Federal markets its Fusion 123-grain 7.62x39 load for medium game hunting. Fusion is Federal's bonded soft point, with the copper jacket bonded to the lead core. It leaves the muzzle at 2,350 fps with 1,508 ft-lbs of energy, from a brass case.

Compared with Hornady's SST 123-grain, the Fusion is identical at the muzzle: both leave at 2,350 fps with 1,508 ft-lbs, and both kick the same in the same rifle. The difference is the bullet. The SST has a polymer tip, and Hornady tags that load for personal defense rather than for hunting. Compared with Winchester's Super-X Power-Point 123-grain, which Winchester markets for whitetail and big game hunting, the Fusion starts 15 fps slower and kicks about 1 percent less in the same rifle. Speed and recoil barely separate the Fusion, the SST and the Power-Point, so the choice comes down to the bullet and what each maker says the load is for.

Buy the Fusion if you want a bonded soft point from a maker that markets it for medium game. Pick Hornady's SST 123-grain if you prefer a polymer tip at the same speed. Pick Winchester's Super-X Power-Point if you want a conventional soft point that Winchester markets for whitetail and big game. If you want more energy at the muzzle, Prvi Partizan's 123-grain PSP starts with 145 ft-lbs more. For practice at the same bullet weight, Wolf's Polyformance 123-grain is a steel-case full metal jacket load that leaves the muzzle 46 fps faster.