Molly coated bullets

[Furtaker_.223]

I bought a box of molly coated bullets on accident. I have a couple of questions on them as I have never loaded them before.
I am loading for a custom 308 with a Krieger barrel.

Will I gain anything by loading them?

Will it help or hurt my barrel?

Can I put them in the RCBS vibratory and take the coating off without hurting the bullet?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Rarebreed93]

Re: Molly coated bullets

Try them out you may like them.
I use them when I find them.
Load 'em like you always do and let us know what you think.

 

[Furtaker_.223]

Re: Molly coated bullets

It dont do anything to the barrel? Looks like it might be harder to clean after wards.

Do they shoot the same for you?

 

[brand692]

Re: Molly coated bullets

Here are the lessons I learned from shooting Moly 6mm projectiles.

1. They typically have less resistance going down the tube.
2. Less resistance will directly result in lower pressures.
3. Lower pressures translate into less velocity.
4. Due to lower velocities, they typically use more powder, not much, but some, to create the same velocities as naked projectiles.
5. A moly coated projectile and a naked projectile, all else being equal, will produce lower velocities.
6. Be prepared to up the charge to get the velocity back to where the accuracy node is on a naked bullet.
7. The benefits of moly coated projectiles is widely argued. Technically, the biggest gain you can get from them, using them extensively, is longer barrel/throat life. But the benefits can be argued.

Over-coated moly bullets and not enough cleaning can/may cause barrel damage. The moly transfers from the projectile to the barrel walls when fired. After so many rounds the barrel can become caked with Moly. The caked moly transfer in the barrel can consequently be compressed into the wall of the barrel and extensive shooting of moly bullets can lead to a phenomenon where the moly starts to pit and dimple the barrel wall. Then you clean it, remove the caked moly, and are left with pitted/dimpled bore walls.

All that being said, the trick to moly is to keep it in the bore, but not so much of it that it will damage the barrel. There will always be a fouler or two after cleaning a moly barrel. These foulers transfer the moly back to the bore that you removed when cleaning.

Do not break in a new barrel with moly bullets.

They can have benefits, but likely not seen in on box of projectiles. It is easy to go from a non moly barrel to shooting moly, but going the other way is a bit more labor intensive. To go back to shooting naked bullets, all the big name shooters (not me) will say you must remove all the moly from the bore.

I don't shoot moly anymore. Like neck turning, IMHO, it is a technology that has died with the advancement of barrel steels and the quality of barrel that is produced today. Plus there are better coatings now that don't have the caking characteristics that Moly does.

After saying all that, if it were me and my box, I'd return them or sell them and stay naked. To me, the moly, like neck turning, is too much work for the benefit. I just don't shoot enough to reap the benefits of moly.

Hope that helps.

 

[dar1246]

Re: Molly coated bullets

I started shooting moly this last summer in 2 cals. 308 and 260. Although moly lowered the pressure. I added more powder and gain more speed with less pressure. Less cleaning between shots. I shoot moly in my match guns. I still shoot naked in most of my guns but just not the match guns.

 

[Grumulkin]

Re: Molly coated bullets

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: brand692</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here are the lessons I learned from shooting Moly 6mm projectiles.

1. They typically have less resistance going down the tube.
2. Less resistance will directly result in lower pressures.
3. Lower pressures translate into less velocity.
4. Due to lower velocities, they typically use more powder, not much, but some, to create the same velocities as naked projectiles.
5. A moly coated projectile and a naked projectile, all else being equal, will produce lower velocities.
6. Be prepared to up the charge to get the velocity back to where the accuracy node is on a naked bullet.
7. The benefits of moly coated projectiles is widely argued. Technically, the biggest gain you can get from them, using them extensively, is longer barrel/throat life. But the benefits can be argued.</div></div>

I believe your logic is a little flawed. Lower pressure means there is less friction so you can increase the powder charge until the pressure is where it was before and the velocity will be higher.

That said, I'll never use moly bullets. Several years ago I attended a gun cleaning talk by one of the Jarrett boys. He described a coating in a barrel left by moly bullets that only came out after heating the barrel red hot with a torch. I guess if you make barrels, you can afford to torch them. I don't make barrels so I don't want that stuff in my barrel.

 

[vman]

Re: Molly coated bullets

A box wont do anything bad to your barrel so dont stress about that.

