Rifleman Review: Smith & Wesson Model 350

Winchester's 350 Legend cartridge has become popular with shooters in states that have straight-wall cartridge restrictions for rifle hunting, and many other manufacturers are capitalizing on the popularity of this new round. One such company is Smith & Wesson, which released its Model 350 for handgun hunters. Watch our "American Rifleman Television" Rifleman Review segment above to see the details on this monster X-Frame revolver.

"This is Smith & Wesson's new Model 350, and it bears the distinction of not only being the first double-action handgun put out by a major manufacturer that fires 350 Legend, but it is also just the third cartridge ever to be chambered in Smith & Wesson's X-Frame, joining the 500 and 460 Smith & Wesson Magnums," American Rifleman Senior Executive Editor Kelly Young said.

Given that the gun is built on S&W's X-Frame, the Model 350 is a huge revolver equipped with a 7.5" barrel and measuring about 13.5" in overall length.

"As far as tipping the scales go, this thing weighs in empty at about 72 ozs., which is 4.5 lbs., so it's a pretty substantial hunk of steel," Young said. "The frame, barrel, cylinder, all the major parts of this gun are stainless steel that have been given a nice satin finish that really results in just a gorgeous gun."

Due to the relatively small cartridge diameter of the 350 Legend round, plus the large size of the X-Frame, Smith & Wesson has been able to accommodate seven rounds in its cylinder. It being a Smith & Wesson revolver, of course, the cylinder turns counterclockwise with each pull of the trigger or thumbing of the hammer on this double-action/single-action mechanism.

"Now, of course, the 350 legend is a a rimless cartridge, unlike most revolver cartridges, so Smith & Wesson has gone ahead and machined a counterbore into each of the chambers that allows it to headspace properly without the use of a moon clip," Young said. "But the company included two moon clips with the revolver that, while they're not necessary, do greatly speed up loading and also extraction. Without the moon clips, you're probably going to have to poke each cartridge individually with a wooden dowel once you're done shooting."

Speaking of shooting, the Smith & Wesson Model 350 is equipped with a tacky, overmolded rubber grip that allows handgunners to get a solid grasp on the gun, and the rubber also absorbs recoil energy, softening the blow of a fired 350 Legend round. Too, the Model 350 also features a single port cut into the top portion of the barrel near the muzzle to reduce recoil and tame muzzle rise. These two features, combined with the gun's weight, make it fairly comfortable to shoot on the range, despite its stout chambering.

"There's no doubt that the 350 Legend has the power necessary to take medium game at any responsible handgun hunting distance, and just given the quality that's evident in the Model 350 and, really all X-Frames, there's no doubt that this gun also has the accuracy necessary to make it happen," Young concluded.

Smith & Wesson Model 350 Specifications
Manufacturer: Smith & Wesson
Action Type: double-action, centerfire revolver
Chambering: 350 Legend
Barrel: 7.5"; stainless steel
Frame: 416 stainless steel
Rifling: six-groove; 1:16" RH twist
Cylinder Capacity: seven
Sights: adjustable; U-notch rear, ramp front with red insert
Trigger: double-action, 12-lb. pull; single-action, 4-lb., 10-oz. pull
Overall Length: 13.5"
Width: 1.94"
Weight: 71.5 ozs.
MSRP: $1679

To watch complete segments of past episodes of American Rifleman TV, go to americanrifleman.org/artv. For all-new episodes of ARTV, tune in Wednesday nights to Outdoor Channel 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EST.