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+--- Thread: School me about Wolf steel case. (/showthread.php?tid=24649)
School me about Wolf steel case. - Two Tone - 06-23-2022
I am not a reloader and money is rather tight.
Want some practice ammo. Will not be competing. Max range shot will be 120 yards.
So, is Wolf steel case worth buying?
Read another thread how Wolf quality control has sunk pretty low.
School me about Wolf steel case. - tdbru - 06-23-2022
TT,
depends on what you try to get out of practice. Understand, it probably won't be match ammo. As the dispersion of a given lot of ammo gets worse, it becomes harder to learn in practice. was that hit 3" to the right of the point of aim due to a missed wind call or was that just the dispersion and variability of the ammo?? you get my drift (pun intended).
If the purpose is mostly weapon familiarization and practicing trigger and breath control, then it could be adequate practice ammo. If the purpose is some fun time plinking, then it might make great practice ammo.
I keep some wolf steel 7.62x39 handy for the mini howa for letting people who have never fired a centerfire rifle shoot to give them an idea of what it's all about. I can focus on helping them with the basics and not worry about recovering the shell casings for reloading at all.
And, of course some lots of ammo from any maker will be better or worse than a different lot from the same source.
So you may find some Wolf Steel that groups quite nicely in your rifle. Or it may not. If you can find it locally, pick up a box and try it. if it groups to your satisfaction, go back and buy more from the same lot and you're good to go. If it doesn't meet your expectations, then you're just out one box of ammo.
Some folks on this forum find the Wolf Steel case ammo meets their needs and expectations. Some do not. So set some basic requirements for your practice ammo in terms of group size or cost per round or whatever criteria you decide is important to you. Pick up a box of Wolf Steel cased ammo, test it. see if it meets your practice ammo requirements. then decide. of course, do that for all the ammo you get. Rifles do vary and for the same lot of ammo, some rifles will shoot it much better than others and the only way to tell is to try some.
Sorry I cannot be more definitive in my response, but to tell you if Wolf steel case ammo is "worth buying" without any other indicator of what requirements you have for it is just too hard to say. all the Wolf steel ammo you try that goes bang (no duds) will go 120 yards. if that is the only requirement, then it's obviously worth buying as long as the dud count remains low. If you're trying to hit a 3'x3' plate at 120 yards, then most probably Wolf steel ammo will meet your requirements. If you're trying to hit a 0.3" x 0.3" plate, then most likely Wolf steel ammo will not meet your requirements.
buy a box of all the varieties of ammo for your rifle and try them all. you may find that your rifle shoots Wolf steel about as well as anything else. Or you might see a big enough difference that you decide even at 1/3 the price of "normal" ammo, that Wolf steel just doesn't make the grade. Either way I suggest start with putting down a set of requirements for your practice ammo and then commence the ammo search and try a little of everything and see what all meets your requirements before you buy a lot of any one thing. Your rifle may be a really picky eater, or it may shoot most any ammo well. You'll have to try.
good luck
-tdbru
School me about Wolf steel case. - myrifle - 06-23-2022
At today's prices. No it's not.
With the cost your better off buying brass cased ammo and then selling the empty cases on this fourm and recoup some of the cost of ammo.
School me about Wolf steel case. - Fodderwing - 06-23-2022
My best response is I have pretty good supply of Tula/Wolf/WPA in .223, 7.62x39 and 6.5G on hand.
Even have a bunch of their 9mm I donate the empties to when ranges don't allow me to shoot reloads or scrounge for brass.
School me about Wolf steel case. - Happy2Shoot - 06-23-2022
Two Tone Wrote:I am not a reloader and money is rather tight.
Want some practice ammo. Will not be competing. Max range shot will be 120 yards.
So, is Wolf steel case worth buying?
Read another thread how Wolf quality control has sunk pretty low.
I can't tell you what will make you happy, but I can tell you what Wolf steel is.
Wolf steel (in my guns) is 3 to 5 MOA ammo that is 90% powered / 10% underpowered (starting loads).
Also, if you care, your money goes to help Russian Oligarchs.
School me about Wolf steel case. - Growler - 06-23-2022
A company like Magtech could probably set up to make good quality steel case, if they could make a favorable business case to do so. I like Fodderwings idea, but fortunately have not had that range problem recently. I avoid ranges that wont let me pick up my empties or shoot FMJ.
