Tell me what you think ...350 Legend hunting rifle

[Scorch]

It all depends on whether you believe a 180gr 357Mag chest-shot
at contact velocities -- at 200 yards -- is adequate.

OK, 774 fpe at 200 yds is adequate for deer sized animals, but just. Also, trajectory with that load is remarkably unremarkable. I'm just saying that unless you HAVE TO use a straight-walled cartridge, there are better options available for hunting.

Anything adequate to do a specific function (even if barely) must be capable.

Not necessarily. I rememberas a youngster reading about the guy who collected animals in Africa for the Smithsonian Museum. He collected over 1,000 specimens, up to and including elephant, using a 22LR. Now, adequate? No doubt. He had the animals to prove it was adequate. Capable? Most people do not have the marksmanship levels to repeat the event. Karamojo Bell shot hundreds of elephants using 6.5X54, 7X57, 303 British, and other cartridges that would be considered underpowered for the task. Again, skill allowed him to perform these feas and walk away. Most people need a little more than just barely adequate.

 

[mehavey]

I woukld still pose that a contact heavy 357Mag directly into the heart-lung is an effective White Tail stopper.
and ± 3½" point blank out to 200 "ain't bad" in that regard.

fpe is interesting for cracker-barrel discussion -- and yes a nifty 150gr/30-06/starting at 3,000fps would
be nice -- but will anyone seriously say that 357 contact kill-shot isn't 'good-enuf' ?

 

[44 AMP]

Most people need a little more than just barely adequate.

adequate
satisfactory or acceptable in quality or quantity

capable
having the ability, fitness, or quality necessary to do or achieve a specified thing

adequate is a value judgement. Your, or my opinion. And our opinions about what is adequate for any specific task can vary significantly.

Capable is a factual observation. It has nothing to do with opinion.

Someone might consider something capable of a specific task to be inadequate, that's their opinion.

I cannot think of an example where something considered adequate would not be capable, but then, there are people who think differently than I do.

The fact that Bell did what he did with what he used is conclusive proof of capable. But, for most people it would not be considered adequate.

 

[stagpanther]

To me the word "capable" definitely carries a connotation of efficacy. IIRC, mehavy's load is a 180 gr bonded .358 hotcor swaged down to .356 and fired through the legend's .355 bore. I've had a 350 legend AR blow up on me and is a admittedly a factor in my not being enamored to it.

 

[mehavey]

I've had a 350 legend AR blow up on me ...

Definitely puts on off one's feed.

Something about the AR extraction timing associated w/ Lil`Gun (and like powders) is going on w/ the 350. Using thicker-based Win brass mitigates the possibility, and no issues at all in either bolt guns or the AR BeoWooof....

But something is going on with Lil-Gun/AR/350 LGD.
YMMV... Take care there if/when reloading *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That said, note that the 180 Speer Hot-Cor results were duplicated w/ standard...

...commercial Winchester 180gr 'PowerPoint' (just plain ol' soft point w/ a fancy name)
and fired 3 rounds before I left the 200 yd line and called it a day

It grouped just under 2" -- and overlaid the Speer impact point.

(Post 102)



* Also... pay attention to case length growth -- big time.
Headspacing on the mouth of a high-pressure rimless/straightwall cases is serious business.

 

[Drm50]

The .350 Legend is engineered for the AR platform. It also slides in as legal deer cartridge in the states with straight case restrictions. It is relative as far as accuracy, depending on gun it’s fired from. The cartridge itself is marginal power for deer size game.

 

[44 AMP]

The cartridge itself is marginal power for deer size game.

I completely disagree.

Not because I'm any kind of a fan of the .350 Legend, but simply because the power it delivers has been considered adequate for deer for well over 100 years.

The .35 Remington was introduced back in 1906, and has taken a LOT of deer in the nearly 120 years since. The .350 Legend, according to the listed specs is a .35 caliber bullet of the same approximate weight at the same approximate speed. It is entirely adequate for deer within its intended range.

Unless you also consider the .35 Remington "marginal" for deer. If that's your opinion, fine, but a lot of people think otherwise, and have for a very long time.

