Moly coat?
- Thread starter warpig602
- Start date
I bought into the Moly craze a few years ago while heavily involved in NRA highpower rifle competition. It was supposed to be the best thing since pockets on shirts. Claims ranged from more accurate, higher velocity, less barrel wear, cleaner barrels, etc. IMHO the first three claims were false, the latter is true.
Another quirk is that some rifles require that the barrel be "seasoned" w/moly before POI will stabilize. I was fortunate that both of my match rifles shot same POI w/moly as they did without, but had a Mod. 70 30-06 that did not.
Velocity drops w/same powder charge compared w/naked bullets, but you can get back up by increasing charge. Barrels wear out from throat erosion caused primarily by hot gasses first and friction second so, in my experience (which is, admittedly, somewhat limited as I have only worn out four 30-06 and one 308 Norma Mag. rifle barrels to date), the useful accuracy was about the same for coated or non-coated bullets. Barrels do tend to go longer between cleaning w/coated bullets than bare bullets, but accuracy is not improved per se. Copper fouling is reduced, therefore cleaning is a bit easier w/coated bullets.
I used the NECO process which used small steel ball bearings to help coat bullets in a tumbler and did not find the process to be terribly messy, but a good idea to use a dust mask to avoid breathing moly dust when charging the tumbler or dumping the coated bullets after coating as some fine dust does escape at times. Rubber gloves help, too.
All in all I found very little benefit from Moly so discontinued its use. This is especially true since Wipeout foaming bore cleaner came out making bore cleaning so easy.
Regards,
hm
Another quirk is that some rifles require that the barrel be "seasoned" w/moly before POI will stabilize. I was fortunate that both of my match rifles shot same POI w/moly as they did without, but had a Mod. 70 30-06 that did not.
Velocity drops w/same powder charge compared w/naked bullets, but you can get back up by increasing charge. Barrels wear out from throat erosion caused primarily by hot gasses first and friction second so, in my experience (which is, admittedly, somewhat limited as I have only worn out four 30-06 and one 308 Norma Mag. rifle barrels to date), the useful accuracy was about the same for coated or non-coated bullets. Barrels do tend to go longer between cleaning w/coated bullets than bare bullets, but accuracy is not improved per se. Copper fouling is reduced, therefore cleaning is a bit easier w/coated bullets.
I used the NECO process which used small steel ball bearings to help coat bullets in a tumbler and did not find the process to be terribly messy, but a good idea to use a dust mask to avoid breathing moly dust when charging the tumbler or dumping the coated bullets after coating as some fine dust does escape at times. Rubber gloves help, too.
All in all I found very little benefit from Moly so discontinued its use. This is especially true since Wipeout foaming bore cleaner came out making bore cleaning so easy.
Regards,
hm
venatic
Well-known member
Funny this subject popped up. I have 200 moly coated Starke .22 cal bullets that I have had a while. I was thinking I would load them and shoot them in a .223 I just aquired. The barrel has 15 rounds down it so far and has been cleaned since. Is there something I should do to it before shooting these moly bullets?
No prep neaded other than the first few rounds may be flaky as to POI and/or group size. How many rounds depends on the rifle. Some shoot same POI, others don't; only way to find out is to shoot them.
More info on Moly @:
Moly/Water & Corrosion
Scroll way down until you find his experiment on Moly/Water corrosion test. Very interesting test.
By the way, if you choose not to shoot the moly, it can be easily removed by tumbling the bullets. I have heard, but not tried it, that spraying bullets w/brake cleaner will speed up moly removal in tumbler????
Regards,
hm
More info on Moly @:
Moly/Water & Corrosion
Scroll way down until you find his experiment on Moly/Water corrosion test. Very interesting test.
By the way, if you choose not to shoot the moly, it can be easily removed by tumbling the bullets. I have heard, but not tried it, that spraying bullets w/brake cleaner will speed up moly removal in tumbler????
Regards,
hm
lyotehunter
New member
i have used moly for years in my 17.rem,always clean with kroil like berger says, never had any rusr.my 17. shoots small groups with a lot more shots than i could ever get without it.it is a lot easier to clean.berger bullets has the details
I have tried them both extensively. For long runs of shooting such as matches and PD, I do see a slight benefit to Moly bullets/ I clean my rifles when I get home so the corrossion worries are alleviated. I have a bore scope and find the cleaning time to remove the moly is about on par with the cleaning time to remove the copper. In a custom barrel either of those concerns are not even on my list of worries.
It will require more powder with coated bullets to achieve the same velociteis that uncoated bullets can achieve.
Bottom line in my real time experiences.
for the weekend warrior and shooter, moly wont hurt or help. for extended shooting in high volumes, the moly will run longer between cleanings. The clean time will be about the same from standard or custom barrel.
POA will cahnge from moly vs non moly even with the same bullets.
Ifyou have the moly bullets, shoot em. clean the gun and go to a non moly bullet.
The best cleaning regimin to remove the moly from the barrel is Kroil in my experiences.
It will require more powder with coated bullets to achieve the same velociteis that uncoated bullets can achieve.
Bottom line in my real time experiences.
for the weekend warrior and shooter, moly wont hurt or help. for extended shooting in high volumes, the moly will run longer between cleanings. The clean time will be about the same from standard or custom barrel.
POA will cahnge from moly vs non moly even with the same bullets.
Ifyou have the moly bullets, shoot em. clean the gun and go to a non moly bullet.
The best cleaning regimin to remove the moly from the barrel is Kroil in my experiences.
Bob Addy
New member
I tried Moly many years ago. At first I liked it. Then my Shilen gun went to shooting all kinds of crazy. Took me forever to scrub the moly out. Once I did I went back to shooting straight copper. The 6mm went back to punching one holers. Never touched Moly again. Pulled every moly bullet I had loaded. Scrubbed all the guns I used moly in. It works for many,,,not me. You either love it or hate it. I'll never shoot another black bullet.