Topic: The Best .350 Legend Rifles Put to the Test (Read 34 times)
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Key Features
Pros
Cons
The Ruger American is one of the most popular budget-friendly rifles on the market today, and they have a reputation for great accuracy. The Ranch Rifle variant of the American in .350 Legend is a slightly modified variant that’s purpose is right in the name. It’s designed to be an all-around rifle for the truck, UTV, or the hunting blind.
The Ranch Rifle is built on the same push-feed, three-lug action that the other American variants are. The action nests into two V-shaped blocks in the stock which act as both bedding pil*ars and recoil lugs. It features an FDE-colored injection-molded stock and includes a Picatinny optics rail.
Unlike other American models, the Ranch Rifle is fed by AR magazines via a unique polymer magwell that incorporates an AR magazine catch and button. Rather than a button or lever on the bottom of the stock, the magazine is released by the AR mag catch on the side of the stock, just forward of the trigger guard. It’s a simple and cost-saving solution that works, but the button is a little far forward and partially covered by the upper portion of the stock.
The barrel is just shy of 16.5 inches and threaded in ½-inch x 28 (typically a 9mm Luger threading). This makes it easier to use with a wide variety of suppressors, and despite the barrel being thin at the threads, it seems to work just fine with my Silencerco Hybrid 46.
When you’re buying low-cost rifles, there are always tradeoffs, and that’s important to understand when evaluating budget rifles. The American Ranch rifle does some things great, and others not so great. It’s your job to decide what you want to spend, and what co*promises are OK with you.
First, I’ll tell you the good, or even great news. This rifle shoots. The Ruger Americans shoot well in-general, but I was impressed by the accuracy of the .350 Legend in this rifle. An aggregate of the best five-shot groups printed nearly as tight as the Winchester XPR, and across all ammunition types, this was the most accurate rifle in the test.
The most accurate ammunition was Winchester Deer Season 150-grain Extreme Point, fired with a suppressor. It averaged 1.14-inch five-shot groups. The rifle also did well with Winchester 255-grain Super Suppressed subsonic ammo, averaging 1.33-inch groups.
Another positive is that although the mag release takes a little getting used to, the additional capacity potential is great. On top of being a good deer rifle, it would likely make an excellent hog gun. The .350 Legend doesn’t seem to heat up the barrel (or suppressor) nearly as quickly as cartridges like the .223 or .308.
The not-so-good side of the Ruger American Ranch Rifle is in its handling. The first thing I noticed about the rifle was how rough the bolt is to cycle. Part of this is due to the bolt face pushing over the magazine follower when empty but closing and opening the bolt were very rough, even with the magazine loaded.
A couple of times, I had a hard time closing the bolt to chamber a round in cold temperatures. The bolt operation did smooth out a little over time, but it still makes the XPR feel like a slicked-up Model 70 in co*parison. The center bar on the trigger is also gritty, loud, and trigger pull in-general is so-so. Fit and finish isn’t great, but it’s not bad for the price, especially considering these rifles are intended to be used hard, not admired.
Key Features
Pros
Cons
In the spectrum of versatile cartridges, the .350 Legend isn’t at the top. However, being perfectly sized to fit and function in standard AR rifles helps increase the .350 Legend’s usefulness for those who already want to hunt deer with it. The Bushmaster Bravo Zulu capitalizes on that potential, and is a no-frills, affordably priced AR that can fill several roles.
The Bravo Zulu is a standard-looking AR carbine with a 16-inch barrel and adjustable buttstock. The furniture on my sample is THRIL, but future production models are switching to Magpul Furniture. This is a direct gas impingement AR, meaning that gas is directed back into the action to cycle the bolt. The barrel is threaded in 11/16-inch x 24 and co*es with a 2-chamber side-baffle brake.
The Bravo Zulu has a 14-inch octagonal free-float tube with a full-length Picatinny rail on top and M-LOK slots on the other 7 sides. The lower receiver features a tension screw to eliminate slop between the upper and lower, and this rifle co*es with Bushmaster’s DM2S 2-stage trigger. It ships with a 5-round Bushmaster magazine and is co*patible with other AR .350 Legend magazines. Although it appears that any standard 5.56mm/.223 AR magazine should work, the followers don’t allow the .350 Legend rounds to stack properly. Some aftermarket followers are available, but some magazines might not be co*pletely co*patible.
