Mark reviews an efficient soft-pointed bullet from Federal that has great penetration and expansion; accurate and consistent, there's nothing not to like!
A bit of history
The roots of the Federal Fusion bullet go back to the technology that Speer developed when producing their Gold Dot handgun ammunition. They use an electroplating process to ‘grow’ a jacket over the lead core, building it up a molecule at a time. The process is similar to that used to chrome plate metalwork, except the copper jacket on these bullets is much thicker. This results in a bond between the lead core and the jacket that could not be tighter, as the two metals have effectively become one. The next part of the process is arguably the most impressive; the bullet is ‘pre-expanded’ and then reformed back into its original shape, programming the metal so that it retains a memory of an expansion pattern that it will repeat on contact with a target.
Federal and Speer, who are sister companies, then teamed up to bring the new bullet to the market in a new line of rifle ammunition called Fusion. The bullets have a long sleek design, with a high ballistic coefficient, suitable for shooting at longer ranges while still being effective at shorter distances. In laboratory tests Federal State that the bullets demonstrate expansion of up to 250% and weight retention of 90%, which are both impressive statistics.
It’s offered in a wide range of calibres, including .338 Winchester Magnum and the .308 Winchester tested here, so it can be used on a variety of game.
.308 Winchester
The .308 Winchester Federal Fusion ammunition carries a 150grain Fusion soft pointed bullet with a ballistic coefficient of .414. The published Muzzle Velocity is a healthy 2820fps and Muzzle Energy is 2648ftlb. At 100yards ME is still a very satisfactory 2252ftlb, so more than capable of dealing with even the largest deer species in the UK.
Performance
The intention is obviously, a bullet that both expands and penetrates to bring down the targets effectively. Although testing on game wasn’t possible during the review, accounts online all suggest that this is an extremely efficient round. Bullets recovered from soft wet ground had doubled in diameter and, although some very small fragments were missing, the bullet pretty much remained whole.
The .308 Winchester is generally pretty manageable when it comes to recoil but this particular ammunition is just a little more ‘lively’ than your average factory load in this calibre. Not at all unmanageable, once you get used to it, but it is certainly no slouch.
From a 26 ½” barrel with a 1 in 12 twist the actual muzzle velocity averaged 2750fps, with little deviation, and accuracy for a 3 round group was just over one inch.
Conclusion
There is nothing not to like about this ammunition. Accuracy wise it is more than up to the job and it is a really nice round to shoot. As well as the 150gr version on test there are 165gr and 180gr offerings in this calibre to suit different guns and applications and they all carry the very impressive Fusion bullet.
RRP: £30.99
Contact: GMK Ltd