Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: WildcatRanger on April 19, 2023, 04:28:02 PM

Title: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: WildcatRanger on April 19, 2023, 04:28:02 PM: I have some Federal Fusion bullets in 180 grain 30.06. The bullet seems to be marketed for deer hunting. Is there any legitimate reason they wouldn’t perform well at killing elk? Is the packaging just marketing hype? Some other forums suggest the lead in these is too soft, whatever that means.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: kentrek on April 19, 2023, 05:25:10 PM: My brother killed a bull back in 2006 when they first came out..100 yards, nice 6 point bull, 300win, killed him pretty fast..pretty explosive on the onside shoulder

Will definitely work but I would treat them like a soft bullet and maybe not try a super hard quarting shot with em
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: Stein on April 19, 2023, 05:28:46 PM: I would agree, not as tough of a bullet as I would like but if that is all I had I probably would use it. Only thing I could find online with actual data was bout 60% weight retention.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: WildcatRanger on April 19, 2023, 06:09:05 PM: Thank you guys, good to know.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: jrebel on April 19, 2023, 06:53:23 PM: Just watched a few youtube videos and it looks like the bullet stays together rather nicely at high velocities. It mushrooms nicely and retained more than 90% of it's weight in one video. I would think that bullet would do just fine on an elk if placement was good. :tup:

Actually, the performance looks a lot like the Remington core lokt bullets....an I'm sure the old green box has put down more elk than I can count.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: follow maggie on April 19, 2023, 07:37:26 PM: I’ve killed elk with that load before. No problem.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: Sneaky on April 19, 2023, 07:43:39 PM: Just keep shot placement and angles in mind and they should work great. Hard quartering angles/heavy bones can be a challenge for rapidly expanding bullets.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: Weatherby92 on April 19, 2023, 07:45:45 PM: I've shot 2 elk with them in 338. I shot one twice, both were good placement but it was still standing after the first so i let it have another. Hit the heart from both sides due to it turning after the first shot. Due to the bullets entering and exiting near the same spot on either side of the elk it was a bit hard to tell what the exit looked like but they seemed to perform nicely. Niether Elk went far. Didn't recover any of the bullets.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: WildcatRanger on April 19, 2023, 08:54:17 PM: I’ll probably give ‘em a go. I shoot within 200-300 yards so I think I could make it work. Appreciate all the feedback.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: duckmen1 on April 19, 2023, 11:04:11 PM: I would have no worries with that bullet combo. Fusions have a lot of power. They are not as strong as an all copper or very strong full bonded bullet. But they have a fuzzed process and a canular ring to hold that bullet together to get it done no worries. We have loved performance of these bullets.

My story is sierra gameking bullets were used from my 300 wsm last year. I loaded it fairly light. 165 grain bullet going 2800 feet per second. A cup core bullet. 2 quick shots on a 5x5 bull. Clean pass through on both. Broke both shoulders on both shots. Extreme terminal damage. Bull never made it one step. My point is this gun was loaded about 30-06 performance. Lower than a standard load from 300 wsm. Most would have said don’t use that load as it is a cup core bullet. It worked great. And your fusions are an even better load with more power. And it is a heavier bullet.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: WildcatRanger on April 20, 2023, 05:23:01 AM: :tup:
Quote from: duckmen1 on April 19, 2023, 11:04:11 PM
I would have no worries with that bullet combo. Fusions have a lot of power. They are not as strong as an all copper or very strong full bonded bullet. But they have a fuzzed process and a canular ring to hold that bullet together to get it done no worries. We have loved performance of these bullets.

My story is sierra gameking bullets were used from my 300 wsm last year. I loaded it fairly light. 165 grain bullet going 2800 feet per second. A cup core bullet. 2 quick shots on a 5x5 bull. Clean pass through on both. Broke both shoulders on both shots. Extreme terminal damage. Bull never made it one step. My point is this gun was loaded about 30-06 performance. Lower than a standard load from 300 wsm. Most would have said don’t use that load as it is a cup core bullet. It worked great. And your fusions are an even better load with more power. And it is a heavier bullet.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: C-Money on April 20, 2023, 08:45:00 AM: I wouldn't worry one bit! Hope you get to put them to the test and fill the freezer.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: MeepDog on April 20, 2023, 09:02:22 AM: That's an excellent bullet for the $. I killed an elk this year with a 308 win 150grain fusion at 300 yards. It was one shot DRT and a full pass through which I didn't expect. It might sound silly but I've had less penetration on closer shots from the crazy expansion. I shot a buck at 80 yards and it got stuck on the offside hide, yet full passthroughs at 200 and 300yards. Fusions may be cheap, but they have a bonded core and are very tough bullets. They don't have the best BC or a fancy polymer tip, but bonded core bullets are tougher than any ELDX or SST etc. I would aim at a shoulder with it in a heartbeat inside of 250yards.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: jeffitz on April 20, 2023, 09:54:47 AM: I have a collection of 200gr Speer HotCor .338 taken from elk chests over the years- they work great- longest shot was 485 yards he took a step and tipped over.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: dilleytech on April 20, 2023, 06:00:04 PM: On a good lung shot I’m sure it would work great. But a bullet designed for whitetail means it dumps energy fast and expands quickly. Not what you want if you take a shoulder shot or any shot on an elk where penetration makes or breaks the kill.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: Zardoz on April 20, 2023, 10:42:43 PM: My Ruger 30-06 likes Remington 165 grain for accuracy. I dropped many, many Elk, Deer, Antelope with that combination. It's more about placement than the cartridge. Know your gun, or don't hunt. :twocents:
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: duckmen1 on May 02, 2023, 12:04:19 PM: One thing funny about fusion and labeling it a deer bullet is fusion claims the bullet to be bonded and I am reading many articals about 90% weight retention and deep penetration. Also talks about massive expansion and pass through shots. And I know they load them hot.

Everyone raves about nosler partitions being an amazing elk bullet. And yes I love them myself for everything including elk. But Nosler advertises 60 to 70% weight retention.

So goes back to my thought. Yes fusions are a great elk bullet in my opinion. Just my thoughts a bit about them.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: trophyhunt on May 02, 2023, 12:06:32 PM: Quote from: follow maggie on April 19, 2023, 07:37:26 PM
I’ve killed elk with that load before. No problem.
Same here, killed a few and wouldn't hesitate to use them again.
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: jetjockey on May 18, 2023, 10:44:05 AM: Elk success rates in WA are relatively low, and getting decent tags isn’t easy, do you really want a bullet that could fail if your only shot is to punch through bone and muscle to get to vitals? I love Fusions, especially for deer size game, but for elk, when you may only get one not so perfect shot, I want a tough bullet like Accubonds or my new favorite, the Federal Terminal Ascent. Why limit yourself when there’s absolutely no need to?
Title: Re: Good bullet for elk?
Post by: duckmen1 on May 18, 2023, 11:13:00 AM: As per advertisement

Nosler Accubond- around 70% weight retention, bonded, great expansion
Great elk bullet reputation per those that have used this bullet

Federal Fusions- 90% weight retention, bonded, deep penetration, great expansion
Per reputation poor elk bullet per those that have not used on elk

Not sure I understand but thats just my :twocents:

Fusions are a bit more affordable and are loaded up pretty hot usually from my experience. And performance has been great.