Bushmaster did well at offering a quality AR for a good price. Often, lower-priced AR rifles have safeties that are gritty and stiff, and simply awful triggers. Operation and handling of the Bravo Zulu is smooth and co*fortable—as it should be. I like the pull of the two-stage trigger, which breaks cleanly just under 4 pounds.
During shooting, I did encounter an issue with the trigger that had me baffled, but I believe I figured it out. The rifle cycled and functioned flawlessly when fired from the shoulder or in improvised positions, but the trigger would not reset when firing from sandbags during accuracy testing. The spent case ejected, another round was stripped from the magazine and pushed fully into battery, but the hammer would not be captured by the disconnector. When single fed with an empty magazine, the bolt would lock back and the trigger would reset.
I thought it could be a cold/lubrication issue, but I was able to replicate it indoors while cycling the action, only if I held a gentle pressure on the trigger. If the trigger is held back firmly, the disconnector grabs the hammer every time. My theory is that the disconnector spring on this sample may be a little too stiff, and only soft pressure on the trigger allows enough play to not let the hammer hook push down past the disconnector hook.
I swapped this trigger for a mil-spec trigger and encountered no issues, and I’m currently waiting on another DM2S trigger to see if it’s a fluke (I’ll update this story when the time co*es). I don’t like having issues like this, but if it were an AR I bought, I’d just drop a Geissele or Timney trigger in and have a top-notch trigger in 5 minutes. Because it’s such an easy fix, I don’t place as much weight on trigger issues of AR’s as I do with some other rifles.
The good news about the Bravo Zulu in .350 Legend is that it’s a good shooter. It’s 1.75-inch average across all groups and ammunition is better than I expected, and perfectly suitable for a realistic 200-yard range for .350 Legend rifles. The most accurate ammunition was Winchester’s Deer Season 150-grain Extreme Point, which averaged 1.34 inches.
This would make a good crossover rifle for deer, hogs, and even self-defense. Because it fires .355-inch diameter bullets, it’s co*patible with many bullets intended for the 9mm Luger, like in Browning’s 124-grain FMJ loads. A handloader might discover some hard-hitting loads with bullets that won’t over-penetrate, or could achieve exceptional velocities with monolithic bullets from co*panies like Lehigh Defense. It’s something I plan on investigating further.
Key Features
Pros
Cons
A single-shot is one of the best deer rifles for youngsters to start with, and it’s a great option for adults too. A sleeper in the centerfire cartridge rifle world is Traditions Firearms, which focuses much of their efforts on muzzleloaders. The Outfitter G3 in .350 Legend is a centerfire break-action single-shot rifle that’s similar to the Traditions Nitrofire muzzleloader that uses the Federal premium Firestick charges.
The G3 Outfitter has black polymer furniture and both the frame and barrel have a matte stainless-steel-looking Cerakote finish. The action opens via a large button in front of the trigger guard, and the gun uses a rebounding hammer that can’t touch the firing pin unless the trigger is held to the rear. It’s got a good two-stage trigger that breaks at less than three pounds, and my sample has just a small bit of creep before the break.
The Outfitter G3 is available in a variety of calibers, and in .350 Legend co*es with a radial muzzle brake that’s attached via ⅝-inch by 24 threads—which are standard for .30-caliber muzzle devices. The gun is suppressor-ready, but I did notice a dramatic impact shift when using a suppressor. This rifle wasn’t as accurate as some of the other rifles I’ve tested in .350 Legend, but for the cartridge’s capabilities, it’s totally adequate.
The Outfitter is easy to operate, and though the rifle doesn’t eject spent cases when opened, the extractor pulls the spent case from the chamber for easy removal. The hammer spur makes it a breeze to cock and de-cock with a scope, and the wide fore-end is great for resting on bags or a shooting rail.
Key Features
Pros
Cons
The CVA Cascade XT is a rifle that has done well in our gun test, and represents a good value for a mid-priced hunting rifle—rifles in the $600 to $1,200 range. It’s a workman’s rifle and prioritizes function over frills. We’ve tested other models, but the XT is built to be a heavier platform for precision at longer distances. It’s got a three-lug, 60-degree-throw bolt that’s similar to what you’ll see on rifles like the Ruger American, feeds from a detachable magazine, and has a molded polymer stock with a slightly tacky finish that doesn’t gather dust, but provides great traction in slippery conditions.
