AR Sponsor
Wolf 75 grain HP Performance Ammunition: Range report. (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 6/21/2008 3:23:19 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Molon][Edited]
Wolf 75 grain HP
As I’m sure you all know, Wolf is now distributing a 223 Remington, 75 grain hollow point version of their metal cased, “bi-metal” jacketed bullet ammunition. While the 75 grain bullet does indeed have an open tip at the meplat, it is not exactly a typical hollow point design as the base of the bullet is also open, with exposed lead, as in the configuration of a full metal jacketed bullet. 
While I’m sure you’ll bring up exceptions to my next statement, the odds are, that if you are using 223 Remington Wolf metal cased ammunition, you’ll probably be firing it from a chrome lined, NATO chambered barrel. For this reason I chose to evaluate the accuracy of the Wolf ammunition using just such a barrel. Accuracy testing was performed at a distance of 100 yards shooting from a concrete bench. The free-float tube of the rifle rode in a Sinclair Windage Bench Rest and the stock of the rifle was stabilized in a Protecktor bunny-ear bag. Wind conditions were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe. The barrel used as the test vehicle was a 20” Colt HBAR with a 1:7” twist and as mentioned has chrome lining and a NATO chamber. This barrel has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to fire 10-shot groups from 100 yards that hover just above 1 MOA in extreme spread when using match grade ammunition. Sighting was performed using a Leupold VARI-X III with a mirage shade attached. Magnification was set to 25X and the scope was adjusted to be parallax free at 100 yards. 
Immediately prior to testing the 75 grain Wolf ammunition, I fired a 10-shot control group from 100 yards with the above set-up using factory loaded Hornady 223 Remington 75 grain TAP ammunition. That 10-shot group had an extreme spread of 1.1”. 
In order to remove as much of the human variable from the process as is reasonably possible and to give the Wolf ammunition ample opportunity to prove itself, I fired five, 10-shot groups of the Wolf ammunition from 100 yards and used the smallest three of those groups for evaluation. Those three groups had extreme spreads of: 5.5” 4.5” 5.7” for an average extreme spread of 5.2” The three groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group which had a mean radius of 1.47”. For comparison, three 10-shot groups of Hornady’s steel cased 75 grain “practice” ammunition previously fired from this same barrel at 100 yards had an average extreme spread of 1.45”. The three 10-shot groups of the Hornady practice ammunition over-layed on each other to form a 30-shot composite group had a mean radius of 0.49”. 
Here's a pic of the smallest Wolf 75 grain HP group. 
At one point during firing, I experienced a stoppage. Locking the bolt back to examine the chamber area, I discovered a fired case stuck in the chamber and observed that the extractor had torn throuh the case head. The case had to be tapped out of the chamber using a cleaning rod inserted from the muzzle. This is the only time that I have ever had a case stick in the chamber of any of my AR-15s. 
update Wolf 75 grain HP: Lot - B 
I purchased a new lot of the Wolf 75 grain hollow point Performance Ammunition and performed an accuracy (technically precision) evaluation of it in the same manner as described in the first post of this thread. For this evaluation I also used a different 20” Colt HBAR than the one used in the first evaluation as the test vehicle. This barrel has a NATO chamber, chrome lining and a 1:7” twist; just as the barrel used in the initial evaluation. This barrel was also free-floated. The rest of the set-up was basically identical in capability to that described in the first post, including front and rear rests and a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification. As always, the wind conditions were monitored using a Wind Probe. 
I fired a 10-shot control group from 100 yards using match-grade, hand-loaded 55 grain Sierra BlitzKings. The extreme spread of that group measured 1.03”. 
Next, five 10-shot groups of the Wolf 75 grain HP load were fired in a row from the bench at a distance of 100 yards. The extreme spreads for those five groups measured: 3.41” 6.09” 3.59” 5.43” 4.63” for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 4.63”. Over-laying all five groups on each other using RSI Shooting Lab produced a 50-shot composite group with a mean radius of 1.24”. The “smallest” 10-shot group. 
The 50-shot composite group. 
With the addition of these newest five groups, we now have a combined total of ten, 10-shot groups, fired by two different shooters, from three different barrels, using two different lots of the Wolf 75 grain Performance Ammunition. The results are summarized below. 
|
All hail Jeanne Assam!
|
Awesome post as always Molon. Have you tried of any the other Russian ammo like Silver Bear, Brown Bear, and Brarnaul? I've been trying to find the optimal cheap plinking russian ammo for 1/9 and 1/7 chrome lined barrels. Any plans on chronoing the ammo or shooting into jugs to see fragmentation? |
I guess it's still better than a knife......
