Have you heard of .350 Legend yet? It’s a relatively new straight-walled cartridge developed by Winchester to take advantage of some Midwestern states’ straight-wall-only deer seasons.
But it offers a lot more than that. Here are some questions you might have if you’re kicking around the idea of building an AR-style rifle with a .350 Legend upper.
What Is .350 Legend Good for?
First off, lots of things, but it was designed for hunting. It offers suitable ballistic performance within 200 yards and is more than adequate for deer, hogs, and medium to small game like coyotes and foxes. In certain citations, and loaded with an appropriate bullet, it can also be useful for defensive applications. Shooters love it for its low recoil, accuracy, and ballistic performance.
Is .350 Legend Better than .30-30?
Both .350 Legend and .30-30 Winchester produce muzzle velocities of around 2300 FPS, but since the former is usually loaded with marginally heavier bullets, it produces more stopping power (usually) within 200 yards. It’s close, though.
Which Is Better, .350 Legend or .300 BLK?
The .300 Blackout fires a spitzer bullet with significantly higher ballistic coefficient, .392 vs .223 for the .350 Legend. This gives .300 Blackout the edge at both close and farther ranges, although both cartridges exhibit fairly drooping trajectories.
What Buffer Weight Should I Use with a .350 Legend Build?
That really depends on your gas system, whatever muzzle device is present, and the length of your barrel. Start with a 3oz buffer weight (carbine buffer) and go up from there if you want better recoil reduction; just don’t go too high or it might compromise cycling.
Is .350 Legend Good for Deer?
With proper shot placement and at appropriate ranges, .350 Legend is more than enough for deer, and in fact deer hunting is one of the reasons that this cartridge was developed in the first place. It’s easily powerful enough for deer, especially within 200 yards.
Actually, one of the secrets to this cartridge’s efficacy for deer has to do with its straight-walled design and ballistic inefficiency. It doesn’t easily overtravel, making it suitable for straight-walled rifle hunting in areas with high population densities and flat terrain, such as in the midwest. Several states have straight-wall-only seasons, like Indiana and Ohio, where cartridges like this are permitted.
Is .350 Legend Good for Elk?
It’s really not a matter of whether the cartridge itself is powerful enough for elk, but whether or not the hunter intends to use it appropriately. At 800 yards, unlikely. With poor shot placement, unlikely. But the cartridge itself can easily dispatch an elk with a shot to the vitals within 100 yards. You can kill an elk with .223 following that maxim. Remember, it’s more important where you shoot than what you shoot.
Is .350 Legend Good for Home Defense?
It can be, certainly. Just make sure you load with an appropriate bullet. Hollow point is best to prevent the risk of overpenetration, which is a concern with rifle cartridges in urban and domestic settings.
What Is .350 Legend Equal to?
The .350 Legend is similar in size and dimension to .223 and 5.56, but it fires a heavier, larger bullet at slower velocities, giving it performance similar to these cartridges as well as to .30-30 Winchester. Actually, it is so similar to 5.56 and .223 that all you need to do is swap the barrel and magazine to fire .350 Legend. The other parts should be interchangeable.
How Loud Is .350 Legend?
Not only is the .350 Legend not a particularly loud cartridge, but muzzle flash is minimal too. That could change with a muzzle brake, though, which will make it a lot louder, so be prepared with appropriate hearing protection.
What Is the Best Barrel Length for a .350 Legend Upper?
The same as what is generally recommended for .223 and 5.56, with the same caveats. This cartridge will perform well out of barrels ranging in size from 16” to 20”. If portability and maneuverability take priority, shorter is better. For hunting accurately at longer ranges (around 200 yards or so) a longer barrel of 20” is ideal.
At What Range Should I Zero a .350 Legend Rifle?
That depends on what you’re doing with it, but our guess is hunting, in which case it is most effective within 200 yards. In that case, if you zero the rifle at 100 yards, your shots will be zeroed at that range and will only drop between 2” and 3” at 150 yards. If zeroed at 100, the bullet will probably drop around 7” at 200 yards, an easy discrepancy to account for by holding slightly over the target.
How Accurate Is .350 Legend at 100 Yards?
Even though it isn’t loaded with a spitzer bullet, it can be pretty accurate at 100 yards. You’re not going to be shooting sub-MOA groups (probably, at least), but in most cases you should be able to consistently shoot groups of less than 2” from a clean rifle with a well-maintained bore and rifling in good shape.
What Is the Most Powerful Straight-Walled Cartridge?
That’s a tough question to answer, but the answer is definitely not .350 Legend. There are many other more powerful straight walled cartridges, the most powerful of which are .450 Marlin, .444 Marlin, .405 Winchester, and .45-70 Government. The .360 Buckhammer is another good straight-walled cartridge that far outperforms the muzzle energy and velocity of .350 Legend.
The .350 Legend is still good, though, and produces very little recoil by comparison.
Start with a .350 Legend Upper Here
If you’re thinking about building a dedicated AR-style platform starting with a .350 Legend upper, get it here. We carry fully assembled uppers and complete uppers with pretty much all the parts you need to mate to a lower and parts.
On top of that we also sell the parts piecemeal that you need to make customizations, and you might be able to get away with swapping the barrel and mag of your 5.56/.223 AR if you want to give .350 Legend a try. Give us a call if you have any questions.