Why are 300 BLK uppers/rifles so dang expensive?

[CountryBoy19]

I guess I just don't get it. With the popularity of the 300 BLK cartridge, and the fact that the only part that changes vs 5.56 upper is the barrel, why are they so expensive?

I've been holding out for a good deal on a 300 upper for a while now and it seems that you're lucky to get a premium one under $900 or low-end under $700... what gives?

I can probably get a premium 5.56 upper for $700 or less and swap out the barrels for less than buying a complete upper and keep the 5.56 barrel ... am I missing something or did I just answer my own question on what I should do?

ETA, I'll just build my own. I've now ordered all the parts necessary to build my own 300 BLK upper plus some extra parts (enough extra parts to mostly completley a 2nd 300 BLK upper plus 3rd barrel). My total cost, including tax, shipping, paypal fees etc for an upper with a lot of upgraded parts including Samson rail system, BCM Gunfight charging handle etc totals $561

For anybody looking for a really good deal on a 300 BLK barrel I ended up buying a combo pack of 3 to get a better deal and I'll be posting the 16" barrel in the classifieds once I receive it.

 

[Gingerbread Man]

I suggest, unless you're going to build an SBR and/or get a can, avoid the 300. The 300 shines out of a short barrel, in a 16" barrel there is better ballistics from the 5.56. 5.56 is way cheaper and more affordable.
The 300 also does very well when suppressed, both super and subsonic, but without the suppressor it's just as loud as the 5.56.
Unless you just want a 300. I own 3 Blkout SBR uppers and these are my impressions. YMMV/IMHO.

 

[Booya]

I've always wondered this myself! Same thing on an SBR upper. it's the exact same thing only with a shorter barrel... It would stand to reason that a smaller barrel wold cost less from a material/production standpoint, everything else is the same... Hell, I could build or buy a fairly premium entire rifle for less then the cost of some of these uppers...

 

[x10]

Their Cool and Hot and New, And people are paying the price, instead of Supply Demand, Its Desire Supply/Demand economics,

Have you ever not budged off a price because you knew the buyer really wanted what you were selling?

I have

 

[CountryBoy19]

I suggest, unless you're going to build an SBR and/or get a can, avoid the 300. The 300 shines out of a short barrel, in a 16" barrel there is better ballistics from the 5.56. 5.56 is way cheaper and more affordable.
The 300 also does very well when suppressed, both super and subsonic, but without the suppressor it's just as loud as the 5.56.
Unless you just want a 300. I own 3 Blkout SBR uppers and these are my impressions. YMMV/IMHO.

I currently have SBR lowers and a .30 cal suppressor so the 300 BLK in a nice 9-10" barrel will be right at home in my collection.

Their Cool and Hot and New, And people are paying the price, instead of Supply Demand, Its Desire Supply/Demand economics,

Have you ever not budged off a price because you knew the buyer really wanted what you were selling?

I have

But certainly there would be some competition between the vendors no? Typically, when you are selling something and somebody wants it bad it's because they can't get it elsewhere for that price. Likewise for the 300 BLK market. I can buy a completely 5.56 upper and a 300 BLK barrel for what people are selling complete 300 BLK uppers... just wondering what I'm missing. If it's the popularity then I'll do just as I suggested and buy the 5.56 upper plus barrel. But even considering the popularity the lack of competition between vendors doesn't make much sense unless its a barrel supply issue and they are running production near the peak of what their barrel supply is...

 

[762minigun]

Their Cool and Hot and New

Lol! They weren't that hot and cool when it was called 300 whisper back in the 90's.

OP buy a barrel and roll your own if your set on the 300.

 

[vitamink]

300 BLACKOUT YEAR - YouTube

travis haley has one

and they're awesome.

 

[Booya]

300 BLACKOUT YEAR - YouTube

travis haley has one

and they're awesome.

TH has one!!?? BRB, I'm heading to the interwebs to get 2 then ASAP! I'll have to hit up Costa's FB page and ask him, very specifically, how to set it up properly so I can kill turrurists as rapidly as possible!!

