OT 223 ammo availability

[pharmseller]

Ammoman dot com has Wolf 55 grain .223 for $299 for a case of 1,000.

No dog in the fight.

P

[FWiedner]

I often see Wolf Ammo near the bottom of the charts as far as price, and many of my shooting aquaintances say it shoots OK.

Personally I tend not to buy it because I have a concern about how using steel cased ammuniton might eventually wear the chamber of the firearms it would be used in.

I wonder if anyone has any information or experience with same? Am I worried about nothing and missing out on a great deal, I wonder?

[mescalero1]

Good, thoughtful post FWiedner,
Have thought about the same thing myself.

[flatnose]

The Wolf ammo is one of the cheaper brands, that do shoot OK, but are not spectacular in the accuracy department.
I have only shot a little of it in the 223, but have shot a lot of steel cased 7.62x 39. The cases are coated to prevent corrosion, so the steel case is not riding directly on the chamber walls. Although I did not have problems, some have reported gunk in the chamber from the coatings, causing sticky or difficult extraction. I think the barrel would wear out before the chamber.
It used to be that 223 and 7.62x39 were so cheap they were not worth reloading. These days I would prefer to reload them. Using quality components they can still be loaded for 25cents a piece.

[Tycer]

I've shot thousands of rounds of steel cased 7.62x39 in an SKS with no apparent damage to the chamber. The coating on the cases is rarely scratched to bare metal.

[cnjarvis]

From what I understand, the gunk that was causing extraction problems was the laquer used on the cases. Wolf has since changed to a polymer coating supposedly eliminating the problem. I wouldn't worry about the chamber but the steel jacketed bullets will probably wear the bore faster. I prefer to avoid ammo with steel jackets and steel cases. If I have to buy ammo, I want reloadable cases.

That price doesn't sound too bad to me.

[morgan in nm]

From what I understand, the gunk that was causing extraction problems was the laquer used on the cases. Wolf has since changed to a polymer coating supposedly eliminating the problem. I wouldn't worry about the chamber but the steel jacketed bullets will probably wear the bore faster. I prefer to avoid ammo with steel jackets and steel cases. If I have to buy ammo, I want reloadable cases.

That price doesn't sound too bad to me.

Exactly the same thing I heard. I don't use wolf ammo but not because I am worried about the chamber. I have seen 2 guns blow from it. One a FN FAL that came apart at the shooters feet. The other was one of those High Point rifles. I was able to fix it somewhat but the chamber was so bulged that it was unsafe. To be fair though, both of these occurred about 6 years ago when they were having some quality control problems. Both were factory loaded very hot.

[Travis Morgan]

Steel cases are hell on extractors.

[J Miller]

A local gun store has thousands of rounds of brass cased 223 ball ammo for around $500 per 1000, and around $250 or so per 500. Reloadable boxer primed I believe.
Made me wish I had something to shoot it from.

Joe

[Travis Morgan]

I think it's down to $300 or so here.

[Sixgun]

My buddy Tom just got in a whole pallet of the stuff, along with a pallet of 9mm, 40's and 45 Auto. I don't know how much it sells for as that stuff don't interest me. www.targetmaster.com ------------------Sixgun

[sureshot]

The paperwork that came with my AR-15 said that the use of Wolf, Norinco, or any steel cased or laquer coated ammo would void the warranty, so I've never tried any in it.
I have fired lots of steel cased 7.62x39 in my AK and SKS with no problems, however.
Our local gun store just got in a bunch of PMC Bronze 55gr .223 for $385/1000. I bought a few boxes and tried some today, shoots very well and clean reloadable brass, too. Might have to buy a bunch more.

Steve

[mescalero1]

Sixgun,
Check the price please, some of us are trying to see if a trend is developing.

[Streetstar]

The paperwork that came with my AR-15 said that the use of Wolf, Norinco, or any steel cased or laquer coated ammo would void the warranty, so I've never tried any in it.
I have fired lots of steel cased 7.62x39 in my AK and SKS with no problems, however.
Our local gun store just got in a bunch of PMC Bronze 55gr .223 for $385/1000. I bought a few boxes and tried some today, shoots very well and clean reloadable brass, too. Might have to buy a bunch more.

Steve

Thats good ! my local shop had it for $500 ------- i'll head there in a day or two to see if he's still sticking with that price. I'd buy a couple of cases of brass PMC for that price

I bought 2 boxes to check function and it was fine, although with the red seal around the primer, i dont know if i am going to have to swage the pocket or not (havent gotten that far yet)

[pharmseller]

I shoot the Wolf out of my mini 14.
Surprisingly good accuracy, no problems ejecting.
I bought a case.


P

[Travis Morgan]

I bought 2 boxes to check function and it was fine, although with the red seal around the primer, i dont know if i am going to have to swage the pocket or not (havent gotten that far yet)

You can take that crimp ring out with your neck reamer.

[SteveR]

Wolf is fine for AK & SKS's, the lacquer on the cases will build up in the chamber and will need to be cleaned out if shooting brass cases. The lacquer on the steel case helps to keep the case from shifting back, as the steel will not expand as the brass cases do, and seal the chamber.

My Olympic Arms Ar-15 states that steel cases will void the warranty also.

The price is very high, I would wait and get some decent brass cased .223.

Try Aim Surplus they have good prices:

http://www.aimsurplus.com/

Steve