Federal Fusion ammo

[Gr8bawana]

My son has a bull elk rifle tag and is leaning towards using my wife's .270 instead of my 7mm Mag because mine almost always whacks him over his eye.
Anyway he bought a box of Federal Fusion 150 grain bullets and a box of Federal Trophy Bonded Tip ammo in 130 grain. Both group very well in that rifle. The 150 grain group exceptionally good.
I've never used either of these, so my question is whether any of you guys have any experience with either of these bullets on elk size game in .270 Win?

 

[droptine]

I'd grab whichever one shoots best and go hunting!!

 

[Tim McCoy]

Have experience with Fusion 140 in 280. It is advertised as a deer bullet I believe. Based on performance on miltiple cow elk, it is a great deer bullet and marginal for elk, especially bulls.

 

[Extractor]

My son has shot multiple big Mulies and whitetails with the 270 WSM with federal fusions. They group great out of his Kimber and hold together well. I wouldn't hesitate to use them on elk. Proper shot placement, an accurate bullet that holds together , they'll do fine. Better than flinching with a big bore magnum and getting scoped. Or worse, poor shot placement because of recoil fear and a wounded animal. I saw one guy miss a pie plate with a 375 H & H at a 100 yards because he closed his eyes in fear of the recoil. Needless to say this didn't inspire confidence with his guide. We were hunting brown bear on the Alaskan peninsula .

 

[BruinPoint]

They do push it as a deer bullet, but the website at least once mentions its capabilities for elk. Here's a quote from a Fusion web ad:

"Made specifically for deer hunting, Fusion also delivers exceptional performance on antelope and other thin-skinned game."

Check this out and see what you think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpgV89Rm_jA

My own experience is limited to the 185gr 338 Federal MSR Fusion loads - those blew apart pretty bad in soft dirt to the point I couldn't recover a recognizable piece. Accubonds and TTSX hold up well to that treatment.

 

[6mm Remington]

Sounds like either one will work just fine. Nothing wrong with the .270 and elk!

 

[Tim McCoy]

... My own experience is limited to the 185gr 338 Federal MSR Fusion loads - those blew apart pretty bad in soft dirt to the point I couldn't recover a recognizable piece. Accubonds and TTSX hold up well to that treatment.

I've seen the same on game. I had several blow apart pretty bad on broadside cow hits. While one can say, at what point in the death of the animal did the bullet fail, I say marginal bullet choice for bull elk. They do not hold together like one would assume, based on how they are made. You'd have an advantage with the 150gr in a 270, slower velocity and better SD. It is not the caliber, it is the bullet construction. If all goes well, I am sure they would work fine, if not, you may regret the choice for bull elk.

 

[OldGuy]

I, for many years have used the .270 WCF for my elk hunting, although along the way I used others. Recently, I have noticed some "elk guides" requiring a "min. 30-06" caliber rifle for their hunts. One brochure I received recently said NO .270s! For those of us hunting on our own have a fine caliber in the .270 for most of our hunting.

Jim

 

[ivorytip]

no .270's????? that's silly! I have never ever had a problem dropping any elk with a .270 with cheap Remington core locks at that. we even dropped a big bull moose from 300 yards with 140 grain. 150's just don't shoot good from the ole pre64. but 130 and 140 is any big games nightmare. MM help me out here. a lot of guys like the big muscle guns so they can blow out a front shoulder from several football fields away and leave front shoulder so don't have to pack it out. and that is why am assuming the guide doesn't want a .270 for elk, he isn't counting on the clients to be good shots. I have yet to shoot a flatter shooting rifle. but then again, I wont shoot past 400yrds. if he is comfortable with the .270 by all means let him use it and if 150 is shooting good, even better.

 

[ivorytip]

I shot a cow with a .338 I had, now that gun was one hell of a gun! but that poor cow snuck in on me while making lost calf mews, 15 yrds with a rifle of that caliber left me with little meat. sure I had backs and hinds but both front shoulders were absolutely destroyed. how did I hit her in shoulders from 15 yrds you ask? a gun like a .338 is useless with out a high powered scope zeroed in at 3oo yrds. I couldn't even see her in the scope, just fur. I love the .270, has always worked well for me and everyone of us 6 boys in my fam. has always brought home the meat, and now that im older, brings home the meat and the head gear.

