300 Ham’r vs 350 Legend

Just finished building a 300 Ham’r AR-15. Been seeing lots of videos of the 350 Legend on YouTube. Has anybody shot both 300Ham’r and the 350Legend. Just wanting some input

300 Hamr no doubt. Don't be dumb.

X2

I've heard the HAMR kills them deader so I would stay with it.

I did real world (as in killing hogs) bullet testing for both Hornady and Speer and cartridge case testing for both Federal and Starline in early 2019 and as far as I know killed the first hog with the .350 in May (180gr Speer HOT-CORE) so I have some experience with it. Also in full disclosure I have to admit that I've always been a bigger is better kinda guy when it comes to bullets, with the 9.3x62 and it's 286gr bullet being my "favorite" caliber. Here's my honest take on the comparison.

At under 150yds it's hard to argue with bullet mass and diameter, so the .350 probably gets the edge for terminal performance here.

The 300 will shoot flatter and retain more velocity so it has the edge at over 150yds

No real comparison on accuracy, my average 300 loads are more accurate than my BEST .350 loads. I've shot LOTS of sub-1/2" groups with the 300 and very few sub 1" with the .350. FYI the 170gr Hornady Interlock is the most accurate bullet I've found in the .350 and would be my choice for hunting.

AR15 platform guns have to be set-up exactly right to function most of the time with the .350, almost anyone can build a 300 that functions 100%. Personally I think the .350 is a better choice in a bolt gun.

Being limited to a 10rd magazine capacity I don't see any defensive/tactical application for the .350.

I'm at a loss as to why Winchester spec'd a .355" bullet diameter???? The caliber is basically limited to bullets that are specifically designed for it.

Also no real comparison when it comes to versatility in the AR platform or as a handloaders cartridge, with at least 31 good bullet choices, the ability to make cases from 5.56 brass, multiple magazine choices of various capacity up to 30rds and total reliability in the AR15 platform the 300 wins hands down.

This says it all. "most of the time" is not acceptable.

I’d buy the 500 auto max from BigHorn Armory

https://www.bighornarmory.com/product/ar500-500-auto-max/

Consider the suppressor also

Think the big draw to the 350 legend is states where straight wall cartridges are the only legal hunting means in a rifle.

I use a 500 Automax - not real happy with the magazines

It does need a suppressor , been thinking about the MG-X from Rex Silentium - $ 375 for a 3 baffle tube. Plus tax stamp

Something would be better than nothing ...

Still searching for the perfect big bore .

Still searching for the perfect big bore .[/quote]

.458 SOCOM with the Barnes 300gr TTSX, doesn't get much better than this. I've taken everything from coyotes to Cape Buff with this combination.

This.

In these states 350 Legend makes a lot of sense in a semi-auto, bolt gun, or both.

.458 SOCOM with the Barnes 300gr TTSX, doesn't get much better than this. I've taken everything from coyotes to Cape Buff with this combination.[/quote]

.458 SOCOM has and continues to be on of my favorite projects, neck and neck with the .300 Ham'r

yeh, I already hashed out some of the same questions and have came up with the same answers so far. I am sticking with the 300 hamr' for most of my 0-300 yd short range needs. The 350 legend is ruled out for my uses after some internet information.

I have had hunters that used the 300 HAMR and 350 Legend and both produced great results without much trailing of animals needed.

We also had a gun writer bring out a Bighorn 500 Automax and it was near impossible to get it to fire more than once without it jamming. That was with two 30+ year USMC CWOs both trying to get it to run with CLP and every other trick in the book. The rifle also fired off a round in to the dirt (and 6" from my foot) when the bolt was slammed home to load a round with a mag inserted. I think Bighorn might have been still working the kinks out!

