Shooting Illustrated by Richard Mann 12/9/2019
The development and popularity of metallic cartridges has traditionally been driven by the military. Consider the .45-70 Gov’t, .30-’06 Sprg., .308 Win. (7.62 NATO) and the .223 Rem. (5.56 NATO). This is partly because military adoption translates to dollars, but also because up until near the end of the last century, shooters mostly chose a cartridge to fill a general role. That’s changing. Today we’re seeing the proliferation of the specialized cartridge; a cartridge engineered for a specific—often narrow—military or civilian task. This desire for specialization is how we ended up with Winchester’s new 350 Legend.
Winchester began development of the 350 Legend in 2017. The primary motivation was the need for a straight-wall cartridge that would meet the legal requirements in several states previously only allowing shotguns and muzzleloaders for deer hunting. Though I would not call it a revolution, this straight-wall resurgence has increased the popularity of cartridges—like the .450 Bushmaster—that were waning in popularity. The 350 Legend fills this “specialized†need, but the question of whether it has any practical or tactical application beyond whacking deer somewhere in the Midwest remains.
Before we try to answer that, let’s delve into exactly what the 350 Legend is. The cartridge case for the 350 Legend is similar to the .223 Rem. (5.56 NATO). The case utilizes a small rifle primer and has the same .378-inch-diameter rim as the .223, but it has no shoulder. However, it does taper from .390 at the base to .378 at the case mouth. Like the .223 Rem., the 350 Legend’s cartridge overall length (COAL) is set at 2.260 inches, and the case holds about 36.5 grains of water. SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturer’s Institute) set a MAP (maximum average chamber pressure) for the 350 Legend at 55,000 psi, which is also identical to the .223 Rem.
By now you should be getting the picture; from inception, the 350 Legend was intended to work with the AR-15 platform. The 350 Legend case is only about a tenth of an inch longer than the .357 Maximum and just .12-inch longer than the .357 Mag. The real difference is the 350 Legend’s rimless design and operating pressure. The .357 Mag. is only loaded to 30,000 psi and the .357 Maximum to 40,000 psi. And, of course, neither of these revolver cartridges are compatible with Stoner’s semi-automatic (AR-15) design that has essentially become “America’s Rifle.â€
More:
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/12/9/review-winchester-350-legend/
