Wolf 7.62x39

[ny32182]

Normally I'm not a Wolf fan. I've examined and fired it in several calibers and don't like their handgun ammo or .223.

However, their 7.62x39 seems to be a little different.

First, it just seems to be a little "higher quality" than their other offerings. Also, most of the guns that fire it were designed from the beginning to run with Russian steel cased ammo.

I've seen pictures of recovered Wolf rounds that a member here fired into playdough. They looked like they would create some nasty wounds.

It comes sealed in plastic, and the rounds themselves have sealed primers and case necks, so it should be able to stand up to the elements.

Finally, it has been 100% reliable in my VEPR and every other gun I've seen it fired through. Is there any reason not to use it for serious purposes? It is supposedly similar to the old Russian mil-spec, but how similar?

 

[Werewolf]

Wolf - 124gr FMJ - is the only ammo I've ever shot out of my 7.62X39 Saiga Rifle. Never had a single problem with it - not one. As far as accuracy goes I get minute of pie plate at 100yds with it firing offhand. I've never bothered to bench my Saiga so I can't say whether the gun or ammo is capable of better (though I suspect both are).

It is my understanding too (but I might be wrong) that the Wolf 7.62X39 is the same as the Russian mil-spec stuff because Wolf was a manufacturer for the Russian army - why would they change anything just because they are selling it commercially now? Heck common sense would say it's probably better especially in the US market where consumers can be somewhat sensitive about quality.

The stuff I buy though is not sealed in plastic. It comes in 20 rd boxes with 5 layers of 4 rounds each seperated by a single length of folded brown paper. The primers and case necks do however appear to be sealed.

Uhhhh.... What was your question again?

 

[TallPine]

Commie ammo for commie gun

Works for me

 

[Bridger]

Werewolf,

It comes in plastic bags if you buy in quantities of 500 or 1000, the best way to buy cheap russian ammo

I like it, pretty much all the russian ammo I have in 7.62x39mm goes bang when I pull the trigger, can't complain.

"Minute of Capitalist". Well, my Yugo SKS seems to do a bit better than that, no tackdriver but zombies don't stand a chance.

 

[ny32182]

My main question was this: Everyone agrees that it is fine for the range, but is there any reason not to use it for serious purposes like SD, camping, "shtf", etc?

 

[Black Snowman]

Heck I get minute of pie plate with the 223 out of my Bushy M17S (also not legendary for reliability) and of the 400 or so rounds I've pumped thorugh it so far I haven't had a single hickup. 2 magazines topped with 30 rnds each one in the well and one in a drawer as well as the M17S are guarding my bed

 

[Bridger]

ttbadboy,

I haven't heard much about "mil-spec" 7.62x39 stuff, like fragmentation or tumbling. Since Wolf has been pretty reliable, I don't see why not, for defense. It will put a .30 cal hole in whatever you shoot it at.

 

[GigaBuist]

I've never had a problem with Wolf 7.62x39mm ammo. I don't see any reason not to use it in HD (assuming 7.62x39mm is a valid HD round for you) or SHTF situation.

Heck, that's my 1st choice if SHTF... but I'm no expert.

 

[Werewolf]

My main question was this: Everyone agrees that it is fine for the range, but is there any reason not to use it for serious purposes like SD, camping, "shtf", etc?

If you were shooting 30-30 would you be asking that question. My guess is no. 7.62X39 Russian is essentially the same as a 30-30 with the exception that as far as I know you can't get the 7.62X39 in 180gr and you can in 30-30.

Personally I'd never use a 30-30 for Self Defense, though I imagine that there are situations where it would work for that purpose just fine (home defense not being one of those situations).

Anything you can use a 30-30 for you can use 7.62X39 for.

I especially like the Wolf 124gr SP bullets. I've fired 'em into wet phone books at 75 yards and they make a fair sized hole. I imagine they'd do the same to a deer or sheep, antelope etc.

When push comes to shove one can use any cartridge for what ever purpose they want. Whether or not it's an appropriate use is essentially moot if it works (like cooper says a .22 will provide one shot stops when placed under a tear duct). YMMV

 

[chevrofreak]

My "go to" gun is my AK loaded with Wolf hollowpoints. I love the new polycoat ammo, and havent had a single failure.

 

[MLC]

I personally wouldn't expect much of the Wolf HP's due to the design.
Interesting 7.62x39 ammunition testing.

 

[.45&TKD]

I especially like the Wolf 124gr SP bullets. I've fired 'em into wet phone books at 75 yards and they make a fair sized hole. I imagine they'd do the same to a deer or sheep, antelope etc.

Do the soft points feed as reliably as FMJ?

Would you load up on soft points for self defense or SHTF?

Or, would you stock mostly FMJ's and save the soft points for hunting?

 

[ny32182]

The only 7.62x39 I have right now are Wolf hp's.

MLC: I get good enough accuracy (for me) with the Wolf hp. I was wondering more along the line of, "does Wolf exhibit a bad lacking in the terminal effects and durability departments" that would make it unsuitable for serious use?

Werewolf: I have confidence in the capabilities of the 7.62x39 cartridge in general. In .223, people tend to plink with wolf, but go to an M193 or M855 spec load for serious use, because of the better terminal performance of those loads. I am wondering if there is any similar trend with 7.62x39.... if people see a reason to not use the wolf load in this cartridge for serious purposes.