I'm starting to think the same about many cool calibers available in the ar15, including the 300hamr. I have both an ar and bolt 223/556. I think the same about the grendel. It'd be nice if someone could put out some Ruger American Ranch (because of the maga zine situation) pre-fit barrels. That's one way to really promote an ar caliber. Btw, there is one in 350 legend already. I'm currently pursuing a 6.5g in a bolt gun format even though i think my gas gun is pretty cool and accurate.

I think the .500 A2 comes pretty close.

Another vote for the 300 Hamr.
More range, more bullet selection, similar stopping power.

350 has the mass for the larger game but with low muzzle velocities and high expansion velocities results in severely limited range. It’s not good in shorter barrels. It’s main purpose/ selling point is the cheap, straight wall cartridges.. if that’s what you need that’s great but between these 2 there is no comparison. A simple glance at the ballistics chart will illustrate.

Shot quite a few hogs with both. 300 hamr hogs usually drop in 30 yards tops. 360 Legend drops them in their tracks. Both shoot sub MOA, so 350 legend all the way.

The Ruger Ranch and Howa Mini are good candidates for those size cartridges.

For the Grendel there are Howa Mini action, Ruger Ranch Rifle or CZ 527 was made for the Grendel for several years. i built out a CZ 527 in 7.62X39 to Grendel and it is what I hunt with most these days. a year or two later CZ finally came out with their version including one that was heavy barrel varmint version. howa has several offerings in their Mini and Ruger has the American and American Ranch.

350 sells a lot of rifles where rules for deer hunting was an Archery or shotgun only but now allow straight walled cases, 350 Legend fits that bill. To me the 350 Legend is about rimles 357 Remington Maximum, very close between those 2.

This right here:

"I'm at a loss as to why Winchester spec'd a .355" bullet diameter???? The caliber is basically limited to bullets that are specifically designed for it."

That's what I have been wondering about since the Legend was introduced. All sorts of negative/stupid reasons occurred to me. But the current guess is the Legend is not very versatile in bullet selection that gives 100% reliability. I think it's an issue with any straight walled cartridge in a semi auto. You can make it work well but the bullet/powder range is fairly narrow. Certainly more narrow than the 300 Ham'r, BLK or the 5.56.

So maybe Winchester's choice of an oddball bullet diameter is a quiet way of saying, "You really need to use our bullets & loads to make this thing run 100%". My guess is that going to .358" bullets would open up a Pandora's box of headaches for both Winchester and the consumers.

Obvious that the 'straight wall' case has to headspace on the case taper.

As the person who made the first cartridge that Win copied to make their legend , about 2 years before they came out with it . I built bolt rifles and AR's . The case headspaces on the case mouth . All of mine were based on the .223 case and used .357 pistol bullets . I did that because the cases were free and the bullets cheap . My AR's run just fine with many .357 bullets , I do use a .355 barrel . They added about .006 at the case head so you had to buy their cases , and I assume they said .355 bullets for the same reason . My ammo will fire in their rifles , theirs will not fire in mine . My best bullet was the 180 xtp , best weight , velocity , and accuracy , plus knock down power . I tested many bullets and powders . My friends and I were killing things about 2 years before wilson .

Brownwood

I'm curious as to what bullets you are shooting in each and if the shot placement is the same? To be a real test of how quick any caliber/bullet will put a hog down the shot placement needs to be on the shoulder and into the lungs since a brain/spine hit will drop them no matter what you shoot them with.

Nope. Headspace is off the case mouth.

You should use your mouse more and your keyboard much less.

New to the forum been reading a lot over the years about 300 ham’r I built 18” and 16” then built 350 legend Wilson combat 16” haven’t killed any thing with them but I can say this my best 100 groups with the 350 legend are my average groups with the 300 ham’r the 180 Winchester pp hit steel harder in the 350 legend than the 150 in the 300 ham’r but I ain’t killing steel the 300 ham’r runs flawless when I first built the 350 legend when I would change it I would easy the charging handle forward it would jam up or if ran dry it would jam sometimes now I run it hard and wet and it is flawless have less than 100 rounds on the legend just built it a few months ago like I said I’m new here looking for load data on both 300 ham’r and 350 legend God bless

Good first post, horrible punctuation. We’re mostly old folks here and need a period here and there and even occasionally a comma.

