350 Legend Full Profile | 450 Bushmaster vs 350 Legend vs 223 Remington Comparison

[@rashick11]

Very through and useful review. Late last summer I had my chest cracked open and a quadruple bypass. When deer season rolled around a few months later, my wife (and my Doc) did not want me to shoot a high powered rifle (one little heart attack and suddenly everyone is mean to you, restricting your fun activities ). I settled on a 350 Legend (with specific exercises from my Doc) in an AR platform. Not only was it mild and pleasant with little muzzle blast, it killed deer just as dead as my 270 win. I had a few great hunts with some of my daughters, and even harvested a deer myself. The fact one of my daughters got her personal best massive buck was even better by the fact I was not allowed to haul it ¾ of a mile out like usual. Thank you to a good friend for his help. This summer the 350 has become my favorite plinkers with 145 FMJ white box practice ammo. Mild shooting, hard hitting, accurate and low cost to shoot. Turned out to be a very good rifle indeed.

[@985shane]

I love the 350 legend round on the AR platform

[@beargillium2369]

Why?

[@dainironfoot102]

It just thumps! No sharp recoil. Great ammo availability, and it's great suppressed. Oh, and great capacity in modern sporting rifles. In my opinion, if you're looking for a close quarters caliber, forget 300BO.

[@Mark-uq9km]

HI John, I enjoyed your YT blog and look forward to your daily post in my e-mail. I recently purchased a .350 Legend to hunt deer in Ohio with my grandsons and other relatives. I'm left handed and was fortunate to be able to find a Savage Apex Hunter (110) in LH bolt and for a very reasonable price; $599.00 including a mounted Vortex Crossfire II, 3-9 power optic. I purchased 200 rds of Winchester 147 gr. FMJ range ammo from ammo-seeker, also for a better than reasonable price. At the range the trajectory is the same at 100 yards as it is at 50 yards using the 147 gr range ammo. This is very encouraging. My intent is to hunt with the 180 gr. Winchester or 170 American Whitetail by Hornady. 200 yard penetration tests using ballistic gelatin have been surprisingly deep and with good expansion of the bullet. I was hoping the Legend would be available in a lever action because of my left handedness, but the pressures are very high for a straight walled cartridges, eliminating it for Marlin 336 and Winchester 94 use. However, I'm surprised Henry hasn't chambered the round in their Long Ranger lever action. The same thought goes with Browning not chambering the round in their BLR since both the Long Ranger and BLR can withstand the higher pressure rounds. I find it incredible a straight walled cartridge is generating such high pressures. I'm reasonably educated and experienced on ballistics, bullet construction, reloading, etc. When my wife has trouble going to sleep she'll ask me to tell her about bullets or different powders or calibers and pffft! Off to dreamland she goes. This is frustrating for me because, heck, I was getting started. Thanks.

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Hi Mark. Thanks for your message. Glad you're enjoying my channel, blog, and emails. Sounds like you've found a nice set-up to hunt with in Ohio! I think the 350 Legend is great for what you're planning on using it for. If things keep going the way they are with that cartridge, I wouldn't be surprised to see it offered in more rifles, to include those from Browning and/or Henry. The cartridge is only 3 years old and it sometimes takes awhile for other companies to pick up a cartridge, especially one that caters to such a specific niche in the market like this one.

[@dainironfoot102]

I love the legend but if you're looking for a lever gun check out the new 360 buckmaster!

[@blueeyeddevil1]

Took my second buck (8-pointer) ever this season using a 350 Legend round I built myself (WIN 296, Hornady 165 gr FTX, Starline brass) in an AR15 I built myself (20" Faxon barrel). Approximately 80 yd shot, perfect placement. The buck ran less than 10 yds. The cartrdige more than did the job. Making deer chili this evening 👍 My only gripe with this cartridge is the paucity of hunting bullets for reloading. Great video comparison.

