S&W 17 & Wolf Ammo

[red rick]

I went to the range yesterday for the first time with my 17 . I took 11 different kinds of ammo with me to see what it liked the best . It liked Wolf Match Extra the best , but I could hardly eject the empty cases . The range officer saw that I was having a hard time and came to check on things . I finally tapped the ejector rod with the heel of my hand and they came out . I continued shooting without anymore problems , but I did not shoot anymore Wolf ammo and I had some Wolf Match Target that I wanted to try .

Good news , it liked the bulk Federal Auto Match almost as good and I have been seeing that at my LGS .

Any reason you can think of that would make these cases that hard to eject .They are low power, velocity @ 1050 fps. . I didn't notice any difference in sound and they grouped good .

 

[steveno]

M-17's have had a reputation for tight chambers. the one I had would only like Winchester Power Points and Federal Auto match. even then I used a 22 mag bronze bore brush every now and then to make sure the chambers were really clean

 

[rcmodel]

If you Google 'wolf match extra hard to extract', you will get several hits with extraction problems involving Savage and CZ-452 rifles.

So, if a CZ has problems with them?
There is something wrong with the ammo.

One theory is that the cases are too soft.
So they expand on firing, but don't spring back, or contract enough to loosen the grip on the chamber.

Sounds logical to me.


PS: Next time you have extraction problems with your S&W, poke them out one at a time rather then beating on the ejector rod.

Less chance of damaging the gun that way.

rc

 

[red rick]

The only one ( out of the 10 different ammo's ) I had trouble ejecting has the Wolf . Everything else just pushed right out . I shot the Wolf at about the middle of my testing .
The rest of the cases after that , ejected normally .

 

[Glock Doctor]

Maybe the problem is, ahh ....... WOLF AMMO!

 

[red rick]

I think you might have something there Sherlock .

 

[Dain Bramage]

I looked over my notes. I tried several higher-end rimfire brands a few years ago.

My 17-4 didn't have any problems extracting Wolf Match, but neither was it especially accurate with them. However, it did have trouble extracting RWS Target Rifle 40g LRN.

It was most accurate with Federal Gold Medal and Federal American Eagle 38g HP. The latter was cheap, so it became my go-to round, at least in the halcyon days of humdrum .22 availability.

 

[Glock Doctor]

When it's time to shoot decent 22 LR ammo I always use THIS - Always!

 

[red rick]

That doesn't mean it is the most accurate ammo in your gun or mine . I shoot some Elay Target and the Wolf was the most accurate . The Federal Auto Match was a close second .

Wolf was also the most accurate ammo in my Marlin 60 & Ruger 10/22 . The Elay is about in the middle .

I will not be shooting anymore Wolf in my 17 though .

 

[Glock Doctor]

Well this is cyberspace, and I suppose a case can be built for anything. Tenex is highly accurate ammo in anybody's gun; or it should be. In more than 25 years of teaching people how to shoot it's been my general experience that skill with a firearm comes down to just three things: The shooter, the firearm, and the ammunition. (In that order!)

The only complaint I've ever heard about Eley Tenex? It's expensive, but, 'inaccurate'? No! I've watched shooters win hotly contested 22 rimfire matches while using (American made) Wal-Mart, 'range quality' ammo. Why? Simply because an experienced shooter (with a quality gun) knows how to, 'get his mind behind the bullet'. Which, after many years of doing this, is the reason, 'Why' I think that, other things equal, certain shooters will consistently make clean hits while others do not; but, again, this is cyberspace where anything's possible; and anecdotes about this gun, or that gun; or this cartridge, or that cartridge actually mean very little.

Go to the range. Know yourself, know your gun. You might be surprised with the results you get from even Wal-Mart, 'range quality' ammunition. One thing I have noticed is that, over the years, the general quality of 22 rimfire ammunition has declined: e.g. weak smoky powders, loose bullets, inferior priming compounds, inconsistent cartridge ignition, and, 'mystery metal' cases.

Today, a shooter has to be extra careful about whatever ammunition he buys. Personally, I wouldn't use any sooty, 'mystery metal' ammo like Wolff in either one of my own S&W Models 17, or 41. Me? I haven't tried every brand of ammo on the shelves; and I tend to stick with what's worked well in the past. I'm sure there are other ammo brands that compare favorably with Eley Tenex; but, so far, I haven't needed to use any of them.

 

[red rick]

I would try Eley Tenex if I ran across some local . I don't live in a box and think only one thing is the best . Wolf has been the most accurate .22 ammo out of my 3 .22's , but I tried a lot of different ammo at the same time , so I can back up that claim . I will not say that it is the most accurate ammo in all guns .

Here are some cyberspace pictures form a Marlin 60 & Ruger 10/22 @ 50 yds. using a Bullsbag front rest .

 

[9mmepiphany]

Personally, I wouldn't use any sooty, 'mystery metal' ammo like Wolff

Perhaps you're not familiar with Wolf MT .22lr ammo. There isn't any mystery metal involved and it is from SK Jagd Munitions in Germany

 

[Saleen322]

Wolf match/target 22 LR is the same stuff as SK Standard Plus with just a different label, all made by Lapua. The Wolf Match Extra (I think that is the label) is the same as SK Match again made by Lapua. You have to spend a lot more money to get anything even a little better. While Tenex is great stuff, using it in any handgun short of a free pistol will deliver very minor if any noticeable improvement on the target.

I shoot a LOT of SK/Wolf including in my Ruger Single Six and Dan Wesson revolvers. Never had or even seen anyone having extraction issues as this is common competition ammo. Add to this that this Lapua ammo is standard velocity with lower pressure than HV, I believe I would be looking at how smooth the chambers are as they may be rough if there are extraction issues. YMMV