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  6. Winchester Debuts New .400 Legend Straight-Walled Cartridge

 

Billed as far outclassing a host of traditional deer rounds while still hitting the requirements for hunters in "straight wall" states, Winchester has a new Legend. 

The company made a big splash with the .350 Legend back in 2019 and has seen several rifle and pistol makers come on board with new guns that are chambered for the cartridge. Now, the .400 Legend is set to provide significant advantages in ballistics performance, recoil, and penetration over that now-legacy round. 
 

Winchester 400 Legend
Developed for use in states that restrict bottle-necked cartridges for hunting, the .400 is billed as being ideal for deer, feral pigs, black bear, and other similar-sized big game. (Photo: Guns.com)
Winchester 400 Legend
The planned 215-grain PowerPoint load in ballistics gel. Winchester says it generates 2,416 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle and still has 1,132 foot-pounds out to 200 yards, where it only has a 4.9-inch drop. (Photo: Guns.com)


How it stacks up against other cartridges: 

  • Similar energy as .450 Bushmaster with 20 percent less recoil
  • Over 20 percent more energy than the .30-30 Winchester and 25 percent more energy than .350 Legend, with greater penetration
  • 100 percent more energy than a 12-gauge slug at 100 yards
  • 55 percent less recoil than a 12-gauge slug
     

We stopped by Winchester's booth at the NRA Annual Meetings in Indiana last week, and they told us that they will be shipping ammo starting in July. A number of gun makers including Mossberg, Ruger, Savage, Winchester Repeating Arms, and CMMG are planning to introduce rifles chambered in the round in coming weeks, leaving open the possibility that the new Legend could be in the woods this fall. 

Photos and video by Samantha Mursan, copy by Alexander Reville and Chris Eger, video editing by Ben Philippi, copy editing by Melea Burke.

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