Wolf Woes
timusp40

timusp40

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Went to the local range the other day. Took the USP40 along with several different brands of ammo. In the past, the HK had been trouble fee. That is until I had a fail to extract while using the rather inexpensive Wolf brand. This is the type with the dull metal casing. After stripping to piece down and manually removing the case, I found the case was splint.

I understand that this is not all that uncommon with reloads, since one may not know how many times the brass had been recycled or what kind of load was put in it. This was new factory ammo! So what are your thoughts? A weak casing, undersize, quality issue?
 

timusp40 said:
Went to the local range the other day. Took the USP40 along with several different brands of ammo. In the past, the HK had been trouble fee. That is until I had a fail to extract while using the rather inexpensive Wolf brand. This is the type with the dull metal casing. After stripping to piece down and manually removing the case, I found the case was splint.

I understand that this is not all that uncommon with reloads, since one may not know how many times the brass had been recycled or what kind of load was put in it. This was new factory ammo! So what are your thoughts? A weak casing, undersize, quality issue?
Click to expand...

Some ranges do not allow Russian ammo, and Wolf brand specifically..
I'm not sure of the reasoning, but it seems like your experience is probably in line with there ban. IMHO
 
It doesn't take Russian ammo for a major screwup. Dig this: last year was invited to the local cop shop range. Dropped a NEW box of Remington .45 from about knee height and a frickin' round went off! New box, never been opened. Needless to say, the SHTF momentarily.
 
The ONLY time I use Wolf Ammo is in 7.62x39mm in an AK. I figure the Russians have gotten that right. Never had any problems with it in AK's. Everything else, no way to the Wolf. Cheap crap with a varnish type coating, that scrapes off in your chamber, then heats up and melts. But after it cools down, leaves a varnish type coating in your chamber that you have to scrape and scrub out. Shot some in a AR-15 at the range. The loads were totally inconsistant. Some loads were louder than others, recoiled more than others, hit point of impact differently than others, which leads me to believe the powder was old, maybe damp, or the amount of powder varied. This was a brand new case that was opened at the range. Never again.
 
Here is an excerpt from a post from a pistol manufacturer about their experience with Wolf Ammo..

"I have only seen the claw break off one of our extractors twice, and both customers were using Wolf ammunition with the lacquer sealant on the steel case. What happens is the lacquer reacts to the heat of the barrel and turns into a gum/glue that will fuse a spent casing in the barrel. I had one barrel with a cartridge stuck in it that required a punch and a big hammer to pound it out."

I think I'll spend the extra couple of bucks for some other brand of ammo..
 
HootmonSccy said:
Some ranges do not allow Russian ammo, and Wolf brand specifically..
I'm not sure of the reasoning, but it seems like your experience is probably in line with there ban. IMHO
Click to expand...

Many ranges won't allow Russian ammo because they use a steel core instead of lead in their bullets (you can check this with a magnet). The steel damages concrete backstops at ranges. I've used Wolf in both my AK and AR rifles. It works fine in the AK, however in my AR, after about 60 rounds the chamber is hot enough to melt the polymer coating on the casing causing it to get stuck. I have to tap out the stuck casing with a cleaning rod and a small mallet. I now limit my use of Wolf to 50 rounds before switching back to brass casings. When my supply of Wolf runs out, I won't buy anymore .223.
 
Ammo or HK Problem

Thanks to all of you that replied to my issue with what I think is related to Wolf ammunition. So there is a obvious problem with the coating that their factory applies to the casings. If you read the replies in the thread, the coating comes up in 3 different descriptions: lacquer, ploymer and varnish. Doesn't really matter to me. What ever the coating is, my HK doesn't like it!

I was loading 5 round mags (in relatively slow fire) as usual. The Wolf case that split and stuck in the chamber came at about 6 mags or 30 rounds.

It will be interesting to read the reply from Wolf (If I get one).
 
I only have limited experience with Wolf. I've bought and shot multiple case lots of 7.62X39, 5.45X39, .308, .223, 9X19, 9X18, and .45ACP -- I've never had a problem with any except for the occasional failure to fire.

If you'd like to send your problem Wolf ammo to me for further investigation just drop me a PM--I'll get you my address.
 
Wolf Photo

Link Removed

Close up of the fractured .40SW Wolf Casing. Not just a little crack. Almost to the end of the case!!
 
timusp40 said:
Link Removed

Close up of the fractured .40SW Wolf Casing. Not just a little crack. Almost to the end of the case!!
Click to expand...

Got a pretty quick response from customer service at Wolf. They are sending prepaid UPS paperwork to return the remaining cartridges from the lot of ammunition with which I had the ruptured casing. The service rep said that Wolf will test the remainder of the ammunition. Wolf also offered a refund or replacement. So far so good.

As with anything else, some forum members responded that they have had negative experiences with Wolf and likewise some like the stuff.

Let's see what the factory has to say. Stay tuned!
 
I use Wolf in a pinch with exception of my AKs.
Only reason I don't like them is becuase they are sooooooooo dirty and powder smell is very distinguishable in pistol rounds.

That doesn't look like the cracked casings I've seen before and I've seen a lot: reloading, hot loads or old casings.
That looks like a manufacturing defect; the split is really clean.:biggrin:
 
the only thing I use wolf is in my AK and my M91-30. both guns are pretty much made to use the steel casings just fine. so never had a problem with them. I wouldn't use them in my pistols though. I have read that the steel casings can be hard on the extracter.
 
Wolf Update

True to their words, I received USP shipping labels from Wolf yesterday. I told the Wolf rep that I was primarily interested in their explanation for the split casing. I have a feeling that this isn't the first time someone has had this issue. I'll post their response.
 
Well, I've shot a boat load of Wolf 9mm and .45ACP in several guns. But today I experienced two split cases out of a box of .45ACP. I have never really paid that much attention to the spent casings, but after seeing this post and one on another forum talking about the kaboom of a P-220 firing Wolf, I inspected all the rounds I fired today through my PT-1911. Here's a pic of the split cases.

1zgf67d.jpg


I'll be interested to hear what Wolf says about your 40S&W. I think I'm going to contact them on Monday, as I've got another 400 rounds of this lot.
 
.45 APC Wolf

I had a suspicion that there might be other instances similar to what I experienced. Could well be that this is happening a lot more than we think, but you may not even know about it unless you examine your casings or have a FTE like I did.

I sent the ammo out last Monday using the UPS labels that Wolf supplied. Will let you know what they say.
 
I got a response from Wolf customer service today - very quick response, as I wrote to them on Friday. They gave me the same response - send us the details, we'll send you a FedEx box and you can return the ammo.
 
So does Wolf replace the ammo you bought?

I've purchased the standard grade ammo from Wolf, is Wolf Gold any better (especially cleaner?)
 
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