I commented on that guys video suggesting he check his chamber but he did it himself, insists the case problems on his are ammo caused. Shows it pretty well in the vid too.

THREAD UPDATE: I have a new barrel ordered from Tim thearguy from Ludington MI. $270 delivered for a 12.5" 1:16 but with a correct chamber this time. He has some videos testing 350 Legend bbls of his in 1:16 and a sub bbl that is 1:10 for throwing 300gr pills. Does a lot of  other calibers too. Will update when I get it running.

What struck me was how much case was visible all the way around the .355" bullet as compared to the SAAMI spec.  Be interesting to see what a chamber cast says.

Got an email from an ammo place saying some of the Winchester 180gr softpoint was in stock, grabbed 2 boxes. Put the calipers on the bullet at case mouth, came up 0.352". Second round same, put it back and closed the box. Supposed to be 0.357" WTF is going on at Winchester?
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Looks like this is gonna be an all handload round. Maybe the Federal stuff is to spec?

What was the case mouth DIA?

Are you sure the ogive doesn't extend slightly into the case?

Pull a bullet and measure it.

Ok 0.352" came from an old Starett caliper. Mitutoyo caliper says 0.354" like the 145gr fmj.

Case mouth is "0.3770 consistently.

Bullet 179.7gr
"0.3540 at shoulder
"0.3545 at heel
"0.8745 oal
Charge 25.2gr fine ball. Attached File

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The case and bullet measurements above are all identical to the 2 boxes of 180PP that I got. I haven’t had a chance to shoot those yet.  I have not pulled one down yet as I don’t have a puller. I have shot almost 80 rounds of the Winchester 145 go FMJ ammo between a CMMG 16 inch barrel and an GLFA 18 inch barrel and have yet to have an issue with either. All brass looks good with no excess abuse to the case mouth or primers. A little sooty which I’m used to with all straight wall calibers shot in rifles. If anyone wants more info let me know, but so far I’ve yet to see any of these problems.
I have had it confirmed both Ohio and That state up north DNR have said this caliber is approved for deer. So regardless of what the bullets measure it is legal.

Got some measurements from my PTG headspace gauges.

GO   "1.7100  
NO-GO  "1.7135  
FIELD  "1.7195

All 3 are "0.3775 @ Mouth, "0.3885 Base

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Winchester should have stuck with their 375Win.

375 Winchester has a case length of 2.02" which is too long for some straight wall states, like Michigan which is 1.8" maximum length.

And a big ass rim making it a no go for autoloaders. Clearly Winchester wanted something they could shoot through a AR.

Took a few weeks for Tim@thearguy to get me my new barrel. Got it assembled last night. 12.5" threaded 5/8-24. Checked the chamber with cerrosafe and checked headspace. Barely starts to close on a NO-GO, maybe 2°. Ammo dropped in chamber falls out when tipped up. It is a heavier profile than the KAK but feels good shouldered. Hope to get it on paper tonight. Also some pics of the CMMG 5rd mags.

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@postban

Have you had a chance to get the new barrel to the range?

I have an itch to get an AR set up for deer hunting, but I'm not sure if 350 is the way to go. Might just hold out for a deal on the Ruger American. I already shoot 357 Max in a contender but I have had a chance to put one through an animal. If nothing else, new lighter weight hunting bullets in .35 are welcome.

Warning, load data below this line, stop reading now if you are new to reloading or unsure of how to safely load.
Reading loads off the internet is a good way to blow up guns and earn permanent scars. Also nagging me about this or that aspect of safety will be ignored. You are also about to encounter massspellings and semi coherent grammar, again, WARNING!

If you are still here and enjoy reloading stories, continue below.

Working on a few loads recently.

Have a lot of components for previous  guns but not a lot of info specific to 350L.
So I start as close as I can, the slightly smaller 357 MAX. 1.6 vs 1.7 case. That alone should have triggered you 'MUH SAFETY' folks into calling the SAAMI police on me, lighten up.
I am using a Lee die set with factory crimp die for 350L. Lil'gun ball powder and Winchester Small rifle primers. Mixed winchester and Starline brass.

