the modern hunter| october 2019 G&A 49could handle simple plumbing tasks you were more than capable
of working on an AR-15. That statement is true. AR’s require no
hand-fitting because of the way the bolt and barrel extension are
made. Both are small parts manufactured on rigid tooling, so
tolerances are kept well under .001-inch. Barrel extensions are
fit to the barrel before leaving a factory, so there is no need to set
headspace on an AR-15. (Warning: When shopping for bargains
of unknown provenance, this principle is no longer true.)
The .350 Legend is based on the .223 Rem. cartridge case,
which means that it holds about 21 grains of powder. Even when
loaded to its maximum chamber pressure of 55,000 pounds per
square inch (psi) of pressure, the .350 drops quickly as the bullet
moves through the barrel. The big bore diameter of the .350 Leg-
end gives the expanding gas an incredibly large container to fill as
the bullet moves down the bore. Gas behind the bullet maintains
pressure on the bullet until it leaves the muzzle, but the pressure
behind the .350 Legend’s bullet drops quickly because the bore
diameter is so large. In fact, the .350 case has to fill 250 percent
more bore space than the .223 Remington does by the time the
bullet leaves the muzzle. This means the exit pressure that deter-
mines muzzle blast is very low on the Legend.The Takeaways Whether a you want to go hunting or you just
want a light rifle that delivers a lot of thump out to 200 yards,
the Resolute .350 Legend is the rifle to beat. It is this generation’s
Model 94. It’s light and short, but it also has a forend that sup-
ports field shooting positions. The .350 is easily maintained by
the average shooter and plays well with a suppressor. Don’t forget
ammo, for it is affordable. CMMG offers .350 Legend barrels and
magazines seperately. I hope CMMG sells a ton of them.PERFORMANCE
LOAD
VELOCITY
(FPS) ES SD
BEST
GROUP
(IN.)
AVG.
GROUP
(IN.)
Winchester 180-gr. SP 2,067 28 10.1 1.23 1.68
Winchester 145-gr. FMJ 2,214 66 33.6 1.87 2.16
notes: Accuracy is the average of five, five-shot groups at 100 yards. Velocity is the
average of five shots recorded by a LabRadar chronograph adjacent to the muzzle.