Thinking about trying moly bullets?

[mmesa005]

Most of my reloading has been with Xtreme plated bullets in .38 special, 9mm luger, and 45 acp. I recently stumbled on moly coated bullets and they appear to be similar to plated bullets with regards to reloading and performance?

I was thinking about trying Bear Creek or Billy Bullets but before I order I would appreciate feedback from others who already use them? Also, what load data are use using for these?

Thanks!

[stilly]

Moly is very slick feeling, prolly similar to HbN but HbN are way slicker.

I have heard that once you get moly in your barrel you can never get it out, but I do not know if that is bad or good. If it fills in all the micro pits then I say how bad can it be?

I will not shoot moly anymore though. I bought some 230gr bear creek .45 acp from turners once and they loaded and shot FINE. They looked a tad weird, almost like x-mas lights but they were fine.

The only complaint I have about them was that they will rub off in your hands and give you black thumbs. Some ranges might see it as exposed lead and not want you to shoot it, but if they are smart they should leave them alone. I thought Insite was gonna do that but they were cool with them since it was not lead, but moly that was on the outside.

My load data was for a .45 using hp-38.

Typical plinking load:

5.1gr HP-38
230gr Bear Creek Moly boolit
mixed brass
tula LP primer
Coal 1.251"

Shot out of Operator with no issues. Not hot, not low end.

[mmesa005]

Stilly,

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Seems best for me to stay with Xtreem plated bullets.

[milotrain]

Moly fixes a problem that doesn't exist, but once you start down that path you can't go back.

[highpower790]

Hard to clean a barrel fouled with moly,bullets cost more,and a messy process if you do it yourself.
Loads will need to be adjusted to compensate for loss in velocity due to using moly.If your at or near a max load ,you might want to reconsider using moly.

[Gryff]

I've shot several thousand rounds of moly-coated 9mm and 38 Special rounds. Zero problems, and I appreciate the cost reduction over plated.

I use Titegroup (9mm) and HP38/W231 (38Spl), and I find that the moly bullets are less smokey than when I've run straight lead bullets. No problems cleaning the barrels.

Because of the moly coating, I do prefer to wear surgical gloves when I load. No desire to find out what long-term exposure to the moly will do to my skin or internals, but I wear gloves when working with lead-only bullets also.

I got in a group buy for Black Bullets International bullets, so I'm going to try those out. But if they don't work out, I'll happily go back to Bear Creek bullets.

[Revoman]

I also have shot thousands of 38 Bear Creek 148gr LHBWC without issue over the past five years....tho I do not clean my revolver barrels, I simply send a single clean patch down one time every few hundred rounds to knock out any big stuff and call it good.
As stated, less smoke from the lube on plain lead, as accurate as any others I have tried.
I too wear latex gloves when handling lead now a day.

[mmesa005]

Thanks to all for the great input. I am going to stick with plated bullets.

[GunZ]

Hard to clean a barrel fouled with moly,bullets cost more,and a messy process if you do it yourself.
Loads will need to be adjusted to compensate for loss in velocity due to using moly.If your at or near a max load ,you might want to reconsider using moly.

----------------

No harder to clean than copper fouling. They are also not as expensive as copper plated. The do-it-yourself tumbling you peak of is not recommended but the professional clean moly coated bullets are tops

[mmesa005]

Seems to be a 50/50 camp for/against moly? tempting to try but unless I haven't found the most cost effective moly bullets they are only @ $8.00 difference for 500 when compared to plated?

[Gryff]

Seems to be a 50/50 camp for/against moly? tempting to try but unless I haven't found the most cost effective moly bullets they are only @ $8.00 difference for 500 when compared to plated?

The question is how many of those who have actually used moly bullets in their reloading now recommend against it.

It's always good to hear from real users rather than "It must be true because I heard it on the Internet..."

As for price, an $8/500 delta is a 17-20% difference. That's not insignificant if you are reloading on a budget.

[CK_32]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vPFB0rM1Xxk

[rsrocket1]

I went through a few thousand Bear Creek moly coated bullets before taking up casting. These are not the same as molycoated plated or jacketed bullets that were the rage a few years back before everyone dropped them like the plague. They are closer to powder coated bullets like High Tech or those of us who do it ourselves with powder coat paint.

The moly powder does not embed itself into the barrel as it does with it applied by a hard jacket. The moly is part of the polymer coating with a dusting on the surface. There are no problems shooting BC bullets the changing to lead, plated or jacketed bullets so long as you cleac your barrel after shooting the BC bullets. They are a good bargain for those who don't want to cast.

[Southpaw45]

I usually shoot about 6 to 8 thousand Bear Creek Moly bullets a year. Mostly in .45 Colt. Does the Moly coat your bore? Yes but very slightly. Is the Moly hard to clean out? No. A good solvent like Shooters Choice will cut it. Using Moly bullets produces higher velocities and reduces leading up to 1200 FPS. I personaly had what would have been a squib load in a 20 inch rifle barrel but because I was using Moly bullets, the bullet exited the barrel with only the power from the primer. You cant do that with a standard cast bullet. Unlike wax grooved cast bullets, Moly bullets produce less smoke also. Yes I do load regular cast bullets also but I love to use Bear Creek Moly when ever possible.

[mmesa005]

I have been looking at Bayou Bullets as they are coated lead bullets using a different product that is not moly based.