Second Zero and .300 AAC/Blackout
It took me long enough. Yes, I can be slow to jump on the bandwagon of a new caliber. It’s not like there have been a few end-all wonder rounds that have leaped onto the scene and just as quickly disappeared or relegated to oddball status forever. The .300 AAC round has been around more than a decade now and is only getting more popular with each passing year. And what’s not to love about this round? It delivers plenty of energy for hunting deer, hogs, and coyotes and it can be purchased right off the shelf in a wide variety of bullet weights in both supersonic and subsonic classifications.
So how do I feel now that I’ve had one for a few months? I am shamelessly 100% on the .300 AAC bandwagon. It just absolutely rocks for what I am using my rifle for. And since you asked, those things are hunting hogs and deer and, of course, plinking at the range. I wouldn’t even mark home defense off of the list, especially with those heavy 200-grain subsonic rounds. Yes, I still shoot my 5.56 more often which only makes sense – the cost difference between the two rounds is significant enough to warrant more trigger time with the smaller, faster, and cheaper 5.56 round.
Like Peanut Butter & Jelly: AR15 in .300AAC + MDSR1
My rifle is set up with an Axeon MDSR1 compact red dot sight. This is a 1X red dot on a co-witness riser. With a 2 MOA dot size, it makes for a great modern sporting rifle sight. Even switching between sub and supersonic is not all that difficult with a 50-yard zero. With supersonic, a 50-yard zero works splendidly out to 150 yards where it falls to about 3 inches below the point of aim. Getting out beyond 150 will require some holdover for a well-placed shot. Switching over to subsonic the zero at 50 yards is close enough for me to not worry about resetting it. But once out to around 100 yards, the subsonic round starts to drop rather quickly.
The Better PB+J: .300AAC +MDSR1+Second Zero
This is where the Second Zero wedge prism device really shines.The Second Zero does not magnify.No, it just bends the light by a little bit, enough to change the impact of a bullet when it reaches a certain distance range.For folks like me who know the maximum range they will be willing to shoot a certain round, this makes for a magical shooting solution that offers crazy fast hold over correction.
In the case of .300 AAC, I can extend accurate shooting out to 225 yards with supersonic ammo and to 150 yards with subsonic ammo. I have and love a 4.3 MOA rail mount Second Zero on the top of my .300 AAC upper. With it installed, I can transition from supersonic to subsonic at 100 yards and change nothing other than to engage the Second Zero by flipping it up. It is really just that easy.
Yes, a shooter could just as easily adjust the red dot sight for the new zero or just use “Kentucky Windage” (an educated guess) when shooting at the longer ranges or switching between super and subsonic ammo. But the Second Zero offers the shooter both an affordable and super simple way to keep the rifle zeroed in as I prefer and make sure it is as versatile as possible for the uses I have in mind.
Create Your Own Recipe with the Second Zero!
Of course the Second Zero is a super versatile optical product. A shooter can use the Second Zero on just about anything that shoots and uses an optical sight. For higher velocity rounds like .223 Remington or .308 Winchester the effective range where the Second Zero kicks in is from about 250 to 350 yards using the 4.3 moa version. The 11.5 MOA version has a usable Second Zero range from about 480 to 540 yards. For shooters looking to exploit the maximum usefulness from their .22LR, or pistol caliber carbine, the 11.5 MOA version might prove more useful for your shooting scenarios.
The Second Zero line-up is also a great bargain. At the time of this writing, the scope bell mount versions are offered for less than $50 retail and the Picatinny rail mount versions retail for less than $80. With inflation hitting nearly everything on the market, these prices have not changed … yet. Get one while you can for a great “pre-pandemic” price!