wolf ammo

Question
i have just read a post you wrote to  gentleman inquiring about ammo for an sks for home defense. it goes with out saying that an sks is really only a good self defense weapon if you live in the country or are waiting for the next large scale civil-unrest event to take place, but your comments lead me to question your experiance with wolf ammo. ive been shooting it in my wasr-10 and yugo m59/66 with absolute reliability for 3 years. i've had 2 boxes of winchester 40 s&w this year alone that have caused problems for my beretta and taurus (neither of which i would think of putting Wolf through, something about lacquered steel casings in a hand gun doesnt give me a good vibe). i'm not looking to sell wolf brand ammo, but my exprience with it has been nothing but positive and i am curious to learn of what complaints are out there.

Answer
Dan,

I don't remember the exact post you're refering to, but I'm not a big fan of Wolff ammuntion.  Having said that, let me confess that I also use it sometimes in a Yugo SKS that a collegue gave me some time ago.  Next to mil surp ammo, it is the most inexpensive deal going.

A few things about it, though.  First, I do not believe them when they say that it is non-corrosive.  I have seen guns that have shot exclusively Wolff ammunition with the blackened bore that corrosive ammuntion leaves.  Whenever I use it, I immediately after shooting for the day scrub out the bore with Windex (any water based cleaner will do) to get rid of the corrosive residue before I clean as normal (patroleum based cleaners will seal the corrosive salts in against the steel).

Secondly, chonographing the Wolff 7.62 has displayed some wild variations in velocity, which indicates that the QC is not terrific.  There could be a number of reasons for this variation, but the most likely culprit is inconsistant powder charges.  This may not be so much of an issue for a rifle or carbine cartridge, which has a relatively great amount of powder.

But I have lost track of how many true squibs I've seen with Wolff handgun ammunition in training or competition.  It is almost miraculous that I've not witnessed any injury with it. Either the shooter or the range officer noticed the mild report, or the lack of a hole in the target and stopped the shooting.  Disassembly confirmed that the projectile was lodged somewhere in the bore - firing another round would likely have been disasterous.  I've seen this approximately half a dozen times with Wolff.

For a carbine round for use other than putting holes in paper, I'd rather use something that has more reliable expansion of the projectile.  Wolff "hollow points" don't really seem to function all that differently than ball in water tanks or gel. I have no serious guns in 7.62x39, so I'm not sure what's out there for it. My choice in 5.56 is the Hornady V-Max 55 gr.

I don't mind using Wolff in "fun guns" (shooting it in eastern mil surp guns at a sedate pace off the bench), but in training or tactical competition where rapid shooting is necessary, sometimes under wet conditions, I'd rather use something more reliable and safe, if a bit more expensive.

Although there are exceptions to the rule, with ammunition, guns, and most things that you buy, if something is very much less expensive than a comparable product, there's usually a reason for that.

If Wolff is working for you, by all means use it. I make no claim to comprehensive knowledge.  I simply state my opinion based on experience from the bit of teaching, training, and competing that I do,

Thanks for writing.