I have a simple test when considering cartridges for hunting big game with an AR-15-style rifle. It simply requires honestly answering the question: If you were shopping for a non-AR rifle to hunt deer, bear or hogs would you pick one chambered for the cartridge you are willing to use in an AR-15? In other words, would you choose a bolt-action deer rifle chambered for .300 Blackout over say a .308 Win. or a .30-’06 Sprg.? The answer, of course, is no. Otherwise gunmakers would be flocking to build .300 Blackout bolt-action rifles. Why aren’t they? Because there just isn’t much of a market. As an example, Remington did introduce a bolt-action in 6.8 mm SPC, but has since dropped it due to poor sales.

The .223 Rem. is a good seller in a bolt-action hunting rifle, but not for big game. The vast majority of .223 Rem. bolt-action rifles are purchased for hunting varmints. The few .300 Blackout bolt-action rifles I have seen are designed for tactical use and to be used suppressed—not for deer hunting.

Big-game hunters use the .300 Blackout, 6.8 mm SPC or .223 Rem. in AR-15s because of the platform, not the ballistics. Sure, they can all kill game, but I’d argue that they make shot placement even more critical than more powerful cartridges traditionally used to hunt deer, bear or hogs. Read the rest of the article at American Rifleman