Chambered in .350 Legend, The Cascade XT is fed from either a 4-round double-stack magazine, or a single-shot adapter that’s like the old AR15 Bobsled magazines, with a trough for single feeding rounds where single-shot is required or preferred. The XT is a hefty rifle co*pared to many other .350 Legend rifles. Large-framed shooters, or those who are hunting with a good rifle support or rest will like this. The rifle is sized appropriately for long-range shooting with more powerful cartridges like the .308 or 6.5 PRC, and the mild little .350 Legend gives little recoil. Using a suppressor tames it even further. Kids and small-framed shooters will likely find this rifle to be a bit bulky.
The Cascade XT has a smooth action and functions well with other cartridges we’ve tested it in, but it had problems feeding most of the .350 Legend ammo I shot through it. The cartridge is short, straight-walled, and typically uses blunt projectiles, and the bullets would often jam against either the feed ramp or catch on the edge of the chamber. I like the double-stack magazine design, but the distance from the front of the magazine to the back of the chamber is about 50 percent of the cartridge’s overall length. Even when using the single-feed adapter, I had trouble with cartridges hanging up on the back edge of the chamber. Because there’s only spring tension holding the rear of the magazine in place, when trying to get cartridges to slide free of the magazine, the magazine doesn’t stay firmly in place.
Sharp-pointed bullets seemed to feed pretty well through the rifle, but the most accurate load I tested was Barnes Vor-Tx 170-grain TSX which averaged .807 inch 5-shot groups. Another good load was Winchester’s 180-grain Power Point, which averaged 1.24-inch 5-shot groups. This rifle would also likely pair well with Lehigh Defense 150-grain Controlled Chaos bullets and be an effective 200-yard rifle.
Key Features
Pros
Cons
Many single-shot rifles have a reputation for being cheap guns for kids to use until they’re ready for something better, not this one. The Henry Single Shot Rifle is one that’s built and finished well. At first glance, it’s a rifle that you would want to stay in the family, not simply a club to jam under the seat of the pickup. It has a nice, blued finish and beautiful walnut stock and fore-end. My only gripe with that otherwise fine finish is that the engraving on the barrel can develop a slight rusty patina.
This single shot .350 Legend rifle has a brass bead front sight and flip-up adjustable rear sight—much like you’ll find on the Ruger 10/22. It has a release lever on the tang to open the action and a rebounding hammer that will only strike the firing pin if the trigger is being held down. It has a non-ejecting case extractor and a heavy barrel that’s .740 inches in diameter at the muzzle.
This rifle isn’t designed to be a bargain-basement model. It’s a deer rifle that you could pass down to your kids. The wood-to-metal fit is good, and the stock has a nicely contoured rubber recoil pad. The action can be taken apart by knocking out the hinge pin and put back together just as easily. The fore-end is secured to the barrel by a fixture at the rear, and single barrel-pin screw just behind the forward sling swivel stud.
Although the Single Shot would be in its element in the deep woods with only iron sights, I scoped the rifle for accuracy testing. As with most rifles that are designed to be used with iron sights, the co*b of the stock was low, and it’s not especially easy to maintain consistent head position when using a scope. I would order a hammer extension from Henry if I were going to use a scope on the rifle. I found it challenging to shoot groups with the single shot simply because you must break position after each shot to reload.
The trigger on the Henry isn’t bad, but for me, the reach to the trigger from the grip was a little long. The non-ejecting extractor won’t send spent cases flying, and you must pull each case out by hand before loading a fresh cartridge. It was fun and co*fortable to shoot, and the heavy build of the rifle certainly helps reduce felt recoil.
The Henry shot accurately enough to be adequate for the relatively short effective range of the .350 Legend, but its five-shot group sizes weren’t fantastic. However, for someone who’s considering a single shot .350 Legend rifle, I would take the results with a grain of salt. I saw a specific correlation between the barrel warming up and accuracy eroding. In fact, in 4 of 20 groups, the first three shots measured less than an inch. It was co*mon to see groups expand dramatically on shots number four and five. For a single shot, you’re probably never going to get to shots four and five in a hunting situation.