Just curious to see who is shooting the .350 Legend? I've got one on my short list for this deer season since we are stuck with straight walled cartridges.

I have the Ruger American Compact Ranch Rifle in 350 Legend. Bought it mainly as a range toy to go with my other compact models in 5.56 and Blackout. Factory 145gr ammo was not very accurate. My reloads with either 158gr Remington SJHP (2341fps) and 180gr Hornady XTP (2091fps) pistol bullets are nicely accurate. By nicely accurate, I mean all bullet holes are touching at 50yd.

I thought the recoil with full power loads had a bit of "snap" to it (lightweight short rifle), so I added a Samson 9mm comp to it...worked well in reducing the muzzle movement and recoil and is short in length and diameter. Samson said it would handle the higher pressures of the Legend; another maker said they would not guarantee their 9mm comp on the Legend.

Lee dies are peculiar...have to get the case perfectly aligned or the belling operation can mess up the case mouth. I solved that by belling with my 9mm case mouth belling die.

My rifle feeds, chambers, and shoots .357" bullets fine, but if over .357" I can have problems chambering and seating the bullet in the cases (squished/wrinkled cases). I therefore run all my ".357" bullets through a Lee .356" sizing die before reloading. The Lee die only reduces them to about .3568-.3569". Either some "springback" in resizing the bullets, the Lee die is off, or my micrometer is off, but the setup is working for me.

Tried some Hornady 147gr .355" fmj bullets, but the 50yd groups were 3-4" with 5 different powder charges. Have shot some 148gr HBWC .38 special bullets, working up to an 8xx fps load with Bullseye powder, but not put on paper yet. Tried some .355" 75gr frangible bullets, and they are showing promise when the velocity gets to 2000fps (below 2000fps, the 25yd groups were in the 8" range; 2000fps, the 25yd groups are ~2"; need to try faster).

Lee equipment is a hit /mis,I gave all my lee casting and sizing stuff away to a starting out caster twenty years back and told him of the problems.went to lyman ,most is pretty good but had under size with one die,sent back and they still screwed it to over size.
I got pissed off and chucked a piece of stainless in the lath and cut myself the new proper sized one.

We're limited to straight wall as well and was waiting for the 350 to prove itself bit ti seems its having some teething issues in regards to ammo quality and accuracy in general. Granted that was about 2 months ago so Im not sure where its at.

I doubt I'll ever take it over my 45-70 but I was curious for the kids but they also seem to be doing just fine with 44mag.

quote:

Originally posted by WARPIG602:
We're limited to straight wall as well and was waiting for the 350 to prove itself bit ti seems its having some teething issues in regards to ammo quality and accuracy in general. Granted that was about 2 months ago so Im not sure where its at.

That's what concerns me with the Legend. The more I read, the more I think Winchester messed up some of the specs for the cartridge. I know it has potential, seen custom Encore makers shooting sub-MOA at 200yards. My 15yr old daughter really wants to go hunting this fall and I would like to get a rifle that will reach beyond slug limits that has less recoil. We don't have much if any woods to hunt from so most of our shots are along fence rows or in open fields unfortunately. She has shouldered several Henrys (.357, .44, .45-70) and the Ruger American. The Henry in .357 and Ruger American worked for her the best due to the lighter weight. The .44 was about 1/2 lb heavier I think. I have seen some loads to push the .357 Mag to near .357 Max limits, thoughts?

With hunting seasons over, what are people's thoughts now?

There is nothing about the ballistics of the .350 that I prefer over the .450 bushmaster.

Do you guys see any real advantages to this versus the .300 BLK?

I've sighted in 3 this year for friends. they all shot well. 2 AR platforms and 1 bolt action. One of the AR's had feeding issues with certain types of ammo. Cool gun and if I didn't have a gun/caliber for straight-walled states, Id consider it. I didn't think it was worth giving up on my proven Marilin in 45-70 for.

Would also make a good caliber for kids, although my son uses a Marlin in 44mag.

quote:

Originally posted by pulicords:
Do you guys see any real advantages to this versus the .300 BLK?

No, not really designed with the same goal in mind either.

A coworker built one recently to hunt with. He said he had no issues.

the deer jerky was good!

We're stuck with straightwall for hunting.

I sighted one in for a buddy's son. It was a Ruger American. I wasn't too impressed with the rifle...cheap and plasticky...ok for what it was, but I wouldn't buy one. It was reasonably accurate, and the kid did put a deer down with it, so it achieved it's intended purpose. I'd like to try it out in an AR and see what the recoil impulse is like compared to a .223.

The cartridge was definitely interesting. Recoil was mild, and it grouped pretty well at 50 yards. I like the idea of it...I already load .357 magnum, so it wouldn't be a huge jump to get into it. My state no longer requires strainght-walled cartridges for deer, though, so I don't really see the benefit for me over say a .300 black out, or the .45-70 that I already have.

IMO its a good solution that opens up options in states that have restrictions on rifle cartridges for deer hunting. It's probably doesn't offer many benefits over existing options in other states, but if I wasn't already thoroughly equipped with several other rifles chambered in straight-wall cartridges, I'd probably buy one just to play with it.

quote:

Originally posted by pulicords:
Do you guys see any real advantages to this versus the .300 BLK?

It can be used for hunting in states that have stupid straight-wall cartridge laws. (I didn't know about this until recently.) If you're a hunter in one of these states, I'd say it's an advantage. It would fill this niche, but no others I can think of.