Winchester 350 Legend

[trapper9260]

Not long ago I was down at my gunsmith to see him and he show me the round and it was something to see, he told me it was made for the states that can only use straight wall.He show me a rifle that is a bolt for his brother's son he got. He told me he has people talk with him about AR's for that round and he is work on build them for them. Sound like there is many wants them in AR. He said he can build a AR cheaper then just buy the rifle. He did told me if I remember right that the round have a slit taper.

[Willbird]

Not long ago I was down at my gunsmith to see him and he show me the round and it was something to see, he told me it was made for the states that can only use straight wall.He show me a rifle that is a bolt for his brother's son he got. He told me he has people talk with him about AR's for that round and he is work on build them for them. Sound like there is many wants them in AR. He said he can build a AR cheaper then just buy the rifle. He did told me if I remember right that the round have a slit taper.

Yes it does have a slight taper. .390" at the base, .379" at the case mouth.

Bill

[Daryl]

Hi Everyone,

I'm glad I came across this tread. I'll be glad to share my experience with the 350 Legend.

I've loaded and shot probably over 500 rounds so far in multiple ARs. Sorry - no boolits so far.

On cases, yes, go with Starline. SAAMI specs on the case length are narrow 1.7000 to 1.710". I first shot about 200 rounds of WIN and used that brass. Started having case separations. On detailed analysis, I started seeing that the majority of the brass is less than 1.700. Some were even under 1.690". So, that creates the excess headspace responsible for the separations. Plus, I suspect the brass is a different alloy. In almost all of the brass, I can see evidence of the case stretch ring inside the brass. Sometimes there is clear evidence on the exterior of the case prior to failure - but not always.

The once-fired Starline brass I have shows no signs of that failure. They all come in over 1.700 so I size them to 1.700.

Some of the thread mentions a reamer - not a bad idea for those with that talent. Pacific tool has a reamer made ream the chamber to the .358. I'm using Hornady 200 FTX which is a .358 projectile. I run it through the Lee 356 sizer and it comes out nicely at 357 and works well. The unsized will not measure out in a finished cartridge to SAAMI specs. But you'd be ok with the reamer.

On the bag with a 3-9 scope it's an easy 1" group at 100 yards.

I used the CMMG 16" barrels on a few builds and every one performed like that. Same thing with a 12" Deadshot barrel and a 12" BSF carbon fiber in SBR and/or pistol builds. The 12" barrel only loses about a tad over 100 FPS - and the 200FTX is still 1,700 FPS at the muzzle in the 12" with 1,000 ft lbs at about 100 yards.

I shoot them all suppressed and it is a beautiful package for those of us in Ohio stuck with the strait cartridge rules. Light and easy carry package.

I spoke to CPD mags and they have a 20-rounder in the works for those thinking why not a home defense round.

I use a bulk Lovex powder D063-01 which Shooters world sells at SOCOM. I duplicated the performance with H110.

I use the CCI #41 primer since it's in the semi auto I'm more comfortable with that and it works.

Hope this helps someone.

8.20.18 Addition

Download the SAAMI drawing for the cartridge. The specs are all on there. A key to note is that there is only .10" beyond the case mouth with a .357 diameter. What I found worked reliably was to seat the projectile so the start of the ogive was just out of the case mouth. The 200FTX seats perfectly at 2.25" COL with a 1.700" case. Then, be sure to examine the outside cartridge diameter in the drawing for right at the case mouth. Measure that carefully and go .002" under that and it works well. I use a 357 Mag taper crimp die to achieve that.

Also, I found that the semi-auto BCG did not feed well. When I switched to a good-quality Aero Precision full mass BCG - no problems. Nitride coated and reasonably wet. I shoot everything suppressed so it gets dirty - I try to really test it and run many rounds and sessions between cleanings. And, it needs gas. I had one malfunctioning due to the tiniest bit of debris in the gas port. If you find the WIN factory ammo not cycling properly - check that out. It only happened in one of the 6 rifles I've worked with. The standard carbine buffer and spring seem to work fine. But, I'm usually using a JP set up or Armapec - just personal preference to test them out.

[trapper9260]

The new NRA mag that just came out have a write up about it .

[cwlongshot]

Thanks for the post Daryl! Most informative!!

I saw that too Trapper!!

CW

[retread]

Starline 350 Legend brass is listed ar $71/250. 223 Basic is about $20 more the 350 Legend brass. Go figure.