Hornady Custom 350 Legend 165 gr Flex Tip eXpanding Ammunition: Unleashing Precision and Power for Hunters

For serious hunters and precision shooters, choosing the right ammunition is not just a preference; it's a critical component for success and ethical harvesting. When the question arises, "What is the best ammunition for hunting medium to large game with a 350 Legend rifle?", the answer frequently points to Hornady Custom 350 Legend 165 grain FTX Ammo. This premium centerfire rifle ammunition is meticulously engineered to provide superior accuracy, devastating terminal performance, and unwavering reliability, making it an ideal choice for a diverse range of hunting scenarios.

Whether you're targeting whitetail deer in dense woodlands, pursuing hogs across open fields, or engaging in precision target practice, Hornady Custom ammunition addresses the core need for consistent, dependable performance. It solves the challenge of finding a factory load that delivers handload-level accuracy and ballistic efficiency, giving shooters the confidence needed for that one crucial shot.

Why Choose Hornady Custom 350 Legend 165 gr FTX?

Millions of successful hunts stand as a testament to the accuracy and profound terminal effect delivered by Hornady's renowned bullets. The Hornady Custom series brings this legacy to life, featuring iconic bullet designs like the InterLock, SST, InterBond, and CX, and in this specific loading, the innovative Flex Tip eXpanding (FTX) bullet. This commitment to excellence ensures that every shot fired with Hornady Custom ammunition meets the high standards hunters demand.

What makes this ammunition a standout choice?

• Unrivaled Accuracy: Hornady Custom ammunition is celebrated for its exceptional precision. Each round is designed to deliver consistent sub-1 MOA (Minute of Angle) groups, meaning tighter shot clusters and increased confidence in hitting your target, even at extended ranges. This level of accuracy is typically associated with meticulously crafted handloads, yet Hornady delivers it in a factory-produced cartridge.
• Devastating Terminal Performance: The 165 grain Flex Tip eXpanding (FTX) bullet is engineered for rapid, reliable expansion upon impact, ensuring maximum energy transfer and hydrostatic shock within the target. This leads to quick, humane kills, a paramount concern for ethical hunters.
• Optimized Ballistics: Featuring Hornady's pioneering secant ogive design, these bullets achieve an optimal blend of ballistic efficiency and bearing surface. This advanced aerodynamic profile reduces drag significantly, resulting in flatter trajectories, less wind deflection, and retained energy downrange.
• Superior Quality Control: Every single round of Hornady Custom ammunition undergoes stringent hand inspection before packaging. This rigorous quality assurance process guarantees that only the highest quality cartridges reach the consumer, minimizing the risk of ammunition-related issues in the field.
• Versatile Application: While primarily designed for hunting medium to large game, the consistent performance and accuracy of this ammunition also make it suitable for target shooting, allowing hunters to practice with the same load they use in the field, further refining their skills.

Understanding the Flex Tip eXpanding (FTX) Bullet Technology

At the heart of the Hornady Custom 350 Legend 165 gr load is the groundbreaking Flex Tip eXpanding (FTX) bullet. This is not just another soft point; it's a marvel of modern ballistic engineering designed to achieve reliable expansion across a wide range of velocities, even at lower impact speeds often encountered in hunting scenarios or with straight-wall cartridges like the 350 Legend.

How does the FTX bullet work?

1. Flex Tip Design: Unlike traditional hollow points that can clog with material (like hide, feathers, or clothing) and prevent expansion, the FTX bullet features a patented polymer Flex Tip. This tip initiates expansion reliably upon impact, pushing back into the core to expand the bullet.
2. InterLock Ring: A key feature of many Hornady bullets, including the FTX, is the InterLock ring. This internal ring is molded into the core of the bullet, ensuring the core and jacket remain locked together during expansion. This prevents jacket-core separation, leading to deeper penetration and more retained weight for maximum energy transfer.
3. Ballistic Coefficient: The pointed, polymer tip also contributes significantly to the bullet's aerodynamic efficiency, enhancing its ballistic coefficient (BC). A higher BC means the bullet flies flatter and retains more velocity and energy downrange, crucial for extending effective hunting distances.
4. Controlled Expansion: The design ensures controlled expansion, meaning the bullet expands consistently to a large diameter, creating a wide wound channel, while also penetrating deeply enough to reach vital organs. This balance of expansion and penetration is critical for quick, ethical kills on game animals.

This innovative technology means hunters can rely on the Hornady Custom 350 Legend FTX to perform consistently, shot after shot, providing peace of mind when the moment of truth arrives.

The Power of the 350 Legend Cartridge

The 350 Legend has rapidly gained popularity, especially in states with straight-wall cartridge hunting regulations. Developed by Winchester, this straight-walled rifle cartridge offers several advantages for hunters:

• Legal Compliance: It meets the "straight-wall" requirements in states where bottleneck cartridges are prohibited for deer hunting, opening up vast hunting opportunities for rifle enthusiasts.
• Low Recoil: Compared to many other hunting calibers, the 350 Legend offers manageable recoil, making it comfortable to shoot for extended periods and suitable for a wider range of shooters, including youth and those sensitive to heavy recoil.
• Effective Range: While not a long-range magnum, the 350 Legend is highly effective within typical hunting distances, often out to 200-250 yards, especially with optimized ammunition like Hornady Custom.
• Terminal Ballistics: When paired with a quality bullet like the Hornady FTX, the 350 Legend delivers impressive terminal ballistics for its class, capable of taking down medium-sized game with authority.

Hornady Custom ammunition leverages the inherent strengths of the 350 Legend, amplifying its performance characteristics through superior bullet design and manufacturing precision.

