As an example for what it costs to add a new caliber:
- Handgun: including tax, BG check, etc: $655.90
- Optic: Free, it was a rebate
- New Apex Trigger (I put an Apex on every M&P): $190
- 5 more magazines: $213.24
- 500 rounds of ammo: $626
Total cost to add a new caliber: $1,685.14
I figure it will cost more than three times that amount to add a 300 blackout with an integral suppressor to the stable. Man, shooting is expensive.
26 Comments
Steve the Engineer · March 4, 2025 at 3:36 pm
A&P?
Divemedic · March 4, 2025 at 4:20 pm
Oops. Typo
BT · March 4, 2025 at 3:51 pm
Why an integral suppressor?
Divemedic · March 4, 2025 at 4:19 pm
What’s the point of 300 BO unless it is suppressed?
Noveske Rock · March 5, 2025 at 5:17 am
I encourage you to simply purchase an AR15 integrally suppressed upper in 300BO (YHM or other folks offer them – even available used on Gunbroker). The geometry results in far better ergonomics when using the weapon indoors. Price is around a grand new plus the tax stamp. Since they moved the BATFE stamp processing office from West Virginia to Oregon the turnaround time has dropped to about 60 days. By just buying the upper you can mount this on an existing lower and save $$$
Divemedic · March 5, 2025 at 6:51 am
Thats the plan.
Divemedic · March 5, 2025 at 6:52 am
The other costs would be ammo, glass, and tax stamps.
SmileyFtW · March 5, 2025 at 10:20 am
A friend in the firearms trade has told me the turnaround time is down to a few days, especially on subsequent applications.
BT · March 6, 2025 at 6:23 pm
mine has a screw on, works great
Danny · March 4, 2025 at 4:40 pm
Agree – shooting is expensive. I’m trying to decide whether to buy annual membership at a range so unlimited range time each month unless there’s a match, maintenance, etc. Then I would be expending ammo regularly, buying targets and so on. Of course it would provide regular, beneficial practice. And I guess you could look at arms and munitions as cheap insurance.
You’re well under 2K for all that gear so I think that’s pretty reasonable.
It's just Boris · March 4, 2025 at 5:21 pm
The magazine price seems rather high. GunMagWarehouse has them listed for $38 per. Even with shipping and tax, would it really come up to $71 per magazine?
Divemedic · March 4, 2025 at 5:30 pm
I got them from GunMagwarehouse. There were 5 more, not 3 more.
Dindu · March 4, 2025 at 8:26 pm
Nyet! Bear Creek Arsenal has 300blk uppers for around $250.00. Mags are not needed and dies to fabricate from 223 are cheap and easy. Can, well it IS optional.
Daniel K Day · March 6, 2025 at 12:46 am
I sort used brass for the gun club I belong to. We get a fair amount of .300 BLK brass left in the buckets and sell it to members for a pretty reasonable price. Expanding the neck of .223 is one option for obtaining brass to reload, but not the only option.
JB · March 4, 2025 at 9:00 pm
At age 70 I am over buying new firearm calibers. 9mm remains my EDC in an M&P. My Colt series 70 sees range time occassionally. A Ruger Security 6 357 accompanies me to the woods for hikes. A wheelgun has somthing about it that autos lack, aside for the mechanics of it. A Sigma is my only .40 and remains a safe queen. I do have an M&P 45 and an FNX 9, but the M&P 9 is the daily workhorse. And a H&R 22 revolver rarely sees daylight. Do I need a 10 ? Nope. A decade ago in an defensive encounter requiring drawing on my attacker the barrel of an 9 mm pointed between his eyes was sufficient to induce his retreat. I have no room left in the safe for more Iron or polymer, and no room for another safe. My long arms are standardized in .22, 5.56, and 7.62 and a .30 M1 Carbine. A 12 ga when a scattergun is called for is in reach.
Don Curton · March 5, 2025 at 9:31 am
for that 500 rounds of ammo – $626, is that all self-defense ammo or a split of self-defense and practice? You’re talking $1.25 per round which is ok for a few boxes of high powered JHP, but for range ammo that’s pretty pricey. Or is it just that pricey for 10 mm period?
Divemedic · March 5, 2025 at 10:07 am
I always keep 500 rounds of “war shots” on hand for every caliber, at a minimum. Range ammo is not part of that. Range ammo comes in at about 35 cents per round. Before I will use a gun for defense purposes, I always run a good amount of carry ammo through it. Otherwise, how can you bet your life on it working when you need it?