Maybe I should have posted a poll along the lines of "which 7.62x39 load do YOU use for serious purposes?" That would probably have been more clear from the start.

 

[Werewolf]

Do the soft points feed as reliably as FMJ?

They do for me when I've used them (~100 rounds). No FTF/FTE's. The Saiga is however a very well built and reliable rifle. Even though it uses an AK action from what I've seen they are built to a higher level of quality than the AK's so what works in a Saiga reliably may not be so in an AK.

Would you load up on soft points for self defense or SHTF?

My Saiga is for fun not SD/HD/SHTF. So I've never really thought about it though if I did I would have no compunctions at all about loading up with SP's if I needed to pick off Goblins at range with something. The 7.62X39 would not be my first choice for a SHTF situation (my M1 for range, 12ga for intemediate and my Sig P220 for close in work is what I'd pick). But if I had to use the 7.62X39 then for Goblins FMJ/SP/HP all the same to me. You hit 'em in a SHTF situation and you've pretty much eliminated that particular Goblin as a threat.

Or, would you stock mostly FMJ's and save the soft points for hunting?

I've not hunted since I was a teenager (33 years ago) but if I was going to hunt with the 7.62X39 I'd have no problem using the SP's in fact I'd prefer those to the FMJ's for hunting purposes.

 

[Drue]

I have shot a bunch of 7.62x39 in both AKs and SKSs. The Wolf FMJ as well as the others are equivalent to military ball ammo except that it has lead cores and is non corrosive. I seem to remember that, in an article in SOF, Kokalis tested various 7.62x39 ammo and stated that Yugo ball tended to yaw rapidly in dense media (the target) while all of the others did not. I would assume that Wolf and the others would not either.

The “hollow points†do actually have a very small hole in the nose but the steel jackets preclude any expansion that we might expect from “hollow point†ammo. The hollow points are either a marketing gimmick or a way around import limitations against “military†or “combat†ammo. “It must be suitable for sporting purposes since it is hollow point ‘hunting’ ammo.†If your guns feed it reliably, and most do, and you think of it as ball ammo, it works fine for practice, plinking and the ever popular shootin' & blastin'.

The soft points are real, lead core, copper jacketed, soft points that do expand. They won’t put Nosler or Barnes out of business but they do work. Wolf makes a 154gr JSP and Barnaul makes a 123gr. I would probably pick the Wolf for deer hunting. Since most of us did not sign the Hague Convention, I would use the Barnaul for SHTF since it shoots to the same POI as the FMJ ball.

Drue

 

[priv8ter]

Wolf Good!

I have had my saiga for about a year now, and have never shot anything other than Wolf in it. When I first started out, I used nothing but 123gr FMJ stuff. Then one day, I was in a hurry, and just grabed a handfull of Wolf boxes without looking any closer at them.

When I got home, I found out that I had 122gr HP, 123gr FMJ, and 154gr SP loads, in one trip!

All I have used my Saiga for so far is plinking, and I am happy keeping all my rounds in a torso sized area out to 100 yards. I have seen no real accuracy differences in these three loads.

After looking at the rounds, I decided against ever getting the 122gr HP loads again. Like Drue and MLC said, it didn't look like that little-bitty cavity with a steel jacket was going to do much expanding. I mean, Iwouldn't say no to a free case, because I don't think it is any worse than the FMJ stuff, but if I can find it, I load up on the 154gr SP stuff.

I'm not sure what kind of expansion you would get out of it on a deer-sized critter(or it's two legged weight equivilant) but I am a believer in using the heaviest bullet you can find in a cartridge, and the 154gr has it over the 123gr FMJ. If it ends up making a .40 inch hole instead of a .30 inch hole, so much the better. If the sights were better, I would use my Saiga for deer hunting instead of my Marlin 1894C. I think that 154gr SP would do a nice job on Mr. Blacktail.

After 1500 rounds, and only 2 cleanings, I have never had a FTF or FTE with any ammo in my Saiga.

And, I don't know about the rest of you guys, but where I buy my Wolf(black boxes instead of bulk) the 154gr stuff costs the same as the FMJ, so I see no reason to have a target ammo, and then a seperate 'Serious Use' ammo supply.

greg

 

[benEzra]

I do not use any non-Eastern-bloc ammo in my SAR-1, and my wife doesn't in her SKS, for safety reasons. U.S. ammo is typically made with much softer primers to detonate under the lighter firing-pin strikes typical of U.S. rifles. I've read "hearsay" about occasional slam-fires with U.S. soft-primer ammo in Eastern-block rifles, and figure I'll use the ammunition the gun was designed for.

My wife and I both really like Wolf. My SAR magazine is currently loaded with 123-gr JHP at the moment, but I agree that the Barnaul 123-gr SP would probably give better expansion (I just haven't found any around here). I don't like the heavier 150-ish-grain bullets in general (the 7.62x39 has enough of a rainbow-like trajectory as it is), but they'd probably be great for short-range deer hunting.

 

[Bridger]

I believe http://www.dansammo.com/ has decent prices on the SP Barnaul stuff for anyone interested, with shipping included.

 

[LynnMassGuy]

Every kind of FMJ or JHP 7.62X39 I've run through my SKS and Saiga have functioned flawlessly. Wolf, Brown Bear, and various surplus. I've never had a single problem with any of it. Seriously. I am not exagerating. The only problem I have ever had is soft point ammo in my SKS.