Now all I need is my own BADASS HMMWV!

*Kidding aside, I would like one for my SBR Also, this is the most emotes I've ever used in 1 post.

 

[vitamink]

TH has one!!?? BRB, I'm heading to the interwebs to get 2 then ASAP! I'll have to hit up Costa's FB page and ask him, very specifically, how to set it up properly so I can kill turrurists as rapidly as possible!!

Now all I need is my own BADASS HMMWV!

*Kidding aside, I would like one for my SBR Also, this is the most emotes I've ever used in 1 post.

Pure WIN sir! That's twice now i spit coffee on my keyboard.

 

[Naptown]

Yep, it seems to have the the flavor of the month for many months now. Remember those graphs from economics? Supply meets demand.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Yep, it seems to have the the flavor of the month for many months now. Remember those graphs from economics? Supply meets demand.

I know economics very well... but here is my point.

Right now some barrel makers are running specials on 300 BLK barrels because they can't get rid of them. I can go online and order a 300 BLK barrel for $129 with free shipping today and that barrel is in-stock. Likewise, I can get online and order a 5.56 upper that is in-stock for a very reasonable price.

Where does the 300 BLK separate from the 5.56 in supply/demand? It certainly isn't the parts cost or supply because the only difference from a 5.56 upper and a 300 upper is the barrel and the barrels are available cheap right now. So it has to be one of 2 things. #1 added markup because the market will bear it because the round is popular right now. This seems logical but if there is a $100-250 markup on making a 300 BLK upper vs 5.56 upper then there would certainly be a lot more manufacturers making them and we should see some competition driving prices down. #2 Manufacturers are trying to focus efforts on 5.56 uppers to get stocks built up before focusin on other calibers. That doesn't make much sense to a business trying to make profit; if there is more profitability in making Y product and there is no additional capital, manpower, or input cost needed to make Y product then why wouldn't you start making more of Y product?

Lets put it like this:
To make a 5.56 upper I need All the parts to make an upper, plus the tools, plus the person to put it together
To make a 5.56 upper I need all the same parts as above except I swap the 5.56 barrel for a 300 BLK barrel of equal cost and availability and use the same tools and manpower

As long as the market is somewhat saturated with both (it seemingly is) then the prices should be somewhat equal. Just last week I saw a sale of 5.56 complete uppers for $450 and that isn't even a "fantastic" price. But if I want a 300 BLK upper I'm looking at minimum of $700 for one...

 

[Hop]

I have a brand spanking new 8" Noveske 300 AAC Blackout barrel + an NSR hand guard & ~300 rounds of ammo I'm considering selling. I just can't make up my mind if it's really worth assembling it or not. I already have a supressed 9mm SBR / subgun.

 

[roadrunner681]

cause there cool, people can charge more cause they know that people will spend more to get it. my interest in it is i hunt i a very thick brushy area, while i wait to make sure i know what im shooting at, 556 in my experince is bothered by brush.

 

[Tombs]

People get what they ask for with the 6.8 SPCII, then they ignore it and complain. Then they get exactly the opposite of what they want with the 300blackout and pretend it's the best thing since sliced bread.

You want an overall improvement of the 5.56, a step up in every sense? Get a 6.8.
Not like it's much more expensive than 5.56 these days.

 

[10ring]

I have a brand spanking new 8" Noveske 300 AAC Blackout barrel + an NSR hand guard & ~300 rounds of ammo I'm considering selling. I just can't make up my mind if it's really worth assembling it or not. I already have a supressed 9mm SBR / subgun.

Hey let me know if you want to sell it, I'll take it off your hands.

 

[CountryBoy19]

People get what they ask for with the 6.8 SPCII, then they ignore it and complain. Then they get exactly the opposite of what they want with the 300blackout and pretend it's the best thing since sliced bread.

You want an overall improvement of the 5.56, a step up in every sense? Get a 6.8.
Not like it's much more expensive than 5.56 these days.

