Moly Coated bullets

[radtuck]

I saw a thread a while back that listed online bullet manufacturers. One of the sites was Bear Creek bullets...moly coated cast bullets. They are currently out of stock, but I'm intrigued by the process. Anyone that has tried them want to chime in on performance? I get significant leading from cast bullets in my revolver, which is why I've only used jacketed in my Henry rifle. If the coated bullets prevent leading as advertised, I will buy a batch to try when they become available.

 

[Erich]

I don't recall whether they were from Bear Creek, but I got a whole mess of moly coated cast bullets back years ago when I was loading for my .40 and 10mm. Never had a bit of leading, and I was throwing them over 1200 fps from the 10.

Obviously leading is not merely a function of velocity (bullet hardness and size, as well as powder, all play a role), but the moly coating worked as advertised.

 

[radtuck]

Any difference in accuracy?

 

[Erich]

The accurate loads with this bullet were very accurate indeed.

 

[radtuck]

Thanks for the feedback! If anyone has ordered from Bear Creek, do the bullets come with lube in the grooves, or not? If not, is it necessary?

 

[rwsmith]

I was hot on moly until......

I was hot on moly until I found the many disadvantages. I'd do some research.

 

[SMSgt]

You're such a tease...

 

[radtuck]

I was hot on moly until I found the many disadvantages. I'd do some research.

I guess I thought I was researching the topic...

 

[rwsmith]

Didn't mean to sound negative.

I guess I thought I was researching the topic...

Sorry, just saying that you can look up articles because I don't remember all the ins and and outs, but I'll try to remember some things. Don't kill me if I get this wrong.

You have to use a bigger powder charge to get the same velocity. I think the bullet is out of the barrel before the max pressure builds. This seems counter intuitive but I've read about 100 comments saying that this is true.

You can either shoot moly or not shoot moly. Transitioning between conventional and moly will give all kinds of erratic results. If you decide you want to shoot something besides moly it is a bear to get your barrel free of the lube

It was a really hot item for a few years, but most people have backed away from it.

The moly is hygroscopic and attracts moisture and promotes rust.

Google "disadvantages of moly bullets"

Hope this helps.

 

[gm272gs]

I'm sort of an old-school kinda guy - and I don't use them - but I see no reason to shy away from moly-coated bullets.

There is a TON of anecdotal "evidence" out there that moly (Molybdenum Disulfide) does all kinds of bad things to bores. Probably more of the bad than the good, if you take time to research it. Most things I read that claim bad things will happen, are from people who don't really know anything about Molybdenum Disulfide. This page tells you more about it.

The long and short of it is that before using these coated projectiles;

1. Make sure the bore is absolutely clean and pristine. Any residue or left-over copper in the bore will be sort of "entombed" in the coating from the bullets, and be awful hard to get out, later.

2. After shooting coated bullets, ONLY shoot coated bullets.

 

[radtuck]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I did Google the topic and read as many bad as good, but most said the same thing about not switching back and forth. I think I'll just stick to what I have, even though the leading can be a pain to remove. I haven't shot cast in my 44 Henry yet because I fear the leading will be much worse in a longer barrel.

 

[Snapping Twig]

You're probably leading the barrel because your bullets are too small.

Again, this sounds counterintuative, but if the bullet isn't .001 at least over bore dimension, the plasma gets around the bullet and melts the sides, giving you lead in the bore.

I have moly 45-70 bullets, but I give them to people, I wouldn't entertain ever using them.

 

[socal s&w]

I shoot BC exclusively in revolvers, never any leading with target velocities. I gave them a lead test and they are at 7.6, while Hornady swaged LHBWC are at a 2.7 and Magnus of the same at a 3.0. Using my scale so it's relative to that.

I had terrible leading with the Magnus bullets both in the cylinder and at the forcing cone last week. This is after shooting BC's for the past year or so. BC's are tough to get a hold of so I was trying another bullet. I won't go back to the Magnus for awhile. They may be fine, but didn't like cleaning that lead out.

I use the common 2.7 - 2.8 grs Bullseye for paper punching and have great results with accuracy.

I also do not clean my barrel. I know that I'll get slammed for stating that, but I have not cleaned my barrel/s for many years. Once it's sighted in and shoots where I want, why would I change the dynamics?

Anyway, you asked about BC's and that is my experience. NO leading at target velocities.

Oh, there are no lube grooves on the BC's, no lube at all.

 

[El Biblioitecario]

I had a single experience with such bullets in .38 Special. The only difference I could tell between them and regular cast bullets was that the coated bullets left my fingertips black.

 

[rwsmith]

How about smoke and stink?

Whoever has tried moly how is it on smoke and stink??

 

[357Ruger]

I saw a thread a while back that listed online bullet manufacturers. One of the sites was Bear Creek bullets...moly coated cast bullets. They are currently out of stock, but I'm intrigued by the process. Anyone that has tried them want to chime in on performance? I get significant leading from cast bullets in my revolver, which is why I've only used jacketed in my Henry rifle. If the coated bullets prevent leading as advertised, I will buy a batch to try when they become available.

I've used Bear Creek bullets and yes they will lead your barrel if the bullets don't properly fit your gun. I've worked up some accurate loads with their bullets but quality seems to have dropped off. My last two orders weight variations were all over the map, over 10grs variation is 180gr 357 bullets. That doesn't include about half a dozen bullets that were about 1/3 shorter than the rest.

I no longer use their bullets but wish you luck if you decide to try them.

 

[Fishslayer]

Thanks for the feedback! If anyone has ordered from Bear Creek, do the bullets come with lube in the grooves, or not? If not, is it necessary?

Some of their bullets are from molds with traditional lube groove. Others are smooth. Not necessary to add any more. The moly is enough.

