Fox Bullets in the UK: the complete guide

Fox Bullets is a Slovenian manufacturer of lead free hunting projectiles. The company has been run as a family business for over ten years, and its Classic Hunter line has become one of the more widely used non-lead options among European stalkers. Oxon Deer stocks the Classic Hunter range in the UK as reloading components — projectiles only, in boxes of 50.

This page is the reference: what the bullet is made from, why that matters, which weights exist in which diameters, and how to pick one. If you already know what you need, the full range and current prices are on the shop.

What makes Fox Classic Hunter different

Most lead free hunting bullets are turned from solid copper. Fox Classic Hunter is not: it is made from a copper-zinc alloy designated CuZn10 — roughly ninety per cent copper, ten per cent zinc. That single material choice drives most of the differences a shooter will notice.

• It is harder than pure copper. The bullet holds its shape better under the pressure and acceleration of firing, which helps consistency shot to shot.
• It fouls less. Solid copper monolithics are notorious for smearing copper into the rifling. The harder alloy reduces that, so cleaning intervals stretch out.
• It still expands. Hardness is only an advantage if the bullet opens up on impact. Fox controls expansion through the depth of the hollow at the tip — the meplat — rather than relying on the softness of the metal.

Two other design details are worth knowing. Grooves are cut into the shank of each bullet, which reduces the contact area between bullet and barrel; less contact means less friction, lower pressure and higher velocity for a given charge. And the tip is a black thermo-stable polymer, which improves the ballistic coefficient and initiates expansion reliably.

The range: calibres and weights

Oxon Deer stocks four bullet diameters, covering the great majority of UK deer rifles. Note that bullet diameter is not the same thing as cartridge: a .308 diameter bullet loads into .308 Winchester, .30-06, .300 Win Mag and several others.

Choosing a weight

The instinct carried over from lead is to match the weight you always shot. That is usually the wrong instinct with a monolithic. Because copper-zinc alloy is less dense than lead, a bullet of the same weight is physically longer — which affects how much case capacity it eats and how much twist it needs to stabilise. Most people moving to lead free end up one step lighter than their old lead load, and gain velocity for it.

As a rough guide: the lighter weight in each diameter suits roe, muntjac and Chinese water deer and rewards a flat trajectory; the heavier weights carry more energy for fallow, red and sika, and hold up better at distance. There is more detail in choosing bullet weight with monolithics.

Who uses them

Tom and Harry of The Deercast have used Fox Bullets exclusively on red, fallow, roe, muntjac and Chinese water deer since 2022. Their carcass inspection videos are among the more useful public records of how the bullet actually performs on UK deer, and they are linked from the shop page. Fox Bullets have also been used by Forestry England as their preferred lead free bullet.

Where to buy Fox Bullets in the UK

Fox Bullets are imported into the UK and sold through a handful of retailers. Oxon Deer sells the Classic Hunter range as projectiles only — we do not sell powder, primers or loaded ammunition. Orders are dispatched by tracked courier, UK only, with a flat delivery charge per order.