Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game .243 Fusions

I just picked up a pretty nice Rem 660. I wasn't crazy about the first couple of loads I tried with 100 gr Partitions and Ultra Bondeds. I would normally enjoy working up a load but a 5 week old baby is really limiting my range time. So I tried a box of the Fusions just to try a factory load to see if the gun had issues or had potential. WOW...first three shots covered with a penny. Now I'm thinking just to go with the Fusions and call it good. Anybody have any real life experience with them on game in .243 flavor? Big deer, bears, hogs, maybe even a broadside cow elk @ 200 yds? I'm pretty anal about accuracy AND bullet performance.

Thanks

Not a 243 but some 150 gr 7mm RM. Those shoot very nice in my Blaser, and In the last 6 years I killed every deer I shot with it, one shot no complains, then again I like to either a heart lung shot, or if really close, a neck shot. Took just one elk with it, that cow died just like they all do when you put a chunk of lead in the heart. My guess that it will be a good load for you in the 243, when and if I get a 243 barrel for my Blaser, Fusions will be the first down the barrel.

I can tell you in about a week how they work on antelope:) I just got a new .243 and it shoots the 95 grain Fusions really well so will use it.

I have had great success shooting the 140 grain in 7mm-08 - also really accurate and have taken 6 antelope in the last 2 years with it - all 1 shot kills out to about 325 yards so they do work.

Who makes the Fussions? Do they make them in 257Bos+?
Bob

Federal makes them, and I don't know. I am going to do a search right now.

Note, no they do not only 25 cal loading is 25-06 a good deer cartridge as there ever was one.

I believe Speer makes the Fusion for Federal. The Deep Curl Speer is pretty much the same bullet. The same company owns both Speer and Federal. I used 150 Fusions in my 300WSM last year. Did a good job.

I shot a mulie buck through both lungs at 320 yards with the fusion 95 grain. You could have poured what was left of the lungs through a powder funnel. They fly great and I will continue to use them for deer but I'm guessing they might be a little soft if you hit bone on bigger animals.

They are made by ATK in Lewiston Idaho. It's an ammunition conglomerate that owns lots of companies from CCI, Federal, RCBS, etc.

They are copper plated like a rimfire bullet but way thicker and much better made. I have used them with extensive testing in Africa is several calibers but mostly with a 30/06.

They worked with flawless precision on game up to 200-250 pounds. However they were slow thru the chrono. The 165's shot only 2700fps. So they did not perform as well on the bigger species.

They did hold together pretty well, but were simply designed as deer sized loads not anything bigger IMO. I did not understand why they were so slow, but the Manufacturer says they have to be used in every rifle made, not custom loads for modern rifles only, but 100 year old rifles too.

They are not available for hand loading at this time. ??? I'll let you know when I hear from them.

The 165's and 180's have shot well in my 06 but I've not used them on game.

My best friend has used them out of his 25/06 and has taken quite a bit of game with them including elk. They performed quite well on all game including elk so I'd not hesitate to use them.

Best of luck to ya

Dober

I bought 3 boxes of PMP (South African) 243 ammo for cheap. Then I pulled the bullets and re-weighed each powder charge for consistency. Lastly I loaded 95 grain Nosler Partitions which is a favorite hunting bullet.

The original 100 gr PMP bullets did not penetrate as well as the 95 gr partitions in a water jug lined up test. PMP not as accurate either.

FEDERAL has always built excellent ammo. I've killed many mulies shooting plain HI SHOCK 150 gr ammo from my .308 carbine. Penetration was most excellent. When recovered, bullets appeared like photos within magazine ads. The FUSION bullets should be equally superb for you!

Sherwood

Cool pic!

Dober

They have worked great for my girlfriend and I in our 270s and for my sister in her 7/08. I might be using them in my 243 this season too if I cant find enough time to finish load testing for it. Can't complain about fusions at all and I wouldn't hesitate to use them for elk at all.

Load testing? How are you loading them, they are only available in factory cartridges not component bullets?

Im testing loads with 95gr BTips. Antelope season starts Oct.8th and Im running out of time to find a good load with the btips. If they dont shoot like I want, Ill sight in my rifle with 95gr Fusions. It shoots them into about 1.5" groups. Not bad but Id like to see if I can get the btips to shoot under or close to an inch.

The BTs will shoot for you......

Try some H4350 with Remington 9.5 primers. They make the 95NBT perk in the .243.

Thanks hillbillybear. Ill have to try that. I just prepped some brass tonight and hopefully Ill find some time tomorrow evening to put them together. Supposed to be windy here this week which sucks cuz I was hoping to get some loads shot and finalized before next weekend. Varget has worked decent for me but i always get 2 or 3 basically in the same hole and the rest of the 5 shot group is fliers.