Don Curton · March 5, 2025 at 1:28 pm
10-4. I guess I’m just cheap, I usually only keep ~100 rounds of defense ammo and ~1000 rounds or more of range ammo. If the range ammo works, then I just need to shoot a limited amount of the more expensive stuff to satisfy me. To each his own, your metric is definitely tougher but more expensive than mine.
I also assume that in case of zombie apocalypse, FMJ range ammo also kills zombies.
Tree Mike · March 5, 2025 at 11:29 pm
I got my 300 BO on a whim, my first AR pistol. It was at my favorite pawn shop. It had been in the rack for a couple months before I asked to fondle it. It’s a 9″ pistol with a blast can and an early Daniel Defence free float handguard. Is the whole upper DD? I don’t know, neither did the store owner. The whole gun with a legal, Anderson, pistol lower with brace, was $450. I asked him why is it was so cheap? He said he got it cheap and he just marks things up enough for some profit and a quick sale. He gave me about 100 rounds for free, before I found out how expensive ammo was, 4 years ago. That was nice.
I hadn’t been into AR pistols, because, I thought, 5.56 loses too much energy. The 300, being designed for short barrels (using fast burning pistol powder) is perfect as an SBR. They are about 100 fps slower than 7.62×39, but with a superior selection of projectiles. “They” say it’s a better a predator stopper out to 150-200 yards than 5.56.
I’ve only shot mine out to 140 yards and there’s no need for elevation correction, though probably would be at 200. My range ammo is 150 gr ball, rated at 1900 fps. My social loads, 110-125 gr., are rated from 2450 fps to about 2250 fps. Recoil SEEMS less than 7.62 x39, I have both in AR pistol.
My truck gun is a 10.5″ 5.56, AR pistol, because if I’m away from home when the zombie apocalypse happens, I want commonality with Army Guard and dropped weapons. After getting the 300, I did more research into 5.56 pistols. 10.5″ has enough velocity for M193 to yaw and fragment out to about 100 yards. It’s to get me home, not engage in any major battles. Still, I have six mags when away from home, because, better safe than…you just never have too much ammo, unless you’re drowning or on fire.
hank · March 6, 2025 at 3:22 am
As a newbie with a number of pieces including a stock M&P 9 Shield 2.0, curious about your Apex preference. Can you go into some depth about the reasoning for that choice one day? What might the CCW neophyte gain by the switch? Thanks!
Elrod · March 6, 2025 at 3:49 am
“….I usually only keep ~100 rounds of defense ammo and ~1000 rounds or more of range ammo. “
RE: 100 warshots – if things suddenly go All Sporty what’s your resupply plan?
Don Curton · March 9, 2025 at 8:55 am
Well, mostly I carry a revolver so if I need to reload more than 2 or 3 times, I’m probably dead. I’m realistic enough to know I’m not Rambo. And if things are that sporty, I have ~2000+ rounds of 5.56 cause a pistol is only used to fight my way to a rifle. I’ll also have a 30-06 that’s good out to (well, with me shooting) at least 300 yards and probably more if I would just practice at it.
And don’t forget that practice ammo – FMJ and lead semi-wadcutters – are still deadly.
Divemedic · March 9, 2025 at 11:31 am
It isn’t about keeping enough on hand for a single incident. It’s about keeping enough on hand to last through an event that sees no ammo available at any price for an extended period. I would think that if we as shooters learned nothing else from 2020, we would have learned that ammo can be limited while our enemies are aplenty.
The idea of war shots versus range ammo is this:
A bullet is nothing more than a device that transfers the chemical energy stored in gunpowder into your target. Any energy that the bullet has when it exits out of the backside of your target is wasted. What JHP does is ensure that all or nearly all of that energy is expended inside of the target.
Range ammo is used because it is cheaper to train with.
Don Curton · March 10, 2025 at 5:32 am
In that scenario – I reload. Mostly practice ammo, but I can put whatever I want into the fired cases and make some hot “war shots” too. I have roughly 5000 primers for both large and small pistol cases.
Fatlad · March 10, 2025 at 5:40 pm
I purchased a polonium 30 for my 300 and at the same time I decided to modify my 5.56 for it. I was extremely curious how “suppressed” both the 300 and 5.56 would be. To my great surprise that polonium 30 made both guns “movie quiet”. I genuinely did not expect that result.
Apex Trigger – Area Ocho · March 9, 2025 at 4:56 am
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