A short report on Fox bullets tested on African game.

[German Saffer]

I thought I would share this short report on Fox bullets on this forum.

Right off the bat, I have no affiliation with Fox bullets, or their suppliers. I went down this rabbit hole to satisfy my own curiosity.

Some background

We have all felt the effects of the Ukraine war and the circus that is America Politics, as far as the availability of reloading components and ammunition is concerned.

My hunting opportunities here in Germany are limited. The few times that I have had the privilege to hunt, I used Barnes TTSX or Hornady GMX. My lack of regular hunting opportunities has however not dissuaded me from spending lots of time on the range. At some point I’ll run out of my Barnes TTSX stockpile.

To “future proof” my hunting loads, I started looking at using only European made components. This does not guarantee component availability, but it does makes me less dependent on US components that may, or may not be available when I need them.

While lead free bullets may be a legal requirement in my State, it’s also a personal choice long before I came to Germany. At the moment Fox bullets make the most sense. They are cost effective, and the positive reviews far outnumber the negative ones.
I’ve gotten great accuracy with them in both 308 Win, 30-06, and 9,3x62. I’ll be loading some for my 243 Win in the next week or three.

As we all know, accuracy is only one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is terminal performance.

I was curious about their effect on the game, but I am in no position to gather sufficient data. I have shot a total of 4 roe and a very unlucky sika yearling since getting my German hunting license in 2016. Those numbers do not bode well for any sort of investigation on bullet preformance.

So, I did the next best thing. I bought 100 Fox 150gr .30 cal bullets, and sent them to South Africa to be tested. I was fortunate that a very knowledgeable hunter and PH was willing to do the testing for me. He does a significant amount of shooting himself, and some foreign hunters also use his rifles for their hunting on the 33000 ha reserve. He is in an excellent position to gather data. He is also a meticulous record keeper, and an all round nice guy.

Initial results

He guestimated a load for his 30-06, and was rewarded with these groups at 100m. The velocity was measured at 2900fps.
.

Game shot to date.

2x Blackwildebeest: Both bullets were recovered.

The left bullet was shot from 150 m and the bullet on the right was shot at a distance of 390m.

2 x Warthogs - only one deformed bullet recovered. He suspects that it nicked a twig. Distance not mentioned
1 x Bluewildebeest - bullet recovered. Distance was 200m. It ran 120 m after getting shot. This is not unusual behavior for bluewildebeest.



2 x Blesbuck at 90m and 230m - complete pass through. Wound channel indicated that the bullet mushroomed.

- Redhartebeest at 350m - complete pass through. Wound channel indicated that the bullet mushroomed.


- Bluewildebeest bull (141 kg carcass weight). Distance was 165 m



- Bluewildebeest at 400m - complete pass through. Wound channel indicated that the bullet mushroomed.



This by itself is not conclusive, but it does confirm the numerous postive reviews I've read about these bullets.

I'll update this thread when more data becomes available.

 

[Smellydog]

Excellent report.
Thank you.

 

[Danny Fireblade]

The few animals I have used these on I have been happy with the results. If my shooting was all sub 200m then I would happily use these all the time.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I looked at their site where they stated their bullets are lead-free and are made of a copper/zinc alloy which is how brass is made. just saying.

 

[HonestJohn]

I looked at their site where they stated their bullets are lead-free and are made of a copper/zinc alloy which is how brass is made. just saying.

So a brass bullet essentially? Good or bad? Yet to try them but keep hearing good things apart from long range performance on game

 

[German Saffer]

So a brass bullet essentially? Good or bad? Yet to try them but keep hearing good things apart from long range performance on game

This is where I have trouble differentiating the wheat from the chaff from reports.

What qualifies as long range, and at what metric is used to determine if the bullet passed or failed?

My own skill set does not allow shots further than 220ish meter. I have no business shooting at game further than that. But as reported above, the hunter takes regular shots at distances in excess of 300m.

As to the bullet performance, in one instance he got a pass through on a Bluewidebeest at 400m, while he recovered a bullet on another wildebeest shot at 165m. Which one of these bullets performed better?

 

[HonestJohn]

This is where I have trouble differentiating the wheat from the chaff from reports.

What qualifies as long range, and at what metric is used to determine if the bullet passed or failed?

My own skill set does not allow shots further than 220ish meter. I have no business shooting at game further than that. But as reported above, the hunter takes regular shots at distances in excess of 300m.

As to the bullet performance, in one instance he got a pass through on a Bluewidebeest at 400m, while he recovered a bullet on another wildebeest shot at 165m. Which one of these bullets performed better?

Pass through at 400 likely due to pencilling through. I don’t like to see recovered bullets at all either, I want a blood trail, but some africzz as b species are quite wide bodied and thick skinned, so need to bear that in mind

 

[German Saffer]

Pass through at 400 likely due to pencilling through. I don’t like to see recovered bullets at all either, I want a blood trail, but some africzz as b species are quite wide bodied and thick skinned, so need to bear that in mind

1. The hunter testing these bullets has both a personal and professional intrest in bullet performance on game. He also has no interest in wether or not the Fox bullets gets a negative or postive review. They either work or the don't. If any of the bullets penciled, he would have reported it. His inspection of the exit wounds to date, have all convinced him that the bullets performed as advertised.

He also recovered a perfectly mushroomed bullet shot a blackwildebeest from a distance of 390m. So the "likely due to penciling" comment is without merit in this particular case.

That is not to say that it won't happen. The season is only starting now, so there is still alot of shooting to be done. If he deems a bullet to have penciled through, I'll be sure to report it here.

2. While some species such as blue wildebeest have a reputation to be tough, African game dies just as easily and quickly as European game assuming shot placement and bullet performance stay the same. I have not noticed a difference in skin diameter between African plains game and European game. The bullets don't know the difference either.

 

[Scipio]

Good idea by the TS, - any updates on how the testing developed?

 

[German Saffer]

Good idea by the TS, - any updates on how the testing developed?

He had no complaints, but he has since moved on to testing other bullets.

 

[HonestJohn]

He had no complaints, but he has since moved on to testing other bullets.

It would be interesting to hear what he prefers

 

[German Saffer]

It would be interesting to hear what he prefers

I had a chat with him. He will have no issue using the Fox bullets on African game. He rates them as high as Barnes.

His preference are for bullets that are accurate, expand reliability and penetrate deeply at the longer ranges he hunts. The Fox 150gr 30cal bullets did exactly that.