Moly coated bullets? are they worth it? For AR-15 varmit hunting

NYCOP · December 11, 2002, 02:26 PM

I am looking at the hornady 55 GR Vamx bullets, If I chosse these should I get the moly coated ones? or the non moly? they are the same price, should they hit pretty close to where my Q3131A winchester pratice ammo hits?

Freedom in theSkies · December 12, 2002, 01:29 AM

Personally I have found no validity in shooting Moly coated bullets. One negative point is that when the moly lifts off the bore, it can promote corrosion.
In the Air Force, we used to use it on throttle quadrants and carb linkages... They stopped using it for the same reason...

BTW, do you want to buy a moly plating kit...going cheap.

Art Eatman · December 12, 2002, 03:11 AM

For a clean kill, absent a head or neck shot, a .223 is about a 200-yard gun, no matter what bullet you use. The effectiveness on any game animal depends on enough speed for fragmentation inside the animal, and any .22 centerfire bullet loses velocity fairly rapidly.

Sure, an animal will die from a slowed-down bullet, but my own ethic sez "right now" is better than "sometime later".

, Art

dakotasin · December 12, 2002, 09:41 AM

i'm a huge fan of the v-max's. i do quite a bit of prairie doggin', and the v-max is what i use in my small rifles (223, 22-250).

i don't know what caliber you are shooting, but by art's reply, it is 223. in that case, look for something a little lighter than the 55's. have had best success in 223 w/ 40-45 grain bullets.

the moly debate is still going strong. if you start w/ a clean bore, and shoot only moly, you'll probably notice a decrease in cleaning frequency. velocity increases may/may not happen...it takes more powder to achieve the same velocity as an uncoated bullet. i used to shoot a lot of moly, but have since switched back to uncoated bullets. the problem i had w/ moly was that when it was time to get a thorough cleaning, the stuff was near impossible to get out of the barrel.

as far as effective range of the 223 on varmints, i think that is a function of the varmint you are shooting at. i've no experience w/ woodchucks/groundhogs. lots of experience w/ prairie dogs. for me, the 223 has been an effective killer w/ v-max and ballistic tips out to around 400 yards, +/-. beyond that, the 223 is traveling so slow that the bullets lose their explosiveness. actually, real impressive explosions cease around 280 yards +/-, but on pd's you can get reliable kills a little further.

short answer to your question...i'd pass on the coated bullets. they function fine, but moly is kind of a hassle.

December 11, 2002, 02:26 PM	#1
NYCOP Member Join Date: October 23, 2002 Posts: 64	Moly coated bullets? are they worth it? For AR-15 varmit hunting I am looking at the hornady 55 GR Vamx bullets, If I chosse these should I get the moly coated ones? or the non moly? they are the same price, should they hit pretty close to where my Q3131A winchester pratice ammo hits? __________________ BUSHMASTER AR-15 A3 20 INCH H/BAR, HANDLE MOUNTED COLT SCOPE 3/20.

December 12, 2002, 01:29 AM	#2
Freedom in theSkies Senior Member Join Date: October 7, 2001 Location: The "Nice Dictatorship" of Canada Posts: 250	Personally I have found no validity in shooting Moly coated bullets. One negative point is that when the moly lifts off the bore, it can promote corrosion. In the Air Force, we used to use it on throttle quadrants and carb linkages... They stopped using it for the same reason... BTW, do you want to buy a moly plating kit...going cheap. __________________ Live in peace... But defend it...Embrace it... But never take it for granted...

December 12, 2002, 09:41 AM	#4
dakotasin Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2002 Location: south dakota, U.S.A. Posts: 136	i'm a huge fan of the v-max's. i do quite a bit of prairie doggin', and the v-max is what i use in my small rifles (223, 22-250). i don't know what caliber you are shooting, but by art's reply, it is 223. in that case, look for something a little lighter than the 55's. have had best success in 223 w/ 40-45 grain bullets. the moly debate is still going strong. if you start w/ a clean bore, and shoot only moly, you'll probably notice a decrease in cleaning frequency. velocity increases may/may not happen...it takes more powder to achieve the same velocity as an uncoated bullet. i used to shoot a lot of moly, but have since switched back to uncoated bullets. the problem i had w/ moly was that when it was time to get a thorough cleaning, the stuff was near impossible to get out of the barrel. as far as effective range of the 223 on varmints, i think that is a function of the varmint you are shooting at. i've no experience w/ woodchucks/groundhogs. lots of experience w/ prairie dogs. for me, the 223 has been an effective killer w/ v-max and ballistic tips out to around 400 yards, +/-. beyond that, the 223 is traveling so slow that the bullets lose their explosiveness. actually, real impressive explosions cease around 280 yards +/-, but on pd's you can get reliable kills a little further. short answer to your question...i'd pass on the coated bullets. they function fine, but moly is kind of a hassle. __________________ Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It is much more important than that.

December 12, 2002, 03:11 AM	#3
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	For a clean kill, absent a head or neck shot, a .223 is about a 200-yard gun, no matter what bullet you use. The effectiveness on any game animal depends on enough speed for fragmentation inside the animal, and any .22 centerfire bullet loses velocity fairly rapidly. Sure, an animal will die from a slowed-down bullet, but my own ethic sez "right now" is better than "sometime later". , Art