.350 Legend
- Thread starter TonyAngel
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So just my two cents....
It doesn't matter that some(perhaps most) .350s can't shoot jacketed 358s, mine can't.
The cartridge is well enough supported already that you can get jacketed bullets ranging from 90gr or so, and upto 180 (legend specific at that) in .355.
My gun will comfortably chamber .356 and .357 bullets, so those are also an option should I desire, but again, what's available over the counter for the legend are as good or better than what's offered in .357 dia, at least for my use.
I don't know if there are any legend specific monometals yet, which is one possible failing.
I'm getting 2200fps with 170 Hornady interlocks, and h110 from my BCAs 16" barrel. Lilgun maybe able to get more, and I'd bet with a longer tube, and being able to load out with cfe black you could eek out a bit more still.
As is with my dot sight the rounds land at the bottom at 200ish when sighted for the top at 100yds, and it's proving to be quite accurate.
200yds is farther than I'd be willing to take a shot on an animal with a red dot, but I'd be happy to take that shot with a scoped gun.
It doesn't matter that some(perhaps most) .350s can't shoot jacketed 358s, mine can't.
The cartridge is well enough supported already that you can get jacketed bullets ranging from 90gr or so, and upto 180 (legend specific at that) in .355.
My gun will comfortably chamber .356 and .357 bullets, so those are also an option should I desire, but again, what's available over the counter for the legend are as good or better than what's offered in .357 dia, at least for my use.
I don't know if there are any legend specific monometals yet, which is one possible failing.
I'm getting 2200fps with 170 Hornady interlocks, and h110 from my BCAs 16" barrel. Lilgun maybe able to get more, and I'd bet with a longer tube, and being able to load out with cfe black you could eek out a bit more still.
As is with my dot sight the rounds land at the bottom at 200ish when sighted for the top at 100yds, and it's proving to be quite accurate.
200yds is farther than I'd be willing to take a shot on an animal with a red dot, but I'd be happy to take that shot with a scoped gun.
Starline is the best of the best..... until:
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=604624&highlight=starline+legend&page=9
As before, the 358 Cast works fine. I do size the SPEER 180 HOTCOR to 356/7 and shoot it as well.
(The Speer 180 is a fine bullet for Legend speeds.)
ps: having started with (and still having a lot of) Starline brass -- I now shoot Winchester
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=604624&highlight=starline+legend&page=9
As before, the 358 Cast works fine. I do size the SPEER 180 HOTCOR to 356/7 and shoot it as well.
(The Speer 180 is a fine bullet for Legend speeds.)
ps: having started with (and still having a lot of) Starline brass -- I now shoot Winchester
mcb
Member
If your really set on .357/.358 diameter bullet you can always buy a 358 Legend barrel from KAK. 
That might have been a prank taken too far but it is there if someone is really interested.
I think a good 200gr all copper bullet from Barnes or Maker would be an awesome addition to 350 Legend. I am sure one of them will offer it relatively soon.
If someone was really impatient I bet you could get a .355 or .356 sizing die and a good strong press and run some 200gr Barnes TSX or 200gr Maker REX .358 diameter bullets through the sizing die and have a great thumper bullet for 350 Legend. Probably get it going ~1800 fps from a 350 Legend with a decent length barrel.
That might have been a prank taken too far but it is there if someone is really interested.I think a good 200gr all copper bullet from Barnes or Maker would be an awesome addition to 350 Legend. I am sure one of them will offer it relatively soon.
If someone was really impatient I bet you could get a .355 or .356 sizing die and a good strong press and run some 200gr Barnes TSX or 200gr Maker REX .358 diameter bullets through the sizing die and have a great thumper bullet for 350 Legend. Probably get it going ~1800 fps from a 350 Legend with a decent length barrel.
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Ever do any testing with a shorter barrel? I'm asking because I became interested in the 350L as an alternative to the 300BO and I was planning to build something short. The 300BO seems to excel in short barrels. The reading I did seemed to indicate that a 9" barrel is optimal for the 350L, but velocity reports I've seen show that there is a worthwhile increase in velocity by going with a longer (16") barrel for the 350L.
It looks like whatever route I take, it's going to be a reloading proposition and I'm going to have to buy brass to do it. From the cost standpoint, 350L plinking ammo is relatively inexpensive at $10 a box, but on the other hand, the BO will allow me to use the plethora of 5.56 magazines that I have laying around, although I'll bet I can modify them to work with the 350L.
I suppose what it boils down to is what is more effective in a 10.5ish AR. My plan was to tear down my 14.5 build, replace the barrel with a 9 or 10" barrel and use a 3.5" linear comp so that it would just stick out of the free float tube that I want to use.
Nope, can't have sbrs or "assault" pistols here, so I've never gone shorter than 16"
The .350 is basically a .357Max, heck I usually describe it as a 9mm Supermag to folks who have never seen one.
I'd expect to see similar performance increase/decrease with barrel length.
The .300aac uses about 8-10gr less powder (if I'm remembering correctly), So would theoretically suffer less from the reduced barrel length. The .350 tho has ready access to pistol bullets which are designed for lower velocity work than many of the common .30 Cal's. It's also got enough of a head start in terms of velocity, that I'd bet the reduction wouldn't bring the blackout I line velocity wise, and IMO the sleeker .30s really arnt going to give you a lot more range from a 10" barrel.
My load for 147xtps drives them at 2350 from my 16. Cut that to 10 and you'll probably loose 150-200fps, but let's call it 3. Your still driving a larger bullet at the same speed or faster than the blackout can. As you increase weight I'd bet the difference becomes more noticeable.
Now 2350 is too fast for the xtps imo. But they did penetrate clean then the skull of the pig insult with them and jellied everything in between. Personally at 2000ish I'd be pretty confident they would make a heck of a small medium game round or defensive loading. The 170-80s should still have enough oomph for 100yd medium game.
again this is just my opinion, and it's not basses on personal experience with the shorter barrel.
Varminterror
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Dont let Varminterror see that...
This is what I’ve been saying all along - the rifle manufacturers are cutting to the SAAMI spec, but brass manufacturers - like Starline - screwed the pooch by failing to produce brass which met the required specifications to suit SAAMI specs for the chamber and bullet diameters.
mcb
Member
The SAAMI spec is one thing but it is purposely left fairly open for a variety of reason that I don't fully understand/agree with. Nearly all manufactures hold tighter manufacturing tolerances than SAAMI spec. Winchesters tolerances for bore and groove diameters and bullet diameters are almost undoubtedly tighter than the SAAMI spec even with SAAMI 350 Legend bore and groove tolerances being tighter than most SAAMI specs typically are. Its all fine an dandy to leave the SAAMI spec more open but when releasing a new cartridge why didn't Winchester release their production nominal dimensions and tolerances in addition to the more generic SAAMI Spec? Especially when playing in this very congested 35/36 caliber area in the bullet diameter spectrum. This mess is as much Winchester's fault as it is the brass makers.
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Varminterror
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Explain that the SAAMI spec isn’t consistent with the SAAMI spec, and then I might think you were on with something.
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