The M-16/AR-15 Platform


AAC 300 Blackout 7.62 x 35 L.P. Brezny


Author with advanced guns and ammunition under review for possible civilian marketing in the future. The 300 Blackout will fit this upgrade in both military and civilian ammunition in the future.


of what military and police rifles are required to accomplish in the field, and questions abound as to what should be the next accepted military combat firearm for the foreseeable future, a new concept cartridge has emerged that could be the answer to many of these sorts of questions. What is this magic bullet that could possibly save the day, as it were? The AAC/Remington 300 Blackout is its name, and after getting some trigger time behind the new round I can say, “Yes, this is an interesting option in terms of a possible change in the direction we have been moving re- garding the current 5.56mm (223 Rem.) service round. Getting down to the bare bones


A


of the new cartridge, it is a fact that it has emerged directly from a well- proven cartridge that was developed by Remington many years ago in a varmint hunter’s variant called the 221 Remington Fireball. The Fireball was developed from the parent 223 Rem. case, or 5.56mm NATO. It is a shortened case from that of the 223, and was first designed as a pistol cartridge. With a ba- sic design and dimensions of the longer 223 Rem., the 221 Fireball can make use of all the same parts in an M-16/AR-15. Bolt face, magazines, and everything


Page 106 Spring 2013


t a time when funds are short, needs are changing in terms


Remington Blackout … the complete package used during testing.


except for the barrel itself remains the same as the current military/civilian rifle. This saves funds, and that gets the attention of those folks who appropriate money for such projects. By taking the 221 Fireball case


and blowing it out to a neck size of 30 caliber, what has in effect taken place is an improvement of the light 22 caliber cartridge in terms of retained energy, while driving a bullet fast enough to keep pace with the Russian 7.62x39, Remington 6.8 SPC, Remington 30, and then for good measure obviously over- riding the current 5.56mm. Shooting heavy 220-grain bullets at even subsonic velocities (950 fps), the Blackout, when suppressed (and most of them are be- ing built just that way) can generate very effective muzzle energy. Also, it has been indicated by Remington engi- neers through extensive testing that the 123-grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2,130 fps, and 1,238 ft/lbs of energy, is effective against light body armor out to 300 yards. Now we have a dual purpose fire-


arm that is suppressed, can operate well when stealth modes of operation are required via military special ops work, but still can haul the mail down range in terms of an open air street fight if necessary. Information I have indicates that currently three rounds are being


loaded for the Blackout-chambered AR- 15: the 220-grain at 950 fps (suppressed), a 155-grain FMJ, and the 123-grain FMJ. Other developments are in the works, as in a barrier-defeating round and an assortment of possible handloads for hunters or specialty operators in the private sector. The true beauty of this beast is that with a barrel conversion on any current AR-15, you are into the 300 Blackout immediately. Data to this point were generated


with a nine-inch barrel suppressed. This is a short pipe, to say the least, but it makes for a fast-handling rifle that, with changes in ammunition from 123-grain to 220-grain, can still deal out both close range firepower and longer range effec- tiveness when required to do so. Flexible is the rule of thumb here. THE GUN


My introduction to the new Black-


out cartridge was at a writer event held at the Remington Loanoke ammunition plant near Little Rock, Arkansas. After two days of meetings with engineers and plant tours covering a wide range of topics, the writers were moved out onto the range area of the operation for some hands-on time with firearms and live rounds. It was late in the event when a couple of engineer types walked to the forward area carrying a large box that was different from anything else in the


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