[@blackie1of4]

I picked up a Savage Axis ii stainless steel chambered in the 350 Legend back in January 2020. Mine prefers the Federal and Winchester 180 grain loads.. both of which shoot sub MOA at 100 yards. I actually got to harvest a big bodied pennsylvania eight point this past hunting season with it. The bullet completely passed through leaving 50 cent piece size holes in both lungs. The buck stumbled thirty yards to his death bed. My brother's nephew downed a huge 10 point with his 350 Legend. His bullet rested on the opposite side of the buck. However.. he hit the heart and destroyed the lungs. His deer snow plowed twenty yards to it's death bed. Both deer left a blood trail that a blind person could follow.. yet wasn't necessary due to the short distance they traveled. Final note.. I fell in love with mine after the first shot. Little to no recoil short ( 18 inch barrel ) lightweight points fast and the ammo is inexpensive. I've recently upgraded to a Boyd's laminate stock for it. Now.. it's my most beautiful rifle :) Thanks for sharing this video ☺️

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Glad you enjoyed it! Which 180gr load did you use to shoot your deer in PA?

[@blackie1of4]

@@Thebiggamehuntingblog we both used Federal blue box 180 grains. The deer here are taken inside of 75 yards more often than not. Right now.. I'm using Winchester 180 grain.. due to them shooting tighter since I upgraded to the Boyd's stock.

[@Mark-uq9km]

Uh, Pappy, you're showing your age when you talk about .50 cent pieces. :-) I love PA. Hunted for years in Snowshoe but mostly in SW PA near Pittsburgh. Living in Florida now but will always have PA in my heart.

[@echosierra9990]

350 Legend is the most available ammo, next to .223 and .308, in my area. 350 Legend is the perfect “brush gun”. The Savage Axis is the same length as a typical .30-30, and is fast handling. Light recoil in a light rifle is great, and not just for a certain subset of hunter/shooter. I’ve never shot a deer in the woods at more than 40-50 yards tops, and the 350 Legend seems to anchor the deer in place, once hit. There are a lot of thick brushy areas where I hunt, and the 350 Legend seems to be the perfect rifle for my hunting area. The bolt action rifle is an added bonus, resulting in better accuracy, if the need for a long shot should ever arise.

[@jonquirk9582]

The 450 and 350 legend have been a game changer here in southern Michigan. Shotgun hunting sucks compared to these. I've had wonderful performance from my 350

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Glad to hear it! What ammo have you used the most in your 350 Legend?

[@jonquirk9582]

@@Thebiggamehuntingblog the deer season xp from winchester, that has the ballistic tip on it, has been fantastic on deer. The american white tail rounds from hornady shoot well too. So far i have only used the deer season rounds on game though

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Good deal. Not surprised to hear that Deer Season XP ammo is so effective for you!

[@ewetho]

.350 Legend is essentially a commercial auto loading version of .357 Maximum which has been culling deer for decades…

[@foreststeel8842]

Sorta but it has a lot more velocity in similar barrels

[@therealfearsome]

The 6mm ARC is a good step up that out classes .308 in almost every category for the AR platform. My conversion shoots sub-minute of angle, has minimal recoil but hits very hard

[@shumardi1]

What barrel length are you running?

[@ssmith32183]

Most my deer stands are in thick locations. Perfect for the AR in 350 legend i baught for this deer season.

[@ScandiacusPrime]

Excellent breakdown, thank you

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kevinberdine]

EXCELLENT REVIEW!

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Glad you liked it!

[@pjsmitty83]

.350 legend would be a great pdw round.

[@waynemetzger6251]

Very informative vidio....350 legend is probably the same actual power as a 35 remington..& I took a number of deer with one of those easily...many years ago.

[@bradmiller9993]

Interesting, but I'm not seeing how (ballistically) the 350 has much on the 300 blackout unless you live in one of the midwest states, except for the cross section.

[@francisbissii1120]

My AR barrel slugs .355 and the Hornady bullets for the Legend are also .355. One might surmise the Caliber is .355.

[@ewetho]

Most chambers will take and shot without pressure issues .358” bullets…..

