About 3 weeks ago I was at the range and picked up an odd looking piece on brass. Headstamp was 350 Legend, I had never heard of it and don’t read Gun Press much except here, but figured it was a Mid-West compliant straight wall deer cartridge. Did a little research and picked up my first Ruger American (Predator w/ 22 in barrel). I thought I wanted the Ranch model but the balance with 16 in barrel was very butt heavy and awkward for 1 hand carry. I cleaned off the packing goop and scrubbed the bore with JB bore paste to prep for applying some Dyna Bore Coat. Up on inspection of the muzzle I noticed a series of gouges in in the rifling about ½ down the barrel. I assume this was probably damage from a pilot when they threaded the muzzle. I wasn’t happy but thought I shoot it before calling Ruger.

I mounted an old Vari-x II 3X9 scope in Burris rings and headed to the range for an initial zero and to cure the Dyna Bore Coat. I didn't take my chrony, and wish I had. Took two shots at 25 yd to rough zero before moving to 100. Shot two groups with Win 145 FMJ target loads; BTW, they were dirt cheap at $11 for a box of 20. These groups were about 2-2.5 inches strung horizontally, not bad and about what I expected/hoped for. I then switched to the Win 180 Power Point and Hornady 170 Whitetail load. Again the rifle was only roughly sighted, and the Hornady 170 shot about 2 inches left of either Win load. Here is the target.

[Linked Image]

The name is silly, and Winchester doesn’t have a great track record recently, but I’m pleasantly surprised with the chambering and accuracy. This isn’t a game-changer for many parts of the country. Many 'experts' have their complaints about the execution or brass/bullet dimensions, but for a Midwest deer hunter this is a dream come true. Of course it's new so has to be given the Creedmore treatment. Recoil is very soft as is the noise. It’s like shooting a heavy barrel 243 w/o the muzzle blast. The Ruger is rough as a cob, but shoots well. A Howa or CZ 452 mini mauser would be perfect for this round IMHO. I’m looking forward to what loading components will come on line; I think a ~130-140g Barnes offering would be great. The 350 Legend beats the hell out of $3/round shotgun sabots, or the overly powerful 45 cal center fire options for my deer hunting needs.

The truth angers those whom it does not convince