I find a 357MAX 23gr Lil'gun load for 158gr SWC-GC, ejects but won't reliably feed. Actually feeds from magazine if you drop the bolt despite very un-AR15 friendly square bullet shoulder.
Next I actually find on the Hodgdon site some loads but they are way hotter. 28.5gr Lilgun for 147gr XTP, 25.5gr for 180gr win PP, both are MAX so work up to them. Looks like the extra case base width gifts us some more powder room, cool.

Pulled down the 23gr loads, reset them to 26gr. Same feed initially, eject ok, won't feed 2nd rd. Still blaming the bullet shoulder. Case gets halfway loaded, past feed ramps a good bit and hangs up in the center of the case. Whatever, onward.

Scrounge around the loading bench and find some 180 Speer 358 JHPs I got as factory 2nds from Graf &sons. Cannelure is farther back than the WIN PP 180 but still allows getting to good COAL for mag loading. Only problem, too fat. Head to midwayusa, get a Lee 357 sizing kit coming. Also while at Midway order a new 2-out 200gr 358 mold and some 180gr 357 XTPs

Find partial boxes of 140gr Sierra JHCs and some 125gr XTPS. The buffet line for this rig keeps getting longer.

Package arrives, break out the new 2-out mold and also the old SAECO 352 245gr 358 mold that I used for subs in my 77-357. Turns out I loaded up the last batch so I need to pour some more. Drop about 50 of each. Not going to powder coat with this bbl yet, doing it old fashioned. Break out the Lyman 4500 and the 0.357 set with the 130 top punch (round nose) Let it heat up. Lube and gas checks for everyone.

Now to the Lee 357 sizing die. Some will say it is cheating or unsafe/inaccurate to size down jacketed [springback!!!~~1] but it works, YMMV.

Size a few of the 180gr Speer down, actually get them to .3575, put them over 25.5 gr Lil'gun seated to eclipse cannelure and lightly kissed with crimp die just to get the mouth from belled to cylinder. Goal is no crimp to insure good headspace on case mouth.
COAL is just short of mag length and they hand cycle fine, no bullet movement noticed.

Grab the chrono and head out to the back yard with a Mystic-X on the muzzle.
They feed/eject perfectly and give me almost 2100fps av, with a 180gr. <-- not fiction. Yeah, 20" velocity numbers from a 12.5" pistol. 1763 FPE No pressure signs, primers round and happy instead of smashed flat from the blown case on page 1. They feed as good as the $1 a rd WIN PP factory loads. Accuracy testing to come.

Also the 125gr and 140gr loads suffer the same fate as the 158gr, feeds from mag on first rd, ejects and then jams halfway loaded. I think this is a bullet length thing, regular 357 length pills are stubby and too short. 350L wants longer projectiles. My opinion.

Testing with the 200gr Lee GC bullets coming soon.
I think the 245gr will be too long, case mouth will be out past crimp groove. We'll see.
Also have some Speer 0.358 250gr JHPs, will also see.

1st pic
1 180gr Speer JHP sized 0.357 over 25.5gr Lilgun [it loves this load]
2 180gr WIN PP factory [it loves this load] ETA, this round has 25.2gr very fine ball powder, measured from pulled down.
3 158gr LSWC-GC over 26gr Lil'gun nope
4 Sierra 140gr JHC over 28.5gr Lil'gun nope
5 Hornady 125 XTP over 29.5gr Lil'gun nope

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2nd pic
Resized Speer 358 180gr
Lee 358 200gr GC
SAECO #352 mold 245gr GC

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I don't think lighter is the path. Short bullets don't want to feed so far for me.
Maybe some mag lip mods.... Maybe some feed ramp... Dunno. Eats 147gr FMJ and 180gr PP like candy.

For the .350L perhaps that is the case- no argument from me since I don't own one yet.

For my used in the 357max, and hunting bullets specifically, I'm not super happy with the (jacketed) offerings under 180gr. The max lives in a space where rifle bullets are built too heavily to be effective at 1800-2000 FPS at impact but pistol bullets tend toward the underbuilt side.

I admittedly have not played with lead bullets yet, but it seems that a GCWFP may be the ticket for what I'm after. Trying to keep bullet weight and recoil down since this little project is for my now 9 year old.

Two more bullets tried. Hornady 180 XTP, Lee C358-200-RF 200gr sized "0.357
Stayed with 25.5gr Lil'gun, seated to fit in mag, lightly factory crimped to straighten bell

200gr cast avg 2013fps 1800fpe
180gr XTP avg 2180fps 1899fpe
ETA, rechecked numbers, correct now.