It wont hurt my AR15`s at all I use 75gr OTM for protection Like Black Hills 75gr wich is a TAP 75gr bullet with regular copper jacket and it Frags better than Some others types of BULLETS shooting Gliding bi metal jacket wont hurt a M4 So I DONT KNOW WHY ANYONE WOULD BE SCARED |
AR15 OWNER SINCE 1983
|
I think alot of folks might've confused 'heavy' with 'accurate'. It's just heavy wolf. ....that is one hell of a spread though... think its due to the bullet weights? |
There is but one truth in the world and it is all yours. If you are not sure of it stay at home; but if you are sure don't look back and it will be your way.
Honored to be a "Proud Member of Ranstad's Militia"
Honored to be a "Proud Member of Ranstad's Militia"
You can clearly see the carbon crud buildup on the case, so that's a typical Wolf failure for rifles that don't like Wolf. The accuracy is pretty terrible. I measured a 1.5gr ES when I weighed 10 pulled bullets. Even so, everything else was pretty consistent and I hoped your accuracy would be a little better. You could always just post a 3 shot group and call it good.  Thanks for the nice write-up! |
Daddy loves you. Now go away.
|
If you don't mind, I'll post my results so far in this thread. I'll toggle the "don't archive" button, so this thread stays around in the future for other people to reference. Here's the report I have so far: AIM graciously sent me a small sample of ammo to evaluate, so this is this post will include some data that may be of use for you guys. This first report won't include any shooting data; I haven't had time to go to the range yet. Instead, I pulled 10 bullets, weighed the powder and bullets, measured the bullets and loaded ammo, and took some pics. The loaded ammo looks pretty much like any other Wolf ammo: Grey polymer coating, primer sealant, no neck sealant:  Pulling the bullets showed that they are definitely bi-metal, as they were strongly attracted by a magnet. I plan to shoot these into some water jugs to determine if they will fragment. As You can see, the bullet is not a true OTM round as the bottom of the bullet exposes the lead:  For comparison, the bullet on the left is a Hornady 75gr OTM bullet, T1 variant. The bullet looks a little weird because it was tarnished a little having been left in the garage for a few months. Here's the view of a sectioned bullet:  Nothing much to say - it reminds me of the 62gr Silver Bear I sectioned several years ago. Minimal cavity for the hollow point. That bullet did fragment, however, so we'll have to see if this one does as well. The powder is a short-cut extruded:  On to the data. Powder weight 21.1 21.1 21.3 21.3 21.0 21.0 21.1 21.1 21.3 21.2 HIGH: 21.3 LOW: 21.0 E.S.: 0.3 AVG: 21.15 StdDev: 0.12 I thought the powder charge is fairly consistent, pretty much what I would expect from factory ammo - maybe a little better even. The weight of the powder charge indicated a pretty fast burning powder. Based on the chronograph results I've seen so far would put this powder somewhere around Alliant Reloader 7, maybe even faster. This is speculation though. Bullet weight 74.0 74.7 74.3 74.0 73.5 74.2 73.7 73.2 73.9 73.8 HIGH: 74.7 LOW: 73.2 E.S.: 1.5 AVG: 73.93 StdDev: 0.42 The variance in bullet weight is definitely more than I expected. An extreme spread of 1.5gr. Bullet length 0.939 0.941 0.948 0.945 0.939 0.940 0.947 0.949 0.948 0.940 HIGH: 0.949 LOW: 0.939 E.S.: 0.010 AVG: 0.9436 I don't have one of those little tools that allow you to measure the length of the bullet from a specific spot on the ogive, so this is the overall length of the bullet only. The ES of 0.010" is very good, about the same as Hornady 75gr OTM. Loaded ammo length 2.238 2.233 2.240 2.241 2.240 2.247 2.241 2.238 2.240 2.244 HIGH: 2.247 LOW: 2.233 E.S.: 0.014 AVG: 2.2402 The average length of 2.240 will not present a problem for loading these into a standard AR mag. 2.260" is the max length for a .223 round to fit into a magazine. The ES of 0.014" is about on par with the variation on the length of the bullet itself, and I would say that seating depth is very uniform. That's about it for this first report; I might try to squeeze in a range session to chrono and shoot them into some water jugs. |
Daddy loves you. Now go away.
|
I just got half a case of this stuff. I hope my results are better but I doubt it. My SHTF ammo right now is Prvi 75grn match. |
Originally Posted By dragongoddess:
Of course we spend a lot of time on guns. Lets face it. A bag of wheat has only so many uses and none of them are fun.
Of course we spend a lot of time on guns. Lets face it. A bag of wheat has only so many uses and none of them are fun.
|
All hail Jeanne Assam!
go shoot it in the POOL |
AR15 OWNER SINCE 1983
| Thanks to all. I'd really like to see some people post pics here of their three, 10-shot groups of this ammo fired at 100 yards from chrome lined, NATO chambered barrels. (Include a ruler in the pic if you can.) |
All hail Jeanne Assam!
|
I'm gonna try adn get out in the next few days to get groups from two different platforms. 14.5" cmmg and a 20" saiga...... Still not putting this through my match barrels  I'll have to remember to bring some serious ammo too to have a few control gorups.... |
There is but one truth in the world and it is all yours. If you are not sure of it stay at home; but if you are sure don't look back and it will be your way.
