Avoid moly coated bullets?
- Thread starter Grizzlypeg
- Start date
Just clean it well when you are done. Any Moly left behind will lead to corrosion due to it's hygroscopic properties. It's worse than corrosive surplus in many instances since sulphides and water tend to create acid.
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
I’d avoid them as I absolutely hate molly, “It’s the herpes of the automotive world.” is what my lordco parts guy said once. Once you get it on something it’s there forever, it’s worse than anti seize or atf as far as I’m concerned lol!
Hitzy is telling you like it is.
I went away from Moly Coating bullets, very shortly after it became a fad a few decades back.
It needs some sort of wax, usually, Carnuba Wax, to make it adhere to the bullet and not fall off after.
If you shoot that stuff, there is a ''break in" period before shots settle down. In the instructions, they called it "seasoning the bore."
This stuff came about to extend the periods between cleaning the fouling out of bores.
It's also not easy to clean it out of a bore that's had a hundred shots or more down the bore. That stuff hardens up and no matter what solvent is used, it doesn't break down.
Soak those bullets in Brake Cleaner overnight or maybe longer
When I finally decided to get away from Moly Coated bullets, I had a couple of thousand that I had picked up from a fellow shooter who was getting out of the HBR game. They were all from the same lot of Randy Robinette custom made 115 FBHP which my rifle preferred at the time.
I decided to clean them.
I went online and contacted a few other shooters with a similar issue and the process for cleaning was simple but would take a couple of days
All of the bullets were dumped into a pot of boiling water for at least two hours at slow boil.
Dump off the boiling water and fill pour in Brake Clean until the bullets are fully covered.
Let them sit for 24-48 hours.
Pour off the Brake Clean and rinse with varsol/diesel fuel/etc.
If this doesn't get them clean enough, then put them into a vibratory cleaner for final polishing.
I found the Moly application would ''stain'' the bullets, and make them look like residue had been left behind.
I did go to the effort of polishing a couple of hundred and later made a comparison between them and the "cleaned" bullets. There wasn't any noticeable difference in accuracy or cleaning periods.
I went away from Moly Coating bullets, very shortly after it became a fad a few decades back.
It needs some sort of wax, usually, Carnuba Wax, to make it adhere to the bullet and not fall off after.
If you shoot that stuff, there is a ''break in" period before shots settle down. In the instructions, they called it "seasoning the bore."
This stuff came about to extend the periods between cleaning the fouling out of bores.
It's also not easy to clean it out of a bore that's had a hundred shots or more down the bore. That stuff hardens up and no matter what solvent is used, it doesn't break down.
Soak those bullets in Brake Cleaner overnight or maybe longer
When I finally decided to get away from Moly Coated bullets, I had a couple of thousand that I had picked up from a fellow shooter who was getting out of the HBR game. They were all from the same lot of Randy Robinette custom made 115 FBHP which my rifle preferred at the time.
I decided to clean them.
I went online and contacted a few other shooters with a similar issue and the process for cleaning was simple but would take a couple of days
All of the bullets were dumped into a pot of boiling water for at least two hours at slow boil.
Dump off the boiling water and fill pour in Brake Clean until the bullets are fully covered.
Let them sit for 24-48 hours.
Pour off the Brake Clean and rinse with varsol/diesel fuel/etc.
If this doesn't get them clean enough, then put them into a vibratory cleaner for final polishing.
I found the Moly application would ''stain'' the bullets, and make them look like residue had been left behind.
I did go to the effort of polishing a couple of hundred and later made a comparison between them and the "cleaned" bullets. There wasn't any noticeable difference in accuracy or cleaning periods.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
I have never used moly coated bullets - I doubt that I ever will - reasons given above - was like "flavour of the week" to convince people to buy them - everything I read said is very difficult or impossible to clean the bore after - was the point, I think - to NOT be easy to clean away! - the residue was claimed to be for your benefit - the actual sale was likely to the benefit of the seller.
For sure, doesn't take much effort.
