View Full Version : 55gr Wolf ammo??
TeamGrazzi
06-06-11, 13:52
I would much rather go into battle with a guy who practices 15,000 rounds a year using generic 55 gr FMJ out of his old M16A1 than with some guy that has the latest state-of-the-art ammo and rifle, but only shoots 500 rounds a year.
I finally purchased my DD M4v3 and I want to get some trigger time on it to zero it and get used to it. I found some Wolf ammo 1/2 case for $100 was wondering if it really mattered how "high quality" the ammo was for practice and basic training?
I'm running a BCM 16" carbine upper, BCM M16 BCG, and an H buffer, and my gun does NOT like Wolf. Underpowered - the gun short-strokes about every round.
Yours may act similarly - you may want to go get just a box of it and try it out before buying the 1/2 case.
PA PATRIOT
06-06-11, 16:17
My Bushmaster and Colt eat Wolf 55gr H/P's like candy without a single problem over several thousand rounds fired, I clean as needed and have not noticed any additional wear from the mild steel cases. I've been using the older 100% copper jacketed H/P's which offer decent accuracy with limited smoke and flash on level with any standard bulk training loads IMHO. I would also recommend a single 20rd trial box and see how it goes for your rifle.
TeamGrazzi
06-06-11, 17:01
What sucks is the closest range is about 45 min away. Oh well not like I will be upset to just go shoot a few different types of ammo and see which o es work the best for my rifle.
Boxerglocker
06-06-11, 17:20
I finally purchased my DD M4v3 and I want to get some trigger time on it to zero it and get used to it. I found some Wolf ammo 1/2 case for $100 was wondering if it really mattered how "high quality" the ammo was for practice and basic training?
My DDM4V2, ran fine on WOLF 55g FMJ's I ran 2K through it in 3 weeks with 2 TAC matches before gearing up to reload.
My DDm4V1 did not like it the first time. I read a thread on here suggesting lubing it really well. I now lube it up and shoot the snot out of the Wolf. I've been surprised with the good accuracy.
My rifle eats anything I feed it. I use wolf at the range all the time. Never had a single issue, and it's accurate enough for practical use.
I shoot steel (Wolf and Tula) almost exclusively for practice in my 16" BCM middy. I average about one failure to extract per thousand rounds (actually 4 in almost 5,000 rounds). The good thing is that it taught me how to "mortar" a stuck empty case free.
I'd rather shoot more, and deal with a malfunction every other time out or so than shoot 1/2 as much. Plus shooting steel, I save my back from picking up brass.:D
One advantage of those pesky steel cases is that they'r easy to pick up. I have access to a quarry in daily use so we clean up after ourselves so the payloaders don't get any embedded in the tires. Only the .22's get to stay on the ground. I ripped a 3" speaker magnet out of a junk speaker from the dump. Screwed it to a 30" stick and - viola- those steel cases just can't help themselves being attracted. Sure beats bending over :eek:
ryanschmidt65
06-08-11, 00:03
My experience has been good with my Colt 6920 with wolf
RogerinTPA
06-08-11, 03:06
Lube the BCG generously and shoot.
Quiet-Matt
06-08-11, 08:08
I've been lucky over the years, I have yet to put together an AR that didn't cycle Wolf well. I was pleased to find that the new DD 11.5" barrel I just installed loves it too.
This year I will bang out about at least 7000 or 8000 rounds in my SBR and 99% of that is 55gr steel case ammo. I use the extractor hop-up kit from BCM (spring & O-ring) and lots of lube. Works like a champ. I can't tell you exactly how many FTF's I get, but it ain't very many and I don't know they all can be blamed on the ammo.
Steel case is the only way I could afford to shoot. MY rifles eat steel cases. Nothing to be scared of, as long as YOUR rifles like it too.
PA PATRIOT
06-27-11, 15:35
Hell if Hornady is now loading steel cased training ammo then steel cases cant be all that bad wear wise for a Mil-Spec AR. My latest lot of Wolf 55gr H/P seems to have benefited from a velocity increase but I'M waiting on a reply for Wolf to confirm I just didn't get a warm lot. I'm roughly getting 106 fps consistently faster velocity over a much older lot I was using.
