Slo-bo

I tried running a search on this ammo here and came up with nothing. If it has been discussed, humor me and point me to whereI might read it. I reload all my own ammo, so I have never used the Fusion, but a friend of mine used it on elk this fall, and the bullet core and jacket completely seperated. The ad for fusion reads in part,, andI quote, " Fusion's lethal punch comes from bonding the jacket to the core in a special process at the molecular level. This completely eliminates jacket and core seperation..". When he contacted Federal about it, this was the reply he recieved.

("thoughts would bethat this bullet was specifically designed for deer and I never recommend it for larger game. I’m surprised the dealer did not inform you orpossibly he also did not know. All advertisements and packaging indicate this. Im sincerely glad that it turned out well but I would use a tougher ,deeper penetrating bullet like the Barnes triple Shock X, Nosler Partition for optimal penetration and weight retention.)

HUH? What didI miss here? Their very own ad (at least in the Cabela's catalog thatI looked it up in) says nothing of the sort. Maybe it says something to this effect on the actual box, as I said,I don't have or use it, so I don't know. Regardless, IMO, it is not up to a dealer to know or tell you what ammo to use on what game, half of the clerks that work in the chain sporting goods store don't know a gun from a granola bar in the first place. And secondly, if you took their promo to heart, you should be able to shoot any animal with a .243 Fusion, and even if the bullet only went a third of the way through, it still would not seperate. Bear with me here, I'm not suggesting anybody ought to go elk hunting with a .243, but if one would belive what they say about their ammo, they certainly should not expect trouble when huntingelk with a 30-06.I am going to contact Federal myself just for my own interest, and do a little more research into this, mostly just wondering what experiences any of you may have had with this ammo, either good or bad as far as bullet performance goes, especially on big game. I'm interested in bullet performance only, accuracy is not in question here.

Colorado Bob

Not to start a pissing contest here but the box of Federal Fusion --I have it in front of me as I type this. It has whitetail deer antlers on 3 sides of the box. On the back of the box it talks about the bullet. It says "Inside the first fusion-energized deer bullet" Further in the details of the bullet again "Achieves combination of expansion& strength never before avaible in a deer rifle projectile".

But I agree with you that a fusion bullet should have held together. What was he using 30/06? CB

James B

I quit reloading for my 270 when I tried the Fusions. I won't be reloading for anything that I can get Fusions for. Every animal I have hit with the Fusion has gone less than 25 yards. All did good but not excessive Damage. I am sold. Federal does list them as good for Elk as well as deer.

BrutalAttack

All of the ads I've ever seen have only talked about it as a deer bullet.

However, I know the engineer that designed the Fusion and he used it on an elk this year and it performed as intended.

I've heard mixed reviews.

Oh and there has been threads in this forum and in the guns forum on this subject.

younggun308

If he hunted elk with a .243, than he's an IDIOT no matter what you could say. A .243 of any variation is not going to do the job for an elk, but a 30-06 would be just fine, but he might have used a way too small amount of power, the amount he uses for deer.

Slo-bo

Younggun. Do me the courtesy of re-reading the original post, slowly this time. There was no suggestion of elk hunting with a .243, only a question and discussion here on advertised bullet performance.
CB..thanks for the box info, as I say, I don't use the stuff and do not have a box in front of me to read. Someone who was ordering from a place like Cabela's would not have that info, only what is in the catalog ad, which would lead one to believe that this would be a great bullet on game....which I'm not saying it isn't, just that what I saw did not impress me. The gun used was a Rem 700 in 30-06, with a 180 gr.
James B...I'm not looking to step on toes, just looking for anyone with personal experience or information with this load, thanks for the post also. Have you used this on game bigger than deer, and if so, did you still have good bullet performance?
BrutalAttack...you might be the one to shed some light on this for me as well, if you know the guy that designed the bullet. Since one can order this ammo from,(I believe, I don't have the info in front of me right now), .243 right up to .338, I would think that one could assume from (again), reading the Fusion ad in the Cabela's catalog, that the bullet would hold together whether you choose to hunt whitetails with the .243, or bigger game with any of the larger calibers. Let's (please) don't any of us start the whole Ford vs Chevy thing as far as suitable elk calibers, regardless of what anyone's opinions are on the 30-06, it has accounted for many elk. So, my question remains, should this bullet, in this caliber, on an elk, have held together as it is claimed they will? And is the actual bullet,(other than weight, obviously), for the .243 designed or made any differently than one for the .338?
I am not looking to start arguments, only get some info from some of you who might have experience with this ammo, thanks.

pintailhomes

I think deer sized game and structure would be the optimum for the bullet. They do push the Barnes bullets for larger game.

skeeter 7MM

No first hand experience with fusion as I reload nor have any desire to try them. I was under the impression marketed for deer. The price point wouldsupport that from what I have seen locally. Then again other "deer" bullets are used to harvest larger than deer game, many don't find them optimal but in the end the user must deceide for themselves. I guess your buddy will be looking elsewhere for his next elk projectile, which is howsome come to the realization that some bullets areintended/better for certain applications.

James B

Layne Simpson had an artical a few months back about Premium bullets. In that artical he listed the Fusion as a very good bullet for Elk as well as deer. So far I have only used it on big mule deer. This said, I have read crappy reports on every bullet made on these forums with the possible exception of the TXS. Things happen when bullets hit animals, some of the things are good and some not so good. One thing is for sure, no bullet will ever do every job just right every time. Its not just unlikely, its impossible. I will continue to use the Fusion because it works for me and the science behind its development is sound. In Federals tests, the jacket will not seperate from the core,

BrutalAttack

I'll probably still consider the Fusion strickly a deer/antelope bullet. Everything I've ever read only speaks to it as a deer bullet. To me, the fact that people have killed elk with it isn't really a factor. There are other, proven designs out there for elk that can be used until more information is available. I don't want to risk seperation or premature expansion on longer shots on elk so that is why I personally use Partitions and TBBC, to me they are the most proven. I've also have great results from the Remington Accutip boat tail on elk, though not at long range.