A factory Ruger Mini-14 in .300 Blackout? No foolin
The good folks at Ruger have been in the Mini-14 biz for going some 40 years or so and in that time have cranked out millions of these rugged .223 carbines. As time has gone by, the company has trotted out offerings of these guns in 5.56×45 (there is a slight difference over .223), .222 (not a misprint) 7.62×39 (Mini-30) 6.8mm (Mini-6.8) and .308/.243 (XGI). Well now, the time has come to add a new caliber to that field:
Why .300 BLK?
The 300 AAC Blackout round (7.62x35mm) was designed by a suppressor maker, Advanced Armament for use in modified AR-15s. The goal was to use the same .223 case, neck it down to accept a .308 bullet 2-3 times the normal weight of the 40-71 grain .223, and give it performance that equaled or bettered that of the standard and popular AK-47/SKS round, the Combloc 7.62×39 (which itself owes some allegiance to the old German 7.92×33mm Kurz used in the world’s first assault rifle, the StG-44).
In the end, you have a .308 that fits in a standard NATO M16/AR-15 magazine and can use the same lower receiver paired with an upper in the appropriately changed out caliber. A neat benefit (and the reason it was introduced by AAC) of the round is since it uses such a big fat bullet over a low charge, its usually subsonic which means you can use it with a suppressor and not have to worry about the sonic boom of the ammunition to add to the sound signature.
(Left to right: .223 with .55-grain bullet, .308 WIN with 173-grain bullet, .300 BLK with 125-grain bullet)
Introduced last week, Sturm, Ruger unveiled its newest offering in the Mini-14 Tactical series, and advised that it is an optimized .300 BLK platform geared with suppressors in mind.