 

[Extractor]

It would be a better idea to make hunting clients take an accuracy test with their chosen caliber than to restrict someone from shooting an elk with a 270, ridiculous. I'm not saying to shoot them in the hip or a Texas heart shot and not expect bad outcomes, but a well placed lung ,or heart shot, from a reasonable range will put any elk on a trip to the butcher.270, great caliber. Federal Fusion, more than adequate bullet.

 

[Tim McCoy]

I went back and checked hunt notes for you. Seems this post turned into a 270 for elk, when the question was does anyone have experience with either bullet... Last 4 years, 8 cows downed with the Fusion bullet. 3 130gr 270's and 5 140gr 280's. All large mature cows, but one, 75 to 275 yards, all broadside, just behind the shoulder. One 130 gr 270 and 2 140 gr 280 basically desinergated. I have no idea why, parts of the bullet with jacket attached, often 4-5 fragments, were recovered. All animals died, yes, more than adequate bullet, based on my actual field experience, absolutely not. 270 is plenty for elk with a good elk bullet. The 150 in a 270 will help, some. Use the Trophy Bonded bullet in the 270 is my strong advice for a Bull hunt, based on my actual use of the Fusion bullet on elk.

 

[Vorhes]

I have shot 2 bull elk, 3 bull caribou, 1 black bear, and 1 grizzly bear with my 270 all with the 150 grain federal fusion bullets. I now shoot a 300 Win Mag with 180 grain federal fusions. A well placed shot with my 270 will put something down just a quick as my 300.

 

[Extractor]

T McCoy, what do you believe caused the core-jacket separation or fragmentation. I have seen petal separation with Barnes triple shock, still resulted in a dead caribou, but only rarely have I seen massive bullet failure. ???

 

[Tim McCoy]

T McCoy, what do you believe caused the core-jacket separation or fragmentation. I have seen petal separation with Barnes triple shock, still resulted in a dead caribou, but only rarely have I seen massive bullet failure. ???

Not sure. Based on Vorhes good results with the 150 gr 270, I have a theory. Bullet is designed primarily to perform on deer sized game, both the 130 in 270 and 140 in 280 have moderate SD's, while the 150 in 270 and 180 in 300 have higher SD's. So my guess is my lighter for caliber bullets were more subject to fragging on larger game, especially if a rib bone was hit on the way in. My 270's won't shoot the 150 gr, and 140 is all they offered in 280. I love them for deer/antelope, just very wary for use on elk based on what I have experienced. The only other thing that comes to mind is after I tried a box, and my rifle liked them, I went back and bought 8-10 boxes to hunt with. That was 4-5 years ago. I know Federal watches bullet performance. So I do not know, but it is possible they have slightly toughened it over the years, but my money is on a heavier for caliber bullet. Sounds like the 150 is the solution in a 270 for bulls. Wish my 270 liked that load and they made a 160 offering in 280.

 

[ivorytip]

we loaded some 160's for the .270. made 100 loads. just to check it out. we had fun with it at the range but I was afraid it was just to much for the gun. do they not make a 160 for the .280? ive been seriously considering picking a .280 short mag up.

 

[Tim McCoy]

we loaded some 160's for the .270. made 100 loads. just to check it out. we had fun with it at the range but I was afraid it was just to much for the gun. do they not make a 160 for the .280? ive been seriously considering picking a .280 short mag up.

I was referring specifically to the Fusion bullet. Last I checked, only the 140 was loaded in 280. I do not currently reload, so do not know about their availability as components. Fortunately my 280's shoot 140 & 160 Nosler AB, 145 Barnes LRX, 154 Hornady IB and 175 Nosler Partitions very well.

 

[ivorytip]

got ya.love those nosler partitions

 

[dan maule]

Have experience with Fusion 140 in 280. It is advertised as a deer bullet I believe. Based on performance on miltiple cow elk, it is a great deer bullet and marginal for elk, especially bulls.

I have had my son using the 280 , 140grain as well. It has done very well on deer and black bear but have never used it on elk.

 

[Musket Man]

I think the trophy bonded is a better bullet. I know guys that have used then on elk with a 270 with good results. I had some Federal bullets come apart on me years ago in deer. The couple deer I shot with them died but not as fast as they should of. I dont remember what they were but it kinda burned me on Federal. I went to core-lokt's after that and never looked back!