350 Legend vs. 450 Bushmaster vs. 45-70 Govt vs. 360 Buckhammer

Every year as the calendar creeps towards September, anticipation builds for the opening day of deer season. It’s that magical time of year when we can head to the timber and be one with nature.

Then comes the action-packed time of year, the rut, where there is nothing but pure chaos in the woods. That time of year can really have you questioning your sanity. Then in most states, right before late season gets here, there is a magical season tucked away. It’s one rich in history throughout the deer woods and camps across the country: Gun season.

This is a time of deer camp, friendship and fun. If you’re lucky enough to still have a tag in your pocket or maybe you saved one, this can be one of the best times of year to hunt— as long as you have the right gun for the job.

Just Shotguns?

Up until a few years ago, many states only allowed the use of shotguns for gun week. This was great for busting through the timber on a deer drive or anything within 150 yards if you had a rifled barrel. But what about the guy who prefers to sit in his treestand and keep pressure off the deer while waiting for the right buck to walk by? Or the elderly person or young child who is unable to handle the recoil of a shotgun? The solution is straight-walled rifle cartridges. Sure, the argument could be made that it provides an unfair advantage, but the same can be said about crossbows. I’m not here to argue that issue. Actually, I’d like to convince you that you need a rifle this year for gun season. Let’s talk about a few good reasons why.

caldwell — The use of the Caldwell Rock DLX combo was vital when setting up and testing the rifles.

Many Advantages

There are many benefits to straight-wall cartridges. First and foremost is the distance at which they are lethal. With the right ballistics calculations and a good scope, you can easily get out to that 200-yard range to ethically harvest a deer.

Next is the reduction in recoil. This is a big advantage over, say, a 12-gauge shotgun, especially for kids and people with shoulder injuries. These have all the knockdown power of slug guns without all of the recoil. Lastly, many of the straight-wall cartridges shoot flatter than a slug so carries more energy over longer distances. That is vital when taking those 200-yard shots while not sacrificing anything at close range.

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Four to Discuss

There are several straight-wall cartridges available on the market today. I want to dive into four of them, with each having its pros and cons. They are the 350 Legend, the new Remington 360 Buckhammer, the 450 Bushmaster and the 45/70 Government.

For testing purposes, I used Remington ammunition. This allowed me to keep that element as even as possible across the board using only one manufacturer. As for the rifles, I used a mix of Henry, Bear Creek Arsenal and Savage Arms rifles. Each rifle was placed in a Caldwell Rock DLX combo for testing. This removed most human error and kept the gun rock solid in a rest.

bear-creek — The Bear Creek Arsenal paired with a Hawke optics scope was the perfect combination for longer shots.

Rifle Considerations

Here are a few things to consider when selecting a rifle. The first is where and how you will be hunting. If you will be hunting from a treestand in more open areas, you will want to focus on a round that is capable of longer shots, like the 360 Buckhammer. Alternatively, the 45-70 would be a lot better choice for brushy cover hunting or deer drives.

You will also want to make sure that you will be able to get ammunition for your rifle. I know it sounds like a no-brainer, but some of these rounds can be harder to find than others.

After you make your decision on the rifle, I highly recommend getting a good scope. There are several quality scopes on the market like the Hawke optics strait-wall scope. This was designed just for this type of hunting.

Lastly, take time to learn your rifle. By that, I mean practice long- and short-distance shots. Learn what to do if a round jams up and how to take it apart. I know it may sound silly, but the last thing you want to do is have to figure this stuff out in the moment of truth, or even worse yet, miss a deer because you weren’t familiar with the capabilities of your rifle.

350 Legend

Let’s start with one of the most popular rounds to be purchased since straight-wall cartridges have been legal for hunting, and for good reason. The 350 Legend is accurate out to 200 yards and has minimal recoil compared to all the other rounds. It makes a great choice, especially for youth hunters. With a muzzle velocity of 2100 feet per second and a drop of 8.4 inches at 200 yards, this makes for a near-perfect deer rifle. The 350 Legend is also readily available and inexpensive compared to some of the other rounds. The fact that you can find several rifles chambered for 350 Legend is also a plus. You can find lever-action guns, bolt-action guns, or my go-to, an AR-15 platform rifle.

