308 with Fusion 150gr for plainsgame

[Fastrig]

Taking son to East Cape for plainsgame talked him into buying a 308 sighted in with Fusion 150gr ammo looked at ballistics not much difference from 165 gr a lot of reports on the 165.

My vote is a big no...the Fusion ammo is good for the range, white tails, smaller game but not for an Africa hunt. Bullet performance is low mid grade, IMO. 308 win great caliber with good bullets. I’d go with the Barnes TTSX 168 grain or the Norma Bondstrike 180 grain ammo. Either is far superior to the Federal Fusion ammo. Federal does make other premium options in 308 win that are better than their Fusion line.

 

[Philip Glass]

I’d go with Barnes. My 2cents

 

[RayAtkinson]

Id suggest the Nosler partition or Accubond in either the 150 or 165 gr. bullet...I prefer the 165 gr. as it gains on the 150 out there at 250 to 300 yards, hits a tad harder and shoots flatter all things equal. lighter bullets are impressive up close, but lose velocity faster..but either one works in my experience. I don't care to go heavier in a .308, save the 180s and 200s for the 30-06 and up in my opine.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Id suggest the Nosler partition or Accubond in either the 150 or 165 gr. bullet...I prefer the 165 gr. as it gains on the 150 out there at 250 to 300 yards, hits a tad harder and shoots flatter all things equal. lighter bullets are impressive up close, but lose velocity faster..but either one works in my experience. I don't care to go heavier in a .308, save the 180s and 200s for the 30-06 and up in my opine.

@RayAtkinson
I tried some 168 grain Sierra match king in my son's 308 using 3 well known accuracy loads. I would have gotten a better group for 9 shots with a load of 000 buck shot out at 50 yards.
So I will stick with 150s for half inch groups and 125s at an inch and a half lower than the 150 and less than an inch.
Bob

 

[Areaonereal]

Factory Norma 150 or preferring 165 gr in the 308, accurate and reliable bullet..Norma Oryx for plainsgame in Africa...a proven combination. My experience in the 30 06, has been reliable on Zebra and Wildebeast. Norma FPS as advertised is true to fact, unlike many others. 308......Norma ammo at 2750 FPS on the 165gr is perfect for plains game to 300 yds m/l. Nosler Partition or Accubond is another alternative with equal results. I have used both with reliable results on over 100 head of Plains game.

 

[LivingTheDream]

I would not use Fusion, I had performance issues with it. Go with one of the more premium bullets.

 

[fourfive8]

No matter bonded or how how accurate it may be, the Federal Fusion is not my idea of a tough, premium hunting bullet. It's construction looks nearly identical to a Remington Ultra Bonded Core-Lokt which proved to be, by experience, a frangible bullet not at all worthy the title of a premium, tough big game bullet. Both (and others of similar design) are simple, cheap to make budget bullets that are a thin jacketed cup and core design where a thin jacket is bonded to a lead core. Almost as frangible as any identical non-bonded.

You'd be much better off with a TSX or Nosler Partition or A-Frame or Scirocco or TBBC.

Pic of sectioned Fusion bullet- tells the story. You can study sectioned bullets before even trying them on game and come pretty close to predicting terminal performance. Compare this pic to other sectioned truly premium hunting bullets. Not hard to predict or figure out. No mystery.

 

[Fastrig]

Id suggest the Nosler partition or Accubond in either the 150 or 165 gr. bullet...I prefer the 165 gr. as it gains on the 150 out there at 250 to 300 yards, hits a tad harder and shoots flatter all things equal. lighter bullets are impressive up close, but lose velocity faster..but either one works in my experience. I don't care to go heavier in a .308, save the 180s and 200s for the 30-06 and up in my opine.

Give the new Norma Bondstike a go in 180 grain....normally use the lighter 168 grain Barnes but was impressed with these new Norma rounds. Grouped really tight at 200 yards, on a somewhat windy day, when I tried them.

 

[Zambezi]

Six years after the thread started and three pages long. The OP never got a word in edgeways but hell's teeth did he get every opinion on every bullet and load!

Wonder how the "dreaded" Fusions worked...?

 

[whitetail]

Six years after the thread started and three pages long. The OP never got a word in edgeways but hell's teeth did he get every opinion on every bullet and load!

Wonder how the "dreaded" Fusions worked...?

I was thinking the same thing haha!!

