The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 27, 2007, 11:36 PM   #1
FM12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 5, 2007
Location: Monroeville, Alabama
Posts: 1,683
Moly Coating bullets, anyone doing it?

Havent read much lately about taking the time to moly coat bullets...any pros & cons from youse guys? Thanks, I LOVE this forum, FM12
FM12 is offline  
Old March 28, 2007, 03:12 AM   #2
mc223
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 20, 2007
Location: n/w Wisconsin
Posts: 365
I've been coating my own for about 10 years. Still think it is a good thing. Been thinking about trying Boron Nitride lately.
mc223 is offline  
Old March 28, 2007, 08:52 AM   #3
FM12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 5, 2007
Location: Monroeville, Alabama
Posts: 1,683
I've not heard about the boron nitride, is it a coating the end user can apply loke moly? BTW, what were your results with moly?
FM12 is offline  
Old March 28, 2007, 02:22 PM   #4
mc223
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 20, 2007
Location: n/w Wisconsin
Posts: 365
Boron Nitride is out there and is expensive. Around $85 per pound. Have not tryed it yet but looks promising. David Tubb is using it with reported good result.
Moly in my application does allow for velocity increases of around 100fps, reduced pressure signs at higher powder charges and easier cleaning. I guess in my experience moly at least gave me a mental boost of confidence. I have not experienced any of the bad stuff that some tout about moly like corrosion in the barrel. However it must be noted that you cannot switch back to nekid bullets after using moly without completely removing the moly from the barrel. There is also a "settling in" period of maybe 20 shots when moly is used the first time. These shots are depositing moly in the barrel. I also "pre treat" my barrels with a mixture of Denatured Alchohol and moly powder mixed on a patch a few minutes prior to a range session.
Good shooting.
mc223 is offline  
Old March 28, 2007, 02:35 PM   #5
Abstract
Junior member
 
Join Date: December 25, 2006
Posts: 443
I moly'd all my rifle bullets for several years. I'm never going to use moly again. Bad experience.
Abstract is offline  
Old March 28, 2007, 02:52 PM   #6
cheygriz
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 11, 2002
Location: high up in the rockies
Posts: 2,289
I think this was basically a good idea that hadn't been thought out and tested enough, and was therefore difficult to implement. It became a short lived fad, and like all fads, it died out.

But when someone finds an easy and cheap, and non-messy way to do it, it will be back. Unless something better comes aslong in the meantime.
__________________
If you think a mighty military force is expensive, wait 'til you see what a weak one costs.
cheygriz is offline  
Old March 28, 2007, 02:54 PM   #7
Ruger4570
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 3, 2005
Location: Rochester, New York
Posts: 2,136
I tried a couple of brands of factory moly bullets. I gave up as I didn't see any real improvement in accuracy or velocity. For me, it isn't worth the expense for little or no gains.
Ruger4570 is offline  
Old March 28, 2007, 04:08 PM   #8
Unclenick
Staff
 
Join Date: March 4, 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 21,022
I've found it valuable in two circumstances. One is a barrel that fouls badly. When I first started shooting in service rifle matches, I had a military Garand barrel that would foul so badly that accuracy was visibly deteriorating during the 600 yard slow fire stage. It took hours to clean. Moly stopped that problem.

The other is long range shooting (800-1200 yards). Moly bullets typically show a slightly higher ballistic coefficient than their plain counterparts, which means a little less sensitivity to wind drift at long range. There were a number of novel theories to explain this when the data first appeared, but Walt Berger seems to have figured it out. He discovered that the lube simply makes it easier for a bullet to slip into alignment with the bore on firing. Leaving the muzzle slightly misaligned (tilted) has to be recovered from through gyroscopic stabilization. While that is happening, drag is slightly greater.

Tilt also affects accuracy, but reports on accuracy improvement with Moly have been mixed. I think this is most often because someone starts with a sweetspot load developed for a plain bullet, then simply substitutes the moly bullet, not realizing it will alter his barrel time and require him to find a new sweet spot load.

I have never seen any of the corrosion problems or other complaints the circulate about moly. I have heard that when the rush to moly was at its peadk, some unscrupuous cheap kits were produce with moly recovered from stamping operations that contained free iron. That, in turn, initiated rust. I have also run into the tendency (you need a borescope to see it) of the moly to mix with carbon and build up where the chamber neck steps down to the freebore diameter. I have also found, though, that either Slip 2000 Carbon Killer or Gunzilla will soften it and allow it to be easily removed.
__________________
Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member
CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor
NRA Certified Rifle Instructor
NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle
Unclenick is offline  
Old March 28, 2007, 05:17 PM   #9
FM12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 5, 2007
Location: Monroeville, Alabama
Posts: 1,683
Geeze, I'm amazed sometimes by how much you guys know. THANKS!! FM12 (Did I mention I LOVE this forum, got to be the best all-around gun forum on the net!)
FM12 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:36 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.04546 seconds with 10 queries