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I personally set up a Bear Creek Arsenal rifle with a Crimson Trace scope for deer season. I chose this combination because the scope is matched to the round, and I love the fact that it is semi-automatic. After hunting with a bolt action for a few years it is great to have that follow-up shot if needed with minimal movement. And as far as ammunition companies go, there are several producers of the round.

Here is a comparison of the different cartridge sizes from 350 Legend on the left, 360 Buckhammer, 450 Bushmaster, and the 45-70 on the right.

450 Bushmaster

Next up is the big brother to the 350 Legend, the 450 Bushmaster. This round has as much bark as it does bite. Not only does it pack a punch upon contact, but it also has considerably more recoil. The 450 Bushmaster can drop a deer dead in its tracks up to 250 yards then the round drops off dramatically in ballistics. It is also offered in several rifle platforms just like the 350 Legend.

I also chose to test this round out in a Bear Creek Arsenal rifle paired with a Hawke optics scope. The Remington Premier AccuTip round I was shooting was a 260-grain bullet traveling at 2180 feet per second. This round was built to take down the biggest game in North America.

The biggest downfalls of this round are the cost, the availability and the recoil. If you can find ammunition and can withstand the recoil (which is not terrible), this shines over some of the other bigger rounds for its ability to be shot out of a semi-automatic rifle like the Bear Creek Arsenal AR-15 platform. A great benefit to the Bear Creek Arsenal AR style rifle is that you can switch out the caliber of rifle by pushing out two pins and swapping out the upper receivers.

45-70 Government

This round has definitely withstood the test of time, dating back to the plains buffalo hunting days, so it definitely deserves a mention. It is another hard-hitting and hard- kicking round. The Remington Core-Lokt round I was shooting was a 405-grain bullet shooting at 1600 feet per second. It has an effective range out to 200 yards before dropping off rapidly. This round is also capable of hunting most big game like bear, moose, hog, and of course deer. Besides the recoil and high cost, another downfall to the 45-70 is the fact that it can only be shot out of single-shot or lever-action rifles. If you’re anything like me though, taking the single-shot rifle out to deer camp is reminiscent of the old days. The nostalgic feeling just seems right in the deer woods.

