The 300 AAC Blackout cartridge was designed specifically for the AR-15 platform. The idea was to create something that will cycle the rifle’s action in both supersonic and subsonic flavors without changing any parts, and have a round that uses the same bolt and gas system as the original 5.56 version. It’s perfect for that platform, but when you start moving to other weapon systems the benefits of the round start to fade away. Which is why a bolt action rifle in 300 BLK had me scratching my head . . .
You can see the source of my confusion. The 300 BLK is designed specifically for use in a semi-automatic magazine-fed gun, so what is it doing here in bolt action land? Let’s run down the features and see if we can’t figure it out.
The gun is a Remington Model Seven, a derivative of the insanely popular 700 series rifles that Remington is best known for. The Seven is a stripped-down version, typically featuring a shorter barrel, shorter stock, shorter action and lighter features. This Model Seven is specifically branded with AAC’s logo all over it, and comes with all the usual upgrades as standard kit.
First, the pre-installed scope rail comes standard from the factory. Normally the Model 700 and Model Seven rifles ship with the receiver drilled and tapped for scope rings, but you need to install them yourself. As a result it’s yet more work that needs to be done to make the gun shootable. The AAC Model 7 comes with a nice length of picatinny rail already attached, so all you need are a set of scope mounts and you’re good to go. These Warne mounts worked perfectly right out of the box and returned to zero on the scope just fine.
With that mount, the scope is pretty high over the bore of the rifle. Normally a Remington bolt action rifle would ship with a stock that was designed as if the engineers stuck their fingers in their ears and screamed “I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” when they were told that these guns don’t have iron sights, and the comb of the stock would be WAY too low to use. But this time, they included an AAC-branded cheek riser that comes standard on the gun. If you notice, there’s some striping on the back of the riser that serves no purpose at all…other than to make it mimic the profile of an M4-2000 or 762-SDN-6 silencer. It made me chuckle for a second, so I’m gonna give it some extra points for that.
Moving forward, the barrel comes pre-threaded from the factory. It makes sense, since the rifle is co-branded with the markings of a silencer manufacturer. Nevertheless, still a great option. The barrel itself is an extremely slim profile to allow the most weight savings, but the barrel thickens enough near the start of the threads to give you a nice shoulder against which you can index your muzzle device of choice.
The threading on the gun is the standard 5/8 x 24 thread pitch, the same as the usual AR-10 threading which means that all the same muzzle gadgets will work. And, surprise surprise, AAC makes a 51 tooth mount for that thread pitch if you want to attach your silencer.
Speaking of silencers, some of you may have noticed that I’m not running my 762-SDN-6 on this gun. In fact, I have my Ti-Rant 9mm can on here instead. And the reason I can use it is that I think I’ve finally figured out its purpose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5fRYx1g3UU
You can run subsonic 300 BLK through a pistol can without an issue. Supersonic ammo might blow up your can, but subsonic is perfectly cool. And the reason that I’m happy to leave this can mounted on the Model Seven is that I don’t think it was meant to run anything but subsonic ammo.
That’s the only logical conclusion I can make, since the one and only benefit of 300 BLK in a bolt action rifle is that you eliminate the noise the gun makes when the action cycles. And given that subsonic 30 caliber rounds aren’t any better when fired using a big-ass case like a .308 Winchester than with a smaller case, you don’t really lose much when using 300 BLK subsonic ammo over .308 subsonic ammo. Except that you can chop off some of the action length, and its lighter.
For subsonic ammo, the gun is freakishly accurate. Using some ProGrade subsonic ammo, I was able to get about a 2 MoA group at 100 yards. What makes it freakishly accurate is that all of the variation was in the vertical spread, meaning that the age old problem of inconsistency of velocity at subsonic speeds is rearing its ugly head, and the gun is probably capable of much better groups with specially loaded ammo.
