Anyone had experience with all three?

TS

Barnaul = Decent

Silver Bear (made by Barnaul) = Decent, a little better than regular Barnaul

Wolf = It works but thats about it.

I don't like any of them in an AR-15. However, they all work well in an AK, SKS, etc. Of all of them, the Barnaul is my favorite. It's usually the most accurate and a bit cleaner.

The AK's and SKS's tend to be made somewhat crudely, but they do have loose tolerances which makes ammo selection much less a hassle. They will eat nearly anything. But because of these loose tolerances you sacrifice some accuracy.

The AR on the other hand is built to tighter tolerances and is more picky when it comes to ammo. But it is more accurate. If you have a 5.56mm chamber, I would just go with Federal XM193 or Winchester Q3131A. The South African is also good quality plinking ammo when you can find it. In an American built gun, this is the cheapest ammo I would purchase. AR's don't like the Russian ammo sometimes, especially the steel cases which can damage to the extractors, tough primers that sometimes aren't set off, laquered cases and sealant, among other things. Some people use it and like it. Others hate it.

So my advice would be to use a decent quality American made ammo in an AR. If you have an AK or SKS, the Russian ammo will be fine. Afterall, this ammo was designed for use in those weapons, not in AR's. Take this advice for what it is worth. Others will disagree. Personally, I don't see the logic in buying a $800 or $1000 AR and firing the cheapest, dirtiest, and most harsh ammo on the market. But that's just me.

-Charging Handle

I tend to agree.  My main issue is the lacquer coat.  While my SP-1 would spit it out like anything else after 400 rds the extractor spring broke and it took three hours of scraping and Hoppe's #9 to get the goo out of my bolt. The extractor still functioned, but not worth it in my estimation. This was with Wolf.

TS

The wolf and silver bear are loaded to 223 pressures and a little light for me, but the barnaul is loaded to 5.56 specs and a whole lot hotter. I can't get the wolf or silver bear to bump fire but I can bump through mag after mag of barnaul. The barnaul does seem to shoot a huge flame out of the end of the muzzle compared to south african. Barnaul is the only thing I'm shooting right now while I wait for some more south african, my 2 bushy's and 2 j&t's love it.
BASE-RIGGER

i had noticed the barnaul i have been shooting (55grn) thumped my shoulder more than wolf.

At the local dealer Barnaul is the same price as Q3131A.  Gunshow and SGN is a different story.  I just don't wanna f**k my rifle up.

TS

I get mine from Wideners. I pay $112.00 (+ shipping usually $8.00 to S.C.) for 1000rnds.
BASE-RIGGER