Both fed/extract perfect.
I know the 180gr XTP looks ridiculous with the cannelure a mile out but it works.
Interesting about the XTP, they were fairly consistent "0.3565. My other XTPs are dead on 357.
I wonder how it is gonna hold up at that velocity... Gonna pop a few jugs, see if I end up with copper/lead sand or a decent weight retention.

Yeah and an AR15 using cast boolits
Using straight wheel weights for casting, probably won't expand much but will surely make two holes.

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Happy with feed and function, Planning to do some groups next.

I have some data on the 180 XTPs in my Max. I'll try to remember to look up in my book how they did. I think mine were the mag version.

Optic I am using on this is a PA 1-6 with a 7.62x39 ACSS bdc setup. Accuracy with all loads tested so far is averaging 1-1.25 MOA, 5rd-100yd.
Nothing to brag about for handloads but plenty good enough for Deer.

Have shot a few water jugs and tried to catch bullets. The 180gr XTP all but disintegrated. Found partial jacket and one 50gr chunk of lead, 2180fps is too fast for a pistol bullet.
The 200gr Lee 358-200 cast/GC went through 18"water jug and a 4x4, lost it. Wheel weights don't expand but they sure penetrate.
The Speer 180gr HotCor went through 18" water jug was mushrooming but it yawed 90 deg on the AR500 plate I put to stop it. 2180 fps. 161gr recovered. Might be another bullet option here. You have to size them to 0.357 and load to fit mag. I use Lee factory crimp, real light crimp. 25gr Lil'gun

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Got a couple boxes of WIN 150gr Extreme Point Deer Season. Pulled down two rounds.
Notice how hard they are crimping the 150gr. Both measured "0.3540 dia.

2nd rd measured 19.7gr but I was losing powder out the top of my bullet puller. I even have tape over it.
This is the finest, smallest grain powder I have ever seen. Powder in the 180gr factory load looked the same.
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Tagged and interested. Thanks for posting OP.

“Now to the Lee 357 sizing die.”

I see that Midway also offers a .356 sizing die.

Any thoughts on sizing the .358s down to .356?  You might get higher velocities.

Looking forward to group sizes on paper.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I've found the Lee 200 grain cast bullets to be very accurate in my 357 carbines. It is interesting to see how much faster they can be pushed.

I have really been interested in the 350 legend. I am glad I didn't jump on board immediately after seeing these barrel issues. But I am glad you got the barrel issue sorted out. Thank you for posting the day that you do have.

I am still scratching my head as to why it wasn't designed around .358 bullets. Guess that made too much sense. May have to deal with the 357AR or stick to the 357 maximum.

I saw you posted a PMAG loaded with the 350. What size magazines were you using and what kind of capacity were you getting to reliably feed from it?

The 5rd mags from CMMG work well. We're only allowed 3rds for deer in OH so I haven't tried anything larger capacity.

10rd pmag with internal ribs milled out

Do you know what size the gas port is?  
Have you found a subsonic load that cycles reliably?

Did not measure GP, looked pretty big compared to 300BLK or 5.56

Still trying to buy some of the Winchester subs, have not found any in stock. I'm on email alert at a few places.

Good luck.  Locally I can get every factory round except for the subsonic Winchester.  It hasnt never been seen apparently.

I can get both the rifle and pistol locally super cheap.  I'm on the fence because I don't want to be the guinea pig.

That's because it is not supposed to be out till early 2020

They looked at 358.   I have a 358AR wildcat reamer. it runs .355 up to .358 no problem.  Shoots factory fine as long as the crimp is light.

put a HP in that 200 gr rcbs bullet and watch the magic. :)

It will probably act like a partition, blow nose off then penetrate like no other.

I'm interested in how this caliber takes to suppression.

Well I just put a SICO Hybrid in NFA jail just for this caliber. So I can answer this next year.
18" SS, 5R rifling, carbine gas, MOS-TEK barrel in a LaRue Stealth 2.0 chassie

I have tried available loads and my handloads through my Liberty Mystic and Hybrid. It is reduced down to earsafe IMHO.
I have a 7" 7.62x39 AR pistol with an SDN-6 on it. 350L kicks a touch more and is a deeper sound.

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