capabilities. Not surprisingly, the 300 Blackout vs 5.56 vs 308 Winchester debate can be really difficult to navigate. So in this video, I'm going to do a detailed comparison of the 223/5.56 vs 300 Blackout vs 308 Winchester in order to provide some recommendations on which cartridge you should be using in various situations. To read a more detailed comparison of the 300 Blackout vs 5.56 vs 308 Winchester, visit: https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/556-vs-300-blackout-vs-308-winchester/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow BGHB: https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBigGameHuntingBlog Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebiggamehunter_/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheBigGameHunt
View Video Transcript
0:00
Hi there, I'm John McAdams, founder of the Big Game Hunting blog and in this
0:05
video I'm going to do a detailed comparison of the .223 Remington
0:09
slash 5.56x45mm NATO, .300 AAC Blackout and .308 Winchester cartridges. Now I think that most hunters and shooters, but especially those who
0:21
like using modern sporting rifles, probably agree that all three are effective cartridges in certain situations. However, even though there is
0:30
a small overlap in their capabilities, there are some major differences between
0:34
the .556, .300 Blackout and .308 Winchester that you need to be aware of
0:40
Now indeed, the cartridges represent three distinct ways of thinking. Smaller, lighter and faster for the .223 slash 5.56 versus bigger, heavier and slower
0:52
for the .308 versus a middle-of-the-road compromise with the .300 Blackout. This is
0:58
part of the reason why those cartridges have dedicated followings and why there
1:02
seems to be so many misunderstandings concerning their capabilities. Not surprisingly, this debate can be really hard to navigate. So in this video I'm
1:10
going to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the .223 slash 5.56 versus
1:15
.300 Blackout versus .308 Winchester in order to provide some recommendations on which cartridge you should be using in various situations. So
1:24
first, we'll talk about the history of these cartridges. American military leaders started looking for a new rifle and cartridge in the years following
1:33
World War II to replace the venerable M1 Garand and the .30-06 Springfield
1:39
In particular, they were looking for a rifle similar to the German STG 44 or
1:45
the Soviet AK-47 that was capable of fully automatic fire and had a
1:50
detachable magazine. The Army eventually replaced the M1 Garand with the M14
1:56
rifle chambered in the new 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. The original 7.62x51mm NATO M80 ball load fired a 147 grain full metal jacket bullet at
2:10
2,750 feet per second. Like the .30-06, the new 7.62 cartridge fired a .308
2:17
caliber bullet. It also had virtually the same ballistics as the original .30-06
2:22
Springfield load which had 150 grain bullet at 2,700 feet per second
2:27
However, the 7.62x51 achieved that same level of performance with a much
2:33
shorter case of 51mm versus 63mm due to advances in powder technology that occurred after the development of the .30-06. Winchester
2:44
noticed serious commercial potential with the 7.62x51mm cartridge and introduced the extremely similar .308 Winchester cartridge for the civilian
2:53
hunting and shooting markets around that same time. American hunters and shooters
2:57
loved the efficiency, power, and accuracy of the .308 Winchester. Soldiers and
3:03
leaders in the American military appreciated those same characteristics in the 7.62x51mm and it has earned widespread approval for its performance in
3:11
designated marksman slash sniper rifles as well as machine guns. Now on the other
3:17
hand, many military leaders were not pleased with the M14 as the primary
3:22
infantry service rifle. Just a few years after adopting the M14, leaders in the
3:27
military started looking for a lighter rifle and cartridge. They found what they
3:31
wanted with the M16 rifle in the high-velocity 5.56x45mm cartridge. Derived from the .223 Remington, the original 5.56x45mm M193
3:43
ball load fired a .224 caliber 55 grain full metal jacket at 3,250 feet per
3:52
second. The US Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps all adopted the new rifle and
3:57
during the 1960s and the M16 rifle in the new 5.56x45mm cartridge saw
4:03
extensive use during the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, both the rifle and cartridge had some major teething problems during that conflict. While
4:12
modifications to the rifle and the cartridge itself solved many of those
4:16
reliability issues, many soldiers and Marines who used the M16 in combat
4:21
during subsequent military actions complained about the poor stopping power of the 5.56 cartridge and that was with the M855 ball round in particular. Now
