Silver Bear & Wolf Ammo In Handi's

[jdwolf]

I haven't tried either brand yet,  but I've been hearing stories about Wolf Ammo being very corrosive and dirty,  and rim cases' being broken by extractors/ejectors causing stuck cases. 

On the other hand I've heard Silver Bear ammo is non-corrosive,  much cleaner and broken/stuck rim casings are not a problem.  Can anyone enlighten me here?  Aren't both Wolf and Silver Bear made by the same Russian company? 

Which of the two  (if either)  is the best? 

[Badnews Bob]

None of the current production Wolf ammo is corrosive, And most youv'e heard about rims pullin off is in auto loaders not single shots. If you do try and shoot it in a handie rifle you will probably have alot of misfires thou, They have a very hard primer and it is slitly recessed in the case, Handies don't like them much.

BTW as far as ammo being corrosive and dirty, If you clean your rifle after useing it it no big deal. Shoot, clean, no corrosion. And it isn't any harder to clean than any other.

[greg916]

I have never shot either, so I have no fisrt hand knowledge. I do know the Russian military ammo is corrosive.  They prefer it because of greater reliability in extremely cold weather.

[torpedoman]

the wolf sticks to the chamber in my 223 handi and has to be knocked out with a dowel rod. The lacquer welds to the chamber when fired I got it super cheap with a box of wolf in the stock and i think that is the reason he wanted rid of it so bad.

[quickdtoo]

Wolf ammo doesn't just stick in Handis!! 

Tim

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,159140.msg1098702106.html#msg1098702106

[bluebayou]

It isn't the lacquer coating.  It is the fact that the Russian ammo is steel cased.  The steel case does not expand like brass does.  You then get a carbon buildup in the chamber that causes sticky cases. 

The Wolf is sooty.  It also leaves behind red primer sealant residue. 

I shoot Wolf 223 in my Savage all of the time.  Just have to clean a little more.

Wolf is kind of underpowered, at least in 223.

The Silver Bear, Brown Bear, Golden Bear ammo is made by Barnaul in Russia.  Wolf is from two other factories in Russia. 

I have a bit of Barnaul in 223, 7.62x39, and 7.62x54.  I like it for cheap ammo.  I don't have to hunt my cases from the SKS. 

I my experience Wolf and Barnaul 308 are both on hot side.  I quit buying it because of flattened primers, sticky bolt, and inconistent performance.

At $4.75/20, the Barnaul brands of ammo are great for the non-reloader. 

Also, at Academy, the Monarch brand 7.62x39 is Barnaul.  Their 223 is Barnaul or is a Serbian brand depending on the bullet weight (I don't remember which is which right now).

[ferryboatcaptain]

hello all,        I got a 1000 rounds of wolf .223  55hp  for a $ 104.00 about 5 years ago and like it pretty well. yes its a little dirty and a case will stick once in a while .       i have taken  3 or 4 deer  with it in my superlight handi .  if i could get it for that same price i would buy another  1000 rounds.         
                                          fbc

[mechanic]

The only thing I will shoot steel case ammo in is my SKS.  We ruined an AR with the stuff some years back when a case got stuck and the extractor actually broke the head off.  Even after "digging" the broken case out, and polishing the chamber, the rifle always had extraction problems.  I traded it to a gunsmith who wound up replacing the barrel and extractor before he could get it to function correctly again.  If you have an AR or SKS it will do fine, but don't ruin a good gun over a few cents.

Ben

[Bossloper]

I have a 7.62x39 barrel and plink with Wolf ammo because I have a mess of it, and as mentioned earlier, you get a lot of misfires. I never recorded any numbers, but I pull the trigger on most rounds twice to get a shot off, and if that doesn't work I spin the round 180 degrees which usually does the trick with the Wolf ammo.  With this barrel I've had the worst luck with Remington Express ammo.  I can spin & shoot it as much as I want but most of the time it's been no-go.  As for sticking, I've never had any problems getting any of the Wolf ammo out of the barrel with two fingers.  I eventually got a good deal on some boxer primed Lapua FMJ ammo, which the Handi has no problems with, and have started reloading it and now it's quite a shooter. 

[jdwolf]

Okay.....but what about the Silver Bear ammo?  I'm hearing it's actually better than Wolf.  Shoots cleaner and is much more reliable. 

[R.W.Dale]

If you have an AR or SKS it will do fine, but don't ruin a good gun over a few cents.

Like using a real broken shell extractor instead of some pliers and a screwdriver to dig out a broken case

I get my jollies about all these naysayers telling the uninformed everything from their gun will explode to their hair will fall out if they shoot steel cased ammo. Meanwhile I'll keep burning out the black at 100m with my AR15 shooting 7.62x39 ammunition that only cost me $2.99 a box.

In my opinion the additional practice and increased skill you gain far outweigh the decrease in accuracy and increase in cleaning

[bluebayou]

Silver Bear is Barnaul ammo.  I have a crapload of Barnaul in different flavors.  It is great ammo for the price.  I don't know what caliber you are asking about, but the 223 Silver Bear and the Wolf are to the same POA as my Winchester white box 55gr FMJ (not the Q loads, just the old bulk pack) and are close enough to the POA with my hunting load of 55 grain Black Hills. 

Like I said, I don't care for the 308 loads from either company, but the Russian calibers and 223 are a bargain. 

I have never had a case failure with any Russian ammo.  Clean the chamber of your rifle to remove carbon fouling.  Clean the bolt head to remove the primer sealant buildup.  You should be cleaning your rifle anyway.

[Guy Pike]

I've shot a lot of Wolf brass cased 7.62x25 in my Handi Tokarev with not a problem.