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The Winchester .350 Legend? That's it? That's the best they could come up with? I get the idea, a straight walled case to meet some legislated restrictions in some areas, particularly for deer hunting.
Since 2006 my son has used a cartridge known as the 360DW. Starline makes brass every couple of years but otherwise it is a reloading project since the factory cartridges are no longer available. Nonetheless, the brass is thick and rimmed and designed for heavy loads. We load a 180 grain .358 bullet at 1900 FPS (this is a 18" barrel). There are some factory handguns around the used market in 360DW caliber. Otherwise, the easiest way to get one is to take a .357 Mag single shot and hand-turn a chamber reamer about 5 full turns. That's it - instant 360DW. If you have a Winchester Model 94 in 357 Magnum the same thing is done, plus you have to remove and file back the cartridge guides 5/16th. Again an hour of handy-work and you take a rifle to a new level. Note: The Model 92 has a shorter action and cannot take this alteration. Rumor is that the Henry lever-action can.
So Winchester put this new "Legend" cartridge in a synthetic stocked bolt action rifle. A full-sized one at that. I think they missed the boat with this one. It should have gone into a lever action, semi-auto, or at least a carbine length rifle.
Maybe Winchester should have resurrected their own 351 Winchester (SL) cartridge. This one sent a 180 grain bullet at 1925 FPS from a 20" barrel. Oh yeah, and it was a semi-auto "carbine". This one did use a .351" bullet. A modernization of it would have been pretty straightforward and might have included a new .356-.358" bullet.
There is also something called a 357 Maximum. This straight-walled cartridge is a tad longer than the 360DW and otherwise the same. It allows for a little more powder so the velocity with a 180 grain bullet can reach 2000 FPS from a 20" barrel. It is just a bit too long to convert the Winchester 94, but it works great in single shot rifles. Since Winchester put the new "Legend" in a bolt action this one would have been a no-brainer. However, it could have been a platform for a new lever action rifle with an action long enough to accommodate it. The rifle would have been able to accommodate 357 Mag, 360DW and 357 Maximum so the versatility is there.
The 350 Legend is advertised predominantly with 150 grain bullets. These are said to have 2300 FPS MV. There is no "Wow" factor there. That is from a 24" or longer barrel. The previously mentioned cartridges all can replicate that with the same barrel length. The 351 WSL would be hard-pressed to get that velocity but it was never meant for a barrel that long.
There is a suppressed version of this new cartridge that throws a 265 grain bullet at 1000 FPS. Another is the 180 grain but interestingly, Winchester does not show the velocity of this bullet weight on their web-site. Maybe because the 35 caliber predecessors meet or exceed it in smaller cartridges?
Winchester - thank you for a new cartridge and in particular a new "35" - my personal favorite. At the moment you've missed the mark that I was looking for. A short, handy repeater would have been a great compliment to this cartridge (levergun). A new rifle that used the pre-existing 35's out there would have been even better. Instead, another bolt action is out and the AR crowd will soon have another cartridge to use. From what little I know, the States that are mandating straight-walled cartridges for deer hunting are also prohibiting semi-auto rifles for the same - so what's the attraction?
Since 2006 my son has used a cartridge known as the 360DW. Starline makes brass every couple of years but otherwise it is a reloading project since the factory cartridges are no longer available. Nonetheless, the brass is thick and rimmed and designed for heavy loads. We load a 180 grain .358 bullet at 1900 FPS (this is a 18" barrel). There are some factory handguns around the used market in 360DW caliber. Otherwise, the easiest way to get one is to take a .357 Mag single shot and hand-turn a chamber reamer about 5 full turns. That's it - instant 360DW. If you have a Winchester Model 94 in 357 Magnum the same thing is done, plus you have to remove and file back the cartridge guides 5/16th. Again an hour of handy-work and you take a rifle to a new level. Note: The Model 92 has a shorter action and cannot take this alteration. Rumor is that the Henry lever-action can.
So Winchester put this new "Legend" cartridge in a synthetic stocked bolt action rifle. A full-sized one at that. I think they missed the boat with this one. It should have gone into a lever action, semi-auto, or at least a carbine length rifle.
Maybe Winchester should have resurrected their own 351 Winchester (SL) cartridge. This one sent a 180 grain bullet at 1925 FPS from a 20" barrel. Oh yeah, and it was a semi-auto "carbine". This one did use a .351" bullet. A modernization of it would have been pretty straightforward and might have included a new .356-.358" bullet.
There is also something called a 357 Maximum. This straight-walled cartridge is a tad longer than the 360DW and otherwise the same. It allows for a little more powder so the velocity with a 180 grain bullet can reach 2000 FPS from a 20" barrel. It is just a bit too long to convert the Winchester 94, but it works great in single shot rifles. Since Winchester put the new "Legend" in a bolt action this one would have been a no-brainer. However, it could have been a platform for a new lever action rifle with an action long enough to accommodate it. The rifle would have been able to accommodate 357 Mag, 360DW and 357 Maximum so the versatility is there.
The 350 Legend is advertised predominantly with 150 grain bullets. These are said to have 2300 FPS MV. There is no "Wow" factor there. That is from a 24" or longer barrel. The previously mentioned cartridges all can replicate that with the same barrel length. The 351 WSL would be hard-pressed to get that velocity but it was never meant for a barrel that long.
There is a suppressed version of this new cartridge that throws a 265 grain bullet at 1000 FPS. Another is the 180 grain but interestingly, Winchester does not show the velocity of this bullet weight on their web-site. Maybe because the 35 caliber predecessors meet or exceed it in smaller cartridges?
Winchester - thank you for a new cartridge and in particular a new "35" - my personal favorite. At the moment you've missed the mark that I was looking for. A short, handy repeater would have been a great compliment to this cartridge (levergun). A new rifle that used the pre-existing 35's out there would have been even better. Instead, another bolt action is out and the AR crowd will soon have another cartridge to use. From what little I know, the States that are mandating straight-walled cartridges for deer hunting are also prohibiting semi-auto rifles for the same - so what's the attraction?
