.30 Remington AR

The .30 Remington AR cartridge was created in 2008 by Remington Arms to fill a perceived gap in performance on large game between the .223 Remington and larger cartridges such as the .308 Winchester.[1] Design of the cartridge is considered a joint effort between companies under the "Freedom Group" name through a private equity firm [1] and included such companies as Bushmaster, DPMS and Remington itself. It is a rebated rim cartridge designed to fit Remington's R-15 semiautomatic hunting rifle. It was designed to fit the dimensional constraints of the AR-15 magazine and is based on a modification of the .450 Bushmaster, which in turn was based on the .284 Winchester.[2]

For the 1906 vintage rimless cartridge, see .30 Remington.

.30 RAR (.30 Remington AR)
Size comparison with .223
Type	Rifle, Centerfire
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designed	2008
Manufacturer	Remington
Produced	2008-present
Specifications
Parent case	.284 Winchester
Case type	Rimless, bottleneck
Base diameter	.500 in (12.7 mm)
Rim diameter	.473 in (12.0 mm)
Rim thickness	.054 in (1.4 mm)
Case length	1.53 in (39 mm)
Overall length	2.26 in (57 mm)
Case capacity	44 gr H2O (2.9 cm^3)
Rifling twist	1:10
Primer type	Large rifle
Maximum pressure	55,000 psi (380 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 125 gr (8 g) Corelokt 2,800 ft/s (850 m/s) 2,176 ft⋅lbf (2,950 J) 125 gr (8 g) AccuTip BT 2,800 ft/s (850 m/s) 2,176 ft⋅lbf (2,950 J)
Test barrel length: 24 Source(s): http://accurateshooter.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/remington-introduces-new-30-remington-ar-cartridge/

Remington was the only company that manufactured this ammunition and its components.[3] The cartridge was a commercial failure and has been discontinued by Remington.

The .30 Remington AR cartridge has a significantly wider diameter than the .223 Remington.

Design

Starting with a .450 Bushmaster case, Remington trimmed the length to 1.525" from the original 1.7" and necked it down to accept a conical .308" diameter bullet with a 25 degree shoulder.[4]

The rim size is.492" and because the round generates 55,000 psi, Remington opted to use a .308 rifle bolt in a 5.56 sized rifle for increased case support.[4] With a 150 grain bullet, the round travels at 2575 fps.[5]

Cartridge Performance

Performance tests between the .30 RAR and the .308 Winchester show that while the .30 RAR does have a good muzzle velocity, the energy it is capable of delivering on target at around 400 yards decreases significantly.[6] Combined with the poorer ballistic coefficients of the lighter projectiles (.267 for the 125 grain Core-Lokt), this makes the .30 RAR a cartridge suited to ranges around 300 to 400 yards where a larger calibre projectile is required.

A side effect of the short, wide case has meant that the Remington R-15 Rifle which was designed alongside the cartridge uses a four-round, single-stack magazine.[1]

See also

• List of rifle cartridges
• Table of handgun and rifle cartridges

References

1. Nischalke, Mike "The R-15 And The .30 RAR", Shooting Times, Online Article, accessed 13 January 2010
2. Sweeney, Patrick (2010). The Gun Digest Book of The AR-15. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. pp. 174–175. ISBN 1-4402-1622-3.
3. Mann, Richard A. (2014). GunDigest Shooter's Guide to the AR-15. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-1-4402-3847-5.
4. Woodard, W. Todd (2016). Cartridges of the World: A Complete and Illustrated Reference for Over 1500 Cartridges. Iola, wisconsin: F+W Media, Inc. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-4402-4642-5.
5. Zwoll, Wayne van (29 November 2012). Gun Digest Shooter's Guide to Rifles. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 124. ISBN 1-4402-3076-5.
6. "Remington Introduces new Remington 30 AR Cartridge". Accurate Shooter Bulletin. 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2010.

External links

• Review of the Remington R-15 VTR
• Remington Official Site