Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Federal Fusion in 7mm-08

I recently acquired a 7mm-08, and came across Federal Fusion 140 gr ammo at Academy for a pretty reasonable price. Has anyone used the Fusion in a 7mm-08 yet? How did it perform on whatever you shot with it?

I hear good reports for other calibers; how goes it with this load?

excellent results at both the range and on game. my wife just took an axis doe this past weekend with her remington 700 varmint sps 7mm-08 w/ fusion 140gr. the doe was hit at a severe quartering away shot, the bullet hit the last rib, went through the chest cavity and broke through the opposite side shoulder (almost a full exit). the bullet was partly hanging out of the skin. it was perfectly mushroomed and looked like it lost hardly any lead.

plus 1 on the fusions in 7mm-08.

I have a 700 Mt. Rifle and it shoots the fusions about 3/4 MOA pretty consistently. Also, my gun (I have let a few frinds borrow it) has taken probably 12-15 deer with this load and it has performed flawlessly. Good bullet and will do everything you want it too. It may not be a "glamour" bullet, but it works very well.

Thanks for the report! That ammo sells for about $25 per box, quite a bit less than premium ammo. Anyone else?

My daughter has taken several whitetails with the 7-08 Federal 140 Fusions. All dropped on the spot, but one made it about 20 yards before expiring. We bought several boxes since it is accurate, too. Gunwriters were in love with the stuff when it first came out and after they hunted with it.

My rifle's taken 7 deer with them so far. The only one that didn't exit hit the spine just ahead of the hams (I was shooting from below as it went uphill at a steep angle). It would have had to pass through about 4' of buck before it exited anyway, after clipping the spine.

Another one entered the back ribs on the left side and exited the right side shoulder. Something exited, but the base of the bullet was hung up inside the hide of the shoulder, devoid of any lead. FWIW, that shot was a "finisher" taken at about 20 yards or so. It came apart, but was at near muzzle velocity and at least some of it exited after about 3' deer.

I don't know what you're looking for in a bullet, but those are my only real observations. Everything else exited after killing.

I been shooting the same ammo in a 7mm Remington Mag 150 gr for the last two seasons. My Blaser Likes it and so far the bullet has been excellent on the game White Tails and the one elk I have shot with it. Good load.

I have had very good results with 7-08 Fusions.

Accuracy has been excellent out of my Kimber Montana - honest .5 territory if I do my job.

Performance on game has been equally good. I have broken double shoulders on several nice bucks, and have yet to recover a bullet. I've also shot a bunch of hogs and made some silly long shots on hogs and does. I think one hog may have stopped one on a long shot on a big boar with a stout shield through the shoulders, but he was dead in his tracks.

A few of the bucks taken with them...







This last buck was the only one not shot through both shoulders. He was facing me, quartering pretty sharply, and I shot him in the shoulder with the bullet exiting behind the off shoulder. He ran 40 yards. The others were DRT.

DJ

DJ: Nice bucks! I like Fusion. Have not shot anything with them yet,but am finding that if a rifle does not shoot Fusions it likely will not shoot very much else!

Have used them in both 25.06 and 300 WM. Very accurate and lethal.

And a heck of a bargain.

Shootin a Kimber while wearin a Browning cap.....HHMMMMMMMM!!!!!


George

Any of you guys chronographed the velocities of the 140gr Fusion?

Thanks, Bob. I've had the same experience. I've never had a rifle not shoot Fusions if it was a good shooter otherwise, and they're sure good factory fodder for whitetails.

I've had good accuracy out of two 25-06's, two 243's, my 7-08, several 270's, and a 300 WSM with them.

Only one I've recovered was out of a 25-06 at about 200 yards when I was guiding a hunter on a first deer. It was a big doe in south Texas, and the bullet was under the skin of the off shoulder. It weighed only around 68 grains after starting at 120, which bugged me a little. The doe was in some tall grass, and the shot was quartering away pretty hard and went in behind the shoulder a few inches and broke the off shoulder, but the bullet looked like it may have tumbled - well mushroomed, but with one side peeled forward - lead pretty well gone with just the core left. I suspect it clipped some grass or there might have been something a little heavier in the way - she was in the edge of a road and it was a pretty quick shot.

DJ

I know...

About the only Browning product I've got much use for, except a little flashlight I like that's about the size of a chap stick tube and a pretty handy lever action 22 I've had for years. These caps are tough and pretty cheap (think I paid $9) - I've got a couple I've had for years, and they're pretty warm and handy in mild Texas winter conditions - warm enough without being hot. The suckers really last, and I ain't tossin' 'em until they're worn out, even if I'm not too proud of that silly logo...grin.

DJ

DJ:Thanks. I would have expected the bullet to hold on to a bit more weight.....mmmm

It's great stuff! That has actually become my favorite load in my 7mm-08.

A couple years ago, shortly after moving (and boxing up all of my ammo and hunting stuff), I couldn't locate my handloads in time for a mule deer hunt. I ran to my local shop, and asked for their recommendation. They heartily recommended the new Fusion load. A trip to the range confirmed the zero, and excellent accuracy.

On that hunt, it went through a BIG bodied buck, angling slightly front to back. I found a trough in the rocky ground behind him where it hit and then sailed on.

A month later, it took a nice whitetail back home.

I used my handloads this year with a 140 Ballistic Tip, and the results, though fine, are making me think I may just switch over to the Fusion factory loads for that rifle.

Me, too; however, I really think this clipped something and tumbled. The mushroom looked right on most of it, but was peeled straight up on one quarter. And, it was the quarter bore, not the 7-08. It's the only Fusion I've recovered, and I haven't found shrapnel on any of the ones which exited, so I'm not too bothered by it. Shoot enough of anything, and one's going to do something strange, I reckon.

DJ

Its happened to me before to.
Sometimes when we shoot a scope-sighted rifle we don't notice intervening brush in the line o site. So the bullet clips some and arrives in a less than perfect shape or attitude.
A buddy of mine once shot a Moose with a 25-06 with a 120 gr cup and draw bullet. We saw it flinch but it took off and the other party with us flattened it.
When we got to work on him we found the full jacket just under the skin but no core and that was all that hit him till the 300 win mag dropped him.
When we went to the place where it was standing and looked down the line of flite we could see several small Alders or Willows in the way.

The .270 Fusions have been flawless and accurate in my gun.


stumpy

I'll follow DJ's lead and try to keep it interesting in the off season...Although I'm not nearly as photogenic and the bucks aren't so nice .

A few Fusion bucks...