Decided to try some of the $200/1K wolf at AIM to see if it was worth stocking up on.

Summary: wouldn't cycle all my rifles reliably, some stuck cases.  If your rifle happens to like it, it might be worth a buy.  I'm passing on it.

1000 rounds of Wolf "Military Classic 55gr" - both the bullet jacket and case attract a magnet.  lacquered green case, red primer sealant visible, no sealant visible at the case neck. Lot A(or something cyrillic)P841-10
polymer gray case, no visible primer or bullet sealant, primer does not appear to be staked, headstamp  223 REM WOLF

UPDATE - the ammo actually tested was polymer, not lacquered, as I initially stated.  The sample ammo shown in the first pictures below is the barnaul I unloaded from some other magazines to make room for the test loading of the wolf.  I put the loose barnaul into some of the empty wolf boxes as I was tidying up after loading the mags, then just grabbed those when I went to write up my review yesterday.  

No changes to the body of the function test described below, just the description and pictures of the actual test ammo.  I apologize for my initial error in the description of the rounds.

Test rifles:
FN FNC
DPMS telestock lower with lightning link, and 7.5" factory DPMS "Kitty Kat" upper
DPMS telestock lower with lightning link, and 10.5" factory Bushmaster "heavy machinegun barrel" upper, Triple-X warrior suppressor
Bushmaster factory 20" "Government Model" with DIAS, 3rb group installed.
Sendra XM15-E2S lower with DIAS, 20" 604 retro build upper with 20" colt 1x12 barrel.
Daewoo DR-200
Colt AR-15 A2 Sporter II

A boatload of USGI mags, mostly green followers on the 30's
24x30rd
9x20rd
1xBeta-C

All mags loaded saturday day/evening before the range trip.

Tested Sunday afternoon, targets at 30 and 100 yards, 1230-1330 hrs, outside temp in the mid 90's, sunny, breezy, about 6000ft elevation.

Did the beta mag from the kitty kat in 3-6rd bursts to warm up.  Functioned perfectly, no stoppages.
- 100 rounds fired -
30rd from the DR-200, slow fire, zeroed the sights for this load. No stoppages.
30rd from the Kitty Kat, slow fire, zeroed the sights for this load.  No stoppages.
30rd from the Sendra.  Failed to cycle - either ejected but failed to strip a new round, or failed to eject.  Gave up after 10 rds in a row and cycled the rest of the mag through the DR-200.  No stoppages on the DR-200
30rd from the Bushmaster "Govt", 3rb mode  Fired at most 2rds at a time, slow and erratic rate of fire.  Switched to semi, would not eject after firing,  I worked my way through about half the mag as a bolt action, and it started functioning better as spring tension in the mag went down.
- 220 rounds fired -
30rd from the Bushmaster "Govt" slow fire.  Wouldn't properly cycle single shots until I'd worked through about half the mag.
30rd from the 10.5" slow fire.  very slow-feeling cycle, even with the suppressor.  Stuck case on round 5 - had to remove by slamming the butt while grasping the charging handle.  Stuck case on round 6, had to tap out with a rod.  Stuck case on round 7, had to tap out with a rod.  beginning to see a pattern here, and abandon testing on the 10.5.
30rd from the FNC, full auto.  erratic function, slow to variable rate of fire for the first few bursts.  Checked the gas setting (flipped to the other setting), and had a bolt action.  Flipped back to the other setting, erratic function til most of the mag was drained, then it evened out.
30rd from the FNC, 3rb, First several bursts, seemed erratic on cyclic rate, but made it through.  Then a stuck case, which had to be tapped out with a rod.  Finished the rest of the mag without getting all the way through a single 3rb before a stoppage.   Two more stuck cases which I was able to remove without a rod by buttstroking while pulling the handle.
- 340 rounds fired -
Getting tired of the problems, 2x 30rd through the kitty kat, mixture of single fire and short bursts.  Flawless operation.
30rd from the DR-200, flawless operation
30rd from the Colt A2, erratic function, weak-feeling cycle, but managed to successfully cycle all 30.
- 460 rounds fired -
30rd from the Sendra, full auto.  Would sometimes cycle a short burst without stopping, but other times failed to load a new round after a single shot.  Seemed better behaved toward the end of the mag.
30rd from the Bushmaster "Gov't", semi auto.  Functioned tolerably, but felt like weak cycling through half the mag.  Switched to 3rb, wouldn't complete a single 3rb through the rest of the mag
30rd from the Colt A2, weak-feeling cycle, manged 28, then failed to load a new round on the 29th and 30th rounds of the mag.
30rd from the FNC, semi - no stoppages
- 580 rounds fired -
20rd from the Kitty Kat , full auto, flawless
20rd from the DR-200, flawless
20rd from the 10.5" - stuck case on the first 3 rounds, requiring me to tap out the empty with a rod.  Fired the rest of the mag through the kitty kat.
20rd from the Sendra, full auto, weak-feeling cycle, erratic rate of fire - but finished the whole 20rd without stoppage.
20rd from the Bushmaster "Gov't", 3rb.  weak-feeling cycle, finished a few 3rb without stoppage, but usually stopped after one or two rounds fired (not counting no-stoppage stops when finishing a previously-interrupted burst).
- 680 rounds fired -
At this point, I pulled the bcg on the 10.5" and the Bushmaster "Gov't", wiped them down and wiped them with a light sheen of CLP.
30rd from the 10.5 - stuck case on round #1. cleared with a rod.  put it away and tried the remaining 29 in the Bushmaster "Gov't"
(29rd) from the Bushmaster Gov't - weak-feeling cycle, managed to finish the rest of the mag in 3rb with one stoppage.  Cyclic rate picked up as the mag emptied.
30rd from the Kitty Kat, semi auto, flawless
30rd from the DR-200, flawless
30rd from the Sendra, weak-feeling cycle, erratic rate of fire, five stoppages (failed to strip and chamber a new round)  attempting a mag dump.
- 800 rounds fired -
20rd from the FNC, semi auto, four failures to strip and chamber a new round
- 820 rounds fired total -

