I couldn't resist a 'sale' on this ammo a while back(really was a good price at today's inflated ammo prices). Ran a few shots downrange yesterday morning to see if it was worthwhile.
Accuracy from a Palmetto State 1 in 7 twist upper was in the OK category (not as good as 60 grain Nosler BT). This barrel is fairly new so that may have skewed the results a little but 1.5" @ 100 yards is certainly adequate for a 200-250 yard deer rifle. Surprisingly, the numbers on the box show this round carries 1050 foot pounds of energy @ 200 yards and almost 900 @ 300. Well within the criteria for deer sized game.
I ran out of time before getting to shoot some water filled 2.5 gallon triple rinsed chemical jugs. These are tougher than milk jugs and create more resistance causing more expansion and less penetration. I don't doubt that the FUSION bullet is satisfactory but do intend to check anyway.
What I did notice is the lack of recoil. This is a full sized AR with an HBAR barrel profile so it's in the 8.5# range but just no really noticeable recoil. I've shot quite a bit of 243 Win with 85-90 grain bullets in an 8.5# bolt action and while it's not much, there is 'some' recoil involved. One wouldn't think that an increase of 200FPS with a 0.020" bore increase would really make much difference and some of the diff might involve the gas op vs bolt action but still, it's something to consider if you have recoil sensitivity issues.
Accuracy from a Palmetto State 1 in 7 twist upper was in the OK category (not as good as 60 grain Nosler BT). This barrel is fairly new so that may have skewed the results a little but 1.5" @ 100 yards is certainly adequate for a 200-250 yard deer rifle. Surprisingly, the numbers on the box show this round carries 1050 foot pounds of energy @ 200 yards and almost 900 @ 300. Well within the criteria for deer sized game.
I ran out of time before getting to shoot some water filled 2.5 gallon triple rinsed chemical jugs. These are tougher than milk jugs and create more resistance causing more expansion and less penetration. I don't doubt that the FUSION bullet is satisfactory but do intend to check anyway.
What I did notice is the lack of recoil. This is a full sized AR with an HBAR barrel profile so it's in the 8.5# range but just no really noticeable recoil. I've shot quite a bit of 243 Win with 85-90 grain bullets in an 8.5# bolt action and while it's not much, there is 'some' recoil involved. One wouldn't think that an increase of 200FPS with a 0.020" bore increase would really make much difference and some of the diff might involve the gas op vs bolt action but still, it's something to consider if you have recoil sensitivity issues.