Cheap subsonic .30 cal bullets?

[CJ]

So, one thing that sucks about .300BLK is loading the subsonic stuff. There is no real good way to deliver energy for cheap. All the heavy jacketed .30 cal bullets are $$$. I'm having trouble getting 240gr+ bullets for less than ~$25-30 per 100. Does anyone know somewhere you can get them for cheaper? Cast is out of the question, they must be jacketed.

[CJ]

Here is a wacky (and expensive) subsonic hunting bullet.

http://lehighbullets.com/products.asp?cat=26

It carries a .17 cal payload bullet inside it.



The only other subsonic expanding .30 cal I know of is made by outlaw.

http://www.outlawstatebullets.com/2.html

[slowyellow]

I'm interested in this too. I'd like to load up some subsonic .308 rounds. I'm a little hesitant to though. I haven't done much reading but the scanning that I have done I came across a headline that said..."this guy has been reloading subsonic ammo for 30 years and is still alive". Is it dangerous? And why? Just curious.

[CJ]

I'm interested in this too. I'd like to load up some subsonic .308 rounds. I'm a little hesitant to though. I haven't done much reading but the scanning that I have done I came across a headline that said..."this guy has been reloading subsonic ammo for 30 years and is still alive". Is it dangerous? And why? Just curious.

Nah, it isn't dangerous. Some problems people can find themselves in is using slow twist rate barrels and subsonic rounds. The slower the bullet travels the more twist you need to keep it stable. If .30 cal subsonic didn't work than .300blk would be pointless.

When it comes to subsonic rounds you have to fill the case with volume or it's way too unpredictable/innacurate. The powder of choice for subsonic .308 is trailboss. It's donut shaped so it takes up a bunch of volume:




But powder can only go so far, you have to meet the air gap from both directions. So, trailboss to decrease the air gap, and bullet size to further decrease the gap. Most guys run a 200gr+ projectile and trail boss, the more air you can pull out of the case and stay below 1030fps the better.

As for subsonic science, the speed of sound here at 600ft elevation in DFW is 1132fps. However, when you approach the sound barrier weird shit happens. You experience projectile cavitation around 1050+fps so you can't just ride below 1132fps and be fine, you want a buffer there to keep the projectile out of the cavitation, so your goal is usually to be around 1030-1040fps if you can manage it. But getting highly accurate consistent loads subsonic is tricky.

[phaux]

Why no cast?

[CJ]

Why no cast?

You don't want to lead up your suppressor with cast bullets. You'll ruin it.

[svauto-erotic855]

You don't want to lead up your suppressor with cast bullets. You'll ruin it.

Using a gas check will prevent most of the leading. You can also use a solvent to soak the can in to remove the lead if it is made from steel.

[Bassics]

Gas checks work wonders for the 454 man, although there is a slow buildup of lead in the ports. Can you just replace the suppressor internals or is that technically building a new one?

[CJ]

Gas checks work wonders for the 454 man, although there is a slow buildup of lead in the ports. Can you just replace the suppressor internals or is that technically building a new one?

It's a solid welded piece of titanium, can't do it unfortunately. You can fill the cans with peroxide/vinegar to clean them, but it never works 100%. Gas checks prevent the hot gasses from melting the back of the projectile and coating the bore, but the major concern is the flashing/lead debris that get blown into the suppressor once it clears the muzzle. On traditional FMJ's it's just copper flashing and debris, which gets burned up and shot out the muzzle as sparks.

[Bassics]

Oh I am plenty familiar with it even with gas checks. Barrel porting and to an extent around the cylinder gap get leaded, just not real fast. It comes off with a brush and some hoppes, but that requires being able to get to it with a brush which is why I asked. Sounds like no good solution then.

I've always wondered if one could cast something using bismuth shot as a base. Or if there were some way to investment cast using barium sand.

On that note, does precision make anything you can use? My dad really liked them for IDPA stuff, says they are cheap with zero residue. I doubt they have anything heavy enough but they might be talked into it, if they had something to show the demand and lack of supply.

[Bassics]

Actually the more i think about it, have you considered paper patching? Tedious but some swear by it.

[CJ]

I'll have to look into cast again when the process gets a little more popular and refined. There's a lot more work that goes into using cast, like having to bell case mouths, etc.

[Bassics]

Maybe an unconventional search is in order. Are there blackpowder sabots for a 45 that use a non-lead bullet for caliornia reg lead-free muzzleloaders?

Or, and this is getting out there, what about a duplex round made from a pair of 110gr M1 carbine FMJs? Maybe a soft point nut-to-but behind an FMJ?

I know the army did considerable experiments with duplex and even triplex rounds. And not talking about mixed powders.

[Bassics]

I looked and precision is still 9/40/45 so they are out of the question.

That sucks, seems like a ready made market as the 300BLK seems to be really popular and almost dictates handloading.

[CJ]

I looked and precision is still 9/40/45 so they are out of the question.

That sucks, seems like a ready made market as the 300BLK seems to be really popular and almost dictates handloading.

yep, kind of virgin ground unfortunately. There have been a couple bulk buys on cast bullets, and a few molds made, but so far I haven't seen any real good info on them, most people don't have suppressors so info is limited.