Goose Guy
Skooma lord
So I'm finally sitting down to do this amateur CSI-esque review of Federal's Fusion 12 ga., 2 3/4" sabot slug. But first, let me say...
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC DEAD DEER PICTURES!!!!!
Specs on the slug, as per the box, are 7/8 oz copper plated hollow points moving at 1600 fps. To be honest, I didn't expect much from these slugs. I'm a heavy-for-caliber kind of guy. No replacement for displacement. I like 230grain .45s and 1oz+ slugs. Hell, the slug here looks like something from the 20 ga. family. The only reason I used them was because they were cheaper to shoot and easy to find, so my gun was still dialed in from the last range trip. So this kind of surprised me in the end.
As for the shot, it was about 35-40 yds. out, left side exposed and facing away at a pretty good angle (explaining the shot placement.) I should have hit 1-1.5" left of POI, but I think it had something to do with the extra 2 layers of coats throwing off my aim that morning. Shot struck slightly forward of center, through a lung, grazed the heart, and exited just off the right front shoulder. The deer ran about 50 yds. through light brush before death. The blood trail was very large and noticeable at the initial scene, but faded quickly past 15 yds. Still no problem finding it, as it never changed direction. Deer was about 75# dressed and I guess at 1.5 years old. Now onto armchair CSI;
Pic 1: The deer as I found it. Blue arrow shows exit wound.
Pic 2: Entry wound. Deer was laying on this side, so significantly more blood has pooled out of this hole.
Pic 3: Entry wound, no skin. Massive immediate damage. Large affected area. Hole is approx. 2.5" wide by 6" long.
Pic 4: Exit wound, no skin. Blue arrow shows exit hole. Here's where it gets interesting. You'd think the big bloody hole is the exit but it's not. As far as I can tell, the slug was heading that way, but rode the shoulder bone out to the front edge of the bone, making a relatively small exit hole, not much bigger than the slug's diameter. The shoulder did not separate, but did lose a lot of inside tissue due to tearing damage.
What you can't see is the gut pile. Really, it's not much different than any other slug I've seen. A hole the size of my thumb through the lung and part of the heart torn up. I did not hit the stomach or any other bad parts (thankfully.)
That's all I have to say for now. Maybe someone with more experience can add on to this or share their experiences.
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC DEAD DEER PICTURES!!!!!
Specs on the slug, as per the box, are 7/8 oz copper plated hollow points moving at 1600 fps. To be honest, I didn't expect much from these slugs. I'm a heavy-for-caliber kind of guy. No replacement for displacement. I like 230grain .45s and 1oz+ slugs. Hell, the slug here looks like something from the 20 ga. family. The only reason I used them was because they were cheaper to shoot and easy to find, so my gun was still dialed in from the last range trip. So this kind of surprised me in the end.
As for the shot, it was about 35-40 yds. out, left side exposed and facing away at a pretty good angle (explaining the shot placement.) I should have hit 1-1.5" left of POI, but I think it had something to do with the extra 2 layers of coats throwing off my aim that morning. Shot struck slightly forward of center, through a lung, grazed the heart, and exited just off the right front shoulder. The deer ran about 50 yds. through light brush before death. The blood trail was very large and noticeable at the initial scene, but faded quickly past 15 yds. Still no problem finding it, as it never changed direction. Deer was about 75# dressed and I guess at 1.5 years old. Now onto armchair CSI;
Pic 1: The deer as I found it. Blue arrow shows exit wound.
Pic 2: Entry wound. Deer was laying on this side, so significantly more blood has pooled out of this hole.
Pic 3: Entry wound, no skin. Massive immediate damage. Large affected area. Hole is approx. 2.5" wide by 6" long.
Pic 4: Exit wound, no skin. Blue arrow shows exit hole. Here's where it gets interesting. You'd think the big bloody hole is the exit but it's not. As far as I can tell, the slug was heading that way, but rode the shoulder bone out to the front edge of the bone, making a relatively small exit hole, not much bigger than the slug's diameter. The shoulder did not separate, but did lose a lot of inside tissue due to tearing damage.
What you can't see is the gut pile. Really, it's not much different than any other slug I've seen. A hole the size of my thumb through the lung and part of the heart torn up. I did not hit the stomach or any other bad parts (thankfully.)
That's all I have to say for now. Maybe someone with more experience can add on to this or share their experiences.
Poor thing still has milk on its lips