I'm tired of clearing stoppages.  Break out the control ammo stash, which contains 62gr Barnaul steel cased I bought in bulk in 2002/2003.

30rd from the Kitty Kat full auto flawless
30rd from the DR-200, flawless
30rd from the Sendra, full auto, flawless
30rd from the Colt A2, flawless
30rd from the Bushmaster "Gov't", 3rb, flawless
30rd from the 10.5", full auto, flawless
30rd from the FNC, 5 3rd burst, rest full auto, flawless

So, I've still got 180 rounds of the wolf which the kitty kat and DR-200 have no problems with, and the Colt A2 can sort of tolerate.  But I won't be buying any more.

Very cool report

I shoot this stuff for plinking and have had no issues other than a primer that was turned sideways and I didn't catch it upon loading the mag.  When I shot the round there was no noise, so the bullet obviously didn't go anywhere, and smoke came out of the ejection port.

Not that it matters, but I thought that all of the Wolf Military Classic 55gr FMJ were black cases now, which is not lacquered.  I have heard that there were more problems with the lacquered stuff and that's why they stopped that part of the process.  Maybe I am mistaken... someone please correct me if I am wrong.

The AIM website say this is polymer coated.....NOT laquer coated???????  What gives?????

I bought the extractor kit from Bravo and it made a world of difference.  I used the oring as well as I read some put it in and others don't.

Out of 120 rounds, (the poly wolf) I had 1 failure to extract and it ripped the rim off the round.  I think a heavy buffer will completely cure it.


I think it does need to be said though I had zero issues with brass.  I am beefing it up for steel and is not required for brass.

Good report.

Gotta love those 'Woos.    My K2 is now my only semi 5.56, and they can bury me with it.

I'm not surprised to hear a particular upper has issues.  It is a surprise to hear that so much of your stuff didn't run 100%.  I'm into my 16th case of the boxer-primed Wolf BB.  It's gone through two 11.5s, two 14.5s, two 1:12 20" A1s, one 1:7 20" A2.  Zeros stuck cases, zero failures to cycle.  All uppers factory pony, some broken in before Wolf - some not.

Borrowed a brand-new LMG upper to try at a shoot, and Wolf didn't fully cycle (ftej), but that's the sum total of my negative experience.  Well, there's the dirt and the 4-5 MOA accuracy.  Have had the same reliability with Wolf Mil-classic (2k) and Brown Bear (few boxes).

Sam

Wolf hasn't imported laquer coated rounds in years.

Whether that used to be true, it no longer is.

This is Wolf.  "Military Classic"
Bought last week.
Lot code ending "-10" seems to indicate current year manufacture.
Definitely green, definitely lacquer.

As noted in the update at the top of the page, I mistakenly described and snapped pics of some of the barnaul, which I unloaded from magazines to make room for the wolf test loadout.  The actual wolf rounds tested were (iirc) polymer, and I'll take and post a few pics of the actual test ammo when I get home tonight.

ETA 3rd pic, this time of the actual wolf mil. classic ammo tested.  packaging and lot numbers are correct as show in the first two

I would love to find some MC laquer coated in 7.62x39....Everything I can find seems to be polymer now.

Strange, I just got in 500 of the same stuff from AIM yesterday, and it's polymer coated.  Lot 830-10.

 

how hot did this ammo seem?

felt weak, and only cycled two of my seven test rifles without any problems.

I need to unload the remaining wolf rounds I've got in magazines and snap a few new pictures when I get home tonight - as my update at the top of the thread notes, the rounds currently pictured were some of the barnaul I unloaded to free up some magazines, then packed back into the wolf boxes when tidying up.  The function description remains unchanged, but the pics and physical description need to be updated.

im new to the 223/556 thats why im asking. i have a few boxes of "hunting cartridges" from tula out of russia, it seems hotter than the wolf BB. so far my LMT has had no issues with steel case ammo. (never shot lacquer.. yet) im looking hard at some Golden Tiger now, thanks for the heads up.