Here is our 350 Legend review to give you ideas and helpful recommendations so you know whether it’ll be a great choice to try out!
350 Legend is making waves in gun communities across America. So, we thought it’s only fair that we give it a fair shake of our own. Let’s dive deep into this cartridge!
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350 Legend Review | What You Need to Know
The 350 Legend
The 350 Legend or the .350 Legend is a new rifle cartridge from Winchester, designed as a replacement for 30-30 Winchester cartridges for AR builds.
The 30-30 Winchester cartridge is primarily used for bolt action rifles and for sharpshooters. Its design means that you aren’t able to use it for more versatile AR-10 and AR-15 rifle platforms.
The 350 Legend is a straight case ammo cartridge that produces less chamber pressure. It isn’t as long-range as the 30-30 Winchester cartridge.
However, it produces excellent performance at the mid-range level between 200 and 400 yards. Plus, it has a great velocity for its effective range.
Additionally, it is relatively affordable and features cases that can be remade by hand reloaders from regular 5.56 brass casings.
Ultimately, it’s a versatile and functional cartridge that can work with a variety of ammunition types.
350 Legend vs 30-30 Winchester
At first, you might wonder why you should use a 350 Legend over the plethora of other capable assault rifle cartridges at your disposal.
30-30 Winchesters are great if you want enhanced accuracy and power at a distance. But 5.56 NATO rounds are ideal for tactical combat and agile target shooting.
In short, AR platforms aren’t at a loss for additional cartridge choices. Additionally, .450 Bushmaster cartridges are incredibly powerful and effective, while also being straight-cased like the 350 Legend.
However, these cartridges are a little more affordable and can be reloaded more easily.
Furthermore, you can combine these casings with a variety of ammunition types, including Winchester Super X, SP Non-Typical (180-grain), and 150-grain Extreme Point Deer Season.
They don’t produce nearly as much recoil at the 6.5 Creedmoor, even at comparable distances. Plus, it’s better than the .243 Winchester across similar distances.
It’s a little more effective at target penetration compared to the former cartridge. In essence, the Legend does it all for an AR platform.
It provides excellent accuracy at reasonable distances around and below 400 yards, it doesn’t produce tons of recoil so it can be fired in rapid succession and take advantage of the agility of an AR build.
It can also penetrate well enough to be used for medium to large-sized games. This opens up its potential uses for hunting and tactical situations or target practice competitions.
350 Legend Ideal Uses
You’ll want to pair 350 Legend cartridges with the AR 15, although you may be able to combine them with the AR 10 platform, depending on the rifle’s design specifications.
We’d recommend using it for short to medium-range hunting or target practice. If you really want to push closer to 800 yards and beyond, go with the 6.5 Creedmoor or 30-30 Winchester.
Alternatively, you can pick up plenty of these cartridges for an affordable asking price if you want to stock up on ammunition given the recent shortages because of the COVID-19 panic.
Thus, this cartridge might be a good choice if you want to prepare for potential trouble down the road.
We hope this 350 Legend review helps you out! The question is whether you should give it a try or stick with 30-30 Winchester for most typical uses.We say it’s good to shake up your toolkit and try new things every once in a while!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on April 10, 2020, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
I’m not buying the assertion that the 350 Legend is a 30-30 (totally obsolete) replacement. 350 Legend & 450 Bushmaster are straight walled cases designed to get around some state hunting rules that prohibit bottleneck rifle cases.
The 30-30 is an obsolete cartridge that just won’t die. That old wives tale about 30-30 taking more deer than every other cartridge is bunk too. Some of the big manufacturers have abandoned this old dog because just about every cartridge is better. Unfortunately Winchester & Marlin continue to prop up this loser with new production while smart lever gun makers like Big Horn Armory & Henry Rifle co., chamber cartridges that hunters & sport shooters want: 6.5, 500 S&W, 350L, 450B…
No one chambers AR15’s in 30-30, no one makes AR15 conversion kits in 30-30, & virtually no company chambers bolt action rifles today in throwback to the 1890’s cartridges.
I don’t really kno who you people are, both the one that wrote the article or the one whom replied to it. First of all, the .30-.30 cartridge in NO way lays claim to being a long range cartridge, 800yds ? Really ? a .30-.30 is only good to 300-350 yds accurately and still makes use of some knockdown power, anything after that, IF it hits anything, is an irresponsible shooter error, and the fella that commented that the .30-.30 is all bunk and hasnt killed more game than any other cartridge, he obviously doesnt kno his cartridges or the history behind it. i kno, ive had my marlin 336c for over 40yrs, and believe me, i have put that rifle thru all the tests since i was 15, range, impacts, damage done, etc, in both caliber weight of 150gr and 170gr. yes i own several other calibers with more punch and power, but if i could choose only 1 gun for the rest of my life, it would be that .30-30, for all my survival needs as well as putting food on the table, ya just cant pick a better cartridge.
Couple quick points from a military dude who has shot everything from a Daisy Red Rider to a Tomahawk Cruise Missile:
1. Randy is right about 2 things….. A) the 30-30 is a fine round that has put a ton of meet on the table over the years and will continue to do so as long as factory ammo is available and Grandpas keep passing down their Winchester ‘94s to their Grandkids. I still hunt with mine every now and then just for sentimental value. Classic brush guns will never go out of style. And B) The 800 Yd claim is BS. Zero credibility to the author due to that comment alone.
2. Respectfully disagree about the 30-30 being my “1 gun for the rest of my life”. It is a classic, and I love mine, but 350 Legend (and even 300 Blackout) are so much more versatile out of an AR platform. Super or sub sonic. Suppressed or not. Wide selection of bullet style and weight. Magazine capacity. A modern caliber in an AR platform is the “1 gun for the rest of my life” safe bet.
…….. but don’t expect me to never hunt whitetails or hogs with Grandpas Winchester!