Federal markets its Fusion line for big game and says it is built for deer hunting. The 165-grain Fusion is a bonded soft point: the copper jacket is bonded to the lead core, and the nose is an exposed soft point with no polymer tip. In the .30-06 it has a G1 BC of .454 and leaves the muzzle at 2,790 fps. Zeroed at 100 yards, it drops about 13 inches at 300.

Compared with Remington's Core-Lokt PSP 165, the Fusion starts 10 fps slower but finishes well ahead. At 300 yards, a steady 10 mph wind blowing across the range pushes the Fusion about 7 inches sideways and the Core-Lokt about 10. At the same distance the Fusion carries 1,802 ft-lbs of energy, 268 more than the Core-Lokt. Compared with Remington's Core-Lokt Tipped 165, the Fusion is close to a twin: at 500 yards the same wind pushes both about 21 inches. The Tipped kicks about 1 percent more in the same rifle.

Buy the Fusion if you hunt deer and other big game and want a bonded soft point that handles the wind as well as a tipped bullet. Pick the Core-Lokt Tipped if you want a polymer tip on a lead-core bullet; its wind and drop figures track the Fusion out to 500 yards. Pick the plain Core-Lokt only if your shots stay close, since it falls behind the Fusion past 200 yards. Pick Winchester's Super-X Power-Point 165 if you want a traditional soft point without a bonded core; it leaves the muzzle 10 fps faster and kicks the same.