The .350 Legend is essentially .35 Remington performance from a case that fits in an AR and meets the "straight wall case" requirements of certain areas. IF either of those two matters to you, then its probably a good choice, for you. Neither one matters to me, so I'm not interested in it, other than as a spectator, not a user.

 

[stagpanther]

It's a non-binary cartridge (it's neither/both .357 nor/or .355)--the legend is transcaliber.

 

[MarkCO]

I completely disagree.
The .350 Legend is essentially .35 Remington performance from a case that fits in an AR and meets the "straight wall case" requirements of certain areas. IF either of those two matters to you, then its probably a good choice, for you. Neither one matters to me, so I'm not interested in it, other than as a spectator, not a user.

Agree, and I am not going to let my Marlin 336 sit in the safe for an AR based 350L. Also interested purely as a spectator now. I loaded and shot a few hundred, sold the upper and dies. But then someone heard me say that and said...Hmm, lets lure him in with a .40 caliber...he likes .40s.

https://www.outdoorlife.com/guns/winchester-400-legend/

Still, I'll spectate on that one too.

 

[mehavey]

.35 Remington performance from a case that fits in
an AR and meets the "straight wall case" requirements

And if you already have the former and don't need the latter....
Nothing to see here...
Move on.


(But if you don't....)

 

[Buckeye!]

I owned a custom Enfield MK1 chambered in 444 Marlin it had a 20inch barrel and was crazy accurate… I picked it up cheap in a Pawnshop while on a business trip right outside of Nashville TN back in 1988-90 can’t remember the year exactly… probably one of the best bolt thumpers I ever owned besides a 9.3x62s I have owned in the past…

If I was getting a short range thumper today … Id look at two cartridges, 450 BM & the 400 Legend

Also the 350 Legend is a fine cartridge.. popular here in East TN .. and we are definitely not restricted … alot of woods deer stand hunting and a 16inch barreled 35 cal carbine is welcomed..

 

[rickt300]

Can't see why there is so much resistance to what in reality is a rimless improved version of the 357 Max which is a widely heralded cartridge. If a cartridge does it's job well in straight wall states then why not elsewhere. My testing shows it to be an excellent cast bullet carrier in an AR15. I have yet to find any problems associated with headspacing on the case mouth.

 

[mehavey]

...yet to find any problems associated with headspacing on the case mouth.

Just make sure y'all check/trim those cases.

NOTE my Log Bk Cover Note for the XPR.
(Ditto for AR Log Cvr)

(Nothing more frustrating than a bolt that comes to a complete dead stop before closing)

 

[44 AMP]

If a cartridge does it's job well in straight wall states then why not elsewhere.

The cartridge (and its rifles) will do the same job in any state, that's not the point. The point (for me, anyway) is the hype and the "buzz" around something that possibly deserves it in areas where the law limits you to it, but not in the rest of the country where better options exist.

 

[rickt300]

Define what better might look like in regards to hunting whitetails in timber and semi open areas for us.

 

[Pumpkin]

If we are talking bolt gun, I would rather have a 357 Maximum than the 350. Much better bullet selection (if you reload), head spacing and the ability to crimp the bullet to prevent setback. Ballistic difference is negligible.

 

[stagpanther]

The cartridge that conquered the dinosaurs!

 

[taylorce1]

If we are talking bolt gun, I would rather have a 357 Maximum than the 350.

It's much easier to find bolt guns that'll shoot .350 Legend than .357 Max. Are there any .357 Mag bolt guns with a magazine that can handle the length of the Max cartridge? Single shot rifles in .357 Mag make a lot of sense to rechamber to a Max with it being a rimmed cartridge. I can't imagine the cost involved in converting a bolt action rifle that'll function and feed .357 Max from a magazine reliably. While in comparison you can buy bolt rifles already chambered in .350 Legend or convert any .223 bolt face rifle for the cost of a barrel and installation.

 

[mehavey]

...bolt gun, I would rather have a 357 Maximum than the 350.

(But) why?

Any 357 Jacketed/Commercial cast bullet can be sized to 356/357 respectively, and the Legend far out performs the Max ballistically.

 

[stagpanther]

The real reason it's a legend is because to this day the definitive bore diameter remains a mystery.