The Lyman Moly kits use busted up ceramic pieces and a small scoop of Moly, then a quick tumble in corn media for a few mins to polish. No wax or anything involved, just impact plated I guess it would be called. I still shoot some of them, mostly the 3000fps+ stuff, lower then that I don't bother.
I did get a good deal on some Berger 140gr 6.5 VLD's that came molyd, Berger sold them for a long time and with home moly kits it just wasn't economical for them anymore. Anyway I just shoot those in everything 6.5, easy enough to clean the bore with break cleaner.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
I might be "out of date" but I think FSR in Sweden mostly use 130 grain 6.5x55 moly coated from Norma. I was able to pick up some "Golden Target" bullets - same bullets, except not moly coated. Was my impression that once you start with moly coated, to stay with them - not for swapping back and forth with "naked" bullets.
Now, that is funny. Moly has its place just like everything else. Every oil change on my ram 5.7 it gets a can of liquid moly. No sign of the infamous camshaft problem, just a start up tick. On my first airplane, a 90 hp J-3, I had uncomfortably high oil temperatures in summer. I bought a bottle of Moly Slip, went out and flew until it was hot, close to 200F. Landed, dumped in that bottle of Moly Slip and took off again. You could actually see the temp gage drop until it settled at 180F. That sold me on it.
Next summer when I do all the fluid changes in my truck, the diffs will get their own little bottle.
For bullets? Maybe not so much.
The polish mentioned by Hitzy is a WAX and yes, it's impacted onto the MOLY and against the jacket of the bullet.
If it's applied properly, it shouldn't be easy to clean off.
The bullets from Berger and Norma are something else again. The coating they put on does not come off unless the bullets are tumbled in pin media, which isn't good for the bullet.
The more you shoot before cleaning, the harder it is to get out.
My opinion on that is the bonding component gets hot and mixes with the carbon deposits from the previous shots. This gets forced together with every subsequent shot at very high pressures, causing it to bond to the barrel metal.
This!
Plain corncob in a vibrating tumbler will clean off 95%+ of the moly. I once was offered a box of 500 moly-coated Blitz King 22 caliber bullets for a song and had nothing to lose so I dumped them in the tumbler and let them go for a couple of hours.
It's funny but the only place the moly stuck was on the plastic tips which don't contact the barrel.
I shot moly bullets for years. Even went 800 rounds before cleaning and still won a weekend Agg. Proper cleaning with Kroil and a nylon brush will loosen the moly, then regular clean with a jag and patches. Never ate any barrels and I shot out several over the years. Also stopped using the wax after the first couple of batches.
I have stopped using moly because it is just another PITA step to reloading. I also shoot out of country (like the West Indies) where ammo is issued. So cleaning the moly out then reconditioning with moly when I get home was another PITA. There are only 2 things I hate about shooting, reloading and cleaning.
I have stopped using moly because it is just another PITA step to reloading. I also shoot out of country (like the West Indies) where ammo is issued. So cleaning the moly out then reconditioning with moly when I get home was another PITA. There are only 2 things I hate about shooting, reloading and cleaning.
I know that part, but thanks just the same. I spent a few years in the automotive industry. Used properly, it is great stuff, matter of fact, it is the only additive that I think is worth using. It works. You don't put it in automatic transmissions either.........
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
When I was in my milsurp days, I used moly alot. It worked in rough bores and I got very nice velocities and accuracy.. in bores that would otherwise have shown alot of pressure signs.
Takes a number of shots to stabilise so held off cleaning for more and more rds.
Never used any wax as I didn't want another thing that could add fouling to the bore. Cleaning the moly really wasn't a big deal as the excavation of crud from the pitting hid any extra work that moly might have needed.
Used it to good effect on some very poorly manf factory barrels too. Gave up on this when I moved to match barrels
Jerry
Takes a number of shots to stabilise so held off cleaning for more and more rds.
Never used any wax as I didn't want another thing that could add fouling to the bore. Cleaning the moly really wasn't a big deal as the excavation of crud from the pitting hid any extra work that moly might have needed.
Used it to good effect on some very poorly manf factory barrels too. Gave up on this when I moved to match barrels
Jerry
