Question about ammo for the AR 15 guys

[Necessary Evil]

Hello. I recently purchased a DPMS Ar-15 ( still waiting on the paperwork so no pictures) . It is my first as I have only had AK 's before this. I am wondering if it is ok to use the wolf .223 steel cased ammo in the AR's. I have used it many times in the AK's with no problems but I know they are not as precise as the Ar 's. I will keep it clean so not too worried about a gumming up issue , just wondering if the steel case could cause any excess wear. Also what grain bullet seems to work best. Thanks in advance.

 

[mikec]

Many folks use the Wolf ammo with no issues. There is a moderator on another forum who says his one AR will not function on it, but that is one rifle.

55gr ammo works with most ARs.

 

[Lou45]

Let's just say I have never used anything other than USGI issue and commercial quality ammo (hint- BRASS cases) in AR's And M16's. See thread in this "RIFLES" section that is entitled something to the effect of "Live Round Stuck In Chamber". It says it all!!!!!!!

 

[3rdRcn]

What is the twist rate on your barrel, this will help to tell you what range of bullet weight you should have the best luck with. As far as wolf, don't do it, buy a decent brass cased ammo, I happen to have good luck with PMC bronze in my M4geries.

 

[Chaunsey]

some rifles will run it fine, some wont, you'll have to find out if yours does.

 

[zombiehunter]

Let's just say I have never used anything other than USGI issue and commercial quality ammo (hint- BRASS cases) in AR's And M16's. See thread in this "RIFLES" section that is entitled something to the effect of "Live Round Stuck In Chamber". It says it all!!!!!!!

I've never had a problem with Wolf. Well until I decided to stop lubing and see how long it'd go. I got through about 400 rounds then every other round wouldn't feed, strip, eject, etc, that's more to do with ARs liking to not be AKs lol. I've shot 2" groups at 100 yards and much smaller at 50 with it. It'l wear out your extractor quicker but it's a 15 cent part. Considering it's a nearly a third cheaper than the cheapest brass case I've seen it depends on your application and if you're ok with cleaning more.

It is polymer coated so if you switch back and forth between steel and brass apparently the steel leaves a residue in your chamber that'll cause the brass to stick. But if you actually clean your gun you should be fine Also, the cases will rust if you scratch them or wear off the coating, so if you're considering it for SHTF stockpiling purposes remember that.

Buy with confidence, Cabela's was selling Tula (wolf) for <$200 shipped.

 

[fivepointstar]

ar's are ammo picky. I would run a box or 2 b4 you buy Wolf in bulk

 

[Magnumite]

I've used it with no problem in at least 2 AR's. And right now, from Cheaper Than Dirt, the Russian 223 amm (Wolf or any of the "Bears") is virtually the same cost or slightly less than what I can reload for. This includes all shipping and tax costs for either method.

The price "marker" is about $4.50 per box of 20 for this comparison. If I were building precision or match ammo, I'd reload it. For blasting or club events...Ivan's stuff works ok.

 

[OLM-Medic]

You will be fine. If your rifle jams with it sometimes, so what. You learn how to fix jams. Mine is somewhat picky with it and jams occasionally, but I consider it a learning experience. Not to mention its cheap!

 

[Topher]

When I work RSO duty at the range 90% of all AR malfunctions can be trace back to the ammo that was being shot. Wolf is the #1 contributor that I can see.

Now with that being said... I understand that some AR's do just fine with it but I will not shoot anything steel cased in my AR.

Chris

 

[JeepDriver]

When I work RSO duty at the range 90% of all AR malfunctions can be trace back to the ammo that was being shot. Wolf is the #1 contributor that I can see.

Now with that being said... I understand that some AR's do just fine with it but I will not shoot anything steel cased in my AR.

Chris

This.

 

[xcavater]

You will be fine. If your rifle jams with it sometimes, so what. You learn how to fix jams. Mine is somewhat picky with it and jams occasionally, but I consider it a learning experience. Not to mention its cheap!

I run Tula with no problems.
You just need to clean after every session or they'll jam the next time.

 

[Lou45]

When I work RSO duty at the range 90% of all AR malfunctions can be trace back to the ammo that was being shot. Wolf is the #1 contributor that I can see.

Now with that being said... I understand that some AR's do just fine with it but I will not shoot anything steel cased in my AR.

Chris

+1. There we go with a percentage from a RSO. What can I say other than you can lead a horse to water...........

 

[SCARCQB]

alrighty then..... anyone with steel cased ammo that they don't want anymore. donate it to the scarcqb foundation. I will dispose of those nasty jacketed projectiles properly. in a landfill ( berm) and recycle the mild steel cases into manhole covers.

 

[hailtoby]

alrighty then..... anyone with steel cased ammo that they don't want anymore. donate it to the scarcqb foundation. I will dispose of those nasty jacketed projectiles properly. in a landfill ( berm) and recycle the mild steel cases into manhole covers.

Ive never bought steel case ammo, but I would sure as hell take it for free.

 

[onatsky]

I have a DPMS and use Wolf. I get FTFs and FTEs once in awhile, as expected.

 

[zombiehunter]

+1. There we go with a percentage from a RSO. What can I say other than you can lead a horse to water...........

Not to discount Topher's input as I'd be willing to bet he's right, I'm also willing to bet that he's not paying ANY attention to round count vs. failure rate (no fault of his, he's not a statistician, scientist or anyone with the time or inclination to do so). If 90% of people are shooting steel case and it fails at the same rate as brass then yes, 90% of his witnessed failures WILL be steel case.

If half the people are shooting steel case but they're shooting more rounds per outing (makes sense since it's cheaper) then again, assuming the same failure rate you'll still see more failures. But the failure rate ISN'T going to be the same. We all know AR failures increase as some function of their lube and cleanliness (I love words that have an i in the middle, no idea why) this would contribute to higher failure rates witnessed by Topher as well.

So horse, here's your water...drink of it what you will.

 

[OLM-Medic]

Who cares if it jams? It's just practice ammo, and I doubt the jam will give the paper targets enough time to shoot back. Now if you were using this ammo for some kind of course or for possibly defending your life one day, then you are not on the right path.

The steel-cased junk gave me jams, and alot of them were not preventable by cleaning/lubing. It didn't bother me. Plus, its a good way to practice clearing jams.

 

[Todd v.]

Who cares if it jams? It's just practice ammo, and I doubt the jam will give the paper targets enough time to shoot back. Now if you were using this ammo for some kind of course or for possibly defending your life one day, then you are not on the right path.

The steel-cased junk gave me jams, and alot of them were not preventable by cleaning/lubing. It didn't bother me. Plus, its a good way to practice clearing jams.

Really? I do, I don't want to be ****ing with my rifle when I'm out shooting. Not to mention it's hard on the gun getting jammed up all the time....

I haven't shot anything steel cased out of any of my AR's. It does wear on the extractor a little more and the steel jacketed bullets wear on the barrels a little faster. I'd rather pay for the good stuff than wear my stuff out faster and have to deal with jams.

 

[OLM-Medic]

It does wear on the extractor a bit more, but I'd rather pay for a cheap part and save money.

I use it for practicing only. I guess if it causes catastrophic jams all of the time then you shouldn't use it, but out of 500 rounds of steel ammo I only had one jam that was a pain in the ***. The rest were just feeding problems. If I could afford to pay double for brass to plink with, I would.