More than a few ranges wont let you shoot magnetic ammo or steel core bullets like wolf. The steel restriction saves expensive wear & tear on plates and indoor bullet traps, but hardly makes sense when shooting into a dirt backstop. Something to consider before investing in Wolf. A brass catcher -even a top tier one- can literally pay for itself if you reload.
School me about Wolf steel case. - Two Tone - 06-23-2022
Thanks guys. Since starting the thread, I decided to buy good brass cased ammo and reload it.
I think I am finally ready to put my Lee kit bought in 1995 to good use.
How about Wolf brass cased? Is that good brass?
School me about Wolf steel case. - lazyengineer - 06-23-2022
FWIW, PSA has announced that they will begin manufacture of Steel 6.5 Grendel ammunition domestically. Unlikely before next year, at the earliest. As to Wolf Steel - it was worth it at under 30 cents a round, as blaster ammo. At today's prices (and apparently today's QC), that's a hard no - I'm not paying 75 cents a shot for Wolf Steel on a good day, and definitely not for their 2022 QC lots days today.
School me about Wolf steel case. - Fodderwing - 06-23-2022
At this point it probably is irrelevant, there is no more Russian ammo coming into the USA for the foreseeable future due to sanctions imposed by the Biden administration. Some sanctions before Rusdia invaded Ukraine, some imposed after the invasion.
School me about Wolf steel case. - Fodderwing - 06-23-2022
https://www.nraila.org/articles/20210822/biden-administration-bans-importation-of-russian-ammunition
The State Department claims that it is imposing these sanctions on the Russian Federation over its use of a Novichok nerve agent in the August 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition figure Aleksey Navalny. While that may be a viable reason for the United States government to sanction the Russian Federation, the ammunition import restriction seems more aimed at punishing American gun owners and businesses than as a foreign policy tool to influence the Russian Federation.
School me about Wolf steel case. - Red Harrell - 06-24-2022
I generally consider wolf ammo as "break in ammo". I figure, but I have no data to back it up, that the steel case will remove any sharp edges on a new barrel. The last time I bought some, it was priced at right around $1 per round and is readily available. In running it across my chrono, I was getting an average muzzle velocity of 2603 FPS. The fastest of the 40 rounds I shot was 2659 and the slowest was 2563 which is a spread of 96 FPS. Not super accurate but you get what you pay for.
Personally I think it's okay ammo for short range practicing or hunting.
School me about Wolf steel case. - VASCAR2 - 06-24-2022
Wolf is an importer and doesnt manufacture ammunition. Wolf imported Military Classic 6.5 Grendel steel cased ammo with 100 grain Bimetal FMJ ammo which was manufactured in Russia by Barnaul. Wolf also imported Wolf Gold which was manufactured by Prvi Partizan in Serbia. The PPU brass cased ammo was first imported with 123 grain soft point ammo and later 120 grain MPT bullet (Multi Purpose Tactical). The Soft point PPU ammo was not very good ammo and the brass was soft and really only good for a couple reloads. Later lots of the PPU ammo with the MPT bullet was better shooting ammo but all the early PPU brass used large rifle primers.
Prvi Partizan started importing the 120 grain HP BT ammo and 100 grain full metal jacket ammo under their own brand name. Some lots of this ammo had decent brass and was pretty accurate in my rifle. Prvi Partizan had a recall and quit selling 6.5 Grendel ammunition for several years. I think PPU recalled the ammo because of the poor quality control and inconsistent brass. The Serbian military adopted the 6.5 Grendel (a.k.a. 6.5x39) cartridge for a new service rifle cartridge. Prvi Partizan concentrated on Serbian military contracts for a few years. Right before the pandemic PPU released new 6.5 Grendel ammo with new small rifle brass. This small rifle primer brass is supposedly much better for reloading and the ammunition appeared to be reasonably accurate.
To my knowledge there hasnt been any PPU 6.5 Grendel ammunition imported since the one batch around 2019-2020. Graf & Son still get 6.5/264 PPU bullets to sell including the 120 grain HPBT. With the war in Ukraine Ill be surprised if PPU releases any 6.5 Grendel ammunition to the US market.
Id buy PPU small primer 6.5 Grendel brass or ammo if the price was competitive. I wouldnt pay the same price as the cost of Hornady 6.5 Grendel ammo or brass.