Winchesters 350 Legend

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winchester missed the boat on the 350L, could have been great tho..

What do you think they could have done to improve this round ?
Seems like its gonna be popular....
Seems like a great pig round ... especially when housed in the compact lightweight Ruger Ranch carbine
 
it uses a proprietary case, win gave nitpicked dada when comparing it to other cartridges. need or speal mags.

Besides for the misleading ballistic data, what could they have done different? What case should they have based it on that would allow you to convert your own brass without fire forming, fit in standard mags, and be legal in straight-wall states?
 
What do you think they could have done to improve this round ?
Seems like its gonna be popular....
Seems like a great pig round ... especially when housed in the compact lightweight Ruger Ranch carbine
They easily could have legitimized the 357maxAR wildcat which uses 223 basic brass, but they decided to go full proprietary and make the brass more expensive. It will hurt some sales, that's for sure. I won't be buying one, but I still may build a 357maxAr bolt gun.
 
They easily could have legitimized the 357maxAR wildcat which uses 223 basic brass, but they decided to go full proprietary and make the brass more expensive. It will hurt some sales, that's for sure. I won't be buying one, but I still may build a 357maxAr bolt gun.

adcoch1, just about summed it up in post #7.

350 legend loaded ammo is cheaper than 223 basic brass!

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/products2.cfm/ID/215094

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/77531

I haven't seen 350 legend component brass for sale yet, but I think its safe to assume it will be cheaper than 223 basic brass.
 
350 legend loaded ammo is cheaper than 223 basic brass!

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/products2.cfm/ID/215094

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/77531

I haven't seen 350 legend component brass for sale yet, but I think its safe to assume it will be cheaper than 223 basic brass.
winchester has not supported there own cartridges the last few decades. if they used the 223 case forming is not hard. and way cheaper then what 350l/ ammo will be.
 
The .350 round was created with one purpose- to meet the limitations of states that only allow certain straight wall cartridges for deer hunting. Most hunters will fire less than one box of shells a year, and that's if they sight in before season. The fact that it is a good fit for the AR platform, and hand loading heavy bullets for suppressor use is just a bonus for Winchester.
 
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winchester has not supported there own cartridges the last few decades. if they used the 223 case forming is not hard. and way cheaper then what 350l/ ammo will be.

How do you know starline will continue making 223 basic brass? Yes it is possible to make 357 ar max from used 223 brass but it requires either fire forming or making a custom tapered expanding mandrel since 223 brass is tapered. It’s not just a trim and size deal.
 
How do you know starline will continue making 223 basic brass? Yes it is possible to make 357 ar max from used 223 brass but it requires either fire forming or making a custom tapered expanding mandrel since 223 brass is tapered. It’s not just a trim and size deal.
223 basic is a step in the brass making process, as you know. So if 223 is made, 223 basic will happen. But, will 223 basic be OFFERED? That is the question...
 
he .350 round was created with one purpose- to meet the limitations of states that only allow certain straight wall cartridges for deer hunting. Most hunters will fire less than one box of shells a year, and that's if they sight in before season. The fact that it is a good fit for the AR platform, and hand loading heavy bullets for suppressor use is just a bonus for Winchester.

Which means that if you don't live in an SWC state, and you aren't trying to shoehorn a more effective cartridge than the 7.62 X 39 into a Ranch Rifle or AR15 type of semi-auto, and aren't interested in suppressors, then there are far more effective cartridges that already exist for you to hunt with. It's a specialized niche cartridge.

For a lightweight carbine, the Marlin 336 in .35 Remington and the 1894 Marlin in .44 Magnum offer better performance with 200 grain bullets than the 180 grain Legend round that is offered. If a 200 grain load were offered, it's velocity would be much less, since it's already pushing 55KPSI with the 180 grain bullet.
 
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Specifically, .3570 - .0030.

The specified bullet and groove diameter is actually slightly smaller than other 35-caliber rifle cartridges.

View attachment 840767

.357 .. So like the 357 Max I owned , a person could use bullets that were developed for the 357 Mag
The 158gr Gold dot would be a excellent choice for the 350 L ...
Thats a tough bullet ...
Or the 180gr XTP another good choice .. I used these in my single shot H&R 357 Max .. Both with excellent results
 
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I doubt the deer will care.
Ammo is supposed to be reasonably priced.........so after a few good range days one should have enough brass.

Wonder what HD factory stuff will come about.
 
Ok. You really like this new uber niche cartridge from Winchester. That's fine, but you are really going to argue with the widely held view that it should have been based on 223 brass? Fireforming is difficult? It's a legitimate critique.

I’m really not a fan of it, I just find the criticism unfounded. It’s easy to say you should be able to make it from 223 brass, but it’s just not really practical to do so because your trying to make a straight wall cartridge from a tapered one. Yes I think it’s better the way winchester made it because converting brass is impractical so why not put some taper back in and extra case volume while your at it. As long as the brass is affordable I don’t care what they make it from. Everybody likes the idea of making brass from something else but let’s face it, 99.9% of people either don’t handload or couldn’t be bothered to go through the effort that would be required to make this from 223. I already have a 357 maximum, but if I was choosing between 357 AR Max and 350 legend in a bolt action or AR 15, I would absolutely choose 350 legend.
 
Im always happy to see a new cartridge... That means more ammo and guns are going to be introduced,
Maybe this cartridge will spark a intrest into a new gun owner ...

I feel the 350 L will make it .. Look at the 450 BM .. a cartridge that took off , mainly because of a new hunting rule..
I just recently purchased a new Ruger American Ranch in 7.62x39 ...
Man you talk about a handy package .
I put a old Bushnell 3x20 scope on it and it weighs very little ...
The 350 L in this package would make a great carbine .. Hornadys 170gr 350L looks like a good hunting fodder
 
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When I first read about the 350 Legend I was jazzed. And then the specs and the details started coming out and I was a little disappointed.
Why?
Because the initial reports lead me to believe I could use .223 brass.
Because I was lead to believe I could use standard AR magazines.

Then I started doing more reading a research and I am of the opinion that because some gun writers and evaluators at SHOT Show put out misinformation (.223 brass could be used and all you need to do is swap a barrel on and AR) a lot of people got really disappointed and started kicking Winchester and the .350 Legend in the teeth. Some to the point of taking it really personal. Why? If people don’t like the round, move on!

More of my opinion...
Sure, the cartridge dimensions don’t meet the 223 hype. So what?
Yes, Winchester did take liberties when comparing the round to other rounds. So what?
Sure, your standard AR mags won’t work. So what?

The 350 Legend appears to be a good round and meets a need. Winchester developed a round to meet the restrictions placed on people by mindless bureaucrats in various states. I say “Bravo Winchester”.
They have developed an affordable hunting round that can be used in the favorite hunting and shooting rifle platforms in America. The round itself is an excellent choice if you need a low recoil round that is suitable for humanely taking game. The ammo will be much more affordable as compared to other rounds and it’s going to be mainstream, not a wildcat, that the average Joe with a basic single stage reloading set up can reload easily.

Like I said, these are my opinions. I have decided I like the idea of this cartridge and I think that in the next few months I might just set a gun up to fire it. I don’t live in a state that requires it but I do live in a state that finds every way possible to mess with gun owners and I don’t doubt California will jump on the straight wall bandwagon soon.

The 350L looks like a fun round to tinker with as well for those of us that reload.
 
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