If moly coating doesn't improve grouping, is it at least not detrimental?

[Centerfire]

It seems like whenever I need to order a Lapua bullet, the only thing I often find in stock is their moly coated version. I don't mind paying the extra few bucks, but I was wondering if the moly bullets will actually group differently. (ie; group worse) The same goes for Hornady bullets.

In case you ask, I'm shooting the .308 155 grain Lapua and Hornady 168 BTHP, and the 75 grain .224 Amax.

Have any of you guys noticed that the NON-COATED bullet has actually shot tighter groups for you then the MOLY COATED bullet? I don't mind if garnering any benefits with moly bullets is questionable/debatable and a small waste of money..... as much as I do mind if they might actually not group as well.

Please post on this thread, as I will not open any email alerts due to all the communicable diseases here.









EDIT: ps....thanks, but there is no need for anyone to post me links of places that have the non-moly bullets in stock. This is just something I have wondered and need to know for future purchases. Thanks again.

[17 shooter]

I've been using Moly for a loooooong time now. I don't believe you will see any harmful effects from using it. You may have to add about a half grain of powder on small/medium size cases and a little more on larger cases to get the same velocity you have been getting...After cleaning you barrel, be sure to leave a good coat of oil in the bore...I like and recommend Kroil..Bore Tec makes a product called Moyl Magic that works very well at cleaning excess moly out of the barrel...If you are going to continue using the Moly Coated bullets, you don't need to get 100% of the moly out. I like to see just a smear on my patch after cleaning, then apply the oil. If you switch back to uncoated bullets, you can shoot the moly completely out in a few rounds and then clean your normal way....Hope this helps a little....George

[Mulerider]

I know of no negatives regarding accuracy and moly-coated bullets, and I too have used many in my various .17-.20-.224.
Lack of volume has me shooting nekkid bullets in the larger calibers (too much recoil )

Greg

[Chucker]

If you are using a quality bullet and barrel combo moly will not affect the bullet ability to group.

What moly affects is the pressure at which the bullet is fired. Moly will lower the pressure it takes to push the bullet forward. It is like removing a little powder from the case. A bullets ability to group well is somewhat governed by the pressure it is shot at.

This is the variable you are dealing with. Mixing the two can cause pressure variables which will affect accuracy. It is a consistency thing you need to go one way or the other on bullet coatings.

I have been coating my own bullets for over 15 years and I will not go back to naked bullets. That being said I have to quantify it I am only using stainless barrels on my rifles. Moly will tend to attract moisture from the air and rust barrels, Just a not to keep in mind.

Your friend, Chucker.

[fosters]

We have a bunch of 17 shooters down here in SW Missouri, and most of us won't shoot anything but moly coated bullets in our rifles....we crow shoot mostly, and I know this is hard to believe, but 150 to 200 rounds is not uncommon before accuracy degrades to about 3/8 of an inch....keep in mind we are NOT ever getting the barrels hot....and even when we do get crows to land to where you could shoot a number of rounds in rapid succession, we NEVER fire more than 3 without giving the barrel plenty of time to cool off...

Before we discovered moly, about 10 to 20 rounds was it.....before accuracy went south.....Walt Berger told me that with moly bullets that the 17's would go 80 rounds or so before cleaning was required....and for several years that was our limit....but I got old and lazy, and thought I would just push the envelope to find out where the edge was.....also, I think the incredible smoothness of the CZ barrels has a whole bunch to do with it...they just don't foul much.....our older remington barrels were very rough to begin with, in comparison....

just what works for me,
Steve

[Daryl]

Varmint Al- had a good writeup on moly on his web site - comparing chrom-moly barrels to stainless. The end result is if you shoot moly in a non-stainles barrel, you should clean it well after shooting. With stainless it is less important as moisture won't hurt it. In the steel barrel, moisture could get underneath the moly and hurt the bore.
In the .17AH - I shoot all day before cleaning - that could be 50 rounds, or 100 or 600 with no loss in accuracy, bare or moly coated- doesn't seem to matter.

I like moly bullets - especially in stainless as I'm lazy for cleaning when it isn't needed.
Russellssports in Alberta sells a Moly Solve that removes it effectively and quickly form a barrel - nothing else I've tried works - don't think it's available any where else - stuff is made in Saskatchewan.

[montdoug]

When moly first became the rage years back I bought NECO's setup and molied everything but my tennis shoes. After a while it was my perception like a lot of things in shooting, some rifles liked it and some not so much.
As time passed more was written about it in "Precision Shooting" (a lot more!). One of the articles that really made sense claimed that there were observed issues with moly plating in the barrel, particularly in the first 3 or 4 inches of the barrel.
It went on to say that moly is a desiccant (which it is) and as such it attracts moisture and drys things. The problem they claimed speaks to what Daryl mentioned. The plated moly attracted moisture absorbed it and it would then rust pit the bore underneath the plated moly. The answer was of course to clean after each use and not allow the moly to build up. The only reason I used moly in the first place was to relieve some of the cleaning so in my mind if moly needed to be cleaned after each firing and moly is a hassle to clean anyway then why use moly?
Wanna buy a NECO set up?
Seriously though I'm not saying that's for sure but it was a well written article buy a serious Precision Shooting writer and most of those guys fly about 10,000Ft above my holding pattern anyway . At any rate it sounded reasonable to me and quite frankly I'm afflicted with Marine training and when I finish cleaning a weapon I wanna see a pure white patch come out of the bore, couldn't get past that using moly (white patches are a thing of the past ).
I do use Kindlers SPL on some rifles however.
That was my take anyway for what it's worth. No offense moly guys .