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Honey Badger 300 BO sub-sonic hunting loads

M

Macdaddy

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 15, 2009
395
49
Clarke County, VA
#1
I have a Q Honey Badger in 300 BO (16" barrel) that is rejecting almost everything I've tried to feed it in a heavier, sub-sonic hunting bullet. Getting jams and in some cases, problems getting the charge handle to move after first round is fired.

The only two bullets that the folks at Q have suggested I try are the Maker and LeHigh sub-sonic hunting bullets.

Before I sink a bunch of $$$ on these two brands, can anyone tell me what luck they may have had in their Honey Badgers?

Bear in mind, a Honey Badger is not a standard AR15 action so what works in an AR, may or may not work well in the Honey Badger. (Don't ask my why).

Thanks in advance for any insight .
 
#3
wvfarrier said:
Do you reload? If so make some dummies using different seating depths. It is my understanding the HBs are sensitive to long COALs
Click to expand...
I do reload however, when I queried the folks at Q, they said that the HB simply doesn't like certain bullets. The two I specifically tried were the Discreet Ballistics hunting rounds as well as the Hornady Sub-X. Q said they (the people) liked the Sub-X bullets but the Honey Badger didn't. That said, it would seem that they are talking an actual bullet (shape) issue and not a COL issue. Would be nice though if it is only a length issue. I have a box of the Sub-X bullets, maybe I'll try to produce a few shorter ones to see how they function. Of course accuracy is sometimes affected by changes to OAL so I'll have to balance that. Thanks,
 
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#4
Macdaddy said:
I do reload however, when I queried the folks at Q, they said that the HB simply doesn't like certain bullets. The two I specifically tried were the Discreet Ballistics hunting rounds as well as the Hornady Sub-X. Q said they (the people) liked the Sub-X bullets but the Honey Badger didn't. That said, it would seem that they are talking an actual bullet (shape) issue and not a COL issue. Would be nice though if it is only a length issue. I have a box of the Sub-X bullets, maybe I'll try to produce a few shorter ones to see how they function. Of course accuracy is sometimes affected by changes to OAL so I'll have to balance that. Thanks,
Click to expand...
I can't get Sub-X to expand at 1050fps.
 
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#5
Keven at Q has said a couple of times on his IG that the 190gr Sub-X dose not do well in the Honey badger and they had to do a revision to the Honey Badger to get that round to work in guns for a .mil customer that wanted to shoot the round exclusively.
 
#6
Macdaddy said:
I do reload however, when I queried the folks at Q, they said that the HB simply doesn't like certain bullets. The two I specifically tried were the Discreet Ballistics hunting rounds as well as the Hornady Sub-X. Q said they (the people) liked the Sub-X bullets but the Honey Badger didn't. That said, it would seem that they are talking an actual bullet (shape) issue and not a COL issue. Would be nice though if it is only a length issue. I have a box of the Sub-X bullets, maybe I'll try to produce a few shorter ones to see how they function. Of course accuracy is sometimes affected by changes to OAL so I'll have to balance that. Thanks,
Click to expand...


Pm me your address and I will send you a couple of the 200gr REX you can load up and try
 
#11
Has anyone confirmed with Maker that the 200 or 220 Expanding Subsonic can be OK in 1:5 twists at 1000fps?

I tried contacting them, haven't heard back. Curious for the MCX with a 6.75" barrel.

Isn't the Honey Badger a similar twist rate?
 
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#12
Just for some clarity. HB’s seem to have pretty tight chamber specs. It’s not an unheard of issue.

Also, just for anyone curious, the upper receiver, lower receiver, barrel and such are essentially the same as any other ar15 (albeit lighter weight).

The difference is the bcg and spring/buffer/recoil system.

There are two versions. The most common is with the small recoil spring. The other is the newer recoil system found in the 5.56 HB and 5.56 HB upper. It has a larger spring similar to a normal ar15. But the bcg and buffer are still different. If you get a 5.56 HB upper, the new recoil system will work with your .300blk upper and replaces the older smaller spring system. We are still waiting on our 5.56 upper, so unsure if the newer spring and such helps with some of the tight chambering issues.

Anytime you have tight chamber specs and light recoil systems that you see in some .300blk platforms, you can run into issues with ammo and chambering.

This is identified mainly via the charging handle/bcg being tight/hard to pull back.


There are several remedies. If the chamber is out of manufacturer spec, obviously the maker will fix it. If not, then you’ll need to make sure you’re using ammo that fits in the chamber (which might be challenging if using factory), or take a larger reamer and clean out the chamber. Which would likely void your warranty.

Some HB owners have reported the issue fixing itself over time as things break in. Some end up having to keep it very clean and vigilant about the ammo they use.
 
Last edited:
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#13
NHPiper said:
Has anyone confirmed with Maker that the 200 or 220 Expanding Subsonic can be OK in 1:5 twists at 1000fps?

I tried contacting them, haven't heard back. Curious for the MCX with a 6.75" barrel.

Isn't the Honey Badger a similar twist rate?
Click to expand...
All I can offer on that point is that the folks at Q, specifically recommended the Maker 200G Rex bullet as a potential fix to my issue.
 
#14
Rio Precision Gunworks said:
Just for some clarity. HB’s seem to have pretty tight chamber specs. It’s not an unheard of issue.

Also, just for anyone curious, the upper receiver, lower receiver, barrel and such are essentially the same as any other ar15 (albeit lighter weight).

The difference is the bcg and spring/buffer/recoil system.

There are two versions. The most common is with the small recoil spring. The other is the newer recoil system found in the 5.56 HB and 5.56 HB upper. It has a larger spring similar to a normal ar15. But the bcg and buffer are still different. If you get a 5.56 HB upper, the new recoil system will work with your .300blk upper and replaces the older smaller spring system. We are still waiting on our 5.56 upper, so unsure if the newer spring and such helps with some of the tight chambering issues.

Anytime you have tight chamber specs and light recoil systems that you see in some .300blk platforms, you can run into issues with ammo and chambering.

This is identified mainly via the charging handle/bcg being tight/hard to pull back.


There are several remedies. If the chamber is out of manufacturer spec, obviously the maker will fix it. If not, then you’ll need to make sure you’re using ammo that fits in the chamber (which might be challenging if using factory), or take a larger reamer and clean out the chamber. Which would likely void your warranty.

Some HB owners have reported the issue fixing itself over time as things break in. Some end up having to keep it very clean and vigilant about the ammo they use.
Click to expand...
In fact, I have come to the conclusion that the issue is with either a faulty chamber, or the chamber is simply too tight.

The folks at Q have been extremely helpful in trying to diagnose the problem but have decided I need to send the rifle back to them to resolve.

Interesting that there's an improved spring and hoping they replace mine with the newer version.

I'll report back their findings.
 
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