Would you shoot Wolf 30 Caliber ammo out of your M1 Carbine?

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Rockrivr1

Rockrivr1

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I've go my paperwork ready to get one of the CMP M1 Carbines and I've been looking for some ammo and mags to get ready. I've seen a lot of Wolf 30 Cal ammo for the M1 Carbine around. I've only shot Wolf 7.62x39 ammo in my SAR-1, which worked fine but I'm not sure if it would be good to use with a rifle that is this old.

What do you think?
 
From: http://www.wolfammo.com/

"WOLF Performance Ammunition is the only ammunition company that provides a 100% Performance Guarantee. If you are not fully satisfied WOLF will refund your money on the unused portion of the ammunition, including any freight charges."
 
That always good to see on paper, but isn't going to mean much if you 60-70 year old rifle just blew apart in your hands.

I'm not saying that Wolf is bad ammo. It works great in my SAR-1. I'm just wondering if people would us it in an old M1 Carbine.
 
I consider it a personally choice. Some people like big Ford 350's and some people like Toyota Prius'.

Wolf, burns dirty. I had a lot of carbon buildup when I shot a box of 50rnds through my CZ-75B. How well do you like to clean guns? I don't, so I don't use Wolf anymore.

There is also concern about the steel case that wolf uses. It MAY damage your feed ramp (not sure if there is one on a carbine) or the chamber. If the steel case is harder than the steel used to make your gun.

A buddy of mine picked up some surplus .30 carbine cheaper than you can find Wolf for. It was brass cased and not corrosively primed.

Those are the two main concerns that I'm aware of. You'll get people who like wolf, and hate it. It's your choice though in the end.

I did buy some cheap wolf when I found some really really cheap. It's my SHTF supply. last resort. I'll have to run out of powder, lead and primers before I use it though.... (this is a worst case, nuclear holocaust situation) Not gonna happen....
 
Didn't the U.S. issue some steel cased carbine ammo in WWII?

There is also concern about the steel case that wolf uses. It MAY damage your feed ramp (not sure if there is one on a carbine) or the chamber.
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The nose of the bullet rides up the feed ramp. It doesn't matter what the case is made out of.

If the steel case is harder than the steel used to make your gun.
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It's not.

That always good to see on paper, but isn't going to mean much if you 60-70 year old rifle just blew apart in your hands.
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Has Wolf ammo blown up your SAR1? Have you ever heard of Wolf blowing up an AK or SKS? I haven't.

I worry a little about steel cases wearing the extractor. However, I have never seen any such wear on my SKS or AK carbines, so it's probably nothing to be concerned about.

My only complaint about Wolf is that it's not the most accurate ammo out there. However, .30 carbine is kind of expensive now, so beggars can't be choosers.

I haven't shot any in an M1 carbine yet, but I have a case on the way.
 
The steel used in Russian steel cased ammo (regardless of the manufacturer) is FAR milder than any piece of steel in your firearm. Steel cased ammo will not wear your chamber or extractor any faster than brass will. Polymer coated steel cased ammo will not stick or "melt" in your chamber causing FTE's.

Some people seem to have this kneejerk ignorance and distrust (or even outright hatred) for any ammo that isn't made in the USA (cue the corny Lee Greenwood music) or doesn't come in a glossy box at Wal-mart for $1/round. There is no conclusive evidence that ANY steel cased ammo causes ANY undue wear or damage to ANY firearm in good repair thats chambered for it. Theres plenty of unsubstantiated anecdotes flying about, but theres plenty of other ones involving various kinds of brass cased ammo as well.

These days surplus ammo is almost completely gone and not much cheaper than domestic commercial ammo. In order to shoot and maintain proficiency you are going to have to pay more. The best way to make shooting affordable is to shoot ammo that is indeed actually affordable, and commercial polymer coated steel cased ammo of the sort that Wolf imports is probably the best way to cut down that major expense if you are not going to start reloading using surplus components (which are getting exceedingly rare/expensive as well).

Buy whats cheapest that still works best in your particular firearm. Consider reloading if you still insist on disliking "commie" ammo (did anyone else happen to notice that Russia had a revolution in 1991?).
 
"...If the steel case is harder..." The case is mild steel. It will never be as hard as the steel in any firearm.
Wolf .30 Carbine is fine. It's MV is 1990fps. That's a bit hot, but nothing to worry about. I wouldn't use it because it's berdan primed. Mind you, I don't shoot any factory ammo out of my carbine.
 
Would you shoot Wolf 30 Caliber ammo out of your M1
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No.

I shoot steel case ammo in my AK, SKS and Makarovs. Guns that were made to shoot it.

I reload, so I don't have to try to save money by shooting steel case ammo in guns that weren't designed for it.
Besides I can hand load good brass case JSP Carbine cheaper than Wolf.

I've tried a few thousand rounds and I haven't seen any steel case ammo that is accurate enough to bother with.
I do keep a few hundred rounds for sighting in so I don't have to shoot good ammo to get on the paper.
 
I'm with dogbonz and m-2.

Not that I haven't been tempted. .30 carbine is the most unreasonably priced ammo of all my guns, and I have been tempted to try some. But my M-1 is a 60 year-old family heirloom, and I don't want to use it as an experiment in economics.

Yes, absolutely I shoot it in my sks and my friend's makarov. Those guns were purchased specifically so I could shoot them cheap and clean them when I feel like it. CAN you shoot it in American guns? Sure. You can drive a car with your feet if you want to. That doesn't mean it's a good idea.
 
