308 win Federal fusion 180gr

[Leon123]

Good evening everyone hope everyone is doing well. I bought a Cz 557 eclipse 308 win and could only find 180gr Federal Fusion ammo at the shop so I bought a box. I did notice with the rounds feels very stif for a 308 feels more like the kick of a 30-06. Now I am wandering is it just the new rifle or do these rounds recoil more

 

[curtism1234]

The 180 will recoil more than the 150 or 165. I would chalk it up to that

 

[Trophyhunter01]

My 308 really likes 168 to 180 loads, help in the wind as well.

 

[BeeMaa]

Try shooting from hunting positions. Sitting, kneeling, standing with sticks (or unsupported) all will have less felt recoil than just pulling the trigger from the bench.

 

[TOBY458]

I've had terrible results on Whitetail deer with 30/06 Fusion bullets. To be fair, I was using 150gr, but I've had them blow up and fail to penetrate on two different deer. Just make sure you stay in the rib cage and not try to shoot through the shoulder.

 

[Trogon]

I've had terrible results on Whitetail deer with 30/06 Fusion bullets. To be fair, I was using 150gr, but I've had them blow up and fail to penetrate on two different deer. Just make sure you stay in the rib cage and not try to shoot through the shoulder.

@TOBY458 can you mention the distances you shot your two deer with Fusions? I have a hunting bud handloading those 150 grain bullets in his 308 Winchester and 30/06 but hasn't hunted with them yet. Just curious.

 

[TOBY458]

@TOBY458 can you mention the distances you shot your two deer with Fusions? I have a hunting bud handloading those 150 grain bullets in his 308 Winchester and 30/06 but hasn't hunted with them yet. Just curious.

One was around 50 yards. The other maybe 100. So maybe they would do better at longer ranges? Not sure.

 

[thriller]

I've had terrible results on Whitetail deer with 30/06 Fusion bullets. To be fair, I was using 150gr, but I've had them blow up and fail to penetrate on two different deer. Just make sure you stay in the rib cage and not try to shoot through the shoulder.

Interesting they have never been my favorite but never had that happen how big are the deer in your area??

 

[TOBY458]

Interesting they have never been my favorite but never had that happen how big are the deer in your area??

The two deer in question were probably 200 lbs or so. Both mature bucks.

 

[thriller]

The two deer in question were probably 200 lbs or so. Both mature bucks.

That explains it some, my deer average about 170lbs on the heavy side. A doe is around 100 on average

 

[TMac]

I've had terrible results on Whitetail deer with 30/06 Fusion bullets. To be fair, I was using 150gr, but I've had them blow up and fail to penetrate on two different deer. Just make sure you stay in the rib cage and not try to shoot through the shoulder.

I’ve had what I’d call poor performance with Fusions too. For example, 140 gr. out of a 280 on a cow elk at about 175 yards. Hit a rib going in and badly fragmented. Elk went about 50 yards and fell over. So a reasonably quick kill. But I lost confidence in that bullet on elk. Had my son hit a larger bone, who knows. Despite it being bonded/fused/plated or whatever, I consider it to perform more like a regular cup and core, even softer than some I suspect. This was early in their production, no idea if it has changed. No issues with them on deer, but in 30-06 I’d lean towards a 165 or 180 load for deer.

 

[curtism1234]

The fusion is not what I would call a premium bullet nor is it really marketed that way (although it's a little fuzzy). It's supposed to be bonded, but personally I would treat it like a tough cup core. That being said, I think it's a very good bullet for big whitetail deer and small elk sized game. Just because a bullet fragmented or failed to produce an out hole after hitting a shoulder does not mean a bullet failed. Often it does exactly what it supposed to do but we interpret it as failure because it didn't do what we wanted it to do.

 

[crs]

Book your experiences to learning why NOT to switch from Nosler PP bullets!

 

[sgt_zim]

I’ve had what I’d call poor performance with Fusions too. For example, 140 gr. out of a 280 on a cow elk at about 175 yards. Hit a rib going in and badly fragmented. Elk went about 50 yards and fell over. So a reasonably quick kill. But I lost confidence in that bullet on elk. Had my son hit a larger bone, who knows. Despite it being bonded/fused/plated or whatever, I consider it to perform more like a regular cup and core, even softer than some I suspect. This was early in their production, no idea if it has changed. No issues with them on deer, but in 30-06 I’d lean towards a 165 or 180 load for deer.

I would say no 150 gr for either of those calibers, if he's going to use the fusions.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Had a hunter leave quite a few boxes here in 180gr for 300Win Mag, and have to say that I was relatively impressed.
The ones that we managed to recover were never in great shape, so did not look like a bonded bullet at all, but they did the job. Never had one fail to break a shoulder bone or anything like that.
Penetration was good enough for Eland, Blue Wildebeest and Kudu all breaking the shoulder, but like I say, they might have had 50% weight retention.

 

[Ragman]

Put this on another Federal Fusion thread four or five years ago. Rattled in a whitetail and hit him in the shoulder with a quartering-to shot. Range was around 100 yards. Recovered him the next morning after tracking for 5 miles. He needed a finishing shot still. That being said I had no problems with the bullets fired into animals prior to this particular one and I used them with no problems on a big bull moose the next year. However I haven't bought any since.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I believe the jacket on the fusion is electro-plated to the lead core, much like a Speer gold dot pistol bullet.
Bonding will not make up for a thin jacket however.

 

[dchum]

My friend used my 30-06 shooting 168gr Fusions and shot a hog and dropped it. When we walked to the beast the boar got to his feet and we never saw him again. (This could have been a shot placement issue). I am leaning towards failure to penetrate after I just shot a 214 lbs whitetail with the same rifle and load. Had to shoot him once more to get to the vitals

Smashed right into the shoulder of the Texas buck and pushed the bullet low.
I will not be buying Fusion bullets again. Just my experience.

 

[mark-hunter]

Eclipse also has short barrel, i think 20.5 inch, this also increases recoil, so comparison to 30-06, sounds realistic to me. Nothing to worry about

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

I use the 308 with a lot of different bullets, between 130 and 200 gn
I usually prefer the heavier bullets to hunt in the dirty bushes specially for boars, a real hammer...
The lighter bullets are used to flat shots in a clear prairies...
But... yes! the heavier bullets kicks very hard in the shoulder! So, the words "the 308 is less kicker than the 3006"... mmmm.... not really hahahaha
About the bullet work.... there are a lot of factors to analyze! Some bullets works better at lower speed than others
I´m not shure about the federal fusion, I never use this bullet.