I have successfully shot a couple of thousand rounds of Wolf .223 with no junk build-up or other problems in 4 different CAR/AR15s (2 are owned by "Tweak" over on the AR15 & WA Shooters eList/forums) over the years (all with the lacquer) . . . these are all military chambered guns (loose chambers) and that is significant. Tight chambered AR15s (target quality) always posed problems for those that tried Wolf (according to reports by others).
So, I now have tried Wolf 9mm and .45 in handguns and want to report a VERY DIFFERENT experience! [Note: The types of powder used in rifle and pistol cartridges are very different, so my results can NOT be correlated to rifle ammo.]
.45 in my S&W 1911.
- I ran 100 rds thru it. This was the "new" stuff without the lacquer.
- Feeding the mags was problematic, as the steel cases rubbing across steel cases offered a lot more resistance than I ever encountered with brass cased ammo. I didn't like it!
- I have new Cobramags (8 rd), Wilson Combat (8 rd, came with gun) and 3 Wilson Combat 10 rd extended mags (bought used).
- I had one FTF on the 10 rd mag, no other problems with the other mags.
- The dirt and filth I found (after 100 rds) when I broke down the gun far exceed anything I've ever seen even with 300-400 rds of PMC! There was a stubborn (bathtub ring) of black crud in the chamber that was no fun trying to remove.
- I sold off the rest of this 500 rd case to another shooter who likes Wolf .45 while I was at the range!
- I'll never buy their .45 ammo again.
9mm:
- I have 2 cases (2K) of the lacquer coated stuff!
- I first tried it (100 rds)in my old 2nd gen (?) 39-2 and found that it basically wouldn't feed! Great for practicing malfunction drills, but not for shooting.
- I spoke with Wolf and they sent me 2 boxes of the new stuff (non-lacquered) to try and offered to replace all my ammo or refund my money if it didn't work. Good folks to do business with. Not sure if I'd have to pay return shipping . . . still to be investigated.
- I tried the "new" Wolf ammo in the 39-2, still wouldn't feed reliably.
- I spoke with S&W and confirmed that their older 9mm guns had very narrow feed ramps and won't reliably feed steel cased ammo! OK.
- I ran a few mags of the "old" Wolf thru my Walther P7M8 and a Taurus PT-111. Mostly fed OK. I had 1 or 2 FTFs in the PT-111 IIRC (it was a few weeks ago, so fuzzy memory). It fed fine in the P7M8.
- The guns also exhibited the "bathtub ring" Of crud in the chambers! Not good and not easy to remove.
- The mags were absolutely filthy! I've run thousands of rds of PMC (and other domestic) ammo thru handguns and none of their mags looked this bad after 50 rds or so of Wolf.
Net Result:
- Anyone want to buy ~1900 rds of Wolf 9mm FTF?
- I'll never use Wolf pistol ammo again!
- I will continue to use Wolf .223 until/unless I start experiencing the same sort of issues.
So, I now have tried Wolf 9mm and .45 in handguns and want to report a VERY DIFFERENT experience! [Note: The types of powder used in rifle and pistol cartridges are very different, so my results can NOT be correlated to rifle ammo.]
.45 in my S&W 1911.
- I ran 100 rds thru it. This was the "new" stuff without the lacquer.
- Feeding the mags was problematic, as the steel cases rubbing across steel cases offered a lot more resistance than I ever encountered with brass cased ammo. I didn't like it!
- I have new Cobramags (8 rd), Wilson Combat (8 rd, came with gun) and 3 Wilson Combat 10 rd extended mags (bought used).
- I had one FTF on the 10 rd mag, no other problems with the other mags.
- The dirt and filth I found (after 100 rds) when I broke down the gun far exceed anything I've ever seen even with 300-400 rds of PMC! There was a stubborn (bathtub ring) of black crud in the chamber that was no fun trying to remove.
- I sold off the rest of this 500 rd case to another shooter who likes Wolf .45 while I was at the range!
- I'll never buy their .45 ammo again.
9mm:
- I have 2 cases (2K) of the lacquer coated stuff!
- I first tried it (100 rds)in my old 2nd gen (?) 39-2 and found that it basically wouldn't feed! Great for practicing malfunction drills, but not for shooting.
- I spoke with Wolf and they sent me 2 boxes of the new stuff (non-lacquered) to try and offered to replace all my ammo or refund my money if it didn't work. Good folks to do business with. Not sure if I'd have to pay return shipping . . . still to be investigated.
- I tried the "new" Wolf ammo in the 39-2, still wouldn't feed reliably.
- I spoke with S&W and confirmed that their older 9mm guns had very narrow feed ramps and won't reliably feed steel cased ammo! OK.
- I ran a few mags of the "old" Wolf thru my Walther P7M8 and a Taurus PT-111. Mostly fed OK. I had 1 or 2 FTFs in the PT-111 IIRC (it was a few weeks ago, so fuzzy memory). It fed fine in the P7M8.
- The guns also exhibited the "bathtub ring" Of crud in the chambers! Not good and not easy to remove.
- The mags were absolutely filthy! I've run thousands of rds of PMC (and other domestic) ammo thru handguns and none of their mags looked this bad after 50 rds or so of Wolf.
Net Result:
- Anyone want to buy ~1900 rds of Wolf 9mm FTF?
- I'll never use Wolf pistol ammo again!
- I will continue to use Wolf .223 until/unless I start experiencing the same sort of issues.