In reality, there are two reasons why someone would want to buy this gun. The first one is the noise reason, since the gun is about as quiet as you can get in a modern rifle without switching to those funky electronic primers. The second reason is the one I used when I bought this gun for myself. I already have a hunting rifle in 300 BLK, but if I wanted to take a buddy to the range or out hunting I could hand them this gun and we wouldn’t need hearing protection at all. But that logic makes less and less sense as cheaper 300 BLK uppers for the AR-15 platform become available. In fact, I might be able to build such a gun for the same price as this Model Seven.
But would that cheap AR-15 be as accurate as this? Probably not.
Remington Model 7 (AAC Version)
Specifications:
Caliber: 300 AAC Blackout
Barrel: 16 inches
Overall: 36 Inches
Weight: 6.9 lbs
Trigger: X-Mark Pro
Capacity: 4+1
MSRP: $899 ($760 street)
Ratings (Out of Five Stars):
All ratings are relative compared to the other weapons in the gun’s category.
Accuracy: * * * * *
Given that we were shooting subsonic ammo, it’s amazing.
Ergonomics: * * * * *
Definitely giving full marks for the cheek riser and synthetic stock. Excellent.
Ergonomics Firing: * * * *
The bolt sticks when cycling the action, but otherwise damn near flawless. The trigger is especially crisp.
Customization: * * * * *
Threaded from the factory and with a scope rail included, it’s about the most mod-ready a bolt action rifle you can buy.
Overall Rating: * * * *
The sticker price is the only downfall of this gun. For $500 it would knock your socks off, but at nearly $900 I’d hesitate to recommend it to new 300 BLK owners.
I would like to see a detachable box magazine as well.
Make it take standard AR mags and it would be just about perfect.
Mossberg is making their MVP bolt gun in 300BLK and is also doing a .308 version which accepts both AR10 and Scar mags.
I had a chance to try out the MVP in .223 at my range a month ago – very, very enjoyable. I also really secretly enjoyed it because it because with a 20 round box mag, it sort of reminded me of a m14.
Bonus – the MVP does take a standard AR mag..
I keep hearing talk about this .308 MVP, but I thinks it’s vaporware.
Watching nick try and put those rounds into that little opening also made me think of adding a magazine.
Spend half as much and get the AAC Handirifle. Not gonna buy it just because it says Remington.
This is what I was thinking too. I wouldn’t spend $900 on this rifle. Especially with the added cost of cans and tax stamp.
Just bought one from PSA for $550.
or spend about the same for a lightly used 700 5R in a real caliber and actually get a quality rifle for under 1K.
That would work, but a lightweight model 7 does things a heavy barrelled 700 won’t. Pick the right tool for the job.
Then you get to spend $500 more dollars to rebarrel it to 300 BLK. More if you arent starting with a .223 bolt rifle. The whole point of ripping off the 300 whisper was to make a round that fired a heavy bullet at subsonic velocities to work with a silencer. I know some people want it to be a high powered rifle capable of taking dog sized East Coast deer sized animals but thats really NOT where the 300 BLK shines. Its THE perfect silencer round that would be even more popular if silencers were so artificially difficult to buy.
Or you could buy the Ruger for $370.
The Ruger is great, but didn’t exist when this article was written, or when the first post was made.
You do know that Remington owns AAC, huh?
Not exactly, Cerberus Capital Management owns both Remington and AAC as well as several other firearms companies.
2 MOA is freakishly accurate? Is this a typo?
I admittedly have little experience with subsonic ammo, but is this level of accuracy common with these slow loads?
Yeah, This. For $900 a 2 Moa spread is really bad. If that is “good” for a bolt gun with subsonic, I don’t want to own one. Ever.
Most subsonic loads are actually trans-sonic, so its hard to get consistent velocity past pistol ranges. 1000-1100 fps is just hard on accuracy. If the loads were at 900 fps, then I’d expect the groups to be tighter.
Makes sense if you think about it. Think how slow subsonic actually is compared to a supersonic rifle round.
Youre gonna get pistol caliber accuracy.
Wait, a gun that you flat out said was incredibly specialized is four stars, and only that low because of the price? Not sure I follow the rating on that one.
