[Abwehr]

Guys, I know we all look for decent priced ammo, and I am thinking about buyinfg some Silver Bear .308. I did a search for Silver Bear and did not find much info on it or the Wolf .308. Have any onf you had any experience with this ammo in the 1919?

Before I buy, I would like some backup as to quality, feeding, operation of the gun, etc. I know it has to be MUCH better than the Israelis, Indian, Packistani, etc., so what are your opinions? I will make my decision to buy or not to buy tomorrow.

 

[GWR1]

If memory serves me correctly, (and it seldom does) there have been several posts here that the Wolf is great, and at least one post that said the Silver Bear was also. I don't remember any negative comments, except that the OLD Wolf with lacquered cases would sometime stick in the chamber of a closed-bolt firearm. That said, I have run about 2k of INDIAN (yes!) and found it to be fine, notwithstanding about 2% with thick rims which I first weed out with a spare "T" slot while watching TV. I still have about 14k left, for which I paid about $0.059 cents per round, shipped -- 8mm hardly beats that! I have no problem cleaning my firearms after a shoot, and carry windex to spray the hot barrel before leaving the range. Of course, reloading is the way to go, it's not rocket surgery.

 

[L999here]

.308....

Regarding ammo.....whatever you can afford is usually the criteria for most shooters of rapid fire/FA weapons. Except for being berdan primed and not readily re-loadable,the South African .308 has gained a lot of followers. One because it is available and two....its reasonable. Bought 20K for $148 per 980rds....just 20rds. short of 1000. Now for a pricision weapon,match compitition,or hunting....most will use Federal Match for a factory load. In my humble opinion,nothing beats a handload...ALL world records are held by hand loaded ammo,from .50BMG on down. The only exception is the .22 RF....not readily reloadable. After teaching over 300 people how to reload,I firmly believe anyone that can chew gum,talk and breath at the same time can learn how to reload ammo safely. Its not rocket science......

 

[schuft]

I use the wolf .308 and havent had a problem, its good stuff.

 

[Abwehr]

Thanks for the info guys, I have been wanting to get several more thousands rounds and I can get the Silver Bear about the same price as SA. So, I thought this might be a good time to try some, but wanted some more opinions before buying.

I have not seen any Wolf for sale except the Wolf Gold, and it is much more expensive.

 

[57Strat]

Can't you get the South African .308 for about the same price? If so, I would rather have the SA ammo any day over the Wolfe or Silver Bear. I think the biggest complaint with Wolfe is they under-load the rounds somewhat by reducing the powder charge. I read a report on the 5.56mm Wolfe and the guy tested the muzzle velocity. The Wolfe 5.56mm was significanly lower in velocity than military 5.56mm ammo. It was about 15% less velocity as I recall. I think that's why so many ar15 users complain of short strokes when using Wolfe. I'm not certain but I would guess Wolfe would lower the powder charge on .308 as well if they do it on 5.56mm.


One point of interest to help you gauge the quality of Silver Bear and Wolfe is to look at the ammo poll for 5.56mm ammo on AR15.com. You can see that Silver Bear and Wolfe both rank fairly high with problems for the 5.56mm rounds.


http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=16&t=169729 Ammo Poll

 

[Abwehr]

Ammo

57Strat,

Thanks for the link! I guess this sort of made my mind up for me. I plan to buy the SA ammo even though it is approx. .05 higher per round. The gun is worth more that to me to not have any problems.

 

[123]

If memory serves me correctly....

There is a new section for ammo reviews at the bottom of the home page. That way you won't have to rely on memory.
And maybe you can help new guys like me avoid bad mil surp ammo.

 

[fal_762x51]

I fired da Bear in my 1919. I shot all 240 in the SG package; they all went boom and hit the target. However, with all Russkie stuff it fires a bit dirty.

 

[acmech]

If you can get a deal on it, get the silver bear. I was able to get it from sportsmans guide with free shipping for renewing the buyers club and got a deal on 5 cases. I also used a coupon from another site for $20 off. If fires great with a crank.

 

[Beltfire]

Something is going on here

I was up in Prescott so I stopped to get some Wolf 223 at J&G and they were out. Their web site still shows backorder. Fortunately they had some Brown Bear so I got my ammo. I load most of my ammo but for those that don't have the time things just might be getting bad as soon as the 8mm runs out. Maybe this is just a temporary thing. Hopa, Hopa!

 

[Beltfire]

Ammo

I walked into J&G a week ago and they were out of wolf 223. Their website still shows backorder. Fortunately they had some brown bear so I got my ammo. I hope this is not a sign of things to come. We never no what obsticle might be next. I reload most of what I shoot but not everyone has the time. What will they do when 8mm runs out. Don't be frugal. Buy all you can get your hands on. You know that eventually it's going to get burned up.