The .300 Blackout cartridge and the rifle we now know as the Honey Badger were originally developed by AAC by request of a US special forces military unit. They wanted to replace their MP5SD submachine guns with a weapon that was still very quiet but had more terminal lethality than subsonic 9mm Parabellum ammunition. To do this, Kevin Brittingham and AAC started with the .300 Whisper cartridge and made a few tweaks, then chambered it in an AR derivative with a collapsing stock, short buffer system, short barrel, and telescoping silencer like the MP5. Later, when Brittingham started the company Q, he introduced a commercial version of that rifle as the Honey Badger.
So the question is; how well does the Honey Badger accomplish the mission of replacing the MP5SD?
For this video, I will be comparing a Honey Badger with an H&K SP5 converted to SD configuration by HiTec Arms. My conclusion is that the Honey Badger actually is a very competent replacement for the MP5SD. The MP5 is a bit quieter and has quicker followup shots (thanks to less recoil and more weight). The Honey Badger is lighter and handier, has better controls, is just as fast, is more accurate at ranges beyond CQB, and has better terminal performance. The MP5SD has massive aesthetic appeal, but I think the Honey Badger is pretty clearly the more practically effective of the two designs for the role they were designed for.
Cool gun but I have never been a fan of .300BO. I always thought of it as a “one trick pony”. Now that subsonic hunting loads in 7.62×39 are available I think it has more legs. I have two suppressed 7.62×39 bolt guns and like the heck out of them.
I like the 7.62 guns too, but American units are always going to give preference to American designs unless they just can’t possibly not do so. If I could procure a gun whose handling mimics something familiar, like an M-4, I’d feel a lot better about issuing it to my guys.
Supersonic .300BLK is a thing, though.
Yes, indeed! I agree with your other comment about its versatility, and it also offers .30 Carbine MV / ME from a PDW with an OAL shorter than a Carbine’s barrel.
x39 has far fewer legs than it used to. Its “tricks” were dirt-cheap Soviet surplus guns and ammo, which are gone and never coming anywhere close to the old prices again; and the long-discredited fuddlore that ARs were hopeless jam-o-matics.
The ability to swap mags from subsonics to supers and have, essentially, an MP5SD in the sheets and a Krink in the streets is a big improvement in utility.
How can someone even think that a German legend can be replaced by a Armalite platform ??
If you handload you can easily make 115, 125, and esp. 147 grain 9mm loads subsonic w/o going to the trouble of a fancy new barrel.
I’m sure you can find 125 grain subsonics for purchase.
https://ammoseek.com/ammo/9mm-luger/-handgun-125-147grains
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Factory 147gr 9mm is subsonic. No handloading required.