450 Legend - Is it worth it??

[dem223ee]

My son got a 350 legend when he was 10 and it is an absolute whitetail killer in the woods of PA and OH. I am thinking now of getting a 400 legend for myself instead of always carrying the long gun (300WSM) all the time, as it's getting heavier and heavier every year. Ha ha. Share some thoughts. Is getting ammo for the 400 an issue?

 

[Kernal1984]

I've had a Ruger American 450 bushmaster for 6 years now. Worst shooting gun I've ever owned but some properties I hunt I never have a chance to shoot over 150yds so it really doesn't matter. I love that gun and how light and maneuverable it is for those conditions. Bought a Howa 350 legend for the kids this year in hopes they will be ready to shoot next year instead of just watching me. I love my real guns as I call them(6 creed, 7 prc) but there is something about a no frills 16" barrel gun with a 3-9 on it when hunting from a blind or stand.

Don't know anything about the 400 legend but it's bound to get the job done .050 better than the 350 legend.

 

[Rifleman97]

I've had a Ruger American 450 bushmaster for 6 years now. Worst shooting gun I've ever owned but some properties I hunt I never have a chance to shoot over 150yds so it really doesn't matter. I love that gun and how light and maneuverable it is for those conditions. Bought a Howa 350 legend for the kids this year in hopes they will be ready to shoot next year instead of just watching me. I love my real guns as I call them(6 creed, 7 prc) but there is something about a no frills 16" barrel gun with a 3-9 on it when hunting from a blind or stand.

Don't know anything about the 400 legend but it's bound to get the job done .050 better than the 350 legend.

I forget who did it but someone did a penetration test of 450 bushmaster vs 350 legend and the legend greatly out penetrated the 450 and left quite the devastating wound channel like 40" deep.

I've shot around 10 deer with a 350 legend, from 10 yards to about 250. Not one of them has walked more than 5-10 steps before they fell over dead, most dead on impact.

I also hunt with a lot of guys using 350 legend and between all the guys in our group I've seen probably 40-50 deer fall to the legend since we switched over from shotgun slugs, and even with that large sample size none of us have ever had to track a deer. It also has a better BC than the .40 and .45 cals, is cheaper ammo than either, and I've never been unable to find ammo for it.

I'd stick with the 350 for those reasons.

 

[dem223ee]

I forget who did it but someone did a penetration test of 450 bushmaster vs 350 legend and the legend greatly out penetrated the 450 and left quite the devastating wound channel like 40" deep.

I've shot around 10 deer with a 350 legend, from 10 yards to about 250. Not one of them has walked more than 5-10 steps before they fell over dead, most dead on impact.

I also hunt with a lot of guys using 350 legend and between all the guys in our group I've seen probably 40-50 deer fall to the legend since we switched over from shotgun slugs, and even with that large sample size none of us have ever had to track a deer. It also has a better BC than the .40 and .45 cals, is cheaper ammo than either, and I've never been unable to find ammo for it.

I'd stick with the 350 for those reasons.

Thanks those are some fine looking bucks there! What state are those from?

 

[dem223ee]

I've had a Ruger American 450 bushmaster for 6 years now. Worst shooting gun I've ever owned but some properties I hunt I never have a chance to shoot over 150yds so it really doesn't matter. I love that gun and how light and maneuverable it is for those conditions. Bought a Howa 350 legend for the kids this year in hopes they will be ready to shoot next year instead of just watching me. I love my real guns as I call them(6 creed, 7 prc) but there is something about a no frills 16" barrel gun with a 3-9 on it when hunting from a blind or stand.

Don't know anything about the 400 legend but it's bound to get the job done .050 better than the 350 legend.

I agree, not one deer my son has shot has went out of sight before dropping over. 350 is amazing so the 400 should be as well!! Thanks.

 

[-WARDOG-]

I don't have experience with .400 Legend, however if you are needing a straight wall cartridge that will be around in the future, long after the Legend's are obsolete, look at the .444 Marlin.

 

[Rifleman97]

Thanks those are some fine looking bucks there! What state are those from?

Central Iowa, public land. Gonna miss it, just moved to Nebraska for work and really don't feel like paying $500+ to hunt deer there as a non resident. Truthfully I'm not really a trophy hunter, I'm a meat hunter. My stomping grounds just happens to breed a lot of big guys.

 

[Rifleman97]

Also here's a grouping I've posted several times before from when I first sighted in my 350. I would highly recommend the Winchester xpr for a legend round over the ruger. My nephew hunts with a ruger and it has a lot of feeding issues and the trigger isn't as nice as the Winchester.

3 sight in shots (over corrected from low left, then couldn't see so shot again, saw the third shot and correctly adjusted. Did a 3 shot group and then 1 on each target. From about 90 yards, not quite 100 but still WELL under MOA with Winchester ammo. I got the stuff to reload for it but with these results and the price of the ammo I don't even see much of a point in reloading for it unless ammo ever becomes hard to find (unlikely, it's EVERYWHERE in the straight walled only territory)

Fit and finish on the Winchester is great. Bolt cycles great but does have a coating on it that makes for a cycling sound that's not as pleasant as I'd like, but I think I paid $500 for it a few years ago, now they're like $600 for this model and $450-500 for the Tupperware versions. As for as Tupperware stocks go they're not bad either (brother has one in the camo synthetic)

 

[dem223ee]

Also here's a grouping I've posted several times before from when I first sighted in my 350. I would highly recommend the Winchester xpr for a legend round over the ruger. My nephew hunts with a ruger and it has a lot of feeding issues and the trigger isn't as nice as the Winchester.

