Anyone have a Rattler in 556? How do you like it? I have an AR pistol though the Rattler is appealing to me. Are they reliable? Any issues or generational changes as of yet?

I'm not crazy about it in 556. Can't suppress it according to Sig and the barrel is so short the muzzle energy has to be in pistol caliber territory :/

300 is where it excels IMO

Yeah I was wondering that. Maybe I need a 300 BO in the safe.

I would not buy a Sig Rattler in 300blk, either. Their 5.5 inch barrel is just too short to attain the potential of a rifle cartridge. And of course, who knows how long Sig will support the Rattler platform.

300blk works better than 223 in shorter barrels. But a barrel of at least 10 to 12 inches allows the 300blk cartridge to have respectable muzzle velocity and muzzle energy.

You're getting just about the same energy out of the 5.5-6in 300blk as you would a 10in 5.56

Buuuuut....a 10in 300BLK would give comparable results to a 16in 5.56

It just comes down to what do you want to use it for and how far you're planning on using it.

Inside 200 yards mine has been a solid hog gun. I wanted something suppressible that was as compact as possible to ride around in the Polaris. For me it does exactly what I wanted it to.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Andyb,

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
I would not buy a Sig Rattler in 300blk, either. Their 5.5 inch barrel is just too short to attain the potential of a rifle cartridge. And of course, who knows how long Sig will support the Rattler platform.

300blk works better than 223 in shorter barrels. But a barrel of at least 10 to 12 inches allows the 300blk cartridge to have respectable muzzle velocity and muzzle energy.

Have you ever shot a .300blk 5” barrel through a chrono? I’ll bet the answer is no. I’m pushing a .30 caliber bullet 2,000 FPS out of my rattler. What is there not to love about that?

As for a 5” 5.56, I’ve never chrono’d such an animal, but I can only image how crappy it would be...and that’s not even considering the muzzle blast!

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
Have you ever shot a .300blk 5” barrel through a chrono? I’ll bet the answer is no. I’m pushing a .30 caliber bullet 2,000 FPS out of my rattler.

No, I have only personally chrono'd my own 11.3" blackout barrel. And there are many 30-cal bullet weights.

It's unfortunate that the ballistics-by-the-inch website has not yet analyzed 300blk ammo. A few sites/videos here and there compare a 10" vs 16" barrel, or an 8" vs 16" -- sometimes the numbers make sense, other times not so much. There was one guy who tested barrels from 4" to 24" in 1 inch increments, using a 110 Barnes load -- and then compared MV and ME to an M193 load in similar length 223 barrels. I still have a copy of the end results, but no longer the details of his testing methodology. However, his numbers seem to be in the ballpark.

His 110 Barnes load produce MV of 1701 fps in a 5" barrel and 1877 in a 6" barrel. Interpolating, a 5.5" barrel might have MV of 1800 fps, producing a ME around 800 foot pounds. ME of 800 is definitely stronger than most pistol loads; roughly twice what many 9mm handguns produce.

MV of 2000 fps is pretty stout in a 5.5" barrel, if the bullet weighs 110 grains. I wouldn't expect that MV until a 7.5" to 8" barrel. 2000 fps with a 110 bullet produces ME of 977 foot pounds.

My 11.3" is a Wilson Combat blackout barrel. WC barrels tend to be a little faster than average. I also have a SOCOM mini suppressor attached when I test MV with a Magnetospeed. Hornady VMax 110 Black ammo produces an MV of 2347, which translates to ME of 1346 ft-#.

The 125 grain loads I've tested produce MVs from 2046 to 2196 fps, which translates to MEs of 1162 to 1339 ft-#. I see better accuracy with the 125 ammo with MVs in the 2100 fps ballpark. The fastest 125 grain loads show pressure signs of popped primers and difficult extraction -- Fiocchi's and Sig's ammo were the worst offenders.

Bottom line -- sure, a short 300blk barrel definitely has more ME than a comparable 223 gun, and way more than the average handgun. IMO the 300blk comes more into its potential with at least a 10" barrel, so that it's muzzle energy is in the league of a 16" barrel 223.

Factory Barnes 110 gr loads are 1,900 FPS all day every day out of the rattler. That’s off the shelf not even hot stuff. I’m not sure how he was loading a 110 gr bullet to only get 1,700 FPS, but that load sucks.