Which will win the 350 Legend vs. 30-30 legendary showdown? Keep reading to find out! Here's a hint, a new legend is in the making.
What's The Difference Between 350 Legend vs. 30-30?
Despite these rounds being developed over 100 years apart, they are surprisingly similar, with only slight differences. The primary difference is the 350 Legend fires a 0.357" diameter bullet from a straight-walled cartridge, whereas the 30-30 Win fires a 0.308" diameter bullet from a bottleneck cartridge.
Cartridge Specs
The 350 Legend is a straight-walled cartridge designed to meet several states hunting regulations that ban bottleneck cartridges because they are more efficient due to the higher case capacity.
The 30-30 is a bottleneck cartridge similar to the 223 Remington. That's the primary reason for the difference in bullet diameter and weight of these two calibers.
The overall length of the 30-30 ammo is 2.55," and the case capacity is 45 grains. 350 Legend cartridge is 2.25" in overall length, which is very similar to the size of 300 blackout ammo and has a case capacity of 36.5gr.
Because the rim diameter of the 350 Legend is the same as the 223 Remington, 0.378", you only have to change the barrel on your 223 AR-15 platform to shoot 350 Legend rounds.
The 350 Legend will fire larger, heavier bullets than the 30-30 because of the bigger diameter. This gives the 350 Legend an advantage at close ranges, but it becomes a disadvantage at longer ranges.
How do the different size cartridges affect the felt recoil of each round?
Recoil
Several factors go into felt recoil. The weight of the gun and the specific load you're firing are two of the most important. Instead of listing every gun and load for each caliber, we will keep it simple and speak in generalities.
The 350 Legend recoil averages 8.5 foot-pounds. That's very comfortable for the average hunter to shoot. You won't have to worry about it bruising your shoulder while sighting it in for deer season.
The average recoil energy for the 30-30 Winchester is 14 ft-lbs. This is a lot more than the 350 Legend. However, there are plenty of rounds with much more! I used a 30-30 to shoot my first deer around age 12 when I weighed less than 100lbs, so 14 ft-lbs isn't unbearable even for small shooters.
If you're basing your decision on recoil alone, the 350 Legend has the least amount of recoil, but the 30-30 is still very manageable.
Trajectory
I think of trajectory as the path the bullet takes. It's measured in inches of bullet drop.
Flatter trajectory bullets are best for longer ranges. However, in this case, these calibers have similar trajectories.
The 30-30 Win is a flatter shooting round with a drop of 2.6" at 200yds. It can effectively reach out to 300 yards, but it takes a skilled sharpshooter with a dialed-in rifle to consistently shoot 300 yards accurately, so it's best to stay around 250yds or less.
The 350 Legend trajectory has a 7.6" drop at 200 yards, so it's also not recommended to shoot over 250yds because as you increase the distance, the bullet begins to fall more quickly.
Neither of these rounds is intended for long-range shooting, so their trajectories are similar. 30-30 rounds have a slight advantage, though, so based on trajectory alone, the 30-30 wins this round.
Ballistic Coefficient
The ballistic coefficient (BC) measures how well a bullet resists wind drift and air resistance. To say it another way, it's how aerodynamic a bullet is in numerical form. The higher the BC, the better the bullet will shed the wind.
Heavier bullets will generally have a higher ballistic coefficient because it takes more force to move the flight path of a heavier bullet than a lighter one. The bullet design, weight, and other factors all determine the BC of a bullet. The Bc of these calibers will vary depending on the factory load you choose.
The 30-30 generally has a BC of 0.254 to 0.330. This isn't very good compared to long-range rounds like the 338 Lapua, but it's expected because of the rounded or blunt-nosed bullets required for 30-30 lever-action rifles.
The 350 Legend has a BC that ranges between 0.186 to 0.264, which is not very impressive if you're a long-range shooter but remember this caliber maxes out at 250yds and performs best below 200 yards.
Judging from the ballistic coefficient alone, the 30-30 has a slight advantage.
Continue reading 350 Legend vs. 30-30: Which Hunting Legend Prevails? at Ammo.com.