I bought some 416 rem to get brass and try the fusion bullets as you can't buy them to reload.

I didn't have time or the right set up to do accuracy testing, so I just did iron site in and caught one in plain water.

the target: two, 30 inch, plastic containers filled with water.

Distance: 20 yards

Results: It fully penetrated and destroyed the first 30" container. It punctured the front wall of the 2nd container and was found resting in the back 3/4 of the 2nd container. So at least 30" of penetration.
I was a little disappointed when I found the bullet. I was no wider than typical .375 cal bullets I've recovered and pealed way back past the heal of the bullet. It did weigh 290gn for about 73% retention. I think this would make a good round for NA and plains game, but not dangerous game. for the price, can't complain too much.

here it is in between a .375 TSX and Partition


And next to a .416 370gn North Fork with both the heals lined up to show how much it actually pealed back

At least it didn't separate.

I know from testing defensive handgun bullets that water is much harder on bullets than ballistic gel. I can't speak to big animals and big bones.

gohip2000,
I do not know crap about Federal Fusion. You made me divide 290 by 0.73 to figure out that you are testing 400-grain bullets.

As Dan416 says, water is very hard on bullets at initial impact. As velocity increases, resistance of water increases exponentially. Beyond a certain velocity it is harder than my erection.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours. Here is a simple set-up anybody can do to stress a bullet:



This is especially good to see at what minimum velocity a bullet will expand.
Slow your bullet down to 1600 fps impact velocity in water, and if it expands, that is good performance on the bottom end.
Top end: No limits.

2 and 3 bucket penetration results with .395/340-grain GSC HV at 1600, 2100, and 2600 fps impact:



Sorta looks like a Walterhog, eh?



3 feet of water saved a lot of GI's from German machineguns at Normandy on D-Day.

I know I can't completely judge a bullet on water tests but I've done the same with a frames, partitions, tsx, and hornady interlocks and they all held up better in water. I wouldn't say this bullet failed but I really wouldn't feel comfortable using it on super heavy game like buffalo etc...

I've never heard any reports on this ammo so that why I decided to try it.

so do you lay the buckets sideways with the caps on or stand them upright to catch your bullets. I've been trying to find a cheap way to catch them without spending a lot of money on containers

You lay the buckets end to end, with the lids on and filled with pond water and tadpoles.
They fit tightly locked together end-to-end, laying on their sides in the trough.
Bottom of first bucket rests snuggly on lid of second, etc.
The buckets and lids are designed for stacking vertically.
They stack horizontally very well also:
Note the pre-fab deck step hangers used to hold some 4x4 beams to make a bucket trough, as short or long as you like.
3 buckets will stop most softs, so better use 4 buckets for softpoint catching.

Buckets lock together in a train. O-ring-gasket lids are air and water tight. Lids about $2 or less, buckets about $5 or less.
Testing soft points, you will only destroy the first bucket entirely,
and just poke holes in the lid and bottom of next one, maybe make the lid pop off,
and maybe just poke a hole in the lid of the third bucket and dent the bottom of it if the bullet stops there.
If lid and bucket bottoms are merely perforated by bullet holes, duct tape the hole and use the bucket & lid again.

I was using this and the "Iron Water Board Buffalo" before Doc M in South Carolina started doing everything for us.

Great sytem. thanks