Why Federal Fusion Tipped Ammo Reigns Supreme
Federal’s Newest Long-Range Ammo Gets Put To The Semi-Auto & Bolt-Action Test
Here’s a truth about reviewing ammunition: A single tight group doesn’t prove a damn thing. A writer like me or anyone else can be blessed with a big helping of dumb luck, drill that 0.5-MOA group (or smaller) and never come close to it again.
So, the stellar 0.3-inch three-shot group I drilled at 100 yards with Federal’s newest hunting round, Fusion Tipped ammunition in 6.5 Creedmoor, would not prove that this streamlined and poly-tipped bullet is capable of exceptional accuracy.
However, my previous four groups also helped make it clear that Fusion Tipped is a sub-MOA ammunition, in the right rifles and right hands, and is an especially good choice for the hunter who needs to go longer range.
Fusion Ammo, The Early Years
The original Fusion soft-point load came out 20 years ago and is still a favorite of hunters. The round’s foundation is the Fusion bullet. The plated bullet design features an extremely concentric layer of copper around the lead core, which made Fusion among the more accurate hunting bullets.
But over the last two decades, rifles, optics, and ammunition have steadily improved, leading many hunters to adopt a longer-range approach. In response, Federal created the Fusion Tipped round, engineered with both a polymer tip and a sleeker design for improved long-range ballistics and exceptional terminal performance.
Maximum Effectiveness
The farther a bullet travels, the slower it goes. That’s physics. This begs the question: At longer ranges and diminishing bullet speeds, what kind of expansion can a hunter expect from a Fusion Tipped bullet? The answer is pretty darned good, and the poly tip is one of the reasons for impressive expansion with these bullets. Even at lower velocities, a bullet impacting a target forces that tip back into the lead core, generating fast and deadly expansion.
According to data provided by Federal’s engineering team, the minimum expansion velocity target when designing all Fusion Tipped bullets was 1,400 feet per second (fps). At this velocity, the 6.5 Creedmoor load I used is capable of very good expansion out to at least 900 yards (with a 24-inch barrel), while the heavier .308 Win rounds are good to 800 yards.
Yet, Fusion Tipped rounds have exceeded this velocity threshold. Federal engineers documented small sample sizes where the minimum expansion velocity in 10-percent calibrated, bare ballistic gel ranged from 1,625 to 1,690 fps, depending on caliber, and achieved at least 1.7 times caliber expansion.
Fusion Tipped Range Report With A Ruger American Gen II
To test Fusion Tipped in 6.5 Creedmoor, I used my Ruger American Gen II bolt-action rifle topped with a new EOTECH Vudu X 2-12x40 scope. Once I had the rifle and optic zeroed at my outdoor range, I started on my 100-yard accuracy testing, firing three-shot hunting groups.
This load launched a 140-grain bullet, with Federal rating the muzzle velocity at 2,715 fps with a 24-inch barrel. My Gen II rifle featured a 20-inch barrel, so shave approximately 60 fps off Federal’s velocity.
My first group was 1.3 inches. But the more I shot, the better it got, with my next groups measuring 1.2, 0.80, and 0.65 inches, then ending with the aforementioned 0.30-inch cluster. Can I repeat that last group? I don’t know. But I am sure that if I whiff on a whitetail standing broadside at 300 yards or less the problem would not be the rifle, the optic, or the Fusion Tipped ammo.
Running Fusion Tipped Through A Ruger SFAR
AR-10s never receive the attention I believe they deserve as solid big-game hunting rifles. So, to test Fusion Tipped in .308 Win, I used my Ruger SFAR in that caliber outfitted with an EOTECH Vudu X 1-6x24 scope.
After zeroing, my first three accuracy shots with the .308 ammunition came in larger than I’d hoped (later measured at 1.6 inches). Thinking I pulled the last shot, I fired a fourth. That one went wide left at least 2 inches. I cursed and got impatient. Not smart, as a softball could fit in between my next three shots.
After a time out, though, my groups shrunk. Halfway through my second box of ammunition, I pegged two groups at 1.0 inches and the very last one, aimed at the bottom of a red target stripe, at 0.80 inches. Another reviewing truth: A few not-so-great groups might well be the shooter, not the ammunition!
Fusion Tipped Caliber Options
In addition to the two loads I used, Fusion Tipped is available in 140-grain 6.5 PRC, 150-grain .270 Win, 175-grain 7mm Rem. Mag., 175-grain 7mm PRC, and 180-grain .30-06 and .300 Win Mag. Suggested retail prices for the 20-count boxes range from $52.99 to $72.99, depending on cartridge choice.
It’s not exactly inexpensive, but if I have $1,500 or more in a rifle and scope, I’d view a couple of boxes of Fusion Tipped as investments in long-range accuracy.
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