Honored to be a "Proud Member of Ranstad's Militia"
Honored to be a "Proud Member of Ranstad's Militia"
|
Thank you for this writeup. I think I'm going to stick to the PRVI 75 grain OTM. I get sub MOA accuracy with it out of my 16" WOA barrel. |
"War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out." - General William Tecumseh Sherman
I'm pretty sure that it's the new Wolf Black Box stuff since that is what this thread is about. |
Daddy loves you. Now go away.
|
I wouldn't get my panties all tied in a knot yet over 3 groups fired from one rifle. We need to see more reports on how this load is working before we give it either a thumbs up or down... Last night I had two 19 Delta Cav Scouts, a Sergeant Major (Ret.) and friend who served in the USMC in Iraq run about 300 rounds through an AR 16 inch middie and a Galil on steel plates on my new range. It ran fine and they put a hammering on the LaRues with it, especially the two Cav Scouts.... |
Heh, I bet the Marine was stabbing his heart out when the Army guys were out shooting them. |
Good range report, but Dude, what the hell is up with the pink jack in your truck? |
|
High altitude oxidation... I was hoping that you would be picking uo on my 3rd gen Magpal followers..:-) In CO...you must know that we get stuck often...thus shovel and high lift jack...in the back...living at 5000 feet does have its issues... I love the smell of a hot AR in the afternoon... So what do you think about the Blue Heron Ale in the back of the truck.....:-) |
I can't easily find Blue Heron Ale here in GA... |
I caught those too, but didn't mention anything. I have some of the banana yellow 3gen Magpul followers myself, they're GTG!
|
|
Another post for the masses... Just to prove that it was the Wolf...or my gun.. I just got home from shooting the same gun (LaRue 16" SS) I have not cleaned it in almost 1000 rounds...so I just got done shooting 360 rounds of Silver Bear (my fav Russian ammo) 62 gr... Not one issue...I ran the Silver Bear in less than 40 minutes...gun took longer to cool down, than to shoot the ammo So it seems..at least in my gun...the Wolf, steel, 75 gr has an issue in my gun... |
|
Originally Posted By Molon:
Thanks to all. I'd really like to see some people post pics here of their three, 10-shot groups of this ammo fired at 100 yards from chrome lined, NATO chambered barrels. (Include a ruler in the pic if you can.) I'd still like to see some other peoples 10-shot groups from 100 yards of this ammo. |
Member of the General Population
|
Originally Posted By Molon:
Originally Posted By Molon:
Thanks to all. I'd really like to see some people post pics here of their three, 10-shot groups of this ammo fired at 100 yards from chrome lined, NATO chambered barrels. (Include a ruler in the pic if you can.) I'd still like to see some other peoples 10-shot groups from 100 yards of this ammo. Who's selling it? I'd buy a box just to shoot a couple groups. |
...But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay...All my familiars watched for my halting...But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one...
Jeremiah 20 9-11
Jeremiah 20 9-11
|
Originally Posted By arowneragain:
Originally Posted By Molon:
Originally Posted By Molon:
Thanks to all. I'd really like to see some people post pics here of their three, 10-shot groups of this ammo fired at 100 yards from chrome lined, NATO chambered barrels. (Include a ruler in the pic if you can.) I'd still like to see some other peoples 10-shot groups from 100 yards of this ammo. Who's selling it? I'd buy a box just to shoot a couple groups. It does seem to be out of stock at most places. |
Member of the General Population
|
Originally Posted By arowneragain:
Originally Posted By Molon:
Originally Posted By Molon:
Thanks to all. I'd really like to see some people post pics here of their three, 10-shot groups of this ammo fired at 100 yards from chrome lined, NATO chambered barrels. (Include a ruler in the pic if you can.) I'd still like to see some other peoples 10-shot groups from 100 yards of this ammo. Who's selling it? I'd buy a box just to shoot a couple groups. IM your address to me and I'll send you a box or two. |
Member of the General Population
| If I can find anymore of mine I'll get some group pics, but I think I may have shot it all up. |
Arfcom industry disclaimer: I do taxes for a living. And raise cattle. And cut hay to feed other cattle. I'm pretty much the reason your government runs and you have food in your belly.
|
Originally Posted By cowboy7242001:
If I can find anymore of mine I'll get some group pics, but I think I may have shot it all up. Any luck? |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else needs to post data.
In God We Trust. Everyone else needs to post data.
Wolf 75 grain HP Performance Ammunition: Range report. (Page 1 of 2)
AR Sponsor