Best .300 Blackout AR Pistols & Rifles

Sometimes people want some quiet time, and pistol caliber carbines are easy to suppress. However, at the end of the day, they still only fire a pistol caliber.

That's where the .300 Blackout comes in.

The .300 Blackout cartridge was designed explicitly for short barrels. Where 5.56 only reaches its full velocity potential at 20 inches, the fatter .300 Blackout does it from a mere 9-inch barrel.

One of the other benefits of .300 Blackout is that it can pack a supersonic cartridge for better range and velocity or heavier subsonic cartridges for maximum suppression.

Plenty of cartridges have come and gone, but .300 Blackout is enjoying success because it doesn’t try to beat 5.56 — it complements it.

With that in mind, we've gathered some of the top-tier .300 Blackout rifles on the market that aim to provide you with a platform that's quiet, maybe short, or both.

Let's dive in and find out.

.300 Blackout Comparison Chart

How We Chose the Best .300 BLK Rifles & Pistols

Input for this article came from the editorial staff and freelance writers at Pew Pew Tactical. Each model has spent hands-on time with a staff member or writer for PPT and has undergone a minimum of 500 rounds through each if not more on the exact model or a similar caliber variant.

Additionally, models were selected based on features, price, value, durability, and ease of suppression.

Best .300 BLK Rifles & Pistols

1. Palmetto State Armory JAKL - Editor's Pick

Editor's Pick

PSA JAKL .300 Blackout

$999

at Palmetto State Armory

Prices accurate at time of writing

$999 at Palmetto State Armory

Specs

• Caliber: .300 BLK
• Action: Semi-automatic, piston
• Capacity: 30+1
• Barrel Length: 8.5"
• Overall Length: 27.5"
• Weight: 6.5 lbs

PSA made waves when they released the JAKL in 2022, but one of the first questions people asked was, "When can I get one in .300 Blackout?" Suffice to say, PSA delivered.

Featuring a 6105 monolithic upper receiver and a long-stroke piston-driven operating system, the JAKL definitely exudes shades of guns like the FN SCAR --- but at a much cheaper price point.

A fully captured recoil system in the upper means you don't have to deal with a pesky buffer tube. No buffer tube means you can get a folding stock or brace, which can make for a nice compact package.

If suppression is something you are considering, the JAKL also sports a toolless 6-position adjustable gas block to help you tune your gun easily and keep it running smoothly.

To top it all off, the JAKL is compatible with any mil-spec AR-15 lower. So if you just want to dip your toes in and try an upper only, the world is your oyster.

Check out our full review of the 5.56 NATO JAKL!

What do you think of the JAKL? Rate it below!

2. Q Honey Badger Pistol - Lightest Option

Lightest Option

Q Honey Badger Pistol

$3150

at Kygunco

Prices accurate at time of writing

$3150 at Kygunco

GrabAGun (see price)

Specs

• Caliber: .300 Blk
• Action: Semi-automatic, direct impingement
• Capacity: 30+1
• Barrel Length: 7"
• Overall Length: 25" (extended)
• Weight: 4.5 lbs

With tax stamps, once you get one, it's likely for a product you plan on keeping forever. If you purchase a factory SBR in .300 Blackout, why not spend a little extra money to get the most gun possible?

The Q Honey Badger is a PDW-sized premier option for those seeking a gun in .300 Blackout.

If the SBR and tax stamp aren't for you, you can purchase a pistol variant of the gun and have a braced .300 Blackout pistol. Either way, you are getting a fantastic option for home defense and the range.

The guys at Q used to be at AAC, and AAC invented the .300 Blackout round.

With the Honey Badger, they've taken the AR platform and shrunk it to nearly SMG size. The barrel is a mere 7 inches long, and with a can, you still have a barrel shorter than most carbine-sized rifles.

Its PDW-sized stock (or brace) gives you an ultra-small platform, keeping the gun's overall length at only 25 inches when fully extended.

At the shortest length, the gun is only 20 inches and weighs 4.5 pounds. For comparison, the MP5SD is 9mm, and is 23.62 inches at its shortest length, and weighs 7.5 pounds.

The Honey Badger offers plenty of features to make it desirable, in addition to the outstanding build quality and parts quality that make it a true elite-tier AR rifle.

3. Daniel Defense M4ISR - Best Integrally Suppressed

Best Integrally Suppressed Rifle Option

Daniel Defense DDM4ISR

$3555

at GrabAGun

Prices accurate at time of writing

$3555 at GrabAGun

Daniel Defense (see price)

Kygunco (see price)

Specs

• Caliber: .300 BLK
• Action: Semi-automatic, direct impingement
• Capacity: 30+1
• Barrel Length: 9"
• Overall Length: 34.75"
• Weight: 7.6 lbs

Oh boy, let's say you want a suppressed SBR, but the idea of a two-stamp AR is too much of a headache. Heck, that's $400 just in tax stamps. No one wants that.

