AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG SEPTEMBER (^201945)
COVER STORY
ouring time and capital into the development of a
new chambering is an incredibly dicey endeavor for
an ammunition manufacturer, even more so when
that design occupies a segment of cartridgedom that
has historically been met with disinterest by American
shooters. And few ri e calibers have consistently drawn
a collective yawn from the rearm community as thor-
oughly as has the .35. Often attempted and often
failed—.35 Remington and .35 Whelen being the only
contemporary options that can be considered even mod-
erately commercially successful—a .35-cal. ri e cartridge
seems like an odd choice for Winchester Ammunition
(winchester.com) to make for its rst new center- re
chambering since the WSSMs hit the market in 2004.
Yet the company just might be onto something, if Internet
and gun show chatter account for anything, as the sheer
amount of buzz that 350 Legend has generated since its
announcement at SHOT Show 2019 seems to indicate that
American shootists are now more than willing to give the
.35 caliber another look. And that ardor is not limited only
to consumers, as, perhaps just as importantly, the rearm
industry itself has also enthusiastically embraced the cartridge
to an uncommon degree. At the time of its January rollout,
Winchester Repeating Arms and CMMG were each already
poised to announce a number of SKUs chambered to re
350 Legend (14 variants of the XPR bolt-action and three
versions of the Resolute AR, respectively). By the NRA Annual
Meetings, three months later, Ruger had also gotten onboard
with three compatible models of its own—two American Ri e
Ranch bolt guns and an AR-15. And, just prior to press time,
CVA, Mossberg, Rock River Arms, Savage, and Shaw Barrels &
Ri es joined the fray with 350 Legend guns.
Probably most telling of all, two competing ammunition
makers (Federal and Hornady) have already acceded to the
merits of Winchester’s design by introducing loads of their
own. Given how many cartridge options we already have—
and how stubbornly loyal to our favorites and resistant to
accept anything unfamiliar that we can be—broad support
by the industry is absolutely vital to a nascent design’s
longevity. And it’s exceedingly rare for so many big names
to line up behind a newborn chambering so quickly.
Of course, all the attention in the world wouldn’t mean
a thing if 350 Legend didn’t perform, and after having the
chance to evaluate it for the past few months, I’m excited
by the potential I see. At rst blush, the design seems sim-
plistic, but the deeper you dive into why Winchester cre-
ated the cartridge, the more well-thought-out it appears.
The rm has sagely designed 350 Legend to leverage two of
its core competencies—the manufacture of .223 Remington
cases and the production of 0.357"-diameter projectiles—
decisions that greatly streamline the production process,
resulting in deep savings for both the company’s bottom
line and the customer’s wallet. Yes, its straight-wall design
makes it particularly enticing for those within that speci c
hunting niche, but the performance, economy and shoot-
ability of 350 Legend will endear it to a great many of the
rest of us, as well.
Development of 350 Legend began in mid-2017 with the
determination by Winchester that there was an unmet need
in the marketplace for a medium-bore, straight-wall car-
tridge. Previously, several Midwestern states had established
hunting seasons for shotguns and muzzleloaders only, there-
fore banning center- re-ri e use by default. In recent years,
some of those states have begun to loosen the restrictions
Winchester’s New Legend
Its design will make the 350 Legend particularly enticing for hunters in “straight-wall” states, but
its performance, affordability and low recoil should make it intriguing for the rest of us, as well.
BY KELLY YOUNG, MANAGING EDITOR
Straight To The Point
ff
(ff)
#1