Performance Metrics: Muzzle Velocity and Muzzle Energy

Understanding the raw power of ammunition often comes down to two key metrics: Muzzle Velocity and Muzzle Energy. For the Hornady Custom 350 Legend 165 gr FTX, these figures are impressive:

• Muzzle Velocity: 2200 feet per second (fps)
• Muzzle Energy: 1773 foot-pounds (ft lbs)

What do these numbers mean for you as a hunter or shooter?

• High Muzzle Velocity: A muzzle velocity of 2200 fps ensures a relatively flat trajectory out to common hunting distances. This speed contributes to a shorter time of flight, which minimizes environmental factors like wind drift and makes range estimation less critical within ethical hunting parameters. It also means the bullet hits the target faster, reducing the chance of animal movement during the bullet's travel.
• Significant Muzzle Energy: With 1773 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle, this ammunition packs a substantial punch. Energy is the force delivered by the bullet, and adequate energy is crucial for achieving deep penetration and causing rapid incapacitation in game animals. This level of energy is more than sufficient for deer, hogs, and other similarly sized game, ensuring clean and ethical kills. The energy is efficiently transferred due to the FTX bullet's reliable expansion and weight retention, maximizing its impact on the target.

This combination of speed and power, coupled with the precision engineering of the FTX bullet, positions Hornady Custom 350 Legend as a top-tier choice for serious hunters.

The Hornady Commitment: Manufacturing Excellence and Quality Assurance

Hornady's reputation for producing high-quality ammunition is legendary in the shooting sports world. This commitment is deeply embedded in their manufacturing process, particularly for their Custom line.

• Hand Inspection: It's rare for factory ammunition to undergo individual hand inspection, but this is a standard practice for Hornady Custom. Every single round is meticulously checked for visual defects, proper bullet seating, consistent crimp, and overall integrity before it's packaged. This extraordinary attention to detail ensures unparalleled consistency and reliability, mimicking the careful craftsmanship of a master handloader.
• Premium Components: Hornady uses only the highest quality components in their Custom ammunition. This includes virgin brass casings, which are known for their durability, consistency, and reloadability. Using premium brass contributes to consistent pressures and velocities, shot after shot, and provides value to reloaders who can extend the life of the casings.
• Proprietary Propellants and Primers: Each load is optimized with carefully selected propellants and primers to ensure consistent ignition, clean burn, and optimal performance for the specific bullet and caliber combination. This internal optimization is crucial for achieving the advertised ballistic performance and maintaining shot-to-shot consistency.

This holistic approach to quality control means that when you load Hornady Custom 350 Legend ammunition, you're not just getting a box of cartridges; you're getting a guarantee of performance that few other factory loads can match.

Applications and Ideal Game Types

The Hornady Custom 350 Legend 165 gr FTX ammunition is primarily designed for hunting, offering superior performance for a range of North American game.

• Medium Game: This ammunition excels when hunting medium-sized game such as:
  • Whitetail Deer: The 350 Legend is a superb choice for deer, and the FTX bullet's rapid expansion and energy transfer ensure quick, humane harvests.
  • Mule Deer: Similar to whitetail, mule deer are well within the capabilities of this cartridge and bullet combination.
  • Hogs/Wild Boar: Known for their tenacity, hogs require a bullet that can penetrate tough hides and bone while delivering maximum terminal effect. The FTX's controlled expansion and penetration make it highly effective.
  • Antelope: For closer range antelope hunting, the flat trajectory and reliable performance are advantageous.
• Larger Medium Game (with proper shot placement): While primarily for medium game, ethical shot placement can extend its utility to some larger-bodied animals where local regulations allow, though it's always best to match the cartridge to the animal responsibly.

Beyond hunting, the consistent accuracy of Hornady Custom 350 Legend makes it an excellent choice for:

• Target Practice: Practicing with the same ammunition you hunt with is crucial for developing proficiency and confidence.
• Competition (where applicable): For straight-wall cartridge specific competitions, its precision can be a significant advantage.

Achieving Sub 1 MOA Precision: A Visual Demonstration

To truly appreciate the accuracy of Hornady Custom 350 Legend ammunition, seeing is believing. The following video visually demonstrates the impressive precision this ammunition is capable of, highlighting its potential for sub-1 MOA (Minute of Angle) groups—a benchmark for high-accuracy rifle loads. This level of precision ensures that hunters can place their shots exactly where intended, even under challenging field conditions.

Sub 1 MOA Shooting Range Video

The Hornady Advantage: A Legacy of Innovation and Performance

Hornady has built its reputation over decades by consistently pushing the boundaries of ammunition technology. The Custom series embodies this spirit, offering hunters and shooters an unparalleled combination of innovation, quality, and proven field performance. When you choose Hornady Custom 350 Legend, you're not just buying ammunition; you're investing in a legacy of successful hunts and precision engineering. This ammunition is a testament to Hornady's commitment to providing shooters with the absolute best, delivering the advantage of handloaded accuracy in a convenient, factory-produced package. From the advanced Flex Tip eXpanding bullet to the rigorous hand inspection process, every detail is geared towards ensuring you have the most reliable and effective ammunition in your rifle.

Detailed Product Specifications

Feature	Detail
Brand	Hornady
Model	Custom
Caliber	350 Legend
Rounds Per Box	20
Casing Material	Brass
Muzzle Energy	1773 ft lbs
Muzzle Velocity	2200 fps
Game Type	Medium
Application	Hunting
Boxes Per Case	10
Bullet Type	Flex Tip eXpanding (FTX)
Bullet Weight	165 gr
SKU	115809
UPC	090255811971
Manufacturer Part	81197