In early 2024, a man named Sterling A. walked into Bank of America in Fort Myers, Florida.
According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the man walked in armed with a knife.
Then he threatened the bank staff, and told them he had a bomb, before taking two of the employees hostage behind the counter.
When police arrived, they tried to negotiate with Sterling, but he became upset and started getting physical with the hostages.
So, the SWAT team lined up horizontally while their sniper set up behind them.
“He started to put one of the hostages in a headlock and had the knife to her throat,” the Lee County Sheriff said.
At that point, a SWAT sniper fired his rifle.
The suspect was hit in the forehead and died instantly.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the men and women of law enforcement today, my family members today, the SWAT team today. How you train is how you perform, and this is exactly what we train for,” said the sheriff.
And it wasn’t an easy shot…
The sniper had to fire through a computer monitor and hit the target, but none of the hostages.
Police didn’t release the brand of the exact rifle used by the SWAT sniper.
However, they did say that the sniper used a specific round that they were confident would go through the computer monitor and accurately hit the target.
One popular caliber that could be used in a scenario like this is the .300 Blackout round.
What is the .300 Blackout?:
In the early 2000s, the U.S. military was looking to improve performance with short-barreled rifles.
So, the .300 Blackout was developed by Advanced Armament Corporation working closely with the U.S. military.
The .300 Blackout can be used in close quarters or long-range shooting.
And it was designed to perform with subsonic and supersonic loads.
Plus, it was meant to work with existing AR-15s by replacing the barrel, allowing shooters to convert their AR-15 to .300 without a lot of modifications.
Benefits of the .300 Blackout:
One of the best features of the .300 Blackout is that it’s compatible with the AR-15 magazine and bolt.
This allows shooters to switch between two calibers depending on the situation and needs.
Another thing about the .300 Blackout is that there are a lot of different bullet grain options.
You can find them from 110 grains to 220 grains.
Also, the round can be fired suppressed or not and remain accurate.
Lastly, the bullet performs well in short-barreled rifles.
That’s because the design of the bullet helps it burn effectively in shorter barrels.
Drawbacks to the .300 Blackout:
One thing to keep in mind is that if you are shooting more than 300 yards you would be better off using a 5.56 round.
A 5.56 is going to have a flatter trajectory because it moves at a higher velocity, while the .300 Blackout tends to have a big drop after 300 yards.
Another thing is that 5.56 ammo is usually less expensive than .300 Blackout.
So, if you are going to be doing a ton of shooting the 5.56 is going to be more cost effective.
Finally, there is no doubt the .300 Blackout is good for close-quarters combat.
But it will penetrate more than a 5.56 bullet, so you need to be more aware of over-penetration with the .300 Blackout.
The .300 Blackout can be a good round for a variety of situations.
It has plenty of stopping power for hunting deer, hogs, and large game.
And it can be used for home defense because it plenty of stopping power for self-defense.
I still prefer the 5.56, but you might want to try the .300 Blackout since you can swap it out with an AR-15.
And that allows you to shoot two different calibers with only a small modification, giving you the best of both worlds.
