Reply With QuoteI got the Savage Axis 2 in 400L a few months ago. I've put about 5 boxes of ammo through it so far and have been loving it. I've been using the 350L the last couple years, but am excited to take out the 400 this year.
Other than me being a gun nerd, i cant think of a logical reason for the .400legend, though in the past that has been good enough to justify something.
Is anyone shooting the 400legend in a bolt gun, AR, or TC platform?
I like mid-bores, and though AR's dont interest me much, been thinking about the 400 in a Ruger american or a 'tender carbine. I already have plenty of 180/200gr .40 bullets from working with the 10mm, so seems like a good fit, and i'm NOT a long range guy...mostly poke around in the woods where 100 yards is a long shot.
nosed around on the web & saw this:
https://shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/400-legend/
thoughts?
I got the Savage Axis 2 in 400L a few months ago. I've put about 5 boxes of ammo through it so far and have been loving it. I've been using the 350L the last couple years, but am excited to take out the 400 this year.
Gerald, I've been curious, as well. I still haven't tried the 350 Legend and that's where I'd probably start. The only thing I don't like about the 350 is the potential discrepancy in bullet diameter. I still have no idea which barrels and which ammos are .357/.358 and which are .355/.356.
The 400 does have a lot of cool factor, though. :)
I think I'd rather try either of those rounds in a good short-action bolt gun, mainly due to them being rimless. I've got 3 Contender barrels that aren't rimmed cartridges- 223 and 25/45 in handguns and that 6.8 SPC carbine that I got from you (still one of my all-time favorites, BTW). I cuss every time I use them - my fat fingers just have a hard time grabbing that empty out of there.
I was kinda skeptical of the .350legend at first, with the .357max already offering similar case capacity with a wider selection of bullets, it kind of seemed to me they were re-inventing the wheel, and the only thing the Legend offered seemed to be the fact it worked well in bolt guns & AR's.
I tried one...Howa mini in .350...and ended up liking that one a good bit. Only downside i noticed that the load data from Hornady seemed a bit spicy in my bolt gun when loads got close to the upper end of published data...so i backed off a tad, and called it good. With the 350legend operating at higher pressures, i got speeds above what my .357max barrels gave with the same bullet weights...also got a more pronounced & irritating muzzle blast from the legend.
Yesterday i played with the .400legend for the first time, though it isn't in a single shot yet...but it will be soon, because a 20" MGM stainless contender barrel in .400legend just arrived, and i'm gonna stick a 2x7 on it tomorrow.
Gunshop around the corner had me on a watchlist for a Ruger American GenII in .400legend, and they got one in their allocations from Lipsey's. I had wanted the 20", but they got the 22"..i decided that was close enough. I played musical scopes & pulled a Burris 3x9 tactical with 30mm tube off another project, stuck it on the 400Legend...was meant to happen, since the Ruger has a green stock, and that scope was one Burris did in anodized green some years ago.
Took me a about a dozen rounds to get glass zeroed as i wanted, then shot this 3 shot group with W-W factory 215gr loads at 65 yards in deer camp yesterday after taking a break from mowing food plots:
The MGM barrel is threaded & i may stick a muzzle brake on there...recoil in the .400 was noticeably less than when i tried the .450bushmaster in a bolt gun, and less than most of the 45/70 loads i use. Maybe feels about like the .35rem or so, maybe even less. In other words...not bad. That muzzle brake that ruger puts on those is not irritatingly loud like some brakes, but to be fair in a 22" bolt gun the blast its farther away from my noggin. I still have some more of those factory loads left & although i hate factory ammo prices, this stuff shoots well enough to where i'm leaving the Ruger sighted with those & just starting load workups for the TC barrel instead.
More details to come after i get the .400 barrel by MGM scoped & tried. We actually finally had some rain so i gotta plant bunch of food plots this weekend, so might not get to play with the contender barrel yet. Also going to do some chrono work on this project and will post back again.
G~
Nice looking rig! To my knowledge, I've never seen a .400 Legend, I have a .350 Legend in an AR but I haven't shot it too much. I think the .350L is a little redundant since I have a .357 MAX carbine. I do like the Ruger American Gen II, I have one in .308, it seems to shoot pretty well too.
It's better to shoot for the moon and hit the fencepost than to shoot for the fencepost and hit the ground!
Looking good. I've been deep into rimfire lately but I've managed to pick up an extra frame from HOA and I'll be looking for something interesting and different to mate it up with . :)Originally Posted by FyrepowrX
Got the 'tender carbine in .400legend topped with a 2x7, and started some load workups.
I found 1x fired W-W .400 brass on gunbroker & bought some....found that primers were crimped on those, and i lightly reamed pockets to correct that, then started off with accurate 11FS, and will probably do a few with H110/296 as well, and maybe 4227. Have not yet seen data for 1680, or CFE-BLK, but i'd think those should be just about the right burn rate too.
Bullets were hornady 180HAP's, and 200gr XTP's. In looking through some posts online about "tough" 10mm bullets, saw a few references to the Sierra 190 FPJ...i've used those FPJ's in .357 & .44mag when loading for the .357max & .445supermag, but appears that sierra dropped the .40cal version, so still kinda on the search for something that wont go to pieces when launched at twice the speed they were deigned for when used in the .400 legend.
Not sure i'll try them, but the load data from Hodgdon shows 165gr bullets can approach 2800fps in a 20" barrel, and that is flat out scootin for a pistol bullet.
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