[@beargillium2369]

Aside from .303 British there's almost no cartridge on the market with a bullet diameter that matches its name 📛

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Not even the 303 British falls into that category. It uses .312" diameter bullets

[@tylerbowen2692]

i took down a sasquatch with a .350 legend

[@ChatGPT1111]

That's nothing. I vaporized Godzilla....who was standing behind King Kong at the time 😂😂😂

[@wicked650s]

I bought a 350 two years ago, I have taken four deer with it. I HATE it. It does not have enough energy to expand over 90-100 yards. I will be going back to a 450 Bushmaster.

[@brett7794]

I would think the bushmaster would be even worse at longer ranges

[@papajon6715]

John I would like to see the comparisons of the caliber options of the 'standard" ar15 receiver not the 'multi' caliber'' version. I could afford a new upper for my Anderson M15 but not a whole new pricey shebang. I live in Ohio so the 350 Legend straight wall for hunting and 6.35 Grendel out of state and perhaps a 7.62x39 because the ammunition is cheap enough for plinking and close-in hunting also out of state. Thank you so very much, Jon Paul...

[@mot0rhe4d40]

Anything I would be willing to shoot with a 35 Remington. I don't see any reason that a 350L wouldn't work just as well. With less recoil. Another point in these times for the 350L. Is that pistol and shotgun powders can be used in it. Where as some of the more popular rifle powders are hard to come by, and can run more per pound.

[@doctortabby]

I live in Southern Michigan. I hate recoil. I bought my Savage Axis XP chambered in 350 legend and Weaver scope package in November of 2019...it was a great deal; a no-brainer. I have killed 5 deer with it since, 2 of them being the 2 biggest bucks that I have ever killed. This gun is much more fun and less expensive to shoot, and more effective than my 12 gauge slug gun. I will never deer hunt with the slug gun and its highly unnecessary and obnoxious recoil and muzzle blast again, unless by some chance Michigan, in it's finite wisdom decides to change the law again, or I find myself hunting somewhere with rules that limit me to this type of gun and round.

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Awesome! What ammo do you hunt with in your Savage?

[@doctortabby]

@@Thebiggamehuntingblog I've tried a few, I have settled on the Winchester Deer Season 180 grain.

[@brucepk631]

anyone that is recoil sensitive should shy away from a 450b if a bolt or single action. it kicks like a mule. in an ar15 its not as bad. does a job on deer under 200 yards... but god it kicks. go with the 350l if looking for a deer gun for anyone recoil sensitive....

[@Threefiftylegend]

the 150g rounds don't feed to well in the ar platform ..

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

What 350 Legend ammo have you had the most success with in an AR platform? And what specific AR models do you prefer for the 350 Legend?

[@Threefiftylegend]

@@Thebiggamehuntingblog the 145 run great the 180s run ok a jam 2 outa 50 rounds . the 150s i can't get to cycle at all bca 10.5 upper..

[@chriswilson5767]

I picked up an AR 350 for this year's season. Hornady would not feed AT ALL. Not even racking the first round. Winchester did much better. Those would hang up maybe once per 10 rd mag. Best performer for me was Browning BXR. Didn't have a single mis-feed and I found it to be the most accurate so far.

[@rashick11]

I bought a BCA upper and it missfed about quarter of the time. I sent it back and it was returned very quickly and now works flawlessly wilts all rounds. Great customer service.

[@lylewalters909]

Be interesting to see how the 350 compares to the 30-30 and the 35Rem.

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Good idea

[@shanehebert396]

Both are a little stronger than the 350 Legend. 200gr in .35Rem is good deer medicine (and I'm told, black bear medicine).

[@shermdog6969]

Think it would be more comparable to the 300 blackout.

[@joelstuckey4689]

That's easy 30/30 never failed only good for 100 yards. Wish they would give us the excellerator bullet back

[@Vapourwear]

@@joelstuckey4689suggesting only 100 yards is the effective range of a center fire rifle cartridge of any kind is….ignorant at best.

[@MrSuperpoondog]

350 vs 300bo (&223)

[@seamusmclaughlin5916]

They all are good. We the owner should know the limits of our choice. Period. This is not better than that etc.

[@russellkeeling4387]

What is the actual bore diameter of the .350 Legend? I have seen bullets for it mic'ed and they were all different.

