Kevin Brittingham and those maniacs at Q are at it again! If you’re not familiar, Q is the company famous for the Honey Badger rifle amongst many other innovations in the firearms industry. This time they have set their sights on producing a semi-automatic rifle chambered in the new 8.6 Blackout cartridge. Upon first impressions, it’s easy to see that Q has really turned the volume up to 11 on this rifle, even naming it “The Boombox” Ironically the only thing the Boombox shares with its 90’s counterpart is its name. It’s a meticulously well-engineered, lightweight, and mostly quiet rifle that spews out a massive piece of lead. 

For more on the 8.6 Blackout check this link https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/01/18/shot-2022-faxon-q-collaboration-8-6-blackout-guns/

Q Boombox Specs (Subject to Change) 

• Weight: 4.9lbs/ 8″ Barrel
• Length: Collapsed – 23.25, extended 27.75
• Receiver: Billet Aluminum 
• Caliber: 8.6 Blackout 
• Barrel lengths: 6”, 8”  with 16″ barrels a possibility in the future as well. 
• Barrel twist rate: 1 in 3 with stainless steel match barrel. 
• MSRP: +$3000
• Release Date Window: December 2023 – March 2024 

The Boombox 

The whole idea behind the Boombox is that it is the 99% solution for the 300m and in capability for professional and civilian markets. It is designed to replace the LVAW and the Honey Badger in the market while bringing 3x the lethality, and 3x the effective distance as 300BLK. It uses 8.6 Blackout, as it reliably feeds in semi-automatic firearms while staying subsonic, and delivering more energy on target from a farther distance. 

8″ barrel on top, 6″ barrel on bottom

“The Boombox is the first gas-operated gun we are putting the 8.6 Blackout into and the concept, just like the Honey Badger is to have a compact, lightweight weapon that is 300 meters capable with both super and subsonic ammunition. It will be select fire for the government and semiautomatic on the commercial side.” Said Kevin Brittingham, the founder of Q. 

Kevin Brittingham, the founder of Q.

Kevin would later say, “All the features of the Honey Badger, lightweight, compact, reliable, and everything you need with nothing you don’t. It’s a sub-five pound gun in 8.6 Blackout which is basically a 308 frame.” 

The top rail and handguard use Q-CERT, Q’s mounting system, which is a lighter, stronger mounting system with 900 pounds of pull at each one of the handguards junctions. It’s an aluminum handguard with stainless steel thread inserts pressed in from the rear, so there is an anchor on the rear so that they can’t pull through. 

Q-CERT Top Rail

“It’s a way to mount accessories and it’s the strongest and best way to do it while keeping it lightweight,” says Kevin. The Boombox will come with an optional picatinny top rail or Q-CERT. 

The barrel is pinched in the receiver and that allows for the barrel nut to not have to be torqued to the degree where a vise is needed. This means you can change the barrel on the tailgate of your truck or at your desk. 

The Boombox has a similar receiver extension in the stock to the Honey Badger, but the Honey Badger is more difficult to disassemble and reassemble than the Boombox. Q decided to get rid of the guide rod and make the carrier and buffer into one piece and did this by using a large diameter spring. The receiver is billet aluminum and the controls are identical to the Honey Badger.

But what kind of a trigger will the Boombox come with?  “You get literally the best trigger ever made, which we did” said Kevin. The Boombox has Q’s own bolt carrier and bolt system, barrel extension so just like the Honey Badger, most of the parts are going to be proprietary. 

The handguard is held on by two drive screws and a pinch. The stainless steel match barrel has a 1:3 twist and an adjustable gas block that uses a jam nut over traditional set screws or pins to hold it in place. This should lead to better sealing of the barrel and overall reliability. 

“We needed to optimize this as much as possible to be able to operate subsonic and supersonic reliably,” says Kevin.

Q has set some very high goals for the accuracy of the Boombox  “The goal out of this rifle is for it to be able to shoot 1 MOA with subsonic at 300 meters with a 6-inch barrel”, says Kevin. The guys at Q seem to think it’s very possible as they have already been able to do it. Kevin would later go on to say “ With supersonic ammo, you’re looking at similar accuracy as the Honey Badger with 1 MOA at 100 meters and beyond.”

One of the biggest takeaways from the range seasons with the Boombox was how light the recoil is for a gun in this caliber. Another big takeaway is the 1:3  twist rate, which gives the 8.6 Blackout double the expansion over a 1:10 twist rate from a 300-grain projectile. 

Top 1-10 twist rate, bottom 1-3 twist rate

“We knew fast twist rates would give us better dispersion or accuracy with subsonic rifle projectiles, so that’s why we chased it with the honey badger with the LVAW program and the SIG MCX, going from 1 in 8 to 1 in 5 twist rates,” said Kevin. 

You can expect to see the Boombox hitting the market sometime between December 2023 – March 2024 and it will have an MSRP of $3000+. 

For more information, be sure to check out this video below from James and Ryan at TFB TV.