4:33
these issues led to the development of a series of larger caliber cartridges
4:37
designed to function in modified AR-15 rifles like the 6.5 Grindle, the 6.8
4:43
millimeter Remington SPC, the .458 SOCOM, and the .50 Beowulf during the
4:49
1990s and early 2000s. Around that same time, leaders in the military started to
4:54
look for a new cartridge that could reliably shoot 30 caliber bullets from
4:59
an M16 or an M4 rifle while still using a standard bolt and gas system
5:05
Additionally, they wanted a cartridge dimensionally similar enough to the 5.56x45mm cartridge that a standard M16 or AR
5:14
magazine could still hold 30 rounds of the new cartridge without any
5:18
modifications. They found the solution with the .300 Whisper cartridge designed by J.D. Jones of SSK Industries in the 1990s. The .300 Whisper used a
5:31
.221 Remington fireball case necked up to shoot 30 caliber projectiles. However
5:37
since the .300 Whisper was a Wildcat cartridge, designers at Advanced Armament Corporation or AAC made a few modifications to the cartridge and got
5:47
it approved by SAMI as the .300 AAC Blackout. This allowed the cartridge to
5:52
enter large-scale production with the major ammunition manufacturers. Also known as the .300 Blackout or the 7.62x35mm cartridge, the .300 Blackout
6:04
is available in several different supersonic loads. For instance, Barnes manufactures a load shooting a 110 grain TAC TX and a muzzle velocity of 2,350
6:15
feet per second. Hornady produces a load shooting a 125 grain Holopoint at 2,175
6:22
feet per second. Both of those loads offer performance almost on par with the
6:27
7.62x39mm and .30-30 Winchester cartridges. At the same time, the .300 Blackout also functions reliably in a suppressed M16 or M4 as well as with the
6:38
AR platform when using subsonic loads like Seller & Bellot's subsonic ammunition shooting a 220 grain full metal jacket at 1,060 feet per second
6:49
from a 16-inch barrel. Now we're about to go into more detail regarding the
6:53
performance of these cartridges to include the .300 Blackout. However, you should realize that the biggest advantages the .300 Blackout has
7:01
compared to other popular alternatives to the .223 that still function in an AR-15
7:06
like the 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, etc. are number one, the .300 Blackout can shoot
7:14
.30 caliber bullets from an M16 or M4 rifle while still using a standard bolt
7:19
and gas system. All you need to do is switch out the barrel. Number two, the
7:24
cartridge is dimensionally similar enough to the 5.56mm cartridge that a standard M16 or AR magazine can still hold 30 rounds of the new
7:33
cartridge with no modifications. And number three, the cartridge still functions really, really well in a short barreled and or a suppressed rifle. Okay
7:44
now let's talk about the relative sizes of the .223, the .300 Blackout, and the
7:48
.308. Now the biggest difference between these cartridges is the size and weight
7:53
of the bullets they fire. The .223 Remington uses .224 caliber bullets
7:58
while the .300 Blackout and .308 Winchester both use .308 caliber bullets
8:03
The vast majority of .223 Remington factory load shoot bullets in the 35 to
8:08
90 grain range. Of these, 55 and 62 grain bullet weights are by far the most
8:13
common. Most .300 Blackout factory loads use bullets in the 78 to 226 grain range
8:19
110 grain, 120 grain, 125 grain, and 220 grain bullets are the most popular for
8:26
that one. On the other hand, most .308 Winchester factory loads use bullets in
8:30
the 110 to 180 grain range. 150 grain, 165, 168, and 180 grain bullets are the
8:39
most popular. Now as you'd expect from the fact that the .300 Blackout was
8:43
designed to use a standard AR-15, M16, M4 bolt, gas system, and magazine, the .556
8:50
and .300 Blackout cartridges are very similar in overall size and have the
8:55
same case diameter. Though you'll sometimes run into cartridges from various manufacturers that are maybe a little longer or shorter, both of the
9:05
cartridges have the same SAMI maximum overall length of 2.26 inches. However
9:11
the .300 Blackout does have a noticeably shorter case length than the .223
9:16
Remington of 1.368 inches versus 1.76 inches. Now that being said, the .308
9:23
Winchester really dwarfs the other two cartridges with a much longer case
9:27
length of 2.015 inches and a longer overall length of 2.81 inches. Now even
9:34
though the .308 Winchester and the .300 Blackout have the same bullet diameter
9:38
they are otherwise vastly different cartridges. Now due in large part to the
9:43
longer case length of the .223 Remington, that cartridge does have more case
9:48
capacity than the .300 Blackout. However, the .308 Winchester has a larger
9:53
.473 inch versus .378 inch case diameter than the .223 and the .300 Blackout. Now
