Best 300 Blackout Magazines – Review And Buyer’s Guide

Magazines are affordable, easy-to-collect firearm accessories and provide the perfect place to keep your ammo organized and ready to shoot – and anyone who owns guns knows EXACTLY WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.

Despite the compatibility of AR15 mags from one cartridge to the next, why reuse your 5.56 for a 300 BLK when each can have their own specific magazines to avoid mixing up calibers? Bottom line- you shouldn’t. Take a look at why your 300 BLK ammo deserves its very own magazine cartridge and which options we prefer.  

Comparison Table Of The 6 Best 300 Blackout Magazines

Same Mag, Different Caliber?

The beauty of the AR-15 platform is how compatible it is with an excellent range of caliber options. A simple barrel and maybe an upper receiver swap out is generally all you need to turn your 5.56 NATO into a 300 BLK or other popular .30 cal upgrade. This allows you to save a ton of cash when you aren’t interested in purchasing an entirely new firearm just to shoot a different size bullet (but if you are – check out these rifles!). What’s even more cost-saving is that the majority of your existing AR-15 magazines will easily accept a 300 BLK cartridge since the casing and sizes are compatible with one another concerning reliable feeding. NEVER shoot either cartridge through one another though, as you will create either a jamming issue or an explosion –  hence the argument to ensure you keep separate magazines specific to different caliber cartridges. Having a dedicated magazine for each is a step in the right direction. 

Why Mod for a 300 BLK in the First Place?

You might be wondering why all the talk of a 300 BLK in the first place. If you have a perfectly good .223 or 5.56 NATO platform, why modify it? As mentioned, you can save a bunch of money when you modify it instead of buying a whole new build because all you need for the acceptance of the .300 BLK round is the barrel. 

That’s right, all you need is a new barrel to fire your .300 BLK rounds. 

Of course, you can swap out a few more parts if you want, but the whole point is- you don’t need to. 

The .300 BLK, or .300 AAC Blackout, is a wildcat round that fits the niche between the 5.56 and popular .308 and runs both as subsonic ammunition and supersonic option in the AR platform. It was created to be ballistically similar to an AK-47 round with a higher mass and deeper penetrating option, especially when suppressed. This means it is a harder hitting option than the 5.56 NATO, and shoots even more quietly with less recoil when used in such a manner. For hunting this is invaluable, and it makes a fun day on the range as well. 

Magazine Buying Guide

Do you really need a guide to buy firearm magazines? Nope! As long as you ensure the magazine you are purchasing is compatible with your gun, you are set. Magazines are an incredibly simple design and promise smooth feeding with nary a problem from one brand to the next. 

But there are some fun detail additions that you might want to take a closer look at when buying magazines. First, you can never have too many. Magazines are heavily used and over time may not feed as well as when first purchased. They also take a beating and could get lost or left behind at the range, dented or chipped, or the follower or spring could simply wear out. Many also fire a great range of bullet weights, but this can wear on the internal workings over time. 

Materials

Magazines generally are made with a few different materials. Aluminum magazines and polymer-made magazines are lightweight and dependable, allowing you to load and carry without adding much weight to your weapon. 

Stainless steel magazines used to be the industry standard for quality magazine choices, but technology through the years have provided a wider variety of options. Steel magazines are still around, but you might not find them as often as the more lightweight, less expensive choices now readily available. Many people prefer them for 20-round capacity mags or less to avoid the extra weight. 

Color Coding 

Visual indicators, such as a yellow follower instead of the traditional black follower, can allow you to have a quick reference to the proper magazine for the caliber you have loaded. Color is a great way to keep your ammo separate and distinct from one another to avoid misfeeding when using similar rifle platforms and cartridge sizes. You might also see color additions to the bottom of the mag for an additional visual.

Our Top 300 Blackout Magazine Picks 

There is an excellent selection of magazines out there to pick from, but these options are some of our top picks to collect for our various AR-15 platform rifles. Of course, they all have an excellent price range so you can pick up as many as you need without feeling like you are bumping too far into a budget. 

Available in 10, 20, and 30 round configurations, the D&H Industries 300 Blackout Magazine is internally designed to specifically feed the 300 BLK rifle effortlessly An anti-tilt red follower makes it distinct from traditional all-black designs to help keep you from mixing up magazines with other cartridge use, and also provides self-lubrication. The durable stainless steel spring will keep your cartridges feeding effortlessly through thousands of rounds as well. With the standard USGI dimensions, it is built using 6061-T6 aluminum with a Teflon, textured surface finish and provides protection against both rust and corrosion.

Lancer Systems are known for their high-quality magazines and offer a great array of caliber choices for the AR15 platform. The 300 BLK rifle magazine is based on the original design offered by the company and provides a steel and polymer design for both a translucent smoke finish and solid black options The reliable, and trouble-free feeding system is tailored perfectly for the dimensions of the 300 BLK cartridge. It also has a non-tilting follower and holds up to 30 cartridges in corrosion-resistant housing.

This purposefully designed mag is specific to the 30 round chambering of the .300 Blackout cartridge to provide superior performance. The distinct rib design offers distinct differences, both visual and tactile to make it a quality choice you’ll keep coming back to. Created to optimize the cartridge, it is made from a crush-resistant polymer with an aggressive texture, easy-to-remove slim floor plate and black finish.  It also has a paint pen dot matrix for color-coding identification and comes with a dust/impact cover for storage.

Hexmag offers a reliable mag that is made from a PolyHex2 advanced polymer composite to provide rugged durability in a lightweight housing. The textured exterior hex outer design makes it visually distinct and offers a grippable texture, plus it comes with both custom colored followers and a distinct outer hex coloration to avoid mixing up your cartridges. These color choices create an advantage for anyone shooting multiple calibers. Available in a 10 round option built into a standard size body, it works well for restrictive state laws to avoid capacity violations and still looks like regular magazines.

Made with an advanced proprietary coating for protection, the Duramag SS AR-15 magazine is made from a stainless steel with a distinct rib design in an advanced interior and exterior geometries for incredible feed advantages. Created for all-weather use, the 5-round capacity magazine answers the problems many hunters face with cartridge capacity laws when hunting. This mag ensures a perfect fit in a traditional magazine length and is made with an anti-spring fatigue technology for long life and incredible reliability even with heavy subsonic rounds.

Created with visibility in mind, this 30 round magazine offers an aluminum outer with a type-3 hard coat anodized process and T-360 coating finish both inside and out for long-lasting reliability and smoother feeding. Lightweight and durable, it is considered a top-of-the-line USGI style magazine sought after by law enforcement and military units all around the world. The red-colored outer is perfect for fast and easy location of a specific cartridge load, providing peace of mind and an added measure of safety. An Ever-Flex anti-spring fatigue technology keeps it consistent round after round.

Conclusion

A good, dependable mag (or several) is a must for when you use any AR-style platform rifle. This ensures you always have a load on hand, and also helps keep your ammo organized and where it belongs. Look to use different mags for each of your caliber options to avoid any sort of safety issue due to mixing them up- especially when so many look similar in length and size at first glance. 

We’ve provided an excellent selection above that offers variances in materials and design to help you out with this all. And give you the chance to add to your collection!

We’d love to hear of any experiences you’ve had with any of our choices and which are your favorite. And, as always, please share!