The guys at Box-o-truth tried some wolf in a carbine, said it was under powered...

You guys getting a CMP Carbine are lucky... I doubt they'll have any left by the time I get my citizenship.
 
Wouldn't be my first choice, but I'd use it. In the Soviet-designed weapons that really don't care if you feed them handloads or rocks and don't have "cleaning problems", I shoot wolf all day long without a care in the world. I prefer brass cases (I'm going to start reloading soon, once I figure out how to work my press.....) for the theoretical reasons everyone states, plus Wolf just shoots dirtier--and I don't particularly enjoy cleaning my guns. My Carbine I'm going to get from the CMP isn't an heirloom, so economics will be important.

IMO, I'll take what I can get, but I don't want to shoot anything corrosive--the materiel the case is made out of is a moot point, until I get .30 Carbine dies.
 
I don't see why not.

Wolf-brand ammo has been a reliable, reasonably consistent "everyday" kind of ammo for shooting tin cans, paper targets, etc. It's not match ammo, nor should one expect it to be.

I have heard of the occasional ammo-related failure in various guns (this happens with a lot of ammo brands, not just Wolf), and Wolf has been known to either replace all the suspected bad ammo at their cost, refund the buyer if they don't want replacement ammo, and replace any broken gun (happened with at least one AK that I've read about).

People have been shooting a brazillion rounds of Wolf every year for years now. If it were truly a dangerous and unsafe cartridge, there would be far more horror stories about it than the few anecdotes that are going around (many of which dealt with the older Wolf ammo with a lacquered case and red sealant around the case neck -- newer poly-coated ammo without the neck sealant is significantly better).
 
Would prefer to use something else (Like REAL USGI), but if Wolf was on hand when needed, well "run whatcha brung".

If the current Wolf is actually rebranded "Prvi Partizan", well that is good stuff in other calibers I've used.
 
If the current Wolf is actually rebranded "Prvi Partizan", well that is good stuff in other calibers I've used.
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That's the brass-cased Wolf Gold line. The normal steel-cased, poly-coated stuff isn't made by Prvi.
 
I've put about 2000 rounds of Wolf down range from my Winchester and Quality Hardware M1 carbines with no problems whatsoever. I do not believe that there is any risk greater than that with brass cased ammunition. There is no appreciable wear on the extractor of either firearm.

HTH,
vanfunk
 
Wolf imports from several producers. Everything thats polymer coated and steel cased is produced by Tula Arsenal in Izhevsk, Russia. Tula has a patent on the polymer coating process. The new lacquer coated "Military Classic" line is primarily Barnaul headstamp though I have heard of people getting Klimovsk headstamp Military Classic. All of the brass cased line is produced by Prvi Partisan in Serbia. Wolf is only an importer, not a producer.

Russian designed arms like the AK-47 and the SKS were not "designed" to fire steel cased ammunition any more then the M1 Garand and AR15 were "designed" to fire brass cased ammunition. They were designed to fire a particular caliber and chambering with respect to dimensions and pressure. As long as the ammunition correctly chambers in the firearm and fires without producing too little or too much pressure, than that ammo is theoretically well suited for the firearm. Issues of whether the case is steel or brass is irrelevant, given that during WWII both US and British forces issued mild steel cased ammunition (both rifle and pistol) to front line forces. At no time has any Russian made steel cased ammunition been imported commercially into the US with a case hard enough to cause significant or measurable wear to either chambers, extractors, or any other part of any firearm.
 
My opinion?

Commie (steel) ammo for Commie guns... they were designed for the stuff.

Uncle Sam's guns were designed for brass cased ammo. Some people shoot steel cased (i.e. Wolf) ammo in all sorts of firearms originally designed for brass cased ammo and have no problem. That's fine... for them. Not for me.

Scroll down here:

http://www.georgia-arms.com/canned_heat.htm

Got a thousand rounds of .30 Carbine Canned Heat waiting for my CMP Inland to arrive. It's new ammo, made with unfired Lake City brass (mine happens to be '73). As close to the real deal as you'll find.

As always, YMMV.
 
I was going to link to the Box-O-truth article about this, but I see that someone already did. The conclusion seems to be that Wolf is underloaded, and dirty, but it shouldn't really hurt anything. If I get an m1 carbine there is a good chance I will shoot some wolf out of it, because it's so cheap. I don't expect any problems.
 
when i get my carbine i'll definately shoot wolf through it. i put it in both my AR's too.

bushmaster even lists it as an okay ammo, i really don't know why it gets such a bad rap.

no its not precision, but for 3.50 per box of 20 (223) i don't expect it to be a tackdriver. its fun blasting ammo :)
 
My opinion?

Commie (steel) ammo for Commie guns... they were designed for the stuff.

Uncle Sam's guns were designed for brass cased ammo. Some people shoot steel cased (i.e. Wolf) ammo in all sorts of firearms originally designed for brass cased ammo and have no problem. That's fine... for them. Not for me.
Click to expand...

FALSE

The original AK ammo was BRASS cased and later went to steel cased as a cost saving measure.


Don't forget that the US of A made and issued STEEL cased ammo (albeit not in huge quantities). In .45, .30-06 and yes.......30 carbine.
 
I would use it in a gun for plinking. I wouldn't use it in a Carbine that I planned to use for self defense. It will dirty up your carbine more. Just clean it. It may break your extractor. Then again...Maybe not. Try and tell us.....:D
 
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