Welcome to the forum!!

That what my English teacher said to iam not old and not young either.I’ve done most of my hunting with bolt guns until Hillary Clinton said i didn’t need an ar15 I’ve got 8 now.i call them preservation for the next generation.killed good 8 pointer few years ago sbr 300 blackout suppressed and few yotes with 5.56 ar15. Trying to suck up as much knowledge as I can. Thanks to all and Try to keep God first in our lives the worlds in a bad place right now nothing it ain’t been thru before nothing new under the sun.God bless you all keep your powder dry and good shooting.

Picked up a Diamond Back in 350 legend not long ago, been using the 20 rd DURA MAG's and they run with no problem's. We've had a bunch of hogs show up so i thought I'd give it a try. It's about as accurate as I am with a red dot so that's going to keep me inside a 100 yards. Been so warm the hogs are moving at night, need some cold weather. The thought of getting one in a Ruger American and putting a low powered glass on it is tempting. I don't reload anymore so bullet diameter's is not a problem, plus they seem to offer some pretty good factory ammo.

What Mr. Wilson said on page 1.

I am a big reloader so component availability and selection become an key factor in my decision making process for why the 300HAM'R over the 350 Legend. I have learned my lesson with planning for the next panic/shortage cycle and also streamlining my components. Factory brass and also the ability to make your own cases from 223 (just like 300BO). Wide selection of popular and readily available .308 diameter bullets. I have no worries.

I have met a few people who became so frustrated trying to tune their AR15 to run the 350 Legend that they stuck it in a corner and forgot about it. That says a lot.

Timing is everything. A few hours after my post ^^^ I got a text from a shooting buddy. After 2 year of frustration he had finally decided to order a 300HAMR barrel and toss the 350 Legend barrel.

How about those two new calibers vs two old ones.....the 300 Savage and the 35 Rem?

And how is that a bad thing? A cartridge that has bullets specifically designed for it is one lucky cartridge. That said sizing jacketed bullets down a few thousandths is just as easy as sizing cast bullets.

Poorly designed magazines and rough chambers cause function problems. After I figured out the issue my 350 runs great, is my favorite cast bullet rifle. May sell my Marlin 35 Remington.

I figured they added diameter at the case head to make feeding better. Too bad they didn't understand they needed to move the front of the feed lips back around .200.

I have a 35 Remington. Loaded to it's capabilities it is way more cartridge than the Legend. Loaded to factory pressures the Legend is comparable. Still good though.

This all said I intend to put together a 300 Hamr soon. Why not?

The Legend is a caliber built to address a specific market built by laws requiring straight wall cartridges. For the "Indiana Hunting Forum" website, the .350 is the only legal choice. In Texas, it's hard to argue against the .300 HAMR. I tend to agree with Mr. Wilson on bullet mass being preferable all else held equal, to the extent that my next project is stuffing 220 grain HDY RN bullets into a .300 HAMR and seeing if I can hit 1700 FPS. If that load will feed reliably, then I'll have to see if it will expand at ~1500 FPS impact velocities. If THAT works, then it would be VERY similar to a .350 in terms of energy and momentum. For comparison, my 300 grain HDY XTP .44 loads hit a hard wall at 1300 FPS from a 9.5" Super Redhawk. That gives momentum almost exactly equivalent to a 220 grain bullet at 1700.

I have both and have killed bears with both. My particular 350 Legend barrel is very accurate, so that hasn't been an issue, but I just can't see it being as versatile as my HAM'Rs, and haven't seen any difference in killing ability (though my 350 L sample is small).

As Bill said, if all of your shots were within 150 yards, then it might be close. That said, I don't want to be that limited and would take the HAM'R any day of the week and twice on Sunday.