10:01
combined with the fact that the .308 Winchester also uses a much longer case
10:05
it has a lot more case capacity than the .223 and the .300 Blackout. Now just like
10:13
you probably expect from the big differences in their external dimensions, there are some pretty sizable differences in the ballistics of these
10:20
cartridges. This is apparent when you compare factory ammo choices for each
10:24
one. So specifically we'll discuss .55 grain Winchester Varmint X and .62 grain
10:30
Barnes TSX loads in .223 Remington and we will compare those to some .110
10:35
grain Barnes TAC XP and .220 grain Seller & Bellot full metal jacket
10:41
subsonic loads in .300 Blackout to some .150 grain Winchester Deer Season XP and
10:48
.168 grain Barnes TTSX loads in .308 Winchester. Now as you can probably
10:54
imagine there's some really big differences in the trajectory and kinetic energy of each cartridge. For the most part the .223 Remington has a
11:01
significantly flatter trajectory with less bullet drop than the .308 and the
11:05
.300 Blackout out to 500 yards because it's such a high-velocity cartridge
11:10
However, the typical supersonic .300 Blackout round has a slight edge in
11:15
kinetic energy over the .223 and the .556. At the same time the .308 Winchester
11:21
load has a gigantic advantage in this department with more than twice the
11:24
muzzle energy than typical .223 and .300 Blackout loads. Additionally the heavier bullets with a higher ballistic coefficient used by the .308
11:33
Winchester retain more energy and velocity than the lightweight .223 and .300 Blackout bullets. Indeed the typical .308 Winchester load still has as
11:43
much or more energy remaining at 400 to 500 yards as the .223 and the .300
11:49
Blackout do at the muzzle. Now those same trends hold true when you talk
11:53
about crosswind. When comparing the Barnes loads for each cartridge out to
11:57
500 yards with a 10 mile an hour crosswind the .308 Winchester has a big
12:03
edge over the other two. Combined with the superior energy retention of the .308
12:08
Winchester at extended range its better resistance to wind deflection means that
12:14
the .308 Winchester is really clearly just a much better choice for
12:17
long-range shooting of these three. Now that being said the .308 Winchester has
12:21
much more recoil than the .223 Remington and the .300 Blackout. For example
12:27
when fired from similar weight rifles a typical .308 Winchester hunting load firing a 165 grain bullet has three to five times more recoil than run-of-the-mill
12:38
.223 and .300 Blackout ammo. Now all things considered most hunters should be able to
12:43
handle the recoil of the .308 without too much trouble but that being said the .223
12:49
and the .300 Blackout just have a very very mild almost non-existent recoil. Now
12:55
felt recoil will vary from shooter to shooter and rifle to rifle but free
12:59
recoil energy is still a useful way to compare the cartridges. Now all three are
13:04
also very accurate. Though it is difficult to choose a winner when it comes to the
13:08
accuracy of these three cartridges at short range say 150 yards or less the .308
13:13
Winchester does have a longer effective range and a big advantage at ranges past
13:17
200 yards because those heavier bullets retain more energy and are less
13:22
susceptible to wind drift and that's why it's really just a preferred cartridge
13:26
of these three for military and law enforcement snipers who need the ability
13:29
to make precise shots at longer range. So now we'll talk about ammo selection
13:35
Now since these three cartridges are very popular most of the big ammo
13:39
manufacturers do produce a wide variety of ammo for all three. That being said
13:44
the .300 Blackout certainly lags really far behind the other two in terms of
13:48
popularity and availability of ammo though it's not rare or difficult to
13:52
find by any stretch of the imagination. It's just that the .223 and the .308 are
13:57
literally the two most popular cartridges used in North America in terms of raw ammo sales. Now some bullets like the Hornady GMX, the Nosler E-Tip and
14:08
the Winchester Extreme Point are available for all three cartridges. However lightly constructed bullets designed for varmint hunting like the
14:15
Hornady V-Max, Nosler Varmageddon and the Winchester Varmint X are most common
14:20
with the .223 Remington. On the other hand bullets designed for big game
14:25
hunting like the Nosler Partition and the Swift Scirocco and A-Frame are more
14:30
common with the .308. Ammunition for the .300 Blackout splits the difference to a
14:35
certain degree but bullet choices lean towards big game hunting and self-defense
14:39
for that cartridge. Of course this is in addition to the large quality of full
14:44
