350 Legend Ammo Cartridges: A Few Interesting Facts

If you’re a keen hunter, you’ll probably already know all about Winchester and their history that stretches back to the mid 19th century. They’ve been in the game for an awfully long time, but they’re still up there with the best when it comes to ammo and weapons.

Back in 2019, they introduced 350 Legend Ammo Online as part of their sporting arms line that’s intended for the deer hunting market. Unless you’ve used it yourself already, you might not be aware of what the cartridges offer, so I thought I’d provide some help.

Here’s a few things that I know.

SAAMI-Approved 350 Legend Ammo

Also sometimes abbreviated to 350 LGND, this ammo is approved by SAAMI and is a straight-walled cartridge that’s designed for use in specific US states that have very particular rules when it comes to deer hunting. These states that include Ohio, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan call for centerfire cartridges with a straight wall.

According to Winchester themselves, 350 Legend ammo is the fastest straight-walled cartridge for hunting on the planet. For my mind, there are some .444 cartridges made by Marlin that are faster but the 350 Legend is right up there. With a 1.71 inch shell casing and .357 inch bullet diameter, the overall length of the cartridge is some 2.26 inches and there are a number of companies that are gearing up to offer rifles that take the cartridge. 

Not Compatible with Standard 5.56mm Magazines

Before you buy any for yourself, it’s important to remember that it’s not compatible with the standard 5.56mm/223 Rem magazines. This is due to the fact that the cartridges have been designed with non-compatible dimensions in order to maximize its performance.

I’ve been asked before whether Legend 350 cartridges have more energy than Winchester 30-30  and the answer is, yes it does. 

When used with a rifle with the same 20” barrel, the .350 ammo is able to create more muzzle energy than the 30-30. Further to that the cartridge even offers more penetration than the Winchester 243. 

The Legend Is a surprisingly Cost-effective Option

Despite offering high performance, the Legend is available at a surprisingly low end of the price spectrum. Part of the reason behind this is that Winchester manufactures millions of .223 rounds each and every month for use by US military forces and the brass used to create 350 Legend ammo is the same. 

Even the same machines used for the Legend are used for 9mm cartridges and part of the tooling is also the same, meaning that the cost savings can be seen in their retail price.

350 Legend Ammo – Ideal For Young Hunters

As you can see, Legend cartridges are relatively inexpensive, powerful and they come with the added benefit of producing less in the way of recoil. This makes them ideal for young or smaller hunters, as they get to enjoy the same benefits offered by other calibers using more powerful types of cartridge. 

There’s much more to the Legend than I’ve gone into here, but the lack of recoil at little or no expense to its penetration and power make it a great option for those who don’t like too much kick.

I hope even this small amount of information helps you understand the popularity of this deer hunting cartridge.