[@dainironfoot102]

Seems to be .355/9mm

[@Vapourwear]

My understanding is .355-.357 are golden on projectile diameter.

[@phild9813]

Neat round for the regulations it was built for, particularly for young and recoil sensitive shooters. Otherwise not so impressive.

[@shanehebert396]

Yep. I'll stick to my .35Rem unless I have to hunt somewhere requiring those regulations.

[@chuckydubree1925]

The only reason I bought mine was ammo was easy to get around here ,but the more I shoot it the better I like it

[@SuperCinemaCraft]

I enjoy my 350 legend in a state without regulation. I like it because I can reload my plinker rounds using 9mm plated or cast bullets and can hit higher velocities with jacketed and solids. Can hunt deer and plink

[@dainironfoot102]

It's only unimpressive if you have no need for it. It's great in an MSR. The 35rem is not.

[@jamesvatter5729]

I thought they said the parent case was 220 Russian?

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

According to Winchester, the 350 Legend has no parent case. The 220 Russian is definitely the parent case to the 6.5 Grendel (along with some other cartridges) though. winchester.com/350-legend/faq

[@dainironfoot102]

Correct. It's very similar to the 223/5.56mm case but technically not the same. It does however use a standard bolt in an ar15, unlike the 7.62x39/6.5 grendel/6arc which does use the Russian as a parent case.

[@adamshaw8214]

As long as they are making money hand over fist new unnecessary cartridges will continue to be released.

[@blueeyeddevil1]

While the 350 Legend might arguably be considered unnecessary, you might have a different opinion if you happen to hunt in those states that have the straight-wall cartridge requirement. "Unnecessary" is a relative word.

[@10MM-MAGAMAN-420]

Like the 30 super carry ? D.O.A.

[@phild9813]

I don’t really understand the justification behind these regulations if it’s safety. Wouldn’t it be safer to have frangible or expanding bullets out of a necked down cartridge as opposed to one that is much more likely to ricochet? Sounds more like political BS to me than any real safety reason.

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Yeah, they're really controversial for sure. As far as I can tell, those states originally authorized certain handgun cartridges for use on deer along with muzzleloaders and shotguns with slugs because of their more limited range. That's true under certain circumstances (but not all the time). Then, it got expanded to include rifles chambered in "handgun cartridges" defined as straight walled cartridges over .357" caliber and with a case length under 1.8" long. This included traditional cartridges like the .44 Magnum, the .460 S&W and the .500 S&W. Well, those regulations also encompassed cartridges like the .450 Bushmaster and now the .350 Legend. It's a winding and twisting road to this point for sure.

[@sixtofive]

@@Thebiggamehuntingblog That sums it up well. It's been a game of back and forth on what's allowed and what can we use that technically meets the definition. I still have a lot of ammo from a custom load I worked up for my 26" barreled rifle in 45 LC for hunting before these cartridges were available. A 45 cal 200 grain hard cast lead hp bullet moving at about 1400 fps would definitely get the job done out of that 100+ year old cartridge.

[@Thebiggamehuntingblog]

Absolutely! Just out of curiosity, what rifle do you have chambered in .45 Long Colt?

[@sixtofive]

@@Thebiggamehuntingblog The rifle I mentioned with a 26" barrel was a Taurus Thunderbolt. It was a pump action clone of the old Colt Lightning rifles. With a barrel that long the magazine tube carries 13 + 1 rounds of 45 LC. I've enjoyed shooting that one over the years, but I've probably had even more fun with our Circuit Judge. It's an 18.5" barreled rifle version of the Judge revolvers. My wife picked that for her home defense weapon and has become quite a good shot with it.

[@Mark-uq9km]

Frangible bullets for mid-sized game like deer? You are kidding, right? And, hunting rounds are already designed to expand to create a larger wound channel and dump all of the bullet's energy into the animal for a quick kill. Another thing, modern bullets tend not to ricochet. Solid lead bullets will ricochet especially little .22's because there isn't enough energy to have the bullet expand. Are you a shooter and hunter? Yikes!