223 REM Federal Fusion 62gr Comparison

[RDub]

Hello
Picked up a box each of the 223 REM 62gr Federal Fusion and the 62gr Fusion MSR today and shot them at 50 yards out of a M&P 15 Sport II; 16” 1-9 twist barrel. The sight on the rifle is a Lucid HD-7 red dot.



The velocity data was taken with an Oehler 33 chronograph. Screens centered 15’ from muzzle.





So Federal says the MSR ammo is loaded with a faster burning powder to shoot better in ‘Modern Sporting Rifles’.. and the advertised muzzle velocity of the MSR ammo is 2750 fps. The sample I pulled down contained 23.6grs of a flattened ball powder.

The Federal Fusion 223 Rem 62gr ammo has an advertised muzzle velocity of 3000 fps. The sample I pulled down contained 24.2grs of a flattened ball powder.

You can check out all the pics and data for the pull-downs here;

https://postimg.cc/gallery/mup4vnru/

https://postimg.cc/gallery/3365tl1ju/

So after shooting five rounds each at a 4” target dot, here is how that went;



Doesn’t appear that the Fusion ammo likes the AR’s short barrel only delivering 2562 fps..

The Fusion MSR on the other hand did very well out of the AR, and was roughly a hundred feet per second faster than advertised velocity, delivering 2866 fps. And, the MSR ammo is 300 fps faster than the Fusion ammo with 0.6grs LESS powder.

So it is true that, not only does the MSR ammo shoot well out of a short AR, it is also faster than advertised velocity. This will be a great deer round for these small black-tail around here. Federal really has a winner here.

[DWalt]

Back when I was a frequent visitor to Federal's Anoka MN factory, I once participated in some ballistic gelatin testing of Fusion .30-'06 ammo in their ballistics lab. The expansion of those Fusion bullets was near-perfect, very large and very uniform, with little weight loss after impact. No idea if similar performance could be expected in other bullet calibers.

[RDub]

Hi
I've seen quite a few videos where this particular bullet was tested in gel, and in every case the expansion was about perfect. It should be just as effective as any monolithic bullet.

[Nevada Ed]

Thanks for the time, break downs and all the data and pictures.

There is nothing wrong with that bullet for hunting deer size game.

I load the Nosler 60gr Partition, #16316, in my 22-250 rifle for deer that
are at 200 yards or less with IMR 4895 or 4350 powder to get 3480fps.
I never tried the Nosler 64gr BSB............ #38135.

It will take deer but I do prefer a larger dia. bullet, if possible, here in Nevada
since lots of shots start at 200 yards, if you are lucky, plus lots of Sagebrush and stuff to shot through, some times.

[Nevada Ed]

If you can find them, these are three top quality bullets that will work for deer.............

Don't forget your wallet !!

[andy52]

These are the .223. bullets I find to be the best for deer and most accurate in my rifles.
.22 CAL 65 GR. SBT GAMEKING

[Continental Op]

Originally Posted by RDub

Doesn’t appear that the Fusion ammo likes the AR’s short barrel only delivering 2562 fps..

The Fusion MSR on the other hand did very well out of the AR, and was roughly a hundred feet per second faster than advertised velocity, delivering 2866 fps. And, the MSR ammo is 300 fps faster than the Fusion ammo with 0.6grs LESS powder.

It would be interesting to see these two rounds fired out of a 20" or longer bolt-action to see if the non-MSR round shines better in that platform.

[RDub]

Originally Posted by Continental Op

It would be interesting to see these two rounds fired out of a 20" or longer bolt-action to see if the non-MSR round shines better in that platform.

I'm going to assume that the Fusion ammo is designed for bolt guns with 20"+ barrels. In such a rifle the round should perform as advertised. Firing both the Fusion and the MSR ammo in longer barrels would be interesting to see.

Getting ready to test some Sierra 65gr SBT...

[RDub]

Originally Posted by Nevada Ed

Thanks for the time, break downs and all the data and pictures.

There is nothing wrong with that bullet for hunting deer size game.

I load the Nosler 60gr Partition, #16316, in my 22-250 rifle for deer that
are at 200 yards or less with IMR 4895 or 4350 powder to get 3480fps.
I never tried the Nosler 64gr BSB............ #38135.

It will take deer but I do prefer a larger dia. bullet, if possible, here in Nevada
since lots of shots start at 200 yards, if you are lucky, plus lots of Sagebrush and stuff to shot through, some times.

Welcome..
Around my house is southwestern Oregon woods where shots wouldn't be that long, and the deer are small. I wouldn't take this gun out to Mule Deer country. There is BLM land in back of the house and I could meander back there occasionally. I know a few guys that hunt deer with a 22/250 and they do well with it..

[white cloud]

I killed a deer with my 16" Mini14 and the 62 Fusion not the MSR. It weighed 176 lbs. which is on the large size around here. The range was short and the bullet messed up both lungs pretty bad. The bullet did not exit. The deer ran about 15 yards and expired. There was no detectable blood trail. I shot another deer with my AR with a 16" barrel using the Barnes 70 grain 5.56. It broke the shoulder, did a lot of damage and exited. The deer ran 20 yards and expired. Once again there was no blood trail. I like short handy rifles so ARs appeal to me. I think the 5.56 kills ok but I like blood trails. At the ranges I shoot, I think a .357 carbine does a better job on deer. Neither is a .270 Winchester.

[torizus]

RDub
Great report, clear, precise and to the point with detailed pics.
IMO, that is the way to post info/test results.

[Nevada Ed]

The main reason I keep the 22-250 deer loads at 200 yards or less is that the
Nosler 60gr Partition and the 70gr Speer are not the best past 200yards
for accuracy in my rifle and I need a well placed shot with this load.
Some of my 200 yard targets have spread out to 3.21" which prevents the odds
of even trying for a neck shot with the error factors.

As for bullets, I have always loved how the Sierra bullets shoot in all my rifles...
just that they are starting to dig into my wallet more, these days.

In my 30-06 the Remington Cor-Lok is a death ray but not that accurate and
I have to keep my shots to 200 to 250 yards on a standing broadside target.

Hard to find an accurate/Killing game bullet in some rifles.
The Sierra works but it is NOT a bonded bullet and will loose some of its weight.

Hope you can get out to shoot with the Fall weather moving in.
It is almost a done deal in my parts. Time to go indoors.

Tight groups.