Federal Fusion

[CNY Yote Hunter]

So I went to the range this past weekend and pulled the 300 wsm out of the safe for a bear hunt in the coming weeks. Went to the store for ammo as I have never shot this gun before and bought some 165 federal fushion as that is all they had. Went home and loaded some more with brass I had prior bought but yet to load. Loaded 40 rounds .005 increments from the lands to find the sweet spot over some H4350. Range day, put the scope on, used the fushion to dial in and then started with the loads. Best hand load with 180 accubonds yielded .6 moa, all 5 shot groups with barrel cooling in between groups so no problems there. Had brought an extra 5 rounds of the federal fusions with me and decided to see how those grouped, mind boggling! 5 shot group that measured .38! Maybe it was just a fluke but these have now peaked my interest as the price was very reasonable imo. Just curious if anyone has any experience with these rounds on black bear/ elk at ranges of 3-400 yards? Thanks for the input ahead of time... Gun used was a Savage 110 Bear hunter as well if anyone is wanting to know

 

[cohunt]

They are a "bonded" bullet and usually perform very well on game

 

[338weatherby]

So I went to the range this past weekend and pulled the 300 wsm out of the safe for a bear hunt in the coming weeks. Went to the store for ammo as I have never shot this gun before and bought some 165 federal fushion as that is all they had. Went home and loaded some more with brass I had prior bought but yet to load. Loaded 40 rounds .005 increments from the lands to find the sweet spot over some H4350. Range day, put the scope on, used the fushion to dial in and then started with the loads. Best hand load with 180 accubonds yielded .6 moa, all 5 shot groups with barrel cooling in between groups so no problems there. Had brought an extra 5 rounds of the federal fusions with me and decided to see how those grouped, mind boggling! 5 shot group that measured .38! Maybe it was just a fluke but these have now peaked my interest as the price was very reasonable imo. Just curious if anyone has any experience with these rounds on black bear/ elk at ranges of 3-400 yards? Thanks for the input ahead of time... Gun used was a Savage 110 Bear hunter as well if anyone is wanting to know

Only experience I had with them was 2 MOA groups! Bought for brass only and never purchased again. Glad they shoot in yours (mine was a 700). As for the bullet, I bet they are fine but the 180 AB's would be better.

 

[CNY Yote Hunter]

Only experience I had with them was 2 MOA groups! Bought for brass only and never purchased again. Glad they shoot in yours (mine was a 700). As for the bullet, I bet they are fine but the 180 AB's would be better.

Weird how certain guns like certain pills!! It may have been just a fluke as this was my first experience with them. It was almost embarrassing seeing cheap factory ammo whoop some handloads the way those did lol. Thanks for the reply

 

[BillNye]

I have a 300 WSM from christensen that absolutely loves them. Most groups between 0.4 and 0.8 at 100. Almost as good as my best handloads so you're definitely not the only person a bit ashamed about getting beat by cheap factory ammo

 

[Stammster]

I'd go back and buy all the remaining stock with the same lot number.

IMO the Fusion bullet is one of the most underrated bullets out there. Basically you are getting a bonded bullet for a cup and core price.

Elk and bear at those ranges will be one shot dead if you place them right. I shoot almost exclusively 165 gr out of my 30-06, which is just a tad slower than the WSM.

 

[LVJ76]

The cheaper ammo with Fusion, Corelokts and Interlock bullets group half MOA or better in many rifles including two of mine, but yet we try to find great loads with more expensive bullets. Hilarious

 

[Deleted member 107796]

This is no fluke. When a rifle likes these and there are many reviews to support this, these essentially electroplated bullets, fly very well and although they don't expand as much as others, they are tough enough to stay intact. I believe this 165gn fusion would easily kill a black bear. Good luck!

 

[DNADave]

My 7mm RM loves the 150gr Fusions. Usually a 0.75 MOA or less out of a gun made in 1979.

 

[cohunt]

I bought a bunch of the 150gr (.270)pulls years ago for cheap and never tried reloading for them yet, but i know the 95, 115, and 130 grainers shoot great in my 6.8spc's -- the 7mag factory loads are pretty good too.

 

[mongo4567]

My 308 loved them, about 1/2 moa. I wasn't happy with the expansion on tiny central TX deer....they blew right through like an fmj. I would prefer cheap rem corelokts. I mostly use sst, nbt, or tgk now. I did have one drop a 300lb pig drt at 125 yards...both shoulders and keep going.

 

[Joefrazell]

I use to shoot those through my 25-06 before I started reloading. They are great hunting bullets if you want a pass threw. I shot a few mule deer and one black bear and had pass threws everytime. Shot the broadside bear in the shoulder joint and it blew right threw both shoulders. Exit was about the size of a walnut. That bullet stays together very well. Impact velocity was around 3k fps.

 

[FEENIX]

So I went to the range this past weekend and pulled the 300 wsm out of the safe for a bear hunt in the coming weeks. Went to the store for ammo as I have never shot this gun before and bought some 165 federal fushion as that is all they had. Went home and loaded some more with brass I had prior bought but yet to load. Loaded 40 rounds .005 increments from the lands to find the sweet spot over some H4350. Range day, put the scope on, used the fushion to dial in and then started with the loads. Best hand load with 180 accubonds yielded .6 moa, all 5 shot groups with barrel cooling in between groups so no problems there. Had brought an extra 5 rounds of the federal fusions with me and decided to see how those grouped, mind boggling! 5 shot group that measured .38! Maybe it was just a fluke but these have now peaked my interest as the price was very reasonable imo. Just curious if anyone has any experience with these rounds on black bear/ elk at ranges of 3-400 yards? Thanks for the input ahead of time... Gun used was a Savage 110 Bear hunter as well if anyone is wanting to know

All it matters is your own personal experience and if you're happy/satisfied with the end result.

 

[ndking1126]

I doubt it was a fluke. I've seen match ammo level accuracy out of many rifles with it. It's my go-to ammo for hunting everything I have access to.

At your distances, the only concern I personally would have would be an odd angled shot having to go through lots of elk bone, like shoulders or spine. I'm convinvced the other 98% of shots its more than capable. I dont have personal experience with it and elk, so maybe itd be fine for the 2% also. I just dont know. If you hunt elk somewhat regularly and passing on the toughest of shots isnt a huge deal, I'd say go for it. If this is a once in a decade hunt that cost a pretty penny and you were less likely to pass on that oddly angled shoulder shot, I'd recomend you step it up to a tougher bullet.

Final note, when I chrono'ed them with my 270, the 130s had a spread of 4 fps. Granted, that was only 4 shots and not enough to determine SD definitely, but shooting them out to 600 yards, my spread is more horizontal than vertical, so I'm very confident in them that way also.