Daniel Defense produced the all too often overlooked M4ISR for shooters who want the combination of a short barrel and a suppressor without two stamps.

The M4ISR features an integrally suppressed design with a 9-inch barrel paired with a permanently attached suppressor that brings the total length to 16 inches.

You get a short-barreled rifle and a suppressor with only one tax stamp. The 9-inch barrel allows you to reach the max potential of the .300 Blackout cartridge while retaining a shorter length when suppressed.

This results in a very quiet but effective platform for self-defense and home defense.

Daniel Defense also provides a modern rifle platform with almost all of the accoutrements, including an ambidextrous safety, Daniel Defense furniture, and a .300 Blackout PMAG.

What's odd is that Daniel Defense kept the Keymod rails — maybe they just invested heavily into Keymod and are looking for a way to get rid of all those rails.

Regardless, the DDM4ISR offers you a one-stamp option with only a 16-inch overall barrel for a light and handy platform.

Be sure to check out our video and full review of the DDM4ISR.

4. Sig MCX Rattler - Best Compact .300 BLK

Best Compact .300 BLK

Sig Sauer MCX Rattler

$2499

at Palmetto State Armory

Prices accurate at time of writing

$2499 at Palmetto State Armory

GrabAGun (see price)

Kygunco (see price)

Specs

• Caliber: .300 BLK
• Action: Semi-automatic, piston
• Capacity: 30+1
• Barrel Length: 7.75"
• Overall Length: 27.2"
• Weight: 6.1 lbs

Sig blended the AR-15 ergonomics and the performance of a short-stroke piston rifle to produce a reliable and versatile platform they called the MCX.

One of the joys of a short-stroke gas piston system is that the gun doesn't care much about barrel length, so you can shrink the barrel without much of a problem.

With that in mind, Sig produced the Rattler to provide the shortest MCX platform out there. The MCX Rattler comes as both an SBR model and a PCB model, which is a braced pistol.

Short barrels and .300 Blackout go hand in hand, and the short 5.5-inch barrel keeps the weapon ultra small and light, and this gun is absolutely begging for a suppressor.

The Rattler platform has been adopted by SOCOM as their PDW of choice, and it's easy to see why. In .300 Blackout, these guns are the size of SMGs, even suppressed, but pack the power of a carbine.

Sig’s mini Rattler also provides a collapsing stock, a short M-LOK handguard, a reduced-sized grip, and ambidextrous AR-15 controls.

Want to know more about this small guy? You can read our full review!

5. Steyr AUG - Best Bullpup

Best Bullpup

Steyr AUG A3 M1

$1999

at Palmetto State Armory

Prices accurate at time of writing

$1999 at Palmetto State Armory

Kygunco (see price)

Specs

• Caliber: .300 BLK
• Action: Semi-automatic, piston
• Capacity: 30+1
• Barrel Length: 16"
• Overall Length: 28.1"
• Weight: 7.2 lbs

Yes, you read that right. Steyr can now stake its claim on this list thanks to finally offering complete AUG rifles and barrels in .300 Blackout.

We previously had the Tavor X95 in this slot, but IWI has discontinued the .300 Blackout Tavor. But if you are looking for a compact .300 Blackout gun without having to resort to a pistol variant or using a brace, the AUG has you covered thanks to its bullpup configuration.

The AUG has proven its reliability time and time again since the 70s. Since the .300 Blackout variant is a simple 5-second barrel swap, you are not altering the core operating system, keeping that reliability intact.

Steyr opted to include a 6-position adjustable gas plug to help users dial in their guns for suppressor usage. It should be noted that they do recommend against flow-through suppressors if you plan on using subsonic ammunition.

Yeah, the trigger isn't great, but damn is the AUG cool, and damn is it durable. On top of that, they are selling combination kits that include the gun, a fixed 1.5x Steyr optic, a 16-inch .300 BLK barrel, and a 20-inch 5.56 barrel --- all for around $2000.

Take a look at our full review of the 5.56 Steyr AUG!

Final Thoughts

The .300 Blackout is superbly capable, versatile, and efficient. It's big, heavy, and capable of being used in short platforms without a huge velocity penalty.

It really is a wonder round that compliments the weaknesses of the 5.56 caliber. A .300 Blackout may not replace your 5.56 rifle, but it will do some things that your 5.56 can’t.

These are some of my favorite .300 Blackout rifles, but what are yours? Let us know in the comments below! Don't forget to also check out our article on the 5 Best .300 Blackout Scopes and Optics: Correct Drops!

Latest Updates

• November 2025: Removed Ruger American Ranch
• June 2024: Removed PSA Custom .300 BLK, IWI Tavor X95, B&T SPR300 PRO. Added PSA JAKL, Steyr AUG.