Thoughts on the 350 Legend

[Never Been]

I've always had a soft spot for medium bores, and have had a project in mind for a number of years that I was able to complete just a few months ago--a light and handy .35 cal CZ 527!

I had theorized it would be a good pairing, but the finished product has really impressed me. As I look forward (realistically 5+ years out) to my first safari, I wonder if it would be worth bringing? My dad and brother went out a few years back and killed everything from Dik-dik to giraffe with their respective 300 Winchester or 7mm STW. Admittedly some quarry seemed a little... light for what they were using. My hope would be to bring something traditional like a .375 H&H to cover larger stuff, but would this be a good fit for enough of the other game to make sense to use? Thanks for the input!

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I've always had a soft spot for medium bores, and have had a project in mind for a number of years that I was able to complete just a few months ago--a light and handy .35 cal CZ 527!

View attachment 591157

I had theorized it would be a good pairing, but the finished product has really impressed me. As I look forward (realistically 5+ years out) to my first safari, I wonder if it would be worth bringing? My dad and brother went out a few years back and killed everything from Dik-dik to giraffe with their respective 300 Winchester or 7mm STW. Admittedly some quarry seemed a little... light for what they were using. My hope would be to bring something traditional like a .375 H&H to cover larger stuff, but would this be a good fit for enough of the other game to make sense to use? Thanks for the input!

If you like the rifle and want to.use it there are certainly animals in Africa that you can kill with.it. Remember though, it was designed for deer in a handful of states in the US. If your ammunition got separated you would not be able to buy any in Africa. I've never seen one, but it looks to me like it has a rainbow trajectory and the bullets have a very.low BC. A .375 H&H can be used to take even very small animals without blowing them up. One time there was another hunter in a camp where I was and he took grysbok with his and it just made a neat hole through the ribs on both sides. A .30-06 with 180 grain bullets worked well for me on steenbuck and duiker. Another consideration is that it is difficult to travel with more than two long guns. You.might be better off with the .375 and s shotgun for birds. You might want to talk to your PH and see what he says.
In the end, it's your decision to make and if you want to take your .350 Legend, do it. It will be your safari.

 

[Siennacoyote]

I use it in Ohio for deer I’ve shot two with it and both died . One immediately one had a tracking job that was my fault . I think it works well under the conditions it’s used for . I also like it because my wife can shoot it with no issues .

 

[BeeMaa]

Taking a 350LEGEND and a 375H&H is very nearly redundant. The exception being that the 375H&H is legal for dangerous game while the 350LEGEND is not.

It's your hunt so do as you wish, but anything from the 6.5x55SE to 300WM would make a good pairing with a 375H&H for an African hunting trip. The traditional two gun African safari combo is the 30-06 and 375H&H.

Personally, I prefer to travel light with only one firearm. My choice is the 375H&H because it's legal for everything and can still take the smaller animals like the tiny 10 with solids.

 

[Bullthrower338]

I bought a savage 350 Legend from John Barness after he reviewed it for rifle shooter Magazine, got a nice deal on it and John had done all the load testing and included dies, brass, bullets and loaded ammo. I only bought it because I wanted to play with the cartridge. It actually grew on me the more I shot it. I didn’t get a chance to shoot anything besides jack rabbits with it but I feel it would be wonderful for White Tail deer size game. I had a lot of fun messing with it and would think you would have a lot of fun shooting smaller plains game with your rifle, just keep the 375 handy on the truck for the Wildebeest size up game. Nice rifle BTW!

 

[Sarg]

Nice outfit you put together, I was going to build up a Rimmless 357 Remington Max for near 20yrs on a little Sako Vixen 6-7 rounds in the mag, punches way above its weight & you can use 35Rem bullets as darn near the same thing, before I got it done Winchester brought out the .350 Legend & did it wrong but heck it is here now .

Good for people who don't like recoil, women, children & leaner hunters & we can use it fine, I was up grading from the 6x47mm that was a little marginal but worked, here is my buddies daughter I took hunting several times.

I had to do the carrying !

This is the 6x47mm Sako.

Sorry but IMO you should just take a proper rifle, the 350 Legend at its very best is just a 35Rem & most of us wouldn't take one of those all the way to Africa in this day & age !

 

[mdwest]

350 legend in an AR makes a stellar hog rifle… but I’m not sure I’d take one to Africa…ballistically it’s roughly equal to 30-30 Winchester, which is great on deer sized game out to maybe 200 yards… but would be pretty limiting when considering the mass of most plains game and the potential shot distances at many places in Southern Africa..

 

[Never Been]

Thanks for the replies, great points made on both sides. Taking a single rifle in a ubiquitous chambering does sound like a much more attractive way to go, but then again we sub-optimize all the time for emotional reasons. Luckily the decision is still a long way off and I still need to track down my dream H&H--a 550 to complete my left handed CZ trifecta!

(452 in .17HMR)

Of course I didn't buy when they could be ordered at any respectable retailer, and I seem to always miss them by a day or two. I'm sure I'll rustle one up sooner or later. In the mean time please keep posting experiences/thoughts on the 350 Legend, I really am interested to hear them.

 

[black tail]

I bought a 350 Legend a few years ago as a family rifle for my kids to shoot. It is an accurate mild cartridge.

After harvesting a couple animals I decided it was a little to much on the mild performing side of life for our needs.

I considered it 150 yard cartridge on broadside deer. Penetration is limited so I would stay away from quartering shot angles on larger deer.

Lots of people love the cartridge. For me it is now a subsonic turkey gun shooting 160 grain cast bullets.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I bought a 350 Legend a few years ago as a family rifle for my kids to shoot. It is an accurate mild cartridge.

After harvesting a couple animals I decided it was a little to much on the mild performing side of life for our needs.

I considered it 150 yard cartridge on broadside deer. Penetration is limited so I would stay away from quartering shot angles on larger deer.

Lots of people love the cartridge. For me it is now a subsonic turkey gun shooting 160 grain cast bullets.

Doesn't really seem like an African cartridge to me. I take a .458 WM and a .300 WM. I'd rather have "enough gun."

 

[mdwest]

Doesn't really seem like an African cartridge to me. I take a .458 WM and a .300 WM. I'd rather have "enough gun."

150 gr, .35 caliber projectile traveling at about 2300 fps... 1800 pounds of energy at the muzzle

not much gun IMO for anything much bigger than an impala in southern africa..

i LOVE my 350 Legend with a 20 round mag in my AR for sounders of hogs at 100 yards..

but thats the only thing I hunt with it...

 

[Certus]

There’s also a .400 Legend, if you’d like a little bigger than .35.

 

[BeeMaa]

There’s also a .400 Legend, if you’d like a little bigger than .35.

Awesome. I'll be waiting on someone to start the "400LEGEND for Dangerous Game" thread.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

@BeeMaa ... Got your order in already for a .400 Legend Blaser barrel?