Hell if Hornady is now loading steel cased training ammo then steel cases cant be all that bad wear wise for a Mil-Spec AR. My latest lot of Wolf 55gr H/P seems to have benefited from a velocity increase but I'M waiting on a reply for Wolf to confirm I just didn't get a warm lot. I'm roughly getting 106 fps consistently faster velocity over a much older lot I was using.
Is that in the WPA box? And your old wolf was other than WPA?
If it is, indeed you will see a velocity increase - Wolf shifted to Barnaul (Maker of the Bears) as their supplier recently and consequently the new WPA Wolf is effectively Bear in a Polymer case. Bear has always been hotter and more consistent than the Tula produced stuff and the Wolf of old.
The first time I shot my DDM4V3 I used Tula 55gr. I shot a couple hundred rounds of brass first (no problems at all) to get started. Then I switched to the Tula. Total ****ing disaster. Every 3rd or 4th round was a stuck case that required pounding (not tapping, pounding) out with a cleaning rod. Mortaring didn't work at all. It was disheartening but I continued. I now take a rod with me to range every time and steel case ammo is only for range practice. I will try Wolf and the "bears" at some point. Never again with Tula, total ****ing crap.
The first time I shot my DDM4V3 I used Tula 55gr. I shot a couple hundred rounds of brass first (no problems at all) to get started. Then I switched to the Tula. Total ****ing disaster. Every 3rd or 4th round was a stuck case that required pounding (not tapping, pounding) out with a cleaning rod. Mortaring didn't work at all. It was disheartening but I continued. I now take a rod with me to range every time and steel case ammo is only for range practice. I will try Wolf and the "bears" at some point. Never again with Tula, total ****ing crap.
I've heard a lot of bad things about Tula especially in handgun's, me personally I've never fired Tula. However I bought 1500rds of Wolf Military 223 and 1500rds of Silver Bear 7.62 and out of all of them I've never had a single FTF or FTE out of my LMT or my WASR. I can't justify spending 300+ just for name brand ammo when I can buy a whole lot of "cheap" wolf or bear. We had a guy on our local site/club that done a 1300rd torture test on his Acurate Armory w/ BCM BCG using Wolf and he didn't have any problems at all, never cleaned it but he did lube it. I like Wolf and will continue to shoot it until I first hand have major issues with it. Buy 2-3 box's and see how your rifle does, if you are happy buy you a case or two.
ForTehNguyen
06-28-11, 21:24
strange, all my BCM middy uppers (4 of them) with H buffers eat wolf and other assorted steel all day long. Shot 1000s of rounds, never had a stuck case. I have a delton, spikes uppers, and even my ACR eats them up fine
I've heard a lot of bad things about Tula especially in handgun's, me personally I've never fired Tula. However I bought 1500rds of Wolf Military 223 and 1500rds of Silver Bear 7.62 and out of all of them I've never had a single FTF or FTE out of my LMT or my WASR. I can't justify spending 300+ just for name brand ammo when I can buy a whole lot of "cheap" wolf or bear. We had a guy on our local site/club that done a 1300rd torture test on his Acurate Armory w/ BCM BCG using Wolf and he didn't have any problems at all, never cleaned it but he did lube it. I like Wolf and will continue to shoot it until I first hand have major issues with it. Buy 2-3 box's and see how your rifle does, if you are happy buy you a case or two.
Ha...welcome to the dark side. I posted the same review on here.
brzusa.1911
06-28-11, 22:33
I have never shot, and most likely never will, cheap ammo through any of my guns. I like my guns running on top of their game so I feed them well - good ammo and good lub.
arizona98tj
06-28-11, 22:40
What sucks is the closest range is about 45 min away. Oh well not like I will be upset to just go shoot a few different types of ammo and see which o es work the best for my rifle.