metal jacket ammunition for all three cartridges that's also currently available. Now prices and availability vary from region to region but ammo for
14:53
all three is pretty easy to find usually during normal times. Generally speaking
14:58
.223 Remington ammo is less expensive than .300 Blackout ammo which is less
15:02
expensive than .308 Winchester ammo. Now if you're into hand loading then you're
15:07
also in luck because reloading components for all three are also widely
15:10
available and there are also lots of good quality .224 caliber and .308
15:15
caliber bullets to choose from so you shouldn't have too much trouble working up a good custom load that shoots very accurately in your chosen rifle. Now use
15:23
caution when reloading the .300 Blackout if you plan on hunting with it. Mini .308
15:29
caliber bullets are designed for use with higher velocity cartridges like the
15:33
.308 Winchester, .30-06, .300 PRC and .300 Ultramag. For that reason you won't get
15:39
optimum terminal performance with those bullets at lower impact velocity so like
15:44
I said just be aware of that. Alright now let's talk about rifle availability for
15:49
these cartridges. All three are very common in semi-automatic rifles. In particular AR-15 style rifles like those made by Bushmaster, CMMG, Daniel Defense
15:59
DPMS, Noveske and Wilson Combat are extremely popular with the .223, .556 and
16:05
the .300 Blackout. Both are also available in the Ruger Mini-14. Though it's not
16:12
quite as popular as the smaller two cartridges in semi-auto rifle there are
16:16
still a number of semi-auto .308 rifles like the Springfield M1A which is the
16:21
civilian version of the M14 and a few AR platforms like the AR-10 and the old
16:27
Remington R25. Bolt-action target and hunting rifles chambered in .223 Remington and .308 Winchester are relatively common like the Remington
16:37
Model 700, Ruger American and Ruger M77 Hawkeye as well as the Savage 11
16:44
On the other hand there aren't very many bolt-action rifle choices in .300
16:49
Blackout other than the Ruger American Ranch in the Remington Model 700 SPS
16:54
Tactical. So with all that stuff being said which one is best for you? The .308
17:00
Winchester is one of the best big-game hunting cartridges around. Now like I
17:04
said earlier the .300 Blackout is also almost on par with the .30-30 Winchester
17:09
so that cartridge is also suitable for hunting medium-sized game at short to
17:14
medium range. Both of those cartridges have a definite advantage over the .223
17:18
Remington when it comes to hunting medium and large sized game. And truth
17:24
be told in in my opinion the .223 Remington is really just a borderline
17:28
big-game hunting round and it can't come close to the terminal performance of
17:32
the .308 Winchester on large game. So for that reason the .223 Remington
17:37
actually isn't legal for deer hunting in some states. That being said the advent
17:42
of better quality bullets has made the .223 Remington a much more effective
17:46
big-game hunting cartridge than it used to be. Since it is commonly available in
17:51
semi-automatic rifles and it has such a light recoil, follow-up shots are very
17:55
easy with the .223. This makes the cartridge a very popular choice for
18:00
hunting situations that require a lot of shooting like feral hog control
18:04
sometimes. When using a quality bullet like the Hornady GMX it will really do a
18:08
number on hogs. And at the same time the .300 Blackout has virtually all the same
18:13
advantages as the .223 on big game like light recoil and wide availability in
18:18
quality semi-automatic rifles. However the .300 Blackout uses heavier and larger diameter bullets that have more kinetic energy. So for this reason it is
18:27
arguably a much better cartridge for shots on big game like a deer and feral
18:32
hogs inside 150 yards than the .223. Now just use caution when hunting with
18:38
.300 Blackout subsonic ammo though. In addition to the very arcing trajectory
18:44
and low amounts of kinetic energy those rounds have anything other than very
18:48
short range, there are a lot of bad stories about poor terminal performance
18:52
on deer and hogs when using subsonic .300 Blackout ammo. Presumably this is
18:58
because those loads just don't have enough velocity for the bullets to expand on impact. Instead they just blow right through the animal and don't cause
19:05
a lot of damage. Noveske makes a 220 grain subsonic load specifically
19:10
designed and marketed for hunting that they claim works really well on big game
19:15
I have not used it myself so I can't really comment personally on how it
19:19
works but it might be worth a try if you really want to hunt with some subsonic
19:23
ammo for the .300 Blackout. But if it were me and I were hunting with say an AR
19:28
with a suppressor on it I would just use regular supersonic .300 Blackout ammo
19:33