Perfect suggestion, I like where you're going with that. I can have a top performing super-sonic round, then without changing a thing on the gun, just swap mags to a top performing sub-sonic round that is quite literally whisper quiet. Yup, you can find that in the 6.8... or not... obviously purple was implied. Your suggestion of 6.8 is WAY off base. 6.8 isn't even a step up in every sense from the 5.56, let alone the 300 BLK (which blows it out of the water on cartridge versatility)... take your argumentative comments elsewhere, this isn't a caliber discussion, this is a discussion about why such a large markup on the 300 BLK goods and why more people aren't peddling the 300 BLK if its that popular....

 

[JLL101]

Your suggestion of 6.8 is WAY off base. 6.8 isn't even a step up in every sense from the 5.56, let alone the 300 BLK (which blows it out of the water on cartridge versatility)... take your argumentative comments elsewhere, this isn't a caliber discussion, this is a discussion about why such a large markup on the 300 BLK goods and why more people aren't peddling the 300 BLK if its that popular....

Why don't you take your unnecessary and erroneous argumentative comments elsewhere. The 6.8 outperforms the the 5.56 and 300 BLK in pretty much every measurable lethal category (muzzle energy, penetration, etc.) I have reviewed.

Relative to the original post, most commentators appear to have the correct insight on the excessive cost of thr 300 BLK currently. The sellers are still able to get the inflated prices for the 300 BLK dedicated uppers, so they are still going to hold their prices. When buyers quit paying the inflated prices, the prices will come down. It sees to me the 300 BLK is pretty much all new toys, the prices are excessive until market pressures for the item subsides. Build your own upper and save some money. Review a few YouTube builds and you can see it is a relatively simple project requiring minimal tool acquisition. I am no gunsmith but have successfully built a few uppers and lowers over the years. Buy name brand parts and you should have a quality end product.

 

[ljk]

my take on this: 300BLK= Suppressed SBR.

many people, myself included, think the Feds are trying to make NFA firearms harder and harder to legally own. I want to have a suppressed SBR when I still can and my 2 boys will have a chance to own one when I'm gone.

that being said, 5.56 needs the barrel length to gain performance, also it's loud, even with the best cans. on the other hand, 9" is pretty much the ticket for 300blk in terms of barrel length, and the sub's are really quiet with a cheap can.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Why don't you take your unnecessary and erroneous argumentative comments elsewhere. The 6.8 outperforms the the 5.56 and 300 BLK in pretty much every measurable lethal category (muzzle energy, penetration, etc.) I have reviewed.

6.8 may outperform 5.56 ballistically but that is the only area it outperforms. Tombs said "a step up in every sense" but that just isn't the case. "Every sense" implies every aspect of the cartridge; the truth is that 6.8 only outperforms ballistically. The part that he overlooked was the cost and less-common, more expensive parts & components for the gun and reloading... 300 BLK fills that void quite nicely with the added benefit that I can run supersonic ammo and switch to heavy subs that are whisper quiet using my suppressor just by switching mags... that CANNOT be done with 6.8... RE: parts & components of 300 BLK, it uses the very, very common 30 cal bullets that are already out there and the brass is converted from 5.56 brass... performance of the 300 BLK rivals that of 6.8 in close. Out at further distance it can still be effective if the shooter does his part. 300 BLK isn't the perfect cartridge just like 6.8 isn't perfect either. This isn't a caliber debate. I like the 300 BLK because it is the PERFECT cartridge for what I want and 6.8 does nothing for me over 5.56.

Overall, cost of getting set up for, and reloading for 6.8 will be well above that of 300 BLK and that is a huge factor. After-all, for people that shoot a lot, the cost of the gun pales in comparison to the cost of the ammo that will be run through it.

 

[Manatee]

Most of my AR shooting in the field is 200 yards or less. The 300 seems a perfect addition to my 5.56 carbine. Same everything except barrel and ammo. It all fits in one case: 2 uppers and a lower.