Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Federal Fusions and shoulders?

I am curious if anyone has run this bullet through a deer's shoulder and if so, the result?

My son shot a doe this past weekend with the 95gr Federal Fusion in 243 Win. It went through both lungs and exited. The doe pogo-sticked around for about 20yds and died. I have no issue with how it performed. Just curious as to a different shot placement.

Bunches. With the 62gr 223 no less. They do just fine. Normally get both scapulas and gets caught under the skin on the offside.

A 150 from a 270 Win will blow through no problem.

My sons and i have used the .243 fusions on a truck load of deer over the last 10 years or so and have had several shoulder shots during that time where it passed through both shoulders.
we have experienced zero issues to date. i have yet to recover one .243 federal fusion bullet from any deer we have shot. but exit holes all indicate that they stayed together and expanded as desired.

It'll break bone on both sides & you'll (likely) lose both front shoulders to "bloodshot" meat & bone fragment mess !

If you shoot high shoulder, you'll lose some back strap too.

Great bullet choice for the "little big gun".

It's put lots of meat in our freezers, but we try to stay away from bone, where possible.

I have. It's result has been 10 or so VERY dead deer. I have recovered two. Both juuuuuuuust sticking through the hide.

The last deer I shot with one, a doe at 90'ish yards, dropped so fast I didn't know I hit her. My son saw her go down and said she never even twitched. That was a .280 Rem and 140gr FF.

I have shot most of the deer in the last 6-7 years with them. Most are 165gr .308 or .30-06. All died very quick. I don't remember any running from a federal fusion.

No deer yet but I've taken probably 25 antelope with my .243 shooting the 95 grain Fusion and have had really good results. I shot a buck 3 or 4 years ago at about 170 yards and hit him a bit high in the spine. He dropped at the shot, when I skinned him his spine was smashed and I did recover the bullet - but I think its the only one I've ever found, all others where in one side out the other. The rifle I shoot really shoots them well so no complaints from me.

Same experience with Fusions in .223. Picked a box up on a whim a few years ago and have found the load to be very accurate with good performance in everything from bolt guns to AR's on everything from deer to coyote to fox to armadillos. If I was forced to shoot only factory ammo in the .223 I think the 62 Fed Fusion would be my choice.

Sounds like a good bullet. I have some 140 trophy Bonded bullets in 7mm I need to load and try.

Very well then! Pretty unanimous as this place goes. If I think he needs to, I won't hesitate to tell him to put it on it's shoulder. Thanks!

My daughter has run two through each of a bull elk's shoulders. They were each broken. When i went to take off each of them i could pretty much flip the leg up before any cutting.

150s out of a 308 240 yard shot.

Good bullet but I don't typically shoot for the shoulder but just behind through the lungs. Use the Fusion in .30-06 and .280

I did, but it was a handloaded .375 235 gr. Hotcore...sooooo. it worked.

243 through several deer. Longest was 264ysrds through ribs and off shoulder. One jump and collapse. Buck got his horns hung in a vine and expired with his nose pointing up. Looked like a scene from a horror movie...,blood dripping from the trees overhead. Those a good factory pills for the $.

If you like to shoot deer through the lungs with factory loads, you might want to try the Winchester/Olin Deer Season XP.

Very accurate and fast expanding.

150 grain 30-06 goes through deer shoulders and exits for me.

In all liklihood this will be the last year I use factory rounds out of this rifle. Just didn't have time to get a load worked up. Now I have the brass and will find a load with Noslers of some flavor for next year. Leaning hard towards the BT or Accubond.

Thanks everyone for the info.

Used them when I left my reloads at home. Took a whitetail doe and an axis buck with total pass-through of both shoulders. One shot each.

My experiences mirror everyone else's. They are great factory whitetail bullets imho