Bumped into a fella the other day that decided to put Federal's New Fusion Bullet to the test on Whitetails this past season.

He shot 13 whitetail deer of various sizes w/ the 180 grain 300Win Mag Fusion loads. First of all he said the accuracy was descent but, not as good as some other good quality factory ammo in his Remington 700 CDL topped w/ a VXIII. His second observation was irrattic bullet performance. He said on some animals the bullets exploded like a varmint bullet on impacts you wouldn't think to be too tough on a bullet but, other times the bullets penetrated well and gave nice exits.

His overall impression of the new Fusion 180 grain bullets was that they were explosive and irratic. He said he wouldn't be using them again on deer sized game.

I'm not opposed to them or for them, They are a new bullet on the market and I thought I'd pass this little bit of info on.

It seems as if there may be some inconsistency in the jackets or plating shall I say.

I personally felt like being 180 grain bullets that they would hold up as well as any other cup and core on deer sized animals but, it sounds like they maybe of similar construction to a Match King or other thin jacketed Match bullets.

Have any of you tried the new bullets out on game? What were the results?

Have a Good One

Reloader

I wouldn't necessarily expect a plated bullet to act any tougher than a cup and core slug but before passing judgement on the Fusion bullet I'd want to know more about the range to target and wound path for each shot.

I used 165 grain Fusion factory loads exclusively last deer season. The bullets performed very well with clear pass through on all animals taken. The animals taken ranged from 120 pound does to 210 pound bucks with a 350 pound boar hog mixed in.

These animals were all taken in South Texas brush country using a 300 Win Mag.

Ranges from less than 50 yards on a doe ( head shot for cull purposes ) to over 200 yards on the hog. Both the buck and the hog were shot through the near side sholder taking out the lungs and the offside shoulder before exiting the animals.

Non of the bullets were recovered but in looking at the wound channel all projectiles appeared to hold together and performed as would have been expected.


Just my 2 cents.

I took 2 deer with 95 grain fusion out of a 243 Win. Both bullets were recovered and provided good expasion and decent retained weight. I posted some pictures of them last fall if you do a search you might find the thread.

One would automatically be a bit suspicious of the opinion of someone who selects a .300 Win with 180 grain bullets as his primary choice for whitetails. Thirteen in one year, no less! Not that there is anything "inadequate" in this choice, but simply that it leads you to believe that the shooter has a case of "magnumitis" and thus may have an unreasonable perception of what a bullet should do.

I haven't used Federal Fusions, and since they are touted as providing more penetration and retaining more weight than conventional bullets, I wouldn't find those qualities appropriate for whitetails anyway. So, I'm unprepared to say that your acquaintance's observations on Fusion performance are inaccurate, just that I would be circumspect about the judgement of the observer.

quote:

One would automatically be a bit suspicious of the opinion of someone who selects a .300 Win with 180 grain bullets as his primary choice for whitetails. Thirteen in one year, no less! Not that there is anything "inadequate" in this choice, but simply that it leads you to believe that the shooter has a case of "magnumitis" and thus may have an unreasonable perception of what a bullet should do.

I haven't used Federal Fusions, and since they are touted as providing more penetration and retaining more weight than conventional bullets, I wouldn't find those qualities appropriate for whitetails anyway. So, I'm unprepared to say that your acquaintance's observations on Fusion performance are inaccurate, just that I would be circumspect about the judgement of the observer.

Well, I tend to place merit in his experience. He is a relative of a very close friend and I've heard tales of his kills for several years. Good country folk that tend to be very honest.

He asked me about loading him some Accubonds for better weight retention so, it sure sounded like he knew alittle of what he was talking about.

13 deer is not many for some of the southern states. W/ Texas, Arkansas, MS, and Louisiana all very close here, many serious whitetail hunters get piles of them every season. I killed 10 whitetails myself last season.

The bullets are new so it will definitely take a while for a good reputation to be built but, when a hunter tells me that little whitetails are making total shrapnel out of 180 grain slugs, I have to wonder about their quality. There may have been some inconsistency in the batch of plated bullets he purchased. Only time will tell if others have similar experiences.

Good Luck

Reloader

Shot a pair of does last year with the .270 130 grain Fusion loads and they did a nice job on both animals...distance was 80 and 140 yards or thereabouts and both were complete pass throughs. The fusions grouped as well as my handloads in my old pre-64 featherweight--right around an 1" to 1.25" with 10 shots. (Sorry, the only no BS 1/2" rifle I own is a Cooper M21 in .222 Remington).

I have used the 165 gr. Fusion bullets in my 300WSM and have had excellent results. They shoot in a cloverleaf at 100 yards(3 shots) and I have gotten complete passthrough on each animal. One was a big bodied Ibex and the bullet passed through both shoulders and out the off side. Ranges have been from 125 to 250 yards.

Hawkeye47

Last month I used the 180 Fusion in a 300 Win on Plains game.

Shot game from Springbok to Blue Wildebeest, and had excellent results.
I'd use them again, and certainly think they would be great on Whitetails.

Reloader I do not want to start a match but the Matchking has a pretty thick jacket on it. It does not use a thin J4 jacket like some maybe lead to think.

I helped a fella today check his zeros on a 270 pre 64 Winchester and a 30-06 Stainless Synthentic Remington 700. I shot both rifles at 100 yards. The Federal Fusion 130/270 and the 165/30-06 shot pretty good.


PS. the Matchking is NOT a hunting bullet. The people that MAKE it will tell you so. I have shot some game with the 168 MK in 308 [Federal Match]. I agree with Sierra.