View attachment 6310923 sight in shots (over corrected from low left, then couldn't see so shot again, saw the third shot and correctly adjusted. Did a 3 shot group and then 1 on each target. From about 90 yards, not quite 100 but still WELL under MOA with Winchester ammo. I got the stuff to reload for it but with these results and the price of the ammo I don't even see much of a point in reloading for it unless ammo ever becomes hard to find (unlikely, it's EVERYWHERE in the straight walled only territory)View attachment 631090
Fit and finish on the Winchester is great. Bolt cycles great but does have a coating on it that makes for a cycling sound that's not as pleasant as I'd like, but I think I paid $500 for it a few years ago, now they're like $600 for this model and $450-500 for the Tupperware versions. As for as Tupperware stocks go they're not bad either (brother has one in the camo synthetic)

Awesome, thanks for the info.

 

[Maligator]

My only concern with the 400 Legend at this point is the "lack of support". It seems to me that the launch of this caliber has been lacking. I'm not knocking the caliber, just noticed that.

Here's the video regarding the 350 Legend vs 450 Bushmaster from Vortex that someone mentioned:

 

[Berrnard]

My only concern with the 400 Legend at this point is the "lack of support". It seems to me that the launch of this caliber has been lacking. I'm not knocking the caliber, just noticed that.

same
its been 2 years, where is the ammo? weve had 2 factory loads for the rifle since launch....thats it.
on paper the 400 is superior in every way to the 350 but then 20% less recoil than the 450.
really surprised no ones jumped in with brass, even hornady or starline. both have 350L brass

saying that, i did just ask for a ruger american gen 2 in 400L for my bday. been hearing a lot that the factory loads are great and no need for anything else. but i like options and i like to tinker.

 

[Mike6158]

The thing I like most about the 400 Legend is that it has the same bolt face as a 6.8SPCII. My son-in-law has been looking for a good bolt gun in 6.8SPCII and the 400 Legend is step one.

 

[1980nano]

I forget who did it but someone did a penetration test of 450 bushmaster vs 350 legend and the legend greatly out penetrated the 450 and left quite the devastating wound channel like 40" deep.

I've shot around 10 deer with a 350 legend, from 10 yards to about 250. Not one of them has walked more than 5-10 steps before they fell over dead, most dead on impact.

I also hunt with a lot of guys using 350 legend and between all the guys in our group I've seen probably 40-50 deer fall to the legend since we switched over from shotgun slugs, and even with that large sample size none of us have ever had to track a deer. It also has a better BC than the .40 and .45 cals, is cheaper ammo than either, and I've never been unable to find ammo for it.

I'd stick with the 350 for those reasons.

I have a Ruger 350 legend for my kids and a ruger 450 for myself. I hunt in Michigan and switched over this year to the Barnes ammo in hopes of getting more pass throughs for better blood trails. Both of my kids shot deer this year with the Barnes 350 legend ammo and both ended up shooting their deer twice. All shots around 80-90 yard. All 4 bullets were recovered with none of them passing through. 1 made it to just underneath the hide on the opposite side. All 4 bullets mushroomed like a Banes should with very good weight retention. What ammo are you using that is giving you good penetration?? Do you get pass throughs?? What do the blood trails look like?? Just curious because it seems like what you are using is working for you.

FYI - I switched to the Barnes from the Winchester 180gr loads.

 

[Rifleman97]

I have a Ruger 350 legend for my kids and a ruger 450 for myself. I hunt in Michigan and switched over this year to the Barnes ammo in hopes of getting more pass throughs for better blood trails. Both of my kids shot deer this year with the Barnes 350 legend ammo and both ended up shooting their deer twice. All shots around 80-90 yard. All 4 bullets were recovered with none of them passing through. 1 made it to just underneath the hide on the opposite side. All 4 bullets mushroomed like a Banes should with very good weight retention. What ammo are you using that is giving you good penetration?? Do you get pass throughs?? What do the blood trails look like?? Just curious because it seems like what you are using is working for you.

FYI - I switched to the Barnes from the Winchester 180gr loads.

Ive not had to track one yet, good blood trail on the ammo I'm using currently for the 5 steps they're alive before they collapse

I've been using hornady for 170 interlock, and before that the Winchester 180 PowerPoint. I wasn't really unhappy with the Winchester ammo I just bought the interlock when it was on sale and it seems to have more velocity on the exit than the PowerPoint did, however the PowerPoints do seem to expand further. Pick your poison on the "all energy exerted" vs "2 holes to bleed from" camp. I know that's a whole can of worms.

170 interlock seems to penetrate more, 180 expands more. I have some ftx ammo but didn't get a chance to try it on a deer this year.