I guess it depends on how you look at it. If you’re itching for a dedicated subsonic 30 caliber projectile delivery system, it’s pretty sweet. And with a standard 30 caliber can it can do all the other supersonic stuff too for 300 BLK. So in that sense, it’s a good rifle. But like I said, it depends on what you want to use it for.
In the end, it’s my opinion and take the rating with a grain of salt. If someone else wants to review it we’ll put it up too.
Fair enough.
I assume this gun is running a standard 1:7 twist rate. Do you think I could get 2 MOA from a 1:10 twist 20″ Barrel Rem 700 LTR .308 running bullets in the 208-240 grain range, or would the twist rate be insufficient for proper stabilization at transonic speeds?
kool aid.
Nick,
I’ve been following your 300 BLackout posts of late but this review raised a question. Apart from the cheek riser and pre mounted pic rail what sets this off from the remington 700 sps that is in the same caliber? I’ve seen that for an average of $100-200 less than the model 7?
It’s slightly shorter and lighter, that’s about it.
Worth the price delta? If I recall correctly the 700 comes with the heavy barrel, correct?
The action is also shorter and lighter than the 700. I’d tread lightly if you want to eventually move towards a chassis system. Some modification will probably be in order and I doubt many gunsmiths have experience blueprinting a seven action.
Is there any material benefit to this gun over a .308 Rem 700 running subsonic hand loads?
With a set of 300 BLK dies the brass is very easy to form from .223/5.56 brass. The case is small so there is not filler needed and the standard deviation is kept small because of the small headspace compared to the .308. Yu can use the same ammo in any AR-15 with just a barrel change.
Nick did you have to adjust for any noticeable POI shift with the Tirant and thread adapter attached? I got a similar setup with the AAC Handi Rifle and Tirant 45. Had to adjust for a large POI shift, but it’s consistent and repeatable.
The bolt and hammer made more noise than the shot itself. Definitely some tactical uses for this gun.
As a comparison, I recently picked up a DPMS .300AAC 16 inch upper for $450, Midway if anyone’s interested, but they’re currently on backorder.
Already had a complete lower that I built from a stripped receiver. Cost me right at $175 assuming my time was free.
So DPMS 16″ chrome barrel 1 in 7 twist flat top AR for $625. Might could have shaved that a bit with cheaper parts, but I’m happy, or will be once I’ve finished processing a thousand or so 5.56 into .300AAC. Guess everyone needs a winter project, right?
Why not get a an AR-15 with an adjustable gas piston instead? One of those nice ones with multiple positions, where you can turn the gas system “off” and the rifle won’t cycle. Then it’s a manual action, like a straight-pull bolt action, but you maintain the ability to quickly switch back to semi-auto. From my research, that’s the way to go. I previously looked into getting a Remington 715P detachable STANAG magazine pump-action rebarrelled to 300BLK when I thought that might be the quietest thing going (and fast-firing enough to be appropriate for close-to-medium ranges), but from what I’ve been told by owners of 300BLK manual actions, the blast noise with the rifle suppressed is still louder than the noise of the action, so suppressed manual actions in 300BLK don’t offer the advantage over semi-autos they do in .22LR. And even if they did, an AR-15 with the gas system adjusted not to eject the spent cartridges automatically would accomplish the same thing. Now, 5.7x28mm subsonic suppressed, noise of a .22LR suppressed with centerfire reliability? My research indicated no, but I don’t recall ever coming to a definitive conclusion.
This has the action drilled for beefy M24 size scope mount screws like a custom rifle holes rather than the M700 ones. This has a nitrided barrel. This has 1/7 twist. This has 5R rifling. This has a smaller action. This is lighter in weight.
I bought one of these & have absolutely fallen in love with it.
It will honestly do everything I need a rifle to do & do it very easily & quietly.
Try one before you bash it, you like it.
I just received this model 7 AAC Blackout for suppressed use, mine holds 6+1, I like mine
The author missed an important use. Since several states still do not allow the use of semi-auto rifles for hunting, this is an option for those locations.
Your vertical stringing issue is definitely due to factory ammo, and it’s inconsistency specifically with regards to seating depth. Hand load a few rounds right off the lands and you will probably be able to clean that up in the 1/2 to 3/4 MOA range.
