.223 Wolf ammo HP vs. FMJ?

[Religious Shooter]

I'm about to run out of my practice and local match ammo. I've had good luck with the Wolf FMJ's in 62 and 55. I was gonna order a thousand or two of the Wolf. I noticed there are HP versions of the Wolf .223.

Is there a difference in accuracy between the FMJ Wolf vs. the HP Wolf? There's a $10/1000 difference between the two.

How are the Olympic M193 rounds? They are currently $139/1000 at JG Sales.

Any other good deals on reliable and cheap (e.g. <$150.00/1000) ammo out there?

[blkbrd]

Go check out AR15.com go to ammo review and you will have all the information you could ever want.

You will find the Olympic has a bad rep for quality control and overpressure.

The new polimer coated Wolf isnt bad, I have had good luck with the 62gr. FMJ in my AR's. Did not notice any accuracy changes with the HP.

[Religious Shooter]

Thanks. I haven't checked out that site in awhile...

- .223 price listing -

[Vlad]

I've been using the 55gr polymer coated Wolf for practice lately and it works just fine. However it doesn't make minor out of a 16" gun so don't even think of using it for a match or you may get burned

Vlad

[Tokarev]

Dude! Wolf ammo will break your gun!

I hear this all the time so I called Bushmaster to ask them about it. The customer service guy told me that Bushmaster recommends new brass-cased ammo. So I said, "Will I hurt my rifle with Wolf ammo?" He told me that there is a slight possibility of excessive wear with Wolf ammo over an extended term of use. What the hell does that mean? I think it means he didn't know.

The only thing I can say about the hollowpoints is that they woudln't feed in my ArmaLite. They do feed in everything else I've got.

[Tokarev]

Forgot to mention that Sportsman's Guide has 62 FMJ Wolf for about $85 a 1,000.

[dajarrel]

I can usually pick up 55 FMJ at the local gun shows for $109/1000. 62 JHP runs $119/1000.

FWIW

dj

[scottmilk9]

I've seen Wolf ammo blow apart a bolt twice. As for Olympic ammo, I dont like that either, some guns wont cycle it well. I use S&B or PMC, little more expensive, but I think its worth it.

[MikeFoley]

Legend has it that steel cases will wear out an extractor. I think that is somewhat true and somewhat BS. If you shoot a million rounds of it, sure it will put more wear on the extractor than softer brass cases, but at a million rounds this cheap, you can buy a case of extractors, or several new bolts, or even a new rifle.

I do not use Wolf, but it is because of the laquer finish. I tend to believe the stories I have heard first hand about it getting in the gun and messing things up at the worst possible time. I have seen the new stuff where they only coad a portion of the round at each end, but still, that stuff in a hot chamber can't be ideal.

You can find it many places for $85/1000. Lots of people shoot it, but I shoot a lot, and don't want to risk it(JP parts are expensive, and cleaning laquer out of guns is not my idea of fun).

[Religious Shooter]

I went out twice last week to sight in my gun. I had a failure with a 20 round magazine. The bolt wouldn't strip the top round 100% on the left. The bolt would go right over it. I figured it was just the mag spring and marked the 20 "bad".

The second day I had the same type of failure with a 30 rounder. Once I got home I took out the bolt and carrier and noticed that the bolt head was worn. I compared it to a relatively new bolt and the normally straight bevel on the "teeth" (the name of it escapes me right now... but it's the part of the bolt that smacks the round in the back and pushes it into the bore) was worn on one side.

This particular bolt wore out pretty quick. It had a year or so worth of shooting... about 1500 rounds of Wolf and maybe 2000 rounds of brass-cased reloads and factory. It was my primary bolt that I swapped between my practice and match upper.

My house gun is more than three years older and has more than 3500 rounds with a lot of Wolf through it and the bolt looks OK. Both bolts came from the same supplier.

It may be that the bolt I have is just soft. But in addition to the extractor... add the bolt as an item that will potentially wear faster with steel cases.

My theory is that since it smacks the round pretty hard in the back to strip it out of the magazine, steel cases (being harder) will peen the bolt head a lot sooner than brass cases.

It's a $25 part from RR (for a stripped bolt). I figure there's about $60-80 per case difference between Wolf and brass-cased rounds. So I guess I'm still ahead financially by using the Wolf.

[smokshwn]

RS,

Avoid the olympic ammo like the plague. Also avoid JP sales. I bought the olympic from them in Prescott, went out that afternoon, my gun could not extract the brass due to the overpressure. I immediately returned to them and was told "Everyone knows this is hot ammo". No help whatsoever.

Anyway done with the little rant, but I have had very good luck with the new polymer coated WOLF as far as function and accuracy goes.

Craig

[cking]

All of the new wolf is new oxide coating, the lacquer is gone.

[kellyn]

I bought 500 rds of Olympic. Never again.

Hot loads, weak loads. It would only work in ARs with a JP gas system turned wide open and the accuracy sucked.

[rhino]

I've never shot Wolf, and I doubt if I ever will if I have a choice.

I know a lot of people have shot tens of thousands of rounds with zero problems, but whenever someone has used it in a class I was in, they invariably had trouble. The biggest problem was very poor accuracy in multiple guns. When you can't hit an eight inch plate at 50-75 yards AT ALL, there is something wrong. There were also reliablity problems, but that could be from a variety of causes.

[tightloop]

You usually get what you pay for...

[TMC]

I forgot how scary some of the people who post there are. There's a big group who seem to be hoping for some Apocalyptic event.

[hoodhazard]

My pos ar will hit 8" plates at 200 m with irons alone.At 50 yds will shoot cloverleafs with wolf ammo.Its a box stock DPMS A2,with a JP trigger.

[rhino]

Watching the ammunition forum on AR15.com is the best way to keep track of ammo price and availability. Right now, genuine M193-spec ammo (Win Q3131A, Fed XM193, etc.) is in short supply right now due to production being shifted to military supplies, yadda yadda.

You can usually find something like UMC 55g FMJ, PMC 55gr FMJ, AE 55gr FMJ, for around $3-3.25 per box of 20 in 1000 round lots. That's a little more than Wolf, but I think it's worth it. In fact, a lot of the recent manufacture AE223 55g has been in Lake City brass (good!) with the same projectile as used in the XM193. It's downloaded to .223 specs, but it's good quality ammo and excellent brass for reloading or sale to someone who does.

[texasag93]

Wolf ammo sucks in my DPMS. Failure to feed, bolt doesn't seem to lock back on last round and accuracy sucks. I just don't shoot it in my AR. Brass cased ammo seems to work much better all around. TXAG

[Sterling White]

www.natchezss.com usually has some great prices on ammo by the case lot. Compare with fed. amer. eagle brand - quality stuff and usually priced right.

[dadman]

I used some Wolf a couple years ago that was undercharged.

The box of 20 used wasn't aloowing the bolt to go back enough to pick up a new round, and would intermittently eject an empty.

Doing a shake comparision to rounds from a different Wolf lot showed the problem rounds had less powder, and the powder in the case felt/sounded "clumpy".

I have used Wolf here and there before and after this incident without any problems.

[SinistralRifleman]

I forgot how scary some of the people who post there are. There's a big group who seem to be hoping for some Apocalyptic event.

I'm ready for Zombie Apocalypse, are you?

[codyb]

I have used Wolf in My DPMS for the last three years with no problems in 10,000 rounds. My buddy tried it when he got his DPMS and had nothing but trouble. I guess it's all about finding what works well in your weapon.

Cody.