EKM.... Slo-Bo was there and I can prove it.

Giggly Games aside,
Whether he (or you) were there or not, these two don't square up.

EKM,

Slo-Bo and Champlain Islander were with me on the hunt and know what I was shooting. Slo-Bo is just joking around.

EKM.. Iwas indeed just having a bit of fun. So many people only half read a post and then rush to get their own post in, that it sometimes becomes comical, and VERY obvious that they haven't taken the time to read and understand it.It was the same with this thread, I was just making light of it.Everything else on the thread is for real, I was just"funnin"Rob a bit with my last post. Sorry, I just have a hard time taking ALL of life too seriously! Perhaps you ought to consider not taking everything so seriously also...who knows, you might live longer.

No the back half isn't solid but Brutal already addressed that. Like I said, I've seen it too many times and there IS a definite difference. But it's something you don't always see looking at it once. You have to see it several times to realize they perform differently. If dead is dead to you and meat damage isn't a concern, keep using the plain janes.

It's one of those things....it's like a ladder, one step leads to another and you end up at a single destination.

Q1 - Does a "premium" (Partition, Barnes X) bulletretain it's weightbetter than a "plain jane" (core-lok't) bullet?
A1 - Proven, undisputable research says yes it does.

Then,

Q2 - What happens to the "lost" weight? Where does it go?
A2 - It fragments into smaller pieces. Since the loss is generally greater with plain jane, especially with heavy bone,these smaller pieces can have a greater "grenade" effect in the way those pieces distribute inside an animal. Sometimes these pieces break into what is called "shards" which are sometimes only detectable once the meat is being cosumed.Athough this is not too common it has happened to me and quite frankly sucks.

Then,

Q3 -What is the effect of this fragmenting?
A3 - Fragmenting ruins meat.

Then,

Q4 - Is all ruined meat visible?
A4 - Well yes and no. The heavy damage where extreme shock took place is visible once the hide is removed. This is noticeable due to blood vessels breaking.(Bruising) But some meat damage is not detecable until the animal is butchered. This can be bruising between muscle groups that wasn't visible until those groups were seperated. There can be "channeling" were a bullet fragment creates a channel right through the middle of say a rump roast.(This sometimes does not have a bruise along the channel.)I would cut that out due to the "shard" that could still be in there. I've seen fragments enter intestines, stomachs, and other organs to ruin the surrounding meat.

Trust me there is a difference. I've learned that it's true some things are over priced but in general you get what you pay for. I'm not trying to argue with anyone but there is a difference,believe it or not.

Sounds to me like the fusion is not an elk bullet regardless of what they say.

As stated in a few replies back and forth, I recall them advertising it as a deer sized animal cartridge bullet, but I think that was in a Field and Stream or Outdoor Life or one of the other advertisement magazines that include two articles for filler. Sorry to hear about your results on an elk with the bullet.

Now as to first hand experience, I have some: This year I wanted to shoot a deer with my cowboy guns, so I opted for my 38/357 Lever Gun. Marlin 357 Carbine to be exact. Had the gun sighted in at 100 yards dead on, open sights with the 357 Fusion's. Ended up shooting a large bodied Mule Deer Doe at 65 yards, shot when right where I wanted, punched the lungs, she went 5 yards and was down. I was VERY impressed with the results. Complete penetration and very decent wound channel, exit. Took one rib completly out and part of a second one as well.

Now about other bullet performance, Using my 338win mag and 225 Barnes TSX handloaded shot a cow elk, complete penetration at 394 yards. Dropped the elk where it stood, rolled down hill 5 yards. Dad shot his with same loads out of his 338, and we actually recovered the bullet in the hide under the skin on the back side. But she went about 20yards before going down. If I can get pictures I will post the pics in a different thread maybe.