One aspect you did not hit on that I am curious about: is the action trued & bolt face squared? Given the AAC branding I would be partially suspect they made Remington clean up the action vs. the 700 action, which often times must be trued and bolt face squared to get under 1 MOA accuracy. If not, doing that will help clean up those groups as well.
I have a cmmg upper in 300 BLK, paid around 600ish for it. Mounted on a DPMS lower, it doesn’t like subsonic anything, not accurate and magazines over 20 rnd won’t feed reliably. BUT, supersonic loads are freakishly accurate, 125 grn NBT handload shoots 3/4 moa, and I’ve 3 clean kills on heavy bodied north Montana whitetail does, one was a lasered 192 yards, she weighed nearly 200 lbs, (yes, really, the further north you go, the bigger they get) she went about 20 yards. Hornady 110 grn 300 wisper is also super accurate in this rig.
I have been using the Remington 700 in 300blk for about 4 weeks now. I’m using a Mack Brothers Varmiter 3.0 silencer, and on top a ATN THOR640 1X8 NMS 640X512 19mm thermal weapon scope. With 208gr subsonic Gorilla ammunition it’s the perfect 125yd hog gun. Head shots drop them like a brick. Killing several hogs a night off the watermelon fields has been my test sight and data collection point. The weapon makes no noise with this setup so it’s no problem to take 5-6 hogs per group. Any further than 125yrds and its just a guess on how much to elevate. I have a variety (different manufactures) of supersonic loads in 300blk in several different grns. They all work well meaning I hit the target after I pull the trigger. (Out to 300yrds) I believe that’s the point. The crack of the projectile breaking sound barrier does spook the hogs so follow up shots are possible but cannot be compared to subsonic rounds. Last night I shot, hit, and killed a coyote at 265 yards using supersonic Remington Hog Hammer 130grn. I attempted to touch it with the 208grn. subsonic. 4 rounds down range and all with negative impact on target. (Missed way low. could see impact of round hitting earth through scope) It is so quiet with sub rounds the coyote never heard a thing. He never even spooked when dirt flew his way. I dropped 1 Remington Hog Hammer 300blk 130grn into chamber. I hit the coyote in lung and bullet had very little expansion as round passed through. He ran, hopped, and jumped, like his ass was on fire for 75yds. Then dropped dead. I was aiming for the head so elevation was on, but shot was 6-8″ right. I was shooting from a buggy with with engine still running (excuse) or I just simply missed my mark. (It happens sometimes) So far I’m really have fun with another out of the box Remington 700 in 300blk. I have several model 700s in various calibers and they all have been straight shooting since round 1. I’m no competition shooter or sniper, just trying my best to keep the hogs off farm fields and coyotes off the calves and biddy turkeys alive. I would buy another Remington 700 if and when I should need one. The silencer is the quietest out there money back garauntee. The ATN Thor is very nice also but once I detect thermal image I always use my night vision binoculars to identify with second device technology. Hunting with cattle/calves on pastures makes you take your time and insure 100% species identification. With more practice my confidence will continue using the thermal. That technology lets me scam fields and pastures quickly.
Just fitted out a Remington model 7 in 300 aac with Sightmark Photon 6.5×50 digital night scope and an Evolva IR illuminator, sighted the outfit in IN THE DARK. Yes, the outfit was good for only 2″ 3 shot groups at 100 yards with factory 150 gr supersonic ammo. I can live with that, but expect neck sized 1X fired brass reloads to tighten groups up a bit.
Have not yet fitted a moderator and tried subsonic loads, obviously, that is next.
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The first project is eliminating the coyotes who recently killed half a dozen turkeys…
Lmao, learn how to shoot straight, I own one of these and consistently get <.5 MOA @ 100yd
My favorite gun in the collection
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Did the rifle EJECT brass properly? Mine has 50 rounds through, not one single full ejection. It EXTRACTS perfectly. The ejection pin and springs are free and have tension. Operating the bolt in slow motion it seems the short brass is the issue. Thoughts?
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