After a life of 12-gauge slugs and .50 caliber muzzleloaders, the .350 Legend is almost too good to be true for deer season. Not everyone thinks it is a sweet cartridge to shoot; some feel it is not enough gun. I do not understand why hunters feel undergunned with a .35 caliber bullet fired from a rifle. How much gun do you need to put a deer down?
The .350 Legend is compared to the .30-30, a cartridge claimed to have accounted for more deer than any other. The .30-30 began in 1895, as the .30 Winchester Centerfire, the first smokeless cartridge for the John Browning-designed Winchester 1894, originally offered in black powder cartridges, the .32-40 and .38-55.
The .30-30 is said to have caused the demise of other cartridges, such as the .38-55. More than a century later, the .30-30 cartridge is as popular as ever. I wonder if any of the folks questioned the merit of the smaller .30-30 when it came out in 1895.
Back then, the .30-30 was an improvement, no smoke and cleaner burning. Smoke was a dead giveaway when you shot black powder cartridges. If someone was after you, each puff of smoke made it obvious where the shot came from. It may have cost some people their lives.
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A .350 Legend will replace the shotgun loaded with slugs I carried in 2023. I toyed with the thought of going to a .45-70, a big bore cartridge developed for the Army in 1873, first used in the Trapdoor Springfield. When I realized how hard it kicked and how expensive the cartridges were, I saw no benefit over a shotgun and slugs, other than easier accuracy.
The .450 Bushmaster was another contender. A short version of the .45-70 with less recoil. Developed as a big game cartridge to function in an M4 or AR platform, it had a tenuous beginning with little fanfare from hunters in 2007. That all changed seven years after the cartridge was released, when hunters in rifle-restricted states like Ohio could use it during the regular gun season.
Deer are medium-sized game. Shooting skill is key, as is using the correct ammunition. I have heard too many stories of hunters losing deer hit with a 12-gauge slug. Alaskan Master Guide Phil Shoemaker sums it up best: “It is the bullet that does the killing. I don’t care how big the gun is. Where you put them, there is no substitute for bullet placement or performance.”
Winchester Ammunition designed the .350 Legend for deer hunting out to 250 yards. Is the .350 Legend the new .30-30? Time will tell. It parallels the .30-30 in weight and performance, without the bottleneck casing. Not having a rimmed case means the .350 can be used in a bolt-actioned rifle, a plus for deer hunter who prefers a bolt.
Terminal velocity is a popular concern among the various circles of hunters. I do not understand their concern. It makes me wonder how many deer they bag at 200 yards or more?
Another consistent argument is the need for a brush gun and the .350 does not cut it. What is the definition of a brush gun? The lever action .30-30 was considered a brush gun. Compared to other rifles, it had a shorter barrel, was lighter in weight, making it more maneuverable as you make your way through the brush. Today the definition seems to infer a bullet that can cut kindling for camp on the way to the deer.
I know firsthand how difficult it is to pass up a shot that is close with a little brush in between. Bowhunting taught me not all shots should be taken, no matter how close. I could see the arrow deflect in flight. It is not that way today with the high-speed mechanical bows. How many experienced archers do you know who use a heavier arrow to get through the brush?
I have had a 12-gauge slug and a .50 caliber maxi-ball or two deflected, but I never saw the brush with open sights. When I discovered where the shot went, it would not have mattered how large of a projectile I fired, the shot would have ended in the wood. A heavier bullet never baled me out of poor shooting. Optics have been a big help finding a clear path to shoot.
The .400 Legend came out soon after the .350. It is a step up in caliber, cost, recoil, and performance. What the doctor ordered if you have concerns for terminal velocity, brush, or you simply want more power. Nothing wrong with that.
1 thought on “.350 Legend: A worthy option for Ohio deer hunters”
This article should have also acknowledged the new straight wall cartridge, the 360 Buckhammer. It is a better deer cartridge than the 350 Legend.