Five lines of hunting cartridges from GECO, each with its own profile, leaded or lead-free: Which one should you choose?

With no fewer than five hunting cartridge lines, GECO offers a versatile quintet of ammunition to choose from that covers all common applications on the hunting ground. These "Fab 5" are the GECO Express, Softpoint and Plus cartridges, each with lead bullets, as well as the lead-free alternatives GECO Star and GECO Zero. We will show you the differences and the criteria you can use to select your perfect hunting ammunition.

A contribution from Ulrich Eichstädt07.08.2025

Lead story GECO — With its five clearly defined cartridge lines, GECO supplies the right solution for every application – here the GECO Plus with deep penetration on target.

With the introduction of the GECO Star three years ago, the German ammunition manufacturer GECO expanded its range of hunting cartridges to five lines, each serving its own purpose. New calibers are continuously added to all of them every year, and the response from quality and price-conscious customers proves the diversity right: GECO Plus is well suited for shooting big game. The GECO Express scores particularly well at long distances. The GECO Softpoint is an all-round cartridge and can be used universally for all types of game. The GECO Zero features extreme stopping power. GECO Star is the second lead-free solution in the catalog and is designed to maximise penetration.

Thanks to a redesign of the packaging and colour coding, the "Fab 5", as GECO casually summarises them on the website, can now be clearly distinguished. All five have also been given a slogan that characterises them and matches their intended use. We summarise the key features once again.

The classics with lead bullets: GECO Plus, GECO Softpoint and GECO Express

© GECO
GECO Plus: The "Performance Point" bullet tip ensures penetration and game protection, while the firm connection between the core and jacket promotes both precision and reliable deformation in the target. The residual bullet weight in the target is over 90 per cent.

The "Plus" in the GECO cartridge of the same name and the slogan "The powerful hunting bullet" should be taken literally, especially when it comes to the projectile: GECO Bonding Technology ensures an extremely stable bond between the bullet core and the bullet jacket. This means that the GECO PLUS can mushroom with almost no loss of bullet parts and is reliably effective even with heavy game and bone hits. The firm bond between the lead core and jacket ensures clean game, as hardly any residue is left behind. The deformation of the bullet is controlled by the visible predetermined breaking points in the jacket and contributes to the effectiveness of the bullet.

© GECO
A classic hunting cartridge with a typical mushrooming tip: GECO Softpoint for all-round use.

The GECO Softpoint ("The classic bullet") is completely different: the bullet is a classic semi-jacketed type that has proven itself in hunting for decades. It impresses with its reliable energy release, good penetration and controlled deformation in the body of the game. The soft lead tip ensures rapid mushrooming and thus a high stopping effect. This makes this cartridge almost universally applicable, as the performance diagram in the picture gallery below shows: the Softpoint lies everywhere between the extremes, so it can do everything without being a specialist.

© GECO
**The GECO Express is characterised by high bullet velocity and extreme instantaneous impact on the target.**

GECO Express ("The fast bullet"): this bullet was developed for high bullet velocity and elongated trajectories – ideal for hunting at long distances. The aerodynamic shape in combination with the ballistic plastic tip ensures outstanding accuracy. The thin-walled jacket in the front area favours particularly rapid deformation on impact and leads to a strong shock effect. The result: short flight distances and a reliable effect – even at long range. GECO Express combines modern ballistics with hunting effectiveness.

Two lead-free hunting cartridges with different designs: GECO Zero and GECO Star

Anyone who has familiarised themselves with a manufacturer's ammunition and has had good experiences with it will also start looking in this product range if lead has to be dispensed with for hunting. On the one hand, GECO has over 130 years of experience in the production of "classic" ammunition with lead bullets, but on the other hand, as one of the first suppliers of lead-free alternatives, it also has the corresponding expertise to show which projectiles can also fulfil the required properties in flight and on target. With the GECO Star and GECO Zero lines, GECO also has two cartridges in its catalog that are designed differently:

© GECO
Thanks to the hollow point, the GECO STar bullet deforms reliably at almost all hunting distances and the residual weight is almost 100 per cent.

The GECO Star ("The dynamic bullet") is a lead-free, monolithic deformation bullet with maximum penetration and high residual weight thanks to the solid copper core (GECO Copper Core), which in turn guarantees good game utilisation. The hollow-point design ensures reliable deformation at all distances, while the integrated bullet grooves
(Performance Grooves) improve accuracy. Currently available in nine loads.

© GECO
GECO Zero: the pre-fragmented front core disintegrates immediately on impact and
releases a large part of the energy. The
rear tin core forms a stable residual body with the jacket and ensures depth effect and a safe exit wound.

The cartridges in the GECO Zero line ("The clever bullet") are currently available in 12 calibers. The Zero is a lead-free partial fragmentation bullet and has two tin cores with different functions:

Front tin core with radial arrangement of predetermined breaking point for reliable response behaviour and high instantaneous effect
Rear tin core with rear constriction for a mass-stable residual body and a secure exit wound

Incidentally, all the projectiles from all the "Fab 5" lines in the most popular calibres are also available for reloaders.

In addition to a reliable hunting rifle, a high-quality riflescope and mount and, of course, clothing that is suitable for the weather and the purpose of the hunt, the success of the hunt depends on the ammunition used.

PICTURE GALLERY: The fields of application of the GECO "Fab 5" hunting cartridges in comparison – Now with new caliber color coding

The new color coding on the boxes of GECO hunting cartridges makes it easier to classify them by caliber.

GECO EXPRESS, available in 14 calibers: high accuracy and best effectiveness even at long hunting distances.

GECO PLUS: high depth effect and game protection even on larger game, available in 12 calibers.

GECO SOFTPOINT: available in 15 calibers, the universal cartridge with Classic jacketed bullet.

GECO STAR: a lead-free deformation bullet with maximum penetration and high residual weight, available in nine calibers.

GECO ZERO: lead-free partial fragmentation bullet with two tin cores for all game species.

Colour table for GECO hunting cartridges — Sorted by colour according to caliber groups – the colours can also be found on the backs of the redesigned GECO cartridge boxes.

A small but helpful aid is now available for all enthusiastic GECO hunters. The new labels not only contain important information on the ballistic data of the respective products and thus offer an optimum overview for successful use, but are now also provided with an application-oriented color coding.