If they really are that bad you would think they wouldnt sell them, but im sure under certain circumstances they could be bad to shoot, however im not too sure what that may be... Perhaps too much coating in too short a time with a lot of barrel heat?

Anyway, dont lose sleep over it they will shoot fine.

 

[MAGUA]

Re: Molly coated bullets

He can tumble the Moly off no problem.

 

[brand692]

Re: Molly coated bullets

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Grumulkin</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: brand692</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here are the lessons I learned from shooting Moly 6mm projectiles.

1. They typically have less resistance going down the tube.
2. Less resistance will directly result in lower pressures.
3. Lower pressures translate into less velocity.
4. Due to lower velocities, they typically use more powder, not much, but some, to create the same velocities as naked projectiles.
5. A moly coated projectile and a naked projectile, all else being equal, will produce lower velocities.
6. Be prepared to up the charge to get the velocity back to where the accuracy node is on a naked bullet.
7. The benefits of moly coated projectiles is widely argued. Technically, the biggest gain you can get from them, using them extensively, is longer barrel/throat life. But the benefits can be argued.</div></div>

I believe your logic is a little flawed. Lower pressure means there is less friction so you can increase the powder charge until the pressure is where it was before and the velocity will be higher.

That said, I'll never use moly bullets. Several years ago I attended a gun cleaning talk by one of the Jarrett boys. He described a coating in a barrel left by moly bullets that only came out after heating the barrel red hot with a torch. I guess if you make barrels, you can afford to torch them. I don't make barrels so I don't want that stuff in my barrel. </div></div>

Logic isn't flawed, but maybe I didn't explain well because it seems to me that we are saying the same thing.

When I shot the Berger factory moly VLDs and the naked VLDs, the velocities were the same after I adjusted the load. The molys would use more powder but were no faster or so marginally faster it didn't matter. I was shooting them in a 6BR and 6PPC, so case capacity may have played a role as well.

I agree with you, other than Moly bullets are faster in the end. Maybe they are in a case that has a higher powder capacity. But in the little 6BR and 6PPC case, I never got them to go any faster.

ETA: Faster wouldn't have helped anyways because they wouldn't have gone fast enough to reach another node. I was hitting pressure signs way before I'd ever get there.

 

[zfk55]

Re: Molly coated bullets

The Patent specifically states a loss in MV. With 874 rounds downrange in a dedicatd Moly rifle, I can guarantee you that MV drops.

 

[Saito]

Re: Molly coated bullets

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: zfk55</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The Patent specifically states a loss in MV. With 874 rounds downrange in a dedicatd Moly rifle, I can guarantee you that MV drops. </div></div>

Yeah your MV will drop if you use the SAME charge weight. I moly coated the barrel in my .300WM once I reached 300rds. I also coat my bullets with moly and just passed 1500rds and it still shoots well. I can pack a case with Retumbo, be 2 grains over book max, still not show pressure signs and push a 208 grain A-max to 3050fps. Once accuracy drops off I have a Rock 5R 1/10 MTU/AMU profile bbl waiting to go on. I may chop the old barrel in half to inspect it just to see what the moly has done. I say it's benefited me to have it there so far...

 

[hyoslvr]

Re: Molly coated bullets

As MAGUA stated, If it's a problem for you just tumble the moly off and be done with it!

 

[Clark]

Re: Molly coated bullets

If the custom agents develop a profile of a smuggler, and then single out and search that type, the profile become self reinforcing, as that is the only type they catch.

Likewise, if I moly coat bullets for my most accurate rifles, soon I think that accuracy can only be found with moly coating.

I currently moly coat; .222, .223, 22-250, 6mmBR, .243, 25/35, 250/3000, 257 Robert Ackley Improved, 260Rem, 270, 7x57mm, 7mm Rem mag, 30-30, 303Sav, 300Sav, 308, 7.5Swiss, 30-06, 300WM, 303Brit, 7.62x54R, 8x57mm, and 338WM.

 

[brand692]

Re: Molly coated bullets

Holy smokes Clark!

You moly coat more calibers than I've EVER owned!

 

[Furtaker_.223]

Re: Molly coated bullets

I appreciate all the great info. I just have not shot these before, and If I was to shoot these, just wanted to make sure I didn't have to do a special clean before shooting the naked ones.

I think I will just tumble it off. I dont want to have to work up a new load for a weight I have already.

This site is full of all the information I need and even the great criticism.