Federal Fusion Bullets/terminal performance

[Salavee]

Just wondering about any personal experience with these particular bullets.

Accuracy appears to be good but I have never used them on Game.

Would appreciate any info on terminal performance on Game . More than one example would be good from any hunting cartridge.

Thanks

[fishnguy]

I never got to use them myself, though I did buy (and still have) a few boxes, because I wanted to move away from lead. However, the feedback I heard from people that use them was excellent and that included .308, .30-06, and a couple of other calibers that I do not recall at the moment.

Edit: I should have added that I did shoot them out of my rifle and they grouped pretty well.

[501s]

Myself as well as several friends have shot these.

While these weren't the "Most Accurate" out of my 30-06, one thing they did do very well was kill deer. They were very lethal. I would still be shooting them if they were more accurate out of my Xbolt.

[ORVIS]

I shoot these out of my 30-06 and they group very well in the Browning ABolt. I have also harvest one bear with a .300wsm in 165g federal premium and it dropped in its tracks. I haven’t recovered any of the bullets out of deer shooting the 150g 30-06 all within 50-75 yards

[#195]

I got a nice Muley Buck with the 150gr fusions in my .308. Dropped it right were it stood. My rifle liked the cartridges, for accuracy. Took the lungs out major.

[raised by wolves]

Never recovered a Fusion from either my 308 or 30-06. Big wound channels with complete pass throughs on the animals. Only one shot required for each kill, including a deep chested elk.

[Alberta Bigbore]

The accuracy is wicked..


After trying many different bullets in many different guns...

ELD-X for me for mid to longer ranges.... Or with my thumpers. At close to mid range..... Nosler Partition.


But id take a Fusion over a lead free projectile

[CanuckShooter]

Very accurate out of a 338, but blew up bad on a bull elk, so I went off them thinking they were more suited to deer or black bears.

[JD848]

Know a guy that won't shoot anything else in his 7mm RM , He's taken a dozen moose ,20 deer, 8 bears.

I tried telling him about other bullets and he just starts laughing ,So i just get a good chuckle seeing his facial look .

Giver full blast , he shoots with me sometimes and they group very well .

I won't be afraid at all to use them ,shot placement is where it's at regardless of bullet .

JD

[Smoky buck]

I have only seen the results on whitetail but have no complaints. My wife runs fusions in her 7mm-08 and I also use them for my 30-30

[Twisted Canuck]

Originally Posted by JD848

Know a guy that won't shoot anything else in his 7mm RM , He's taken a dozen moose ,20 deer, 8 bears.

I tried telling him about other bullets and he just starts laughing ,So i just get a good chuckle seeing his facial look .

Giver full blast , he shoots with me sometimes and they group very well .

I won't be afraid at all to use them ,shot placement is where it's at regardless of bullet .

JD

That's a lot of game to shoot in the 17 years since Fusion became avaliable in Canada.

I haven't used it on game, but it groups good in my .338 Federal, maybe I'll try it on a deer next season.

[bushnell]

My go to ammo for my 270, use 130 grain. Have harvested a good number of deer with them

[Salavee]

Thanks guys ! It sounds like it cant be any worse or any better than a Cor Lokd or GK from days gone by. What I'm thinking is to use them for Moose & Elk. Anybody really sold on them for that purpose ? I have lots of other projectiles that I am normally happy with ..Woodleigh , Abonds, Partitions etc
But I'm really getting PO'd with current prices and want to back off on my current supply. I really like to practice with what I use for hunting . That is the reason for my question. The Game is usually Elk or Moose and from my scant research , it appears they may be well suited to that application in many Cartridges. My thing is the 30-06 up thru the mid-bores. Any input on the bigger ctdgs ?

[CanuckShooter]

Originally Posted by Salavee

Thanks guys ! It sounds like it cant be any worse or any better than a Cor Lokd or GK from days gone by. What I'm thinking is to use them for Moose & Elk. Anybody really sold on them for that purpose ? I have lots of other projectiles that I am normally happy with ..Woodleigh , Abonds, Partitions etc
But I'm really getting PO'd with current prices and want to back off on my current supply. I really like to practice with what I use for hunting . That is the reason for my question. The Game is usually Elk or Moose and from my scant research , it appears they may be well suited to that application in many Cartridges. My thing is the 30-06 up thru the mid-bores. Any input on the bigger ctdgs ?

See post #8...for moose and elk the AccuBonds or Partitions are much better.

[New2Elk]

I’ve shot them out of my 30-06 for target practise mostly although I did take 1 deer with them. I would also agree that I wouldn’t expect them to hold up as well on larger game with a larger calibre as well as some of the other bullets. My brother did use them on two moose with a 338 Win Mag though with no issues. Both one shot and full pass through.

[JD848]

Originally Posted by New2Elk

I’ve shot them out of my 30-06 for target practise mostly although I did take 1 deer with them. I would also agree that I wouldn’t expect them to hold up as well on larger game with a larger calibre as well as some of the other bullets. My brother did use them on two moose with a 338 Win Mag though with no issues. Both one shot and full pass through.

So chances are if your brother applied the same proper shot placement like the first 2 moose then it's must be good for the next hunts in the future .

[Phil McCracken]

Pretty cheap too.
Last fall, bought a box of .338WM at the Rocky Canadian Tire for $68 bucks...