See also .308 Winchester for Black Bear Hunting? Best Ammo (Round, Load, Cartridge) for a Successful Black Bear Hunt Hunting Calibers 04 Apr, 2020 Posted By: Foundry Outdoors Is the .308 Winchester a viable caliber/load/round/cartridge for black bear hunting? The accurate answer is “it depends”. However, the goal of this article is simply to address the question of whether the .308 Winchester is within the ideal range of suitable calibers to harvest black bear. As with anything, the devil is in the details. To answer the question completely, we would need to evaluate the downrange distance to the black bear, the bullet type, the grain weight of the bullet, the physical condition of the firearm, the size of the black bear in question, the shot placement, the local wind conditions, the expected accuracy of the shooter, the ethics of the ideal maximum number of shots – the list goes on. [Click Here to Shop .308 Winchester Ammo]What we can do is provide a framework to understand what average conditions might look like, and whether those are reasonably viable for a shot from the average shooter to harvest a black bear in the fewest number of shots possible, i.e., ethically. Let’s dive right in. In the question of “Is the .308 Winchester within the ideal range of suitable calibers for black bear hunting?” our answer is: Yes, the .308 Winchester is A GOOD CHOICE for black bear hunting, under average conditions, from a mid-range distance, with a medium grain expanding bullet, and with correct shot placement.Let’s look at those assumptions a bit closer in the following table. Assumption Value Caliber .308 Winchester Animal Species Black Bear Muzzle Energy 2620 foot-pounds Animal Weight 340 lbs Shot Distance 150 yardsWhat is the average muzzle energy for a .308 Winchester? In this case, we have assumed the average muzzle energy for a .308 Winchester round is approximately 2620 foot-pounds. What is the average weight of an adult male black bear? Here we have leaned conservative by taking the average weight of a male individual of the species, since females generally weigh less and require less stopping power. In this case, the average weight of an adult male black bear is approximately 340 lbs. [Click Here to Shop .308 Winchester Ammo]What is the distance this species is typically hunted from? Distance, of course, plays an important role in the viability of a given caliber in black bear hunting. The kinetic energy of the projectile drops dramatically the further downrange it travels primarily due to energy lost in the form of heat generated by friction against the air itself. This phenonemon is known as drag or air resistance. Thus, a caliber that is effective from 50 yards may not have enough stopping power from 200 yards. With that said, we have assumed the average hunting distance for black bear to be approximately 150 yards. What about the other assumptions? We have three other primary assumptions being made here. First, the average bullet weight is encapsulated in the average muzzle energy for the .308 Winchester. The second important assumption is ‘slightly-suboptimal’ to ‘optimal’ shot placement. That is to say, we assume the black bear being harvested is shot directly or nearly directly in the vitals (heart and/or lungs). The third assumption is that a projectile with appropriate terminal ballistics is being used, which for hunting usually means an expanding bullet.Various calibersA common thread you may encounter in online forums is anecdote after anecdote of large animals being brought down by small caliber bullets, or small animals surviving large caliber bullets. Of course those stories exist, and they are not disputed here. A 22LR cartridge can fell a bull elephant under the right conditions, and a newborn squirrel can survive a 50 BMG round under other specific conditions. Again, the goal of this article is simply to address the question of whether .308 Winchester is within the ideal range of suitable calibers to harvest black bear - and to this question, the response again is yes, the .308 Winchester is A GOOD CHOICE for black bear hunting. [Click Here to Shop .308 Winchester Ammo]This article does not serve as the final say, but simply as a starting point for beginner hunters, as well as a venue for further discussion. Please feel free to agree, disagree, and share stories from your own experience in the comments section below. Disclaimer: the information above is purely for illustrative purposes and should not be taken as permission to use a particular caliber, a statement of the legality or safety of using certain calibers, or legal advice in any way. You must read and understand your own local laws before hunting black bear to know whether your caliber of choice is a legal option.Foundry Outdoors is your trusted home for buying archery, camping, fishing, hunting, shooting sports, and outdoor gear online.We offer cheap ammo and bulk ammo deals on the most popular ammo calibers. We have a variety of deals on Rifle Ammo, Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo & Rimfire Ammo, as well as ammo for target practice, plinking, hunting, or shooting competitions. Our website lists special deals on 9mm Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 45-70 Ammo, 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, 300 Blackout Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 5.56 Ammo, Underwood Ammo, Buffalo Bore Ammo and more special deals on bulk ammo.We offer a 100% Authenticity Guarantee on all products sold on our website. Please email us if you have questions about any of our product listings. Leave a commentComments have to be approved before showing up Your Name * Your Email * Your Comment * Post Comment

When picking out your rifle, it is important to consider your style of hunting and match your rifle to that.

360 Buckhammer

The newest round on the list of straight-wall cartridges and the best all-around choice in my opinion for deer is the .360 Buckhammer. This hard-hitting light recoil round was built to capitalize on the success of the 350 Legend, but it’s on steroids. When Remington set out to make this round, they partnered with Henry Arms to develop a lever-action rifle for the round. When toting this gun around the woods, it’s reminiscent of past days; these guns are built like your grandfather’s’were built.

The .360 Buckhammer has less drop at 7.8 inches and carries more energy at 968 feet pounds out to 200 yards. It has a muzzle velocity of 2399 feet per second which is faster than the other rounds by over 100 feet per second. The only downfall to this round is that it is only available from one ammunition maker and rifle manufacturer (for now.) With that said, it is new for 2024, so supply issues could be a short-term problem.

I look for several other companies to start producing this round as time goes on because of its strengths over other strait-wall rounds.

If you’re in the market for a new deer rifle, I would definitely give this round strong consideration, I don’t think you will regret it.

In Closing

As you can see, each of these straight-wall rounds has a time and place for use. Some are better for younger or older people. Some are better for guys who want the knockdown power of a shotgun yet want to take a longer shot if needed. With all the options on the market, you can surely find a straight-wall round that suits your hunting style for the upcoming season.

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