Perfect time to catch up on the various Gun Rights Radio podcasts that are available. ;) My preferred range is about 55 miles away....works for me.
arizona98tj
06-28-11, 22:51
Tula .223 Rem runs great through my M&P15. I put several thousand rounds through it without any issues. I feel sorry for the folks that cannot benefit from the low cost steel cased ammo that is available....but on the positive side, there is more for us that like it. :smile:
A year ago, Cabela's was selling Tula....and for cheap. There were times I paid less than $3.50 per box of 20. Wish I had bought many more cases. They now sell Herter's, which I believe is loaded at the Tula plant. The stuff shoots pretty darn good for bargain basement steel ammo.....
http://www.stu-offroad.com/temp/herters-2.jpg
I have never shot, and most likely never will, cheap ammo through any of my guns. I like my guns running on top of their game so I feed them well - good ammo and good lub.
If my guns can't run at the top of their game with whatever I put through them then they need fixing or replacing.
With "cheap" steel russian ammo I can afford to shoot a LOT more than buying "good" brass ammo.
I've heard a lot of bad things about Tula especially in handgun's, me personally I've never fired Tula. However I bought 1500rds of Wolf Military 223 and 1500rds of Silver Bear 7.62 and out of all of them I've never had a single FTF or FTE out of my LMT or my WASR. I can't justify spending 300+ just for name brand ammo when I can buy a whole lot of "cheap" wolf or bear. We had a guy on our local site/club that done a 1300rd torture test on his Acurate Armory w/ BCM BCG using Wolf and he didn't have any problems at all, never cleaned it but he did lube it. I like Wolf and will continue to shoot it until I first hand have major issues with it. Buy 2-3 box's and see how your rifle does, if you are happy buy you a case or two.
Thats good to hear about 7.62 in the LMT. I have an LMT and will have to try Silver Bear. I have heard that Tula is lower powered and can be very inconsistent. I can back up that idea. I will try Wolf and either SB or BB very soon.
Ha...welcome to the dark side. I posted the same review on here.
LOL, I should've known you'd be here SS, you always chime in when needed. Just so everyone knows, SS knows his shit and if he says something you can almost take is as god his self said it. I've seen this man run AR's first hand and trust me, he will run the piss out of one. If anyone EVER wants to do a torture test on a rifle or pistol, send it to him. I'm not kissing ass or anything like that, just know a lot of guys that chime in always go by hear say or are you neighborhood mall ninja. This guy isn't, he knows his stuff.
brzusa.1911
06-29-11, 07:44
If my guns can't run at the top of their game with whatever I put through them then they need fixing or replacing.
With "cheap" steel russian ammo I can afford to shoot a LOT more than buying "good" brass ammo.
I understand your position, I don't think a good gun will need to be fixed or replaced because of cheap steel russian. But on the other hand I also think that steel will wear parts that are critical and you might not notice until you need it - extractor for example, carbon fouling on the chamber requiring more scrubbing to get it out....
I won't argue that there is a chance the steel is gonna wear some parts faster than brass...deffinitely a possibility. I've actually been thinking about getting a MAID insert with an extra bolt and firing pin anyway, though with the amount I am able to shoot, I don't see excelerated wear as being any sort of immediate concern.
I understand your position, I don't think a good gun will need to be fixed or replaced because of cheap steel russian. But on the other hand I also think that steel will wear parts that are critical and you might not notice until you need it - extractor for example, carbon fouling on the chamber requiring more scrubbing to get it out....
This internet theory of extractor wear is just not working for me. I'm doing my level best to break one but so far in about 25,000 rounds of finest brown/silver bear/wolf/hornady training over 4 guns I've not yet managed to do so. Carbon fouling in the chamber....old army habits, while they have relaxed some, still dictate I clean my rifle regularly. In other words, I'm not going to sit around and wait for a problem to happen that can be prevented with routine maintenance.
Even if I were to break an extractor tomorrow, I don't think I'd put it down to steel case usage; just normal wear and tear. If steel cased ammo does increase the wear, in my own personal experience, its not by enough that you'd ever notice. Extractors break with brass ammo also.
TeamGrazzi
06-29-11, 22:32
I just fired about 200 rds of WPA through my DD today with out an issue. Wasn't that dirty however I was only zeroing my RDS so I didn't go through that many rounds but, I didn't have a single malfunction. I will be going for a much longer shoot next friday and will see how it does at about 700 rds.
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