350 Legend

[5-Shot]

I've decided I "need" a bolt action 350 Legend rifle to shoot cast bullets in. Since I haven't fooled with rifles in over 25 years I'm not at all current on the subject. I'm hoping some of you are and will offer suggestions.

Thanks
Ed

 

[NewLiberty]

The biggest deer I have ever killed was with .350 Legend, a big Ohio buck that weighed over 200#s field dressed. Ohio is a state where you are restricted to straight walled rifle cartridges for deer hunting, hence the caliber choice.

I wound up with a Savage AXIS, that was a special run for an Ohio retailer with a threaded 20" heavy barrel, and factory mounted Bushnell 4-12x. The rifle is certainly accurate enough for deer hunting, but and since it is a "one-use" rifle, fit the budget well.

.350 has a limited engagement envelope, but within that window works pretty well in my experience.

 

[gdogs]

If it had to be a bolt action, I'd probably go for one of the short barreled Ruger Americans.

 

[KalamazooKid]

I’ve hunted with the 350’s “big brother”, the 450 Bushmaster for a few years now with fabulous results. These two rifles are all the rage here amongst Michigan deer hunters because of the straight wall requirement.

My Ruger American sports a Leupold 3-9x scope and is a tack driver out to 200 yards plus (I have no need to shoot beyond that). I believe I’m 5 for 5 so far!

 

[5-Shot]

I had no idea such a thing existed. As an ex-458 and 45-70 owner, that sounds even better than the 350. Decisions, decisions!

 

[dutch686]

It's possible to use an AR platform with a Kalikey to meet straight cartridge and manual rifle regulations. I live in Pa. I built one for pretty cheap, and just drop the upper on my existing lower. I have 450 Bushmaster and 350 Legend. So far very acceptable accuracy, and pleasant to shoot.

 

[Bald1]

Ruger American in 350 or 450 is hard to beat for the money.

 

[375hh1973]

An uncle has a .350 legend and loves it.

My buddy has a .450B and loves it.

So naturally I will be buying a .400 legend when available.

Good thing I got a bigger safe recently

 

[TJm15.38]

The only straight wall cartridge rifle I have is a H&R SB2 "Handi-Rifle" in .45-70 Government. In Mississippi it would be deemed a "primitive weapon." The little 7lb single-shot kicks like a mule.

 

[NewLiberty]

I had no idea such a thing existed. As an ex-458 and 45-70 owner, that sounds even better than the 350. Decisions, decisions!

It may make a difference, or it may not, but the 450 Beowulf packs quite a punch, at both ends. There is a lot of kinetic energy downrange on target, but it can also be a thumper when it comes to recoil north of what you would expect from a typical .30-06 round.

The .350 Legend has about half the recoil of the .450 Bushmaster. Since part of the plan with my rifle was to have it available for it to become the family deer rifle for hunting in Ohio, the lower recoil was a benefit, since others would be shooting it as well.

 

[Ethang]

If Michigan would approve 45/70 for hunting I would never have looked at a 350 Legend. Same with the 360 Buckhammer, I would much rather have a lever action...the 350 is particular to load for though with the way it headspaces. What are you wanting to do with it in a bolt action?

 

[6string]

Consider the 360 Buckhammer instead

Why all the talk about hunting? The OP only stated that he wants a bolt action for shooting cast bullets. His application is unstated.

With that in mind, the 350 Legend might not be the best choice. First, SAAMI specs are for a .357" bullet. That limits choices of rifle style cast bullet molds. Do you really want to be potentially stuck with only using .357 pistol bullet molds?
Second, the cartridge headspaces on the case mouth. Not ideal for cast bullet applications.
Perhaps a better choice is the 360 Buckhammer? SAAMI specs call for .359" bullets, plus it headspaces off the rim. Both are much better for cast bullet uses.
The only issue might be rifle choice. Rimmed cases are not generally well suited to bolt action rifles. But, single shot rifles and rimmed cases are a great combination, and traditionally work well with cast bullets.
A Ruger #1 in 360 Buckhammer (if such a thing comes to market) might be ideal.
Or, just go find an old 35 Remington!
If it must be a bolt action, there's always the classic 35 Whelen.

Anyhow, I've attached diagrams of the two cartridges for your consideration.