which works really well. Now the flat trajectory and lightly constructed bullets most common with the .223 Remington make it an extremely effective
19:42
round for taking shots at small thin-skinned animals like prairie dogs, bobcats and coyotes. On the other hand since it shoots heavier larger diameter
19:49
and generally much better constructed bullets the .308 Winchester has a clear
19:54
advantage when hunting larger species like deer, caribou, elk and most species
19:59
of African plains game. It's a little on the light side in my opinion for things
20:03
like moose and grizzly or brown bear but it will work in a pinch with proper shot
20:08
placement. So do you want a cartridge that is really well suited for hunting
20:12
game like deer, bear, feral hog or pronghorn? Well in my opinion you should
20:19
get a .308 Winchester since it's by far the most powerful of the three. It's an
20:23
outstanding big-game hunting cartridge and there are lots of great ammunition choices specifically designed for that sort of hunting. Are you looking for a
20:31
cartridge to hunt predators and small game animals with? The .223 Remington is
20:35
the better choice here because it has a flatter trajectory, ammunition is cheaper
20:40
and there are many types of .223 ammo specifically designed for predator
20:44
environment hunting. Are you very sensitive to recoil? Now depending on what exactly you're hunting you should go with either the .223 or the .300
20:52
Blackout. Though the .223 does have a little bit less recoil, both are very
20:58
tame and are suitable for small framed or otherwise recoil shy shooters and
21:03
hunters. For hunting big game go with the .300 Blackout and limit your shots to
21:07
say inside 150 yards or so. For general target shooting or varmint hunting go
21:11
with the .223 Remington. What about if you want the ideal cartridge to use with a
21:17
suppressor or in a rifle with a short barrel? The .300 Blackout definitely has
21:22
the clear advantage here. The .300 Blackout has a good reputation for cycling the bolt reliably when using subsonic ammo and when used in short
21:30
barreled rifles. Additionally it doesn't suffer nearly as big of a drop-off in
21:34
performance as the .308 or the .223 with a shorter barrel length either. Now do
21:39
you want a cartridge that is suitable for self or home defense? All three will
21:44
certainly work well in this regard but in my opinion the .300 Blackout probably
21:49
has the edge here as well. Like the .223 Remington it also has a very mild
21:54
recoil that facilitates follow-up shots but it shoots a larger and heavier
21:58
bullet with more energy and there are also lots of good choices of purpose
22:02
built self-defense ammo with very good terminal ballistics for the .300 Blackout round like the Barnes Tac TX and the Lee Defense Close Quarters
22:11
bullet. Now are you looking for a cartridge with lots of inexpensive ammo
22:15
for just general plinking or target shooting? The .308 Winchester ammo is
22:20
pretty widely available as well. The .223 Remington I would say is the easiest to
22:26
find and it's the least expensive centerfire cartridge in the United States. Once again that is during normal times. Now are you looking for an ideal
22:34
cartridge to use in an AR platform? All will work here with the .308 being
22:40
restricted to the larger AR-10 platforms but the .223 Remington and to a lesser
22:45
degree the .300 Blackout are most common in really good quality AR-15 style
22:50
rifles. Now as I have stated before the .223 Remington slash 5.56x45mm
22:56
NATO, the .300 Blackout and the .308 Winchester are all excellent rifle
23:00
cartridges. However since the difference between them is pretty big in certain
23:04
respects each one is better suited to specific situations than others. I hope
23:09
this video has done a good job of explaining the strengths and weaknesses
23:13
of each one and was useful for helping you decide which one you should use. Now
23:18
if you enjoyed this video then please make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel right now. Just click that red subscribe button below to make sure you
23:27
don't miss out on any of my new videos on hunting gear reviews, cartridge
23:30
comparisons and more. For more detailed information on popular hunting cartridges and what they're best suited for click on the link in the description
23:38
below or go to HuntingGuns101.com to get a free ebook I have written on the
23:45
best hunting calibers. Now I'm going to turn it over to you guys. Which one do
23:50
you prefer? The .300 Blackout, the .223 Remington slash 5.56 NATO or the .308
23:57
Winchester? What game have you successfully taken with them and what ammo do you prefer to use with them? Let me know by leaving a comment on this
24:04
video right now. Thanks for watching, have a great day and good hunting
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