Anyone try that Federal Fusion Bullet?

[BJE80]

Has anyone tried that bonded Federal Fusion Bullet? Thinking about giving this bonded bullet a try since it is about the same price as a regular soft point. How did the bullet hold together for you and work? Ranges for me would be pretty close. <100yards all the time and mostly within 50yards.

 

[kabic]

I bought some last year for my daughter's .243. It was the only ammo at I could find at the time. Unfortunately she didn't get a shot at a deer last year, so I have no results to report.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Yes shot straight through .5 inch ar 500 steel with a 168g 300wsm.

 

[BJE80]

Yes shot straight through .5 inch ar 500 steel with a 168g 300wsm.

What about performance on deer?

 

[wiscwhip]

Yes shot straight through .5 inch ar 500 steel with a 168g 300wsm.

What about performance on deer?

I was wondering that myself, I work with AR plate all the time and believe me, it is some tough stuff. Do these things even expand when they hit a deer, or do they just punch a caliber-sized hole through them?

 

[phil@thesidehill]

i have shot the federal fusion 150 gr .30-06 for a few years now. out of all the different federal cartridge configurations i have shot thru this rifle (remmington 700 bdl) the fusion by far was the most consistent and accurate...for some reason my rifle likes it the best. I have shot quite a few deer and i would say the knock down power is sufficient. I have never recovered a bullet from the carcasses so I can't tell you what expansion looks like. All i know is that they caused almost immediate cessation of life on every deer that i have shot with them. I only had one deer make it more than 10 yds from impact and that was a buck that was chasing does hard...i don't think he had a clue he was even shot...he had one thing on his mind. He went about 60 yds and piled up.

 

[BJE80]

i have shot the federal fusion 150 gr .30-06 for a few years now. out of all the different federal cartridge configurations i have shot thru this rifle (remmington 700 bdl) the fusion by far was the most consistent and accurate...for some reason my rifle likes it the best. I have shot quite a few deer and i would say the knock down power is sufficient. I have never recovered a bullet from the carcasses so I can't tell you what expansion looks like. All i know is that they caused almost immediate cessation of life on every deer that i have shot with them. I only had one deer make it more than 10 yds from impact and that was a buck that was chasing does hard...i don't think he had a clue he was even shot...he had one thing on his mind. He went about 60 yds and piled up.

Ok. That is good to know. How did the entry/exit wounds look? What kind of ranges are you shooting at deer? I tried 150 grain over the weekend in my .308 and it was very accurate. My ranges are pretty close. My wife shoots a .270. Might see how they shoot in her gun too.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

the longest shot was probably 90 yds. Most of my rifle hunting is 100 yds and in, like your situation. I would say that the exit holes were approximately 3-5 times the diameter of the entry holes, say golf ball-ish in size. I would describe entry holes as slightly larger than caliber size. I'm coming up with at least 7 and probably more like 10 deer that i have shot with the fusions. All but one were broadside shots placed in the lung/heart area, the exception was a neck shot at 35 yds, she expired before she hit the ground. The heart/lung shots produced a mainly gelatinous chunky substance above the diaphram upon field dressing the animals.

 

[BJE80]

the longest shot was probably 90 yds. Most of my rifle hunting is 100 yds and in, like your situation. I would say that the exit holes were approximately 3-5 times the diameter of the entry holes, say golf ball-ish in size. I would describe entry holes as slightly larger than caliber size. I'm coming up with at least 7 and probably more like 10 deer that i have shot with the fusions. All but one were broadside shots placed in the lung/heart area, the exception was a neck shot at 35 yds, she expired before she hit the ground. The heart/lung shots produced a mainly gelatinous chunky substance above the diaphram upon field dressing the animals.

Well that is encouraging. No bone or shoulder hits then?

 

[Jordan Selsor]

What about performance on deer?

This was out of my brothers gun I have personally never shot a deer with them but after seeing it shoot through ar 500 steel at 100yards like a lazer beam (perfect hole) I would question its expansion. Either way this is 150gr projectile and will do the job fine. I have shot a whitetail with a 70gr out of 223 with quick ethical recovery. My hunting 308 likes hornady 150 btsp. This is a softer bullet that expands well. Sierra game kings are good too for whitetails as well.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

Well that is encouraging. No bone or shoulder hits then?

a rib or two on the heart/lung area hits, no shoulder hits. The neck shot appeared to have severed the spinal cord based on the instantaneous collapse, so it hit vertebrae. I have a feeling there were bullet fragments in the spine, but i didn't recover them...neck meat gets boned out and ground up. there was an exit wound on that deer so i would think most of the bullet stayed intact enough to come out the other side.

 

[BJE80]

Well you really can't beat $21/box for a bonded bullet. I think I'll try and put one through the boiler room on a deer this fall.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

Well you really can't beat $21/box for a bonded bullet. I think I'll try and put one through the boiler room on a deer this fall.

yeah...i liked how my rifle liked the cheaper box of federal ammo better than the expensive ones! I'm sure they will work just fine for you!

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Well you really can't beat $21/box for a bonded bullet. I think I'll try and put one through the boiler room on a deer this fall.

Let us know how it does. You can always test ones expansion by lining up a bunch of milk jugs full of water. Poor mans ballistic gel:)

 

[BJE80]

Let us know how it does. You can always test ones expansion by lining up a bunch of milk jugs full of water. Poor mans ballistic gel:)

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Well there ya go BJE80! Solid performance

 

[BJE80]

Well there ya go BJE80! Solid performance

Yeah in that test it sure performed well hey. Can't ask for anything else.

 

[foggy]

No experience with the fusion bullets....but I do have a question About them. Are the fusion bullets plated with a copper cladding or do they have copper jackets?? I have heard nothing but good about the federal fusion bullets.....I just want to know more.

 

[BJE80]

No experience with the fusion bullets....but I do have a question About them. Are the fusion bullets plated with a copper cladding or do they have copper jackets?? I have heard nothing but good about the federal fusion bullets.....I just want to know more.

I believe it has a jacket that is electro fused to the lead core.