# Federal Fusion 44 mag ammo



## lodge lounger (Sep 16, 2005)

Is anyone using this ammo for deer hunting with a handgun? Reason I ask, during the firearm season I took a nice doe with my Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter, and wasn't real impressed with the bullet performance. The shot was at 55 yards, double lung and may have nicked a shoulder blade. I was using a 240 grain bullet. Although the deer only ran 30 yards before dropping, the exit hole showed no sign of expansion at all. Same size as the entry hole, and no blood until I got to within 5 yards of where she fell. I'm not complaining about the doe falling down quickly, so maybe it's a moot point, but I'm used to seeing significant expansion, and this round just didn't do it.


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## Violator22 (Nov 10, 2004)

Nope, but, I have the same problem with my Casull, generally just gives a thru and thru, the holes really aren't that large, heavy bullet with little expansion on light game like deer. I'm switching to the 200 grain Barnes XPB for my casull, my understanding is that is expands really well. If you don't handload you should, then you can try different bullets to get the expansion that you want. Just a suggestion. Les


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## Rustyaxecamp (Mar 1, 2005)

My uncle got a buck with it this year. He is using the Ruger carbine. He switched to the Fusion this year instead of the Rem JHP, in order to get a little "tougher" bullet.

He shot his buck 2 times, first shot was quartering towards and the bullet hit the corner of the shoulder dead square and came out in the armpit. Great expansion and lots of damage, however, it just barely got into the chest cavity. Buck dropped and then got back up, second shot (running) was square through the chest cavity (broadside) about 3" behind the shoulder and worked awesome. The exit wound was probably 2" (hit ribs going in and out).

Your assumption is right, the Fusion will probably not expand like JHP or other standard cup/core bullets. It is that ever present toss up of expansion vs penetration.....

FWIW - I think my uncle will keep using the Fusions. I plan on picking a box up for my S&W 44 too.


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## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

Expansion in a .44 mag? Who cares honestly. The bullet is already .429 in diameter. That's a pretty good size hole. Lots of people use hard cast lead "solids" in pistols for hunting purposes. These don't expand, but penetrate like mad.....exactly what you want in a large caliber pistol. And more importantly, they don't need to expand to do lots of tissue damage, heck they are already as large as most expanded rifle bullets. It sounds to me like that 240 performed exactly like it was supposed to. If you want something different, look at the Federal 300gr Cast Core...a solid hard cast lead bullet. Remington also has a 275gr jacketed load that is excellent. Personaly, I prefer bullets heavier than 240 in the .44 mag like that 275 or 300.


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## 454casull (Jan 6, 2005)

Swamp Monster said:


> Expansion in a .44 mag? Who cares honestly. The bullet is already .429 in diameter. That's a pretty good size hole. Lots of people use hard cast lead "solids" in pistols for hunting purposes. These don't expand, but penetrate like mad.....exactly what you want in a large caliber pistol. And more importantly, they don't need to expand to do lots of tissue damage, heck they are already as large as most expanded rifle bullets. It sounds to me like that 240 performed exactly like it was supposed to. If you want something different, look at the Federal 300gr Cast Core...a solid hard cast lead bullet. Remington also has a 275gr jacketed load that is excellent. Personaly, I prefer bullets heavier than 240 in the .44 mag like that 275 or 300.


Too may of us worry about expansion. A .5" hole in the vitals is all that is needed. The typical handgun caliber user needs to reply on penetration rather than expansion to put their game down. Don't expect them to fall as if struck by an artillery shell either. Unless the spine or pelvis is compromised they will run; follow up accordingly. I took a button this year from 28 yards with my 454, 300gr @ 1800fps, and that deer ran 50 yards with no lungs, a huge rip through the heart and the near side shoulder destroyed. Handguns using smaller rifle calibers need to be concerned w/ expansion because they start out much smaller and usually operate at much higher vel. then straight walls. Shoot what your gun likes that is within YOUR predetermined parameters of accuracy and ballistic performance. BTW.. revolvers are not rifles do not try to change that fact.


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

454casull said:


> Too may of us worry about expansion. A .5" hole in the vitals is all that is needed.


True.

We often read of the same observation that "lodge lounger" made and that the 44 Mag bullets do not expand. Often the "lung shot" is mentioned. The failure to expand on lung shots is because the bullet has little opportunity to impact tissue and body liquids since so much of the lung area is air. At least that is my theory.

But, I am always happy to hold off and make a successful shot. BTW, "lodge lounger", congratulations on that good shot and your success.


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## 454casull (Jan 6, 2005)

alex-v said:


> True.
> 
> BTW, "lodge lounger", congratulations on that good shot and your success.


Yes, Sorry for failing to mention it!


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## lodge lounger (Sep 16, 2005)

Thanks, guys, for the insight. I'm new to handgunning for deer, and didn't realized there would be much of a difference in bullet performance between long guns and short. So, am I better off taking a shoulder shot than my normal just-behind-the-shoulder shot?


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## 454casull (Jan 6, 2005)

No need to change shot placement. When handgun hunting you need an exit wound to have a blood trail period. Blowing out both shoulders will tend to make a mess of things (meat) but typically that shot will produce a shorter tracking job. The behind the shoulder hit, unless it is too high, should produce a decent blood trail provided and exit occurs. In a nut shell if you put a big hole in the vitals with an exit wound you *will* find your animal. It may require a longer tracking job to do this but that is fine. If you have no exit and you do not see the deer fall good luck as entrance wounds bleed very little. That is why many of us recommend beefy bullets and worry very little about expansion. A good example would be a hard 1/4 away shot. It is a good angle but only if you have a bullet that can penetrate 15-20" of animal to reach the vitals. A bullet that expands readily will not make it. If you do decide to go with a bullet that expands more readily then I would advise you to not aim for bone and keep the placement to broadside only tucked tight behind the shoulder. BTW, IMO, this concept applies to BP as well; unless your velocities are over 2000 fps.


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## DanP (Mar 1, 2005)

I have been using the remington 275gr core lokt for years. Never lost a deer and always a good blood trail. shooting it from a 44 ruger carbine out to about 80 yards. I was at brown bear in macomb twp they no longer stock this load. Have one box left so will have to start looking.


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## Mags (Apr 10, 2002)

Have you tried the Winchester Partition Golds in .44mag.? They're a 250gr. Nosler Partition bullet, and all I can say about their performance out of my S&W 629 Powerport is..............WOW!!!!!!!!!!!


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## thunderman (Mar 10, 2005)

i also had problems with expansion and blood trails with chest shoots using soilid 240 remmies with my s&w 29 44mag with 6 1/2 inch barrel. i switched to the 240 grain hollow points and never looked back. i was concerned the first time i used one on a 200 pound plus 9 point. standing broadside 45 yrds. big tree blocking the lung shot. he allready busted me. lined up the high shoulder shot and fired. blow him off his feet and distroyed both shoulders and exited like a cannon ball hit him. like someone else has stated it really doesn't have to expand to kill, but i liked the way the energy is delivered with an expanding bullet.


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## bucklessyooper (Jun 13, 2003)

This is kind of comparing apples to oranges but I use fusion ammo in my 7mm remington mag and it is by far the most devastating ammo I have used on whitetails. I have shot 4 different deer with the fusion ammo and the furthest one has ran was 10yds. Comparing the impact to the exit hole is like comparing a dime to a half dollar.


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