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Salavee

Thanks guys ! It sounds like it cant be any worse or any better than a Cor Lokd or GK from days gone by. What I'm thinking is to use them for Moose & Elk. Anybody really sold on them for that purpose ? I have lots of other projectiles that I am normally happy with ..Woodleigh , Abonds, Partitions etc
But I'm really getting PO'd with current prices and want to back off on my current supply. I really like to practice with what I use for hunting . That is the reason for my question. The Game is usually Elk or Moose and from my scant research , it appears they may be well suited to that application in many Cartridges. My thing is the 30-06 up thru the mid-bores. Any input on the bigger ctdgs ?

My brother in B.C. has taken a few moose with 270 win fusions and he is happy with them. He is a close range hunter where most shots are under 100yards. He is only been using them for I think 6-7years

I was not there to see the results first hand but here is my niece’s first bull taken at 60yards with 270 fusions. The bull was down in under 50 yards. I will add her mule deer as well and it was a bang flop.

They can definitely do the job but really so can many other options





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[AlbertaAl]

My son shoots these in PHOTO with an older Browning bolt action.
He has shot whitetail and elk with it...clean kills.
I recovered a bullet from a cow elk and the retention was about 95%
going by memory.
These are nickel brass with plastic tip bullet.

[Twisted Canuck]

Those are Trophy Bonded Tip bullets, I've used them in my .338 Federal and they are an excellent design, but nothing like a Fusion bullet. Fusion is a lead core bonded bullet, TBT is bonded with copper shank. I also had 95% retention with a 200 gt TBT I shot my elk with in September.

[Salavee]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

Those are Trophy Bonded Tip bullets, I've used them in my .338 Federal and they are an excellent design, but nothing like a Fusion bullet. Fusion is a lead core bonded bullet, TBT is bonded with copper shank. I also had 95% retention with a 200 gt TBT I shot my elk with in September.

Thanks for that . I have some of the TBs and also took the plunge on some Terminal Ascent ammo for my -06 and .280 Ai
The reason I am interested in the Fusions was due to thier bonding process. Its a different process and sounds intrigueing, plus the price is right- comparitively speaking. Looks to me that they should be good to go on Game larger than Deer. Based on the feedback on here I think I'll try some for my mid-bores if I can find it.

[Twisted Canuck]

I think the simplest layman's term way to compare the two is the TBT is a tougher bullet, and will break bones and give good expansion and penetration, but needs to be driven a little faster. It's kind of a cross between a Partition and TSX. The Fusion is a modern take on a cup and core, softer and arguably more rapid expansion and will perform at slower speeds. The fusion bonding process is supposed to eliminate seperation of the cup and core. Looking at the construction and materials used in them, it is apparent why the Fusion would be more economical to produce then the TBT and other premium style bullets.

[AlbertaAl]

Found it...
140gr Federal Fusion from a 270 recovered from elk under 200 yards.
I knew I had it but wasn't sure where it was in the reloading room.
Photos speak for themselves

[Twisted Canuck]

This was a 200 gr TBT .338 Fed, retained 190 gr. Elk was shot at approximately 80 yards, penetrated 30 inches or so, broke rib. Velocity at that range would have been around 2550 fps +/-. I don't have any Fusions to compare to, as I have never hunted with them. I'd like to see some with first hand report.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by AlbertaAl

My son shoots these in PHOTO with an older Browning bolt action.
He has shot whitetail and elk with it...clean kills.
I recovered a bullet from a cow elk and the retention was about 95%
going by memory.
These are nickel brass with plastic tip bullet.

These are bad medicine. I have had quick kills and clean pass thrus. Dead animals and great wound channels. Too bad they quit making them.

[SouthWestRanger]

Originally Posted by sns2

These are bad medicine. I have had quick kills and clean pass thrus. Dead animals and great wound channels. Too bad they quit making them.

If you liked those the new terminal ascents aren’t bad either, I switched when the stopped making the trophy bonded and shot three deer and a moose with them this year. 2 Bang flops on deer, one deer double lung behind the shoulder took off in a death run but the blood trail Stevie wonder could follow. Moose made it 10 feet and piled up. Very happy!

[brewster29]

Fusion bullets are NOT a bonded cup and core design like a TBT or Accubond. Fusion bullets are electroplated copper over a lead core. The electroplate process fuses the copper to the lead. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to make a “bonded” bullet. You can think of it as a HD version of Berry’s or Campro pistol bullets.

Having said that, I think the Terminal Ascent is a great design and I would love to find component bullets to load.

[Salavee]

Originally Posted by brewster29

Fusion bullets are NOT a bonded cup and core design like a TBT or Accubond. Fusion bullets are electroplated copper over a lead core. The electroplate process fuses the copper to the lead. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to make a “bonded” bullet. You can think of it as a HD version of Berry’s or Campro pistol bullets.

Having said that, I think the Terminal Ascent is a great design and I would love to find component bullets to load.

Yes. I think you are bang on about the Terminal Ascents. Seems like Federal is going "all in" on these . Available Only as Loaded ammo now . Initially Federal said they would be available as a component, but, I guess, changed thier mind.
I bit the bullet and bought a few boxes of available ammo just to see how they performed...280 ai 30-06. Unobtainium in .338 and up so far. Same with the Fusions.

[Twisted Canuck]

Since we wandered a bit off the Fusion topic anyway, this is a good article I found explaining the evolution of the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw to the TBT to Terminal Ascent. A good read.

https://www.shootingtimes.com/editor...-review/375125

[New2Elk]

Originally Posted by JD848

So chances are if your brother applied the same proper shot placement like the first 2 moose then it's must be good for the next hunts in the future .

I would have to agree. My previous note should have said “I wouldn’t have expected them to …” but after my brother’s 2 moose, I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t use them for that purpose. As long as you do your part of the job, the bullet will do its.