New AR 556 pistol in 350 Legend

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rangerbob

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Ruger just announced a new variation of the AR 556. It's a pistol in 350 Legend, SKU 8571. They more or less did it right out of the box. It has the SB A3 5 position brace and a M-Lok forend with a 9.5 barrel. It ships with the same 5 round mag used in the ranch rifle. Talk about your close quarter home defense weapon. If I were building one for me, I like a 11.5" barrel to match my 5.56mm pistol. Bob! 8)
 
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Sounds Nice, but ........ there's a sad reality to it as something for home defense in terms of downrange safety after the shot is taken.

A couple of days ago I read an article in the newest issue of American Rifleman. The author stated that the round is an excellent hunting round and has excellent penetration. The author writes, "..... some will inevitably ponder the use of 350 Legend in a home-defense capacity, and I think these results demonstrate that overpenetration of the cartridge should be a serious consideration for most indoor scenarios."
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2019/8/20/tested-winchester-s-350-legend/

I for one would be plenty nervous, wondering how many walls the bullet would go through before it stopped .......
 

rangerbob

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Blackhawk, I reported on that article when it first appeared, and your concerns are definitely valid, if you reside close to others, which I don't. I guess the new Ruger would have about the same use a lever action 357 or 35 Remington carbine. It remains to be seen who will be the ultimate buyers of the little pistol. The white box WW ammo certainly will help its sales. Basically it's a 10 shot 357 Maximum auto pistol. Bob! :mrgreen:
 
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I definitely agree that it would be a very nice close quarters pistol. Certainly with more oomph than .223. I just wouldn't want bullets zooming through my stereo or TV or water heater, that sort of thing.

It would definitely be cool and get plenty of attention at my local indoor range. And that is reason enough to take a close look at it.
 

mohavesam

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Hmmm... I endorse most .35 caliber hunting rounds. But none for indoor or in-home use.

Detonation of such a round in a room or hallway is gonna be disastrous to the shooter, guaranteed. Never mind the academic discussion of post-target penetration of furniture, walls, floors, etc.

Only subsonic muzzle velocity bullets are considered for indoor potential by prepared folks. Tinnitus is preferred to total lifelong deafness in both ears.

Neededtobesaid :roll:
 

mac66

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I guessing this is aimed at the hunting crowd who likes short handy firearms in the field that can be used with a can, and/or carried concealed (due to weather) on their pistol carry permit.
 
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I bet that puppy has some bark. That said, I'd like to see some numbers on the actual muzzle velocity. It's going to take a stout muffler to handle the amount of still burning powder ejected from that short barrel. A suppressor capable of handling the 350 Legend from an 8.5" barrel is going to be long, heavy, and expensive.
As a side note, shooting suppressed inside a closed area doesn't help as much as one might think. Unless using low power ammo(22lr up to 9mm subsonic) you're still going to get ringing ears. Even shooting suppressed outside with walls or vegetation to reflect the sound can be louder than is comfortable or ear safe.
I "demo'd" a suppressed 5.56 AR for a group of interested people last year. Conditions were perfect: the humidity was fairly low, we were shooting across a low swale into a sloping hillside 150 yards out, and there was a 5MPH tailwind. The report (actually the lack of)was impressive and all were quite surprised. Two guys had put their ear muffs on even though I said it was unnecessary but took them off after the first shot. Now, had conditions been different: the backstop closer and more abrupt, higher humidity, some sort of building or treeline along side the shooting position, the results would not have been quite as impressive.
Suppressors are a terrific tool but NOT MAGIC. Expecting a short barrel firing a fairly high capacity cartridge to be ear safe within a close space isn't going to work.
 

rangerbob

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The amount of powder in the 350 is about the same as the 300 Blackout. Since the 350 has a larger bore, it should burn all of that powder, even in a shorter barrel. When I started this thread, it was to inform of the introduction of the pistol, not to debate it's usage. I sorta like the hunting pistol scenario, that's what I had in mind. Most of the 350 loads are no faster than Mach 2 in a rifle, I have no idea in a pistol. Bob! :mrgreen:
 
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LuckenbachTexas said:
Ammo manufacturers determine what will be a success, not us. Look at the 7mm-08 ammo availability compared to the 6.5 Creedmoor
Really? :shock: I thought the ammo guys made what we wanted/demanded. I have never bought either of the cartridges you listed. Although someone does?
gramps
 

s4s4u

Hunter
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LuckenbachTexas said:
Ammo manufacturers determine what will be a success, not us. Look at the 7mm-08 ammo availability compared to the 6.5 Creedmoor

Well, being the 350 Legend is an ammo manufacturer's creation and they have a lot invested in it, I expect they will provide ammo as long as people are buying it.
 
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I do have to make a comment... I understand the concern of over penetration and the round going through walls and etc. but I think the debate of that round damaging furniture or your new high definition TV is kind of going in the wrong direction.... I would hope if you are firing any gun inside your home the very last thing you would be worried about is your TV or new couch. Now as for your family or neighbors that is totally different.
 

rangerbob

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Just an update, I see that at least 2 of my distributors have 50 each in stock. Apparently, Ruger is planning on selling a bunch of these. Bob! :D
 
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