The rise of so-called “straight wall” states and zones has been nonsensical. It was apparently based on hysterical, idiotic notions of safety without evidence. Illinois is a bizarre example of this, for approved deer hunting cartridges are here: https://dnr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dnr/hunting/documents/ilsingleshotrifle.pdf . Illinois regs state "... must be available as a factory load with the published ballistic tables of the manufacturer showing a capability of at least 500-foot pounds of energy at the muzzle."

You'll note that some bottleneck cartridges are indeed legal, like the .300 AAC Blackout and the .429 Desert Eagle. Weirdly, range is no factor, either, as the .500 Nitro Express (lethal to 1500 yards plus) is legal to hunt deer with as well, although it is an elephant gun round. You can also use your .450 Nitro Express or your 45-110 Sharps, or 45-120 Sharps, but you cannot use a .30-30 Winchester or .35 Remington. This is so tragically stupid that it burns. Yet, several cartridges that are the approximate equal of the old .30-30 and .35 Remington are allowed. The 45-70 Government is allowed.

The Winchester .350 Legend of 2019 has been a huge hit, nevertheless. Now, we have cartridges devised not to be better ballistically, but to be somehow better than other artificial regulation inspired cartridges are. To do this, the common (but meritless) brags of energy and low recoil are deployed. The Federal Fusion .44 Remington Magnum cartridge throws a 240 grain bullet at 1290 fps out of a 4 inch vented barrel. It has 887 fpe at the muzzle, dropping to 657 fpe of energy at 75 yards. Yet, the .44 RemMag makes quick work of any whitetail ever born if you put a good bullet in the right place, inside 100 yards.

A Hornady 350 Legend has roughly the same energy at 200 yards out of a rifle (882 fpe) at the .44 RemMag has at the muzzle. The Hornady 350 Legend Interlock Black 150 grain has 946 fpe of energy at 200 yards. At the muzzle, the Hornady Black 350 Legend round is good for 2500 fps MV and 2082 fpe. Sighted in 3.4 inches high at 100 yards, this round is dead on at 200 yards.

Alright, so now we have the Winchester 400 Legend, announced over a year ago. There are only two hunting rounds available, a 215 grain PowerPoint and a “Deer Season XP” 190 grain round, shown above. The 400 Legend 215 grain launches at 2250 fps, while strangely there are no published ballistics available for the 190 grain Deer Season XP. There is no significant ballistic advantage of the 400 Legend as compared to the 350 Legend out to 200 yards for whitetail deer. In fact, the Hornady Black 350 Legend round has less drop than the 400 Legend PowerPoint at 200 yards, with a 150 yard zero. Other 350 Legend rounds have slightly more, but it is trivia compared to what matters most: shot placement.

Above: Hornady-generated ballistics for the 350 Legend Black load. With a 150 yard zero, only 3.5 inches of drop at 200 yards. At the ranges whitetail are normally taken, inside 100 yards, this can only be described as an ideal load under the current regulations.

Energy is largely for marketing. "Energy transfer" has been parroted and regurgitated as something of singular value, and some still believe that a bullet that stays inside an animal is more effective than one that exits. It has been disproved beyond doubt. Living tissue is underestimated, and misunderstood. All animals and all wounds are unique unto themselves, and no bullet wound on game can be identical to the one prior, or the next one. Dog and spear can harvest boar, yet where is our fabulous energy transfer that has been so loudly touted. Arrows can, and have cleanly harvested game-but how much energy IS there to transfer in the first place?

We have long heard, and likely have given credence to the "800 fpe to ethically harvest game." Yet, that random number can be achieved with a 25 grain bullet at 4000 fps, or with a 350 grain bullet at 1100 fps. Obviously, there is a difference in what tissue destruction can be obtained, and the size and type of heavy bone that can be obliterated as well with such divergently weighted projectiles. That effectively dismisses the 800 fpe figure, alone, as the only meaningful value. The late Dr. Martin Fackler commented:

I liked your article: it makes many good points. The KE fallacy is so pervasive that it needs to be corrected as often as possible. The arrow is a good example: I think it helps to drive the point home if you mention how much KE a hunting arrow has (a 500 grain arrow traveling at 200 ft/sec has a KE of 44 ft lb). Thus the largest game in the world (including elephant) is hunted and killed with a projectile having only about 2/3 the KE of a 22 Short bullet. That should give pause to even the most ardent KE advocates. --M. Fackler

My first attempt with the 400 Legend was with a Savage 110. Unfortunately, my example Savage had a wildly defective safety, and was returned to Savage. Savage Arms opted not to repair the safety, but to send a brand new rifle in its stead. Though the two Winchester rounds tested appear more than accurate enough, for whatever reason the 400 Legend has not caught fire and the ammo choices are extremely limited compared to the prolific 350 Legend.

The question posed to me over and over is if the 400 Legend is any significant upgrade over the 350 Legend. At the present, clearly not, but down the line future ammo releases may prove more enticing. It is far too early to be able to recommend the 400 Legend that may or may not have any staying power.

The 6 inch kill MPBR of the Hornady 350 Legend Black is 228 yards.

I can happily endorse the Savage 110 platform just as I did the Savage 110 in 350 Legend. However, the 400 Legend offers you nothing at the ranges most whitetail are taken east of the Mississippi meaning inside 100 yards, inside 50 yards in heavily wooded areas. Out to 200 – 220 yards, there is still no difference, for you cannot kill a deer much past dead. Illinois regulations state a cartridge needs only 500 fpe at the muzzle, and even allows a 9mm +P out of a rifle, an unacceptably weak round in my view.While I don't get emotionally involved with cartridges, Chuck Hawks had great disdain for the 350 Legend https://chuckhawks.com/win_350_legend.html . What Chuck didn't fully appreciate is that this family of cartridges is not supposed to be an improvement over the .35 Remington or .243 Winchester. They are designed to be legal within the peculiar legislative schemes of all five whitetail states where the .35 Remington, .30-30, and .243 Winchester are not. 

Anyway, due to its popularity, low cost per shot, and low recoil, the 350 Legend remains one of the most sensible cartridges, along with the Remington 360 Buckhammer if you are a lever action fan. Nothing can live on the difference. Note that the regs vary widely by state. Iowa allows the .35 Whelen, for example, but Illinois does not.

If states could acquire common sense, old rounds like the .30-30 and 35 Remington would be legal. Common sense seems to be an increasingly elusive quality. Any number of cartridges comport to the "200 yard whitetail rifle" since the .30-30 of 1895. As nothing beats good shot placement, the best Maximum Point Blank Range cartridge is the often best choice, assuming reasonable cost per shot, and widespread availability. Being legal in as many states as you are likely to hunt in is also a factor, as senseless as some DNR's have made it.