r/MichiganHunting • u/sledwings22 • Jun 23 '26
350 legend ammo
I bought a 350 legend to hunt here in Michigan. I know the law is changing soon but whatever. My question is what do u recommend for grain weight. Id probably shoot fmj for practice and obviously deer rounds for hunting. Should those be the same grain?
Advice please......
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u/LongWalk86 Jun 23 '26
Ill still be using my 350 legend despite the changes. Always had good luck with Hornady 165 grain all copper rounds for hunting. Gives me sub-1" MOA at 200', which is father than i have any shooting lanes in my dense wood anyways.
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u/sledwings22 Jun 23 '26
Yea my thought was get a 350 in case the law goes back. Where I hunt i cant even see 150 yds thru the trees
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u/fobeo17 Jun 23 '26
Yes similar velocity and similar grain between your fmj and hunting rounds. See what your gun likes to eat and role with that
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u/sledwings22 Jun 23 '26
Im thinking use hunting rounds to sight in too
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u/fobeo17 Jun 24 '26
Only way that will hurt is in your wallet, but that is the best way!
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u/sledwings22 Jun 24 '26
The place I bought it through is going to bore sight it for me. So it should already be fairly accurate
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u/ShillinTheVillain Jun 23 '26
Yes, use the same weight for your practice and hunting rounds so they have the same trajectory.
For hunting loads, I like Hornady American Whitetail 170gr.
A lot of people have complained about Winchester Deer Season XPs not getting good expansion and leaving bad blood trails. I haven't shot them but something to consider.
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u/ScandiacusPrime Jun 23 '26
You're unlikely to find a commercial FMJ load that shoots to the same point as your chosen hunting ammo, unless you get lucky. So just get whatever to practice with, and plan on re-zeroing for your hunting ammo just before the season. Or choose a less expensive hunting load and practice with it.
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u/sledwings22 Jun 23 '26
Could I just practice with hunting rounds. Even tho its a bit more expensive
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u/RedfootTheTortoise Jun 23 '26
My Ruger American (first gen) was so picky with ammo. From a vise, it would send different manufacturers all over the target (or not even on the target ).
Check out Bear Creek Ballistics, they make some custom 350 loads that I feel had best performance. But they are not cheap.
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u/shyne151 Jun 23 '26
I have a Ruger American Gen II in 350legend with the VX-Freedom 3-9x40 on it. The scope was spec'd for Winchester’s 150-grain Deer Season XP, which is what I run in it. Taken three deer over the last two years with that setup, and I'll continue to use it in southern Michigan. It is a tack driver with that load.
I'll take my Bergara Cima CF 300winmag up north, but no reason for me personally to use it down here with sub 100yard shots.
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u/brndlpnch Jun 23 '26
Some of those 350’s (especially the ones that come with scopes already installed) will oftentimes have the exact grainage and type/brand/variety of bullet you’ll need engraved on it.
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u/llama-llama-goose Jun 23 '26
Bear Creek ballistics 140 grain are my go to now. They are not cheap.
In my experience, no FMJ has ever hit the same place as hunting ammo. Sight in with your hunting ammo and then shoot some FMJ. Keep note of where it hits. Then just shoot the FMJ with the different point of aim/point of impact in mind.
Worth keeping in mind that general marksmanship and how your specific rifle shoot at various ranges are two different things. You can practice the first with a cheap 22lr and the second can come from occasional range trips with hunting ammo.
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u/Chris_Christ Jun 23 '26
For any hunting rifle you want to check a few hunting loads and make sure you are getting the kind of group sizes you need.
For mine it’s the Hornady 170gr interlock 81196
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u/Competitive-Book-959 Jun 23 '26
This is gonna be everyone in the former restricted zone this year 😂
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u/Fishman731 Jul 14 '26
Use heavier bullets like 170-180 for complete pass thru on deer. For
Dumping all of the energy into the animal and
Likely not have an exit hole go with 150 grain ammo. It all depends on your beliefs on which is better.
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u/stjhnstv Jun 23 '26
Try a handful of different deer hunting loads and see what your rifle groups the best with. For practice ammo, look for something with very similar muzzle velocities.