Description
The Battle Arms Tanker 300 BLK is not a subtle firearm and it is not pretending to be. It is a 7.5 inch AR pistol dressed as a piece of 1944 armour crew equipment: Grade A French walnut handguard panels and pistol grip, a wood finished stainless cheek rest, and a Cerakote job that simulates parkerized green steel streaked with cosmoline, complete with an allied white star and a custom engraved 20 round magazine. Underneath the theme is a properly built short AR.
Billet 7075-T6 ambidextrous lightweight upper and lower receivers, a 7.5 inch 4150 CMV black nitride barrel with a 1:5 twist, a pistol length gas system with a steel .750 gas block and a stainless gas tube, a 6.7 inch three sided free float M-LOK rail, and a polished nickel Teflon single stage trigger breaking at five pounds.
What Makes the Battle Arms Tanker 300 BLK Different
The French walnut is the part people notice and it is real wood, not a printed finish. It is also a genuine functional choice on a short barrel: walnut insulates far better than aluminum, and a 7.5 inch barrel gets hot quickly. The trade is that wood dents and scorches in ways a polymer handguard does not, which is worth knowing if the gun is going to be used hard rather than admired.
The 1:5 twist barrel is faster than the 1:7 or 1:8 most 300 BLK barrels use, and that is deliberate. Heavy subsonic 300 BLK bullets in the 190 to 220 grain class need aggressive twist to stabilise, particularly out of a short barrel, and this rifle is clearly built with subsonic shooting in mind.
The VERT Gen 2 PDW brace folds and collapses, bringing overall length down to 20.1 inches. Combined with the 36 inch Savior case it ships in, this is a gun that travels in a way most ARs do not.
Practical and Legal Notes Worth Reading First
A 7.5 inch 300 BLK firing supersonic ammunition is genuinely loud, and the A2 style comp on the muzzle makes it louder still for people beside you. Supersonic 300 BLK also burns a lot of its powder outside the barrel at this length, which is why the cartridge is usually paired with a suppressor. MAG5 Firearms does not sell NFA items, so a suppressor would be a separate purchase requiring ATF approval, a tax stamp and its own transfer, and the muzzle threads are 5/8×24.
This ships as a pistol with a stabilizing brace, not as a short barreled rifle. Rules around braces have changed more than once in recent years and state law varies considerably, so confirm what is legal where you live before ordering. The 20 round magazine is also restricted in several states.
This is an expensive firearm and the money is in the finish work, the walnut and the billet receivers rather than in outright performance. A plain 7.5 inch 300 BLK pistol will shoot just as well for a fraction of the price. What you are buying here is a showpiece that happens to be a functional gun, and that is a fair thing to want.
Battle Arms Tanker 300 BLK Specifications
- Manufacturer: Battle Arms Development
- Model: TANKER 300P
- Caliber: 300 AAC Blackout
- Barrel: 7.5 inches, 4150 CMV, black nitride
- Twist rate: 1:5
- Gas system: pistol length, steel .750 gas block, stainless gas tube
- Receivers: billet 7075-T6 ambidextrous lightweight upper and lower
- Handguard: 6.7 inch three sided free float M-LOK rail
- Trigger: polished nickel Teflon single stage, 5 pound pull
- Brace: VERT Gen 2 PDW
- Furniture: Grade A French walnut handguard panels and grip, wood finished stainless cheek rest
- Muzzle: 30 caliber A2 comp, 5/8×24
- Overall length: 20.1 inches
- Capacity: 20 round engraved aluminum magazine
- Finish: custom WWII theme simulating parkerized green steel and cosmoline
- Included: 36 inch Savior case
Why it is worth considering
- Grade A French walnut furniture that is genuine wood, not a printed pattern
- Billet 7075-T6 ambidextrous lightweight receivers rather than forged parts
- A 1:5 twist barrel built around heavy subsonic 300 BLK
- Folding VERT Gen 2 PDW brace bringing it to 20.1 inches
- A custom hand applied WWII finish you will not see on another gun at the range
Who it suits
This is for the collector who wants a genuinely distinctive AR pistol and is buying the craftsmanship as much as the capability. It is also a perfectly serviceable short 300 BLK for anyone who will actually shoot it. It is not the rifle to buy if value per dollar is the deciding factor.
Ammunition and Transfer Notes for the Battle Arms Tanker 300 BLK
300 AAC Blackout exists to do two jobs from a short barrel. Supersonic loads in the 110 to 125 grain range give ballistics roughly comparable to 7.62×39 and work well for hunting and defense inside 200 yards. Subsonic loads in the 190 to 220 grain range are quiet, heavy and drop quickly, and they are what the 1:5 twist barrel on this pistol is chosen for. Cartridge and chamber standards are published by SAAMI.
One safety note that matters more with 300 BLK than with any other common cartridge: a 300 BLK round will chamber in a 5.56 barrel and firing it will destroy the rifle and likely injure the shooter. If you own both, keep the ammunition physically separated and labeled, and check every magazine before it goes in the gun. This is not a theoretical risk; it happens every year.
Look after the walnut. Wood on a short barreled AR takes heat and handling that polymer shrugs off, and a light coat of oil once a season will keep it looking the way it does in these photographs. If you would rather have something you can treat roughly, our Barrett REC7 DI carbine is the working alternative, and more of our inventory is on the MAG5 Firearms shop page. The Battle Arms Tanker 300 BLK ships to a licensed dealer of your choosing, where you will complete a 4473 and a NICS check.
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