| Industry | firearms |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | , USA |
| Area served | worldwide |
| Website | [1] |
WOLF Performance Ammunition is a registered trademark owned by SSI a corporation in the USA. WOLF Performance Ammunition has several lines of ammunition which include:
WOLF PolyFormance (Black Box)- Polymer coated steel case ammunition from Russian factories
WPA (WOLF Performance Ammunition) Military Classic - Polymer coated steel case ammunition from Russian factories
WOLF Gold - Reloadable brass case ammunition
WOLF Rimfire - Match grade .22LR ammunition from Germany
WOLF Shotshell
WOLF Performance Ammunition also has WOLF Performance Primers and WOLF Performance Gear.
Unlike some suppliers of such bargain-price ammo, Wolf's is non-corrosive. Russia is the world's largest source of 7.62x39 mm ammunition, which is used by the AK-47 and SKS family of rifles, as well as the American-made Ruger Mini-30.
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In 2005/2006, there was a shortage of 7.62x39mm ammunition in the United States. This had the effect of causing prices to almost double in some cases and Wolf's ammo to nearly disappear from the U.S. market in late 2006-early 2007. The ammunition shortage was due to Russian production lines struggling to fill a massive order placed by the United States to supply the fledgling Afghan army.[1] Even so, Wolf's 7.62x39mm is available in standard full-metal-jacket configuration, as well as hollow point and soft point bullet loads suitable for hunting.
In 2007/2008, supplies of Wolf steel cased .308 ammunition became increasingly rare. Cabela's, who sell bulk Wolf ammunition, along with other major distributors were completely sold out. This along with diminishing supplies of military surplus 7.62x51mm NATO has driven .308 prices to an all time high. This shortage is exacerbated by the strain of filling the Afghan Army order. As Wolf catches up with demand, new supplies will become available in the United States. When these new supplies hit the market, it is unknown how much the prices will have increased.
In 2010/2011, Wolf discontinued the use of the red sealant used around the primer and case neck intended to keep moisture out and prolong shelf life. They received too many complaints from end users of a build up from the red sealant on their firearms thus all new ammo produced from both plants will no longer have any red sealant.
Wolf no longer manufactures ammunition with a lacquer coating on the cartridge casing due to issues concerning lacquer-coated steel cartridges becoming stuck in the chamber of a firearm after firing, with difficulty in ejecting the spent cartridge afterwards. This appears to be more of a problem with cartridges with narrowly tapering walls (e.g. .223 Remington) than those with rather steep case walls such as 7.62x39 mm cartridges or pistol ammunition. This also does not seem to pose much of a problem for Soviet or East Bloc designed weapons that tend to have looser chamber clearances than Western designed weapons.
Tests have shown that steel-cased Wolf cases do not obturate sufficiently to form a good gas seal against the chamber [2] when compared to brass-cased ammunition. As a result, when Wolf cartridges are fired, some of the combustion by-products are deposited between the case and the chamber, causing a build up of carbon that is well in excess of normal. Firing a brass case (that does expand fully) after using Wolf ammunition can result in the brass case being "glued" into the chamber by the carbon buildup. This issue has nothing to do with the lacquer coating vaporising or melting, as has mistakenly been suggested. The problem is one of carbon deposition, which creates the same end result (i.e.; a stuck cartridge that has jammed in the chamber). It is important to emphasise that Wolf ammunition is perfectly safe to use because it conforms to all SAAMI standards. However, it is recommended that firearms are thoroughly cleaned after using Wolf ammunition due to the increased rate of carbon build-up within the chamber. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the looser chamber dimensions of Soviet designed weapons allow for more room during firing and extraction. Soviet or East Bloc weapons do not experience these problems.
Note: all ammunition currently manufactured by Wolf has polymer-coated or brass cartridge cases and any obturation problems have been radically reduced.
Not only the cases of Wolf rifle ammo are steel. Most of Wolf's rifle cartridges use steel jacketed bullets, though they look like copper jacketed. The copper exterior of the bullet is only about .005 inch thick, (about twice the thickness of a sheet of paper) with a steel jacket underneath about 1/32 inch thick. Only the cartridges in the yellow and black boxes have real copper jackets. The core of the steel jacketed bullets, sometimes marked "bimetal", are lead. Some rifle ranges have started magnet testing shooter's ammunition to determine if bullets are steel jacketed. The steel is said to be more likely to ricochet, and also to cause sparks on impact, which can be a problem when shooting in dry grassland, or forest areas. In addition, a large majority of pistol ranges will not allow shooters to use Wolf, or other Russian ammunition types because of the steel jacket components on many of their products. An oft-cited reason for this is because they claim it damages the backstops. A more likely reason for not allowing steel-cased ammunition is that the ranges are unable to re-sell the berdan-primed steel cases for reloading, an important source of revenue for many ranges.