H&R 300 AAC Blackout Handi-Rifle Review
Part 6 - Range Test
May 4, 2013

Before I could start my range testing of the 300 AAC Blackout Handi-Rifle, I first needed to add a couple of accessories.  The first accessory was an offset hammer spur.  I'm still surprised there was not one in the box because this is a must (my opinion) if you install a scope that extends over the hammer.  Cocking the rifle can be done without an offset spur, but decocking without an offset spur becomes difficult because your thumb keeps being pinched between the hammer and eyepiece.  The offset hammer spur shown below is the H&R version specifically designed for the Handi-Rifle and only cost $7 online.

 

Figure 1                                Figure 2
 

The hammer spur comes with an Allen wrench and set screw that already has a thread locking compound applied.

Figure 3

To install the hammer spur, place the offset to the side you want to use for thumb cocking which is typically on the right side for a right handed shooter.  Once in place, torque the set screw until it is tight.

Figure 4

Next I needed to install Picatinny mounts and a scope.  Since Nikon recently came out with a reasonable priced scope (P-300BLK) designed specifically for the 300 AAC Blackout cartridge, I figured this scope would be a great combination for this rifle.

Figure 5

Figure 6

Now having selected a scope with a 1" tube and knowing how high the eyepiece needed to be offset to clear the hammer, I selected the Weaver Skeleton Black Matte XX High Mounts.  The height of the mounts is driven more by the height of the hammer than the diameter of the objective lens on the scope.  The height of the mount measured about 0.64" from the bottom that interfaces with the top of the rail to the bottom of the 1" tube arc.

Figure 7

For the Nikon P-300BLK scope, there was about 0.13" of clearance between the hammer spur and the eyepiece on the scope.  Although this is a relative close distance, the offset spur makes cocking the rifle feel natural.  One feature that continually nags at me is the cantilevered portion of the Picatinny rail.  I really wish H&R would have made the rail with a stepped height and added a fourth mount screw.  For ballistics calculations, the scope height ended up being 2.00" above the centerline of the chamber.

Figure 8

These next two photos give you some other views so you can evaluate this optics setup for yourself.

Figure 9

Figure 10

During my range testing, I shot the 300 AAC Blackout Handi-Rifle in the two configurations shown below.  The first is with no suppressor and the second is with a C3 Defense Clandestine 300BLK suppressor installed.

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Unfortunately, when it came time for me to do range testing, I was caught off guard with lack of ammunition for this review. Luckily, I had at least purchased two boxes of Remington ammunition last year before the ammo shortage.  I had also started working on buying reloading supplies and was able to scrounge up enough supplies to load some of my own ammunition to gather additional range data.  Normally I don't like to shoot a review using reloaded ammunition, but I had to make due with what I had on hand.

Figure 14

The table below summarizes my range test results.  I apologize for the busy-ness of the table, but I wanted to get all my data recorded so I could form a collective opinion.   The complexity of the data stems from me shooting factory and reloaded ammunition, different number of shots per group, and at different distances to utilize some of my "sight-in" data.  The key takeaway from this data is that for all my groups at a 100 yard equivalents (equivalent because some data was taken from 30 yards), the total average was 2.20" for 12 different groups.  Overall I was pleased with these results considering I was using a 7 power scope which I think is very practical for this rifle/cartridge.  Typically I have found that with a higher power scope (i.e. 14x or greater) I'm able to get the group size down by another 0.5 to 0.75 inch and feel this would be true for this rifle.

Ammunition or Powder	Bullet Weight (gr)	Bullet Type	Powder (gr)	Primer	With Suppressor?	Velocity (ft/sec)			Group Size (in)
						Shots	Avg.	Std. Dev.	Dist.	S/G, #G	Max	Min	Avg.
Remington	115	CTFB	-	-	No	15	2284	44	100	3, 4	3.03	2.32	2.70
IMR 4227	135	BTHP	18.2	WSR	No	8	1993	26	100	10, 1	-	-	2.88
Remington	220	SMK BTHP	-	-	No	15	1013	29	100	3, 5	2.26	1.22	1.59
A1680	220	SMK BTHP	11.4	WSR	Yes	5	1154	11	-	-	-	-	-
A1680	220	SMK BTHP	11.2	WSR	No	-	-	-	30	4, 1	-	-	2.001
A1680	220	SMK BTHP	11.2	WSR	Yes	5	1132	7	30	4, 1	-	-	2.801
A1680	220	SMK BTHP	11.0	WSR	Yes	7	1091	15	-	-	-	-	-
A1680	220	SMK BTHP	10.8	WSR	Yes	5	1068	11	-	-	-	-	-
A1680	220	SMK BTHP	10.6	WSR	Yes	7	997	29	-	-	-	-	-
Total Group Average For All 12 Groups													2.20
CTFB - Closed Tip Flat Base, S/G - Shots per Group, #G - Number of Groups 1 - Group size factored up to be a 100 yard equivalent

No range test would be complete without showing at least one group.  This 100 yard 3-shot group was my best for the day with this rifle and measured 1.22" using the subsonic Remington 300 AAC Blackout 220 grain ammunition.  This ammunition also produced my best group average 1.59" based on five 3-shot groups.

Figure 15

 

Thoughts

I was pleased with the accuracy results of the H&R 300 AAC Blackout Handi-Rifle and plan to spend more time at the range.  I like this rifle & scope combination, but I I'm going to have to try it out in the red dot configuration shown below.  There is something about the simple red dot configuration that makes me think the rifle would be great as a light weight relatively short range (less than 100 yards) camp rifle.  Since I'm 6' 2", I wish it had another inch in length of pull, but I was able to get used to the shortness of the rifle.  For reloading subsonic ammunition, it looks like about 10.7 grains of A1680 under a 220 grain SMK BTHP is going to put me in my desired velocity range for this rifle.  I really enjoyed shooting this rifle with a suppressor and subsonic ammunition and am already looking forward to my next time at my range.

Figure 16

For more detailed photos and commentary, make sure you check out the other parts of this review and feel free to leave comments on my Reader's Comments page.  The following links are provided to help you see other parts of this review. 

• H&R 300 AAC Blackout Handi-Rifle Review: Part 1 - Introduction, Specifications and Summary
• H&R 300 AAC Blackout Handi-Rifle Review: Part 2 - What's in the Box
• H&R 300 AAC Blackout Handi-Rifle Review: Part 3 - External and Operational Features
• H&R 300 AAC Blackout Handi-Rifle Review: Part 4 - Disassembly
• H&R 300 AAC Blackout Handi-Rifle Review: Part 5 - Internal Features
• H&R 300 AAC Blackout Handi-Rifle Review: Part 6 - Range Test (this page)

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