Federal Fusion vs SST 150 Grain .308 Bullet Hunting to 500 yards

[General RE LEE]

Between the Federal Fusion or the SST, which is an all around better performer on whitetail sized game from 10-500 yards.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kboatman107]

I have no experience with the fusions but I have used the 150 gr SST for awhile now and have no complaints with it.

 

[alexanderg23]

I’d probably go with the SST. I plan to use Barnes TTSX, I’ve used them for everything last 10 years or so.

 

[Felix40]

I preferred the fusions from my 300 wsm. The sst caused a lot more meat damage.

 

[rcfireninja]

My boy uses 165 grain sst in his tikka .308 consistently from 65-400 yards in deer, antelope and cow elk. All 1 shot kills as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[brisket]

Just a thought. The fusion's have an exposed lead nose that can deform and change your POI at distance

 

[Forest]

I would prefer the fusion just cause it should hold together better and probably less meat damage. But the sst is a good deer bullet and will likely shoot better the longer the distance gets

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

 

[WCB]

Just a thought. The fusion's have an exposed lead nose that can deform and change your POI at distance

The Fusion jacket basically comes right up even with the lead. The lead isn't even measurable.

Unless you bent the bullet a slight tip deformation will make no real noticeable difference. When the accubonds had issues with tips falling off. I shot them as I can remember out to 400 with no noticeable difference.

 

[tallbuchholz]

I shot a pile of deer with SSTs at close range (200 and under) out of a .270 win and had way more meat damage than I liked. Switched to Barnes TSX and am much happier. FYI these were all on small-medium Texas deer. The SST's grouped better in my gun though, just hated finding tiny scraps of lead in the deer

 

[WorleyElk]

I shot a whitetail doe with my AR-10 one year at 236 yards and it dropped her in her tracks. I agree on the meat damage issue with the SST. They tend to blow up good. I've also shot a large mule deer with the Fusion bullet and never found the bullet and dropped the 200lb buck It was uphill at 148 yards.

My $02 is there are so many bullets available. Personally, in 30 Cal I'd lean towards the Accubond and the Partition.

 

[curt514]

All depends in the impact velocity. The SST is a good bullet but it is made to expand very rapidly. So at full speed and shorter distances the expansion can be more of an explosion especially if the bullet impacts something hard like bone or a larger animal. Say 300WM at 50yd. You could almost bet in loosing most of the shoulder.
The fusion is a more “traditional “ bullet construction with the jacket bonded to the core. This would help to keep the bullet intact on impact and probably slow the expansion a little more. There are lots of variables. Jacket thickness, core construction, weight, speed, distance, animal, etc.

Having used SST’s in white tails I would think about my expected range and the animal I was hunting. If it was deer or another thinner skinned animal I may go SST. But if my rifle shot the Fusions good at my self limited shooting distance and especially if it was elk, moose, or any other larger animal I would shoot them instead.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TNKnoxville]

This year for deer, I shot the 165 Fusion in my Browning XBolt Speed 30 06 about a 1" MOA at 100 yards. This gun really likes the Federal Trophy Bonded Tips in 165 and 180 grain, less than 1" MOA at 100 yards. Going to shoot the Federal next year.

My sons Tikka in 308 likes the Fusion in 150 grain, a solid 1" MOA at 100 yards. He's bang flopped several deer with them. Never had a need to try any other ammo in this gun.

 

[General RE LEE]

Fusion is listed as having a minimum terminal velocity of 1900 FPS for adequate expansion. That limits the range out of my .308 for the Fusion to expand properly. The SST will likely expand at lower velocities thus increasing the ethical range.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Forest]

Fusion is listed as having a minimum terminal velocity of 1900 FPS for adequate expansion. That limits the range out of my .308 for the Fusion to expand properly. The SST will likely expand at lower velocities thus increasing the ethical range.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is likely correct, but keep in mind that at closer ranges it's essentially the opposite issue

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Felix40]

Fusion is listed as having a minimum terminal velocity of 1900 FPS for adequate expansion. That limits the range out of my .308 for the Fusion to expand properly. The SST will likely expand at lower velocities thus increasing the ethical range.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

At 500 you should still be above 1900fps so no issue.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

According to Strelok on my phone...

150gr SST @ 500 yards: 1855 fps, 1146 ft-lbs
150gr Fusion @ 500 yards: 1853 fps, 1144 ft-lbs

Barrel length and environmentals can easily impact those numbers.

If those are your only two options, then shoot the one that shoots the best in your rifle.

While the 308 Win is popular, once you get to 500 yards you are nearing its limits from a hunting perspective (assuming 1800 fps for acceptable expansion) as they do run out of steam quickly. The commercial rounds below usually are considered to be excellent long range rounds. However, the 308 Win still finds a way to neuter them:

168gr Berger Classic Hunter - Hits 1809 fps @ 550 yards w/ 1221 ft-lbs
168gr Berger Hunting VLD - Hits 1808 fps @ 600 yards w/ 1219 ft-lbs
178gr Hornady ELDX - Hits 1819 fps @ 550 yards w/1309 ft-lbs

Here are the actual numbers from my Savage LWH in 308 Win shooting 178 grain Hornady ELD-X (Precision Hunter).
0 yards: 2518 fps, 2506 ft-lbs
100 yards: 2366 fps, 2213 ft-lbs
200 yards: 2221 fps, 1950 ft-lbs
300 yards: 2080 fps, 1710 ft-lbs
400 yards: 1946 fps, 1497 ft-lbs
500 yards 1815 fps, 1302 ft-lbs
525 yards: 1783 fps, 1256 ft-lbs
550 yards: 1752 fps, 1213 ft-lbs
575 yards: 1720 fps, 1170 ft-lbs
600 yards: 1689 fps, 1128 ft-lbs

 

[General RE LEE]

According to Strelok on my phone...

150gr SST @ 500 yards: 1855 fps, 1146 ft-lbs
150gr Fusion @ 500 yards: 1853 fps, 1144 ft-lbs

Barrel length and environmentals can easily impact those numbers.

If those are your only two options, then shoot the one that shoots the best in your rifle.

While the 308 Win is popular, once you get to 500 yards you are nearing its limits from a hunting perspective (assuming 1800 fps for acceptable expansion) as they do run out of steam quickly. The commercial rounds below usually are considered to be excellent long range rounds. However, the 308 Win still finds a way to neuter them:

168gr Berger Classic Hunter - Hits 1809 fps @ 550 yards w/ 1221 ft-lbs
168gr Berger Hunting VLD - Hits 1808 fps @ 600 yards w/ 1219 ft-lbs
178gr Hornady ELDX - Hits 1819 fps @ 550 yards w/1309 ft-lbs

Here are the actual numbers from my Savage LWH in 308 Win shooting 178 grain Hornady ELD-X (Precision Hunter).
0 yards: 2518 fps, 2506 ft-lbs
100 yards: 2366 fps, 2213 ft-lbs
200 yards: 2221 fps, 1950 ft-lbs
300 yards: 2080 fps, 1710 ft-lbs
400 yards: 1946 fps, 1497 ft-lbs
500 yards 1815 fps, 1302 ft-lbs
525 yards: 1783 fps, 1256 ft-lbs
550 yards: 1752 fps, 1213 ft-lbs
575 yards: 1720 fps, 1170 ft-lbs
600 yards: 1689 fps, 1128 ft-lbs

Thank you. I do shoot Hornady Superformance 308 with the 150 grain SST and based off a rough calculation on my drops I found the other day at the range I’m getting about 2950 FPS out of my Tikka T3.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk