It all started with a chuckle as I picked up the slightly odd-looking cartridge and it ended with a burst of laughter, beaming smile, and the instant knowledge that I needed one of my own! Shooting a suppressed 300 Blackout AR-15 was hands down the most fun experience I have had behind a rifle. It was quiet enough I not only heard my buffer cycling for the first time but it was the loudest noise around me.

When I committed to set money aside for a new rifle I had many questions to mull over and infinite ideas of what I could build. As I researched products and builds I was overwhelmed and almost frozen by the vast amount of different options I could combine. I quickly realized I had to narrow down my research by thinking about the purpose this rifle would serve. The ultimate goal was to build a rifle that I could enjoy ringing steel, introducing new shooters, or even setting up on a bench and practicing at moderate range comfortably and cheaply. After narrowing the purpose, I would begin coming up with the plan and budget for the build. A main issue to confront was the amount of money that would be added in tax stamps depending on the type of rifle I wanted. I knew out of the gate it would be a base line of $200 as this rifle HAD to be suppressed and it would be money well spent! That led to the next question of what barrel length to choose and how the firearm would be registered. The experience I had shooting 300 Blackout AR-15 with a 10.5” barrel was phenomenal and tempting to follow, however the legal grey area of a pistol brace and the $200 tax stamp of an SBR were both imperfect options. Ultimately the simple fact that I could build just a new 300 Blackout upper and swap it on to my current rifle lower won out on all accounts.