As I’ve said previously in this post- but maybe I’m just lucky ‘cause I ain’t no rocket scientist when it comes to ammo and ballistics- but I have had 1 shot/1 kills on ALL of my plains game taken in Africa with the Fusion 165 grain in my .308 and as a few friends of mine on this forum know (who are very very active on AH)- I’ve hunted many different species of PG (my house is looking like a museum now lol so this isn’t my first rodeo). This is even at multiple distances including a red hartebeest at 320 yards (heart shot). That being said- I AM NOT someone who attempts shots greater than 350-400+ yards. I do not want to incite arguments on here- so I’ll only briefly comment, but in Africa (as opposed to western US)- part of “making a plan” is getting in close. It is not dialing in at 800+ yards. I think most PHs on here would agree. At those distances, I would absolutely agree that bullet performance of the Fusion would be sub-par to your better loads.

Other than one outright miss on an enormous free range impala in Zim on Lake Kariba last October (which I’m still upset with myself about- I didn’t take the time for a stable rest on a boulder- but you live and learn from those experiences, right?), the Federal Fusion has served me well. As I’ve also stated previously, it’s ALL about proper shot placement. That’s my 2 cents again. I know several will disagree with me on here as they have previously but the ammo has worked fine for me on multiple trips over...

 

[Zambezi]

Yeah I hear you regarding some remarks or funny looks when it comes ammo choice. You should see the looks and near fatal reactions when I tell people that my Musgrave 30.06 loves 180 grain PMP ammo!

Horses for courses. Unless you use the wrong ammo for the wrong application one can hardly go wrong these days... very rare to get a bad bullet.

Right bullet
Right distance
Right placement
Right calibre

 

[Ragman]

I've used Federal Fusions quite a bit in my .308 with good success including two moose...one very large bull that I shot that ran 40 yards before tipping over backwards and a young bull that my father shot with my rifle that ran about the same distance before going down. I also shot a black bear, a mulie buck and more than a few whitetails without any problems. But ONE and only one bullet gave me problems. I rattled in a whitetail buck that stopped quartering to me at 85 yards or so. I put one on his shoulder and heard the bullet hit. I expected him to collapse on the spot, but he took off and was over the hill before I could get another shot off. As the light was starting to fade, I started tracking right away and shortly spotted a buck standing in the bush and licking his shoulder. He saw me almost at the same time and took off straight away from me, so I took the only shot I had...his butt. Now there was a good blood trail, but he still stayed ahead of me and covered two miles before it got dark. Next morning I tracked him for another three miles before I found him and shot him in his bed. Now as I said previously, this is the only Federal Fusion bullet that ever gave me problems and the rest performed as they should, but I have since started using a different brand of factory ammo. Here is a pic of the bullet that hit the buck in the shoulder and had very poor penetration and zero expansion.

 

[Fastrig]

I was thinking the same thing haha!!

As I’ve said previously in this post- but maybe I’m just lucky ‘cause I ain’t no rocket scientist when it comes to ammo and ballistics- but I have had 1 shot/1 kills on ALL of my plains game taken in Africa with the Fusion 165 grain in my .308 and as a few friends of mine on this forum know (who are very very active on AH)- I’ve hunted many different species of PG (my house is looking like a museum now lol so this isn’t my first rodeo). This is even at multiple distances including a red hartebeest at 320 yards (heart shot). That being said- I AM NOT someone who attempts shots greater than 350-400+ yards. I do not want to incite arguments on here- so I’ll only briefly comment, but in Africa (as opposed to western US)- part of “making a plan” is getting in close. It is not dialing in at 800+ yards. I think most PHs on here would agree. At those distances, I would absolutely agree that bullet performance of the Fusion would be sub-par to your better loads.

Other than one outright miss on an enormous free range impala in Zim on Lake Kariba last October (which I’m still upset with myself about- I didn’t take the time for a stable rest on a boulder- but you live and learn from those experiences, right?), the Federal Fusion has served me well. As I’ve also stated previously, it’s ALL about proper shot placement. That’s my 2 cents again. I know several will disagree with me on here as they have previously but the ammo has worked fine for me on multiple trips over...

I don't think most of the replies are saying the Fusion ammo won't work, but rather are in the context of is it the best option to take for a PG you are dropping ten grand on. My answer, in that context, is No. If I'm here in the Texas Hill Country going after a white tail that doesn't cost me squat if I don't recover him, then would use Fusion ammo all day long...and have and will probably again. If I'm dropping a ton of money to fly half way around the planet to hunt an animal that's going to cost me $2500-$5000 plus dollars whether it is recovered or not when I pull that trigger, then I'm going to spend the extra $20-$40 a box and take premium ammo that gives me the best chance of dropping the critter and recovering him. Ammo choice though is like choosing between a Ford or Chevy, to each his own.