I've had good results with Bear Creek in .356, .358, .452 . Some of my guns get some lead, some don't. The 200gr RNHB leaves all my .45ACPs pretty darn clean. With my wife's 9mm SIG it seems to depend on phase of the moon, barometric pressure, I don't know. Sometimes theydo & sometimes they don't. :shrug:

 

[R. G. Amos]

Moly coated bullets will promote barrel corrosion.

 

[fuzzymcnab]

Rad,
My experience is limited but here ya go. I use the .30 cal bullets for my 30-30 handloads; both in my model 94 and my thompson contender. I have had no trace of leading at midrange velocities and have found the accuracy quite consistent.
Hope that helps a bit, fuzzy

 

[Culina]

I love the Bear Creek Moly coated bullets.

If I had to guess, I would say he tumbles them in a solution that coats the bullets. its not like moly coated rifle bullets, the coating on these is pretty thick and slightly waxy. Some of the bullet styles have a lube channel but obviously its not used since the whole bullet is coated.

I like them because you don't get the smoke and smell of traditionally lubed lead bullets, and they don't lead the bore at all. Accuracy is as good as anything else and the price is right when you can find them locally in stock.

 

[Jamie]

Give Bayou Bullets a try, they are coated with a type of plastic. Your fingers don't get black or 'gooey', virtually no smoke, no leading. They are made by Donnie Miculek, if the name sounds familiar, the family does some shooting...

 

[Troystat]

I have used his 148 grain wadcutters in my model 27, so far three different types, 148 grain button nose w/flat base, 148 grain double end wc. and 148 grain hollow base. They all seem ok with the hollow base being slightly more accurate in my revolver. With the HB bullets I used 2.9 grains of bullsye and the others I used 3.3 grains of bulleye. I have had no problems with leading or cleaning. They seem to be slightly less smoking than Remington factory 148 grain wc's. Can't say that they are smokeless though could be the powder as well. I bought mine at a local gunshop don't know if you can buy them direct. Good luck.

 

[S&WIowegan]

A buddy and I did extensive testing with moly-coated bullets when they first hit the market big time in the 90s. We used moly-coated from Bull-X when they were still in business.

Two major findings: First, it did take more powder to make the same velocity as uncoated Bull-X bullets. You can make up your own reason why. Second, The moly Bull-x used was extremely hygroscopic. We found rust running out our barrels the next day if we didn't clean after shooting. We quit using moly bullets.

I now use Billy Bullets which are moly coated exclusively in my 627 competition revolvers. I'm very happy with Billy Bullets. I think the key is to buy the correct size bullet.

YMMV

 

[Granddad]

Accurate, clean, no smoke...I use moly coated almost exclusively for 9mm and 45 acp and have for about 5 yrs. The only brands I've used, though, are Bayou and Black Bullets International. SNS now makes them and I'd like to give them a try, as I really like their 38 cal. lead.

 

[8Ring]

I've used moly coated bullets in .45 acp from Precision Bullets, Billy Bullets, and Bear Creek Bullets. When using a relatively cool burning powder, they smoke less than non-moly lead bullets (Everything smokes when using Titegroup!). The barrels of my SW 625s, CZ97b, and 1911 clean very quickly with some wet patches. No scrubbing with a brass brush is needed.

I don't know about the moly-coated bullets you used in the 1980s but the ones listed above have never caused any corrosion, pitting, or other problems in the barrels.

Some moly coated bullets have no lube grooves. Therefore the bearing surface is longer and a bit more (.1 to .2 gr) powder might be needed to get the same velocities due to the increased fiction in the barrel.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Bear Creek has been a sponsor for years at our local Cowboy 3 day shoot. Small sample bags of their product were given to all competitors (since I'm not very competitive, we could say participant) in almost any handgun or a few rifle calibers. Between these samples and several hundred that I ordered, I've loaded 32-20, 38-55-255, 45-70-405, 45-90-300, 45 ACP, 45 Colt, 44-40 WCF and 38 Special. The bullets have been accurate and clean. They are hard. If you have unused bullets and try to melt them down, they float on top a long time like plated bullets, but as range lead they melt fine. The velocity range I use on hand gun is in 700-850 fps range and in rifle loads up to 1800 fps range. I hadn't noticed the slower velocity, but I don't do bottom end accuracy loads. About Moly coated bullets in general, mostly it is a passing/passed fad. In target and varmint rifles we got 50 to 100 fps faster velocities on the same charge and some guns shot better groups, some not (this may be a function of bullet rotation count changes). As far as erosion of barrels, your simple wet patch, 2 dry patch or any similar post shooting cleaning method will counter any residual moly/ sulfur corrosion. The BIG problem is in semi auto gas guns. The Ohio National Guard rifle team, tested them in 7.62 NATO/ M-14's by half the squad using Moly bullets and half not, for a full shooting season. They found no statistical advantage or disadvantage to them in relation to scores, wins/losses, or team position (ranking). So with the gas tube problems they gave up on them. You don't see many used in Bench Rest competition (they are a very superstitious/conservative group) and see the coating of jackets as one more variable with little advantage. And variables are to be avoided.

Bear Creek has been very good to deal with whenever I called, but that was before the craziness set in. One last note; Bear Creek has had more diameters available in odd caliber bullets than anybody else that I've ordered from. Ivan

 

[DR505]

I haven't shot cast in my 44 Henry yet because I fear the leading will be much worse in a longer barrel.

Sometimes simply using a gas-check bullet will obviate this issue. In my .41 magnum 6½" I use 265 grain Keith LSWC gas check bullets loaded to about 1300 fps. The bore stays pretty much lead free.

 

[radtuck]

Sweet. Thanks for all the replies. I think I need to figure out my bore diameter and go from there. ,