moly

[1640]

Do any of you guys have experence with cleaning rifles that have seen alot of moly coated bullets. It seems as if there is a layer of crude in my barrels that I can't get out.

 

[Rifleman]

Moly is bad news, good luck getting it out and don't be surprised if you find pitting and corrosion underneath.

 

[alphaburnt]

Someone once mentioned Brownells had an article about using Kroil to remove it.

 

[alphaburnt]

info from nugbuk:

Brownells recommends (This worked for me.):

?A winning combination among many moly shooters is Kroil and J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound. Nothing seems to get under and loosen moly quite like Kroil. It penetrates deep to loosen and lift it from the bore surface. J-B gently removes the remaining moly and attacks caked-on copper build-up. For routine cleaning of moly-treated barrels, pass a couple patches of Kroil through the bore followed by several dry patches. Resume with a couple patches soaked with your favorite copper solvent. Let soak for approximately ten minutes and proceed with two or three dry patches. Short stoke J-B about ten times through the bore, followed by two patches of Kroil. Finish by pushing dry patches through the bore until they appear clean and dry.?

 

[Rifleman]

It is interesting to note that in my work we use Kroil to remove burned on petroleum products that have a tar like appearance.

 

[RAF]

RMan, I respect your opinion on Moly, but tell me why. I've been using Moly coated bullets in my 22-250 for years and works great for me. Now if it's causing a problem, I'd like to know why. Might force me to do something the the 250 odd rounds I've made up with it.

 

[Rifleman]

Raf, when moly first came out I questioned it's use as the pressures in say a 30-06 are over 50,000 PSI and the heat is tremendous as well. Fired bullets have the lands and grooves engraved/pressed into them. I just could not see how some lube was actually going to make a difference. Now after many years on the market, many experts agree that the benefits of moly( higher velocity, less barrel wear, better accuracy, and lower pressure) was over-rated. Also many users have found moly itself builds up in the barrel and is difficult to remove. Moly that has been left in the barrels over time has also been found to attribute to corrosion and pitting once it was removed to allow inspection. Right now other then the experts who have a financial stake in moly products, I personally do not know any expert who recommends it's use. Quite the opposite, many experts now agree that moly does more harm then good.
Quite frankly I was suspicious of it from the onset, refused to use it, and am now glad that I did.

 

[RAF]

Thanks for the reply. When it first came out I questioned the claim of higher velocity and had that discussion with my gun smith. Seemed to me that if moly was such a great lubricant there would be less pressure in the barrel and less resistance when bullet passing down the barrel. In my case it's worked well, accuracy wise. I also liked the idea of less copper fouling in the barrel, which is a concern with small bore, high speed bullets in my 22-250. Now, after reading this I'm going to have to
clean my barrel real good and have a close look.
HMMMM, always something to think about and worry about :?

 

[1BigPowderKeg]

Check out Norma's website concerning the use of moly. I will always use it when I can.

PowderKeg

 

[RAF]

Do you have a link to that sight?

 

[RogerDailey]

Do any of you guys have experence with cleaning rifles that have seen alot of moly coated bullets. It seems as if there is a layer of crude in my barrels that I can't get out.

It has worked well for me. There have been some problems when it was allowed to buid up and "cake". But, I've seen the same problems when heavy copper fouling was allowed to build up and sit for extended periods. I did see some damage to a bore that had shot moly bullets, but the bore had been left as shot (not cleaned, not lubed) for an extended period in a basement.

In my experience, the moly fouling of 300-500 rounds (a day of p'dogs) comes out in about 10 minutes. Wet the bore with Kroil, leave sit 5 minutes, wrap a patch on worn or slightly undersized bronze brush, scrub the bore with JB bore paste or Remingtons abrasive bore cleaner, rinse/clean with patches wetted with Kroil, should be all bright and clean. If shooting the next day, just a light lube with Kroil, if going into storage, a good protecting lube like Birchwood Casey's sheath.

The above has worked for me on 5-6 different rifles and up to 4000-5000 rounds in one AR.

YMMV

 

[1640]

Well I've been on a mission to clean my 40x in 220 swift. I don't have a bore scope but by looking into the end of my barrel I can see bare metal on top of the rifleing but black in the groves. I have been cleaning since I first posted with JB and Kroil and just about every thing else I have. I usually shoot about 100 inbetween cleanings but I must have been not doing a good job. I think I'm all molyed out. My next question is how would you get the moly off my bullets I have on my shelf. I was thinking of soaking them in a solvent then tumbling them dry.

 

[big6x6]

From Hart barrel Co:

.... What about Moly coated bullets?



? We do not recommend the use of moly bullets, as we have not seen an increase in accuracy or barrel life from using them. We have measured moly buildup up to .0005 for the first 2 - 3 inches in a barrel. We have not found a cleaning method that adequately removes the moly without potential damage to the barrel. If you elect to use moly bullets, we recommend that you contact the bullet manufacturer for details on the cleaning method they recommend.




From Kreiger Barrel, Inc:

: What is our opinion on moly-coated bullets?

A: The jury is still out on this one. For the most part accuracy is a wash between the two. Your gun might shoot better, or it might shoot a little worse. For the most part we feel there is no difference. You will have to try them to find out if your gun "likes" them. Most people agree that you do lose a little velocity with them. As far as barrel life goes, there is no hard proof that a barrel will last longer using moly-coated bullets. These bullets might help a barrel that fouls badly (copper) to shoot better for a longer period of time (number of rounds being fired without cleaning). This could possibly help factory rifle barrels or ones not having a good bore finish.





IMO there are two factors that could determine whether or not I would ever use moly in barrel/on bullets:

1. Number of rounds before cleaning. If I were to go hunting/shooting and just HAD to just my rifle so much that accuracy went south, then I might consider using moly. Now a days..I take a cleaning kit with me practically everywhere.
2. Where I lived. If I lived in W. Texas/Arizona/NM/etc(dry climate) I might use it. If I lived in a humid climate(I do) I'd NEVER use it so I don't.


One thing is for sure and this is the other reason I don't use it. You NEVER know how much is actually THERE. When I would clean my barrels(when using moly, yeah I tried it) of COURSE a pile of moly comes out with the copper solvent. Then I had to shoot a pile of bullets to get the rifle back to where it was before cleaning. For absolute accuracy..I have to know what is in the barrel..with moly..you never know...

 

[1BigPowderKeg]

Heres the link to Normas resurlts from 6mmBR.

http://www.6mmbr.com/normamoly.html

PowderKeg

 

[1640]

Do you guys think that using Tubbs Final bore lapper bullets would shoot that crude out of the barrel?

 

[big6x6]

I'd use the Kroil method first then follow up with cleaning with JB.

 

[nugbuk]

I'd use the Kroil method first then follow up with cleaning with JB.

Well, everybody is proposing to use JB. I do not mean to hijack this thread but this is another no-no in my book. Unless the barrel is clean down to the metal, I do not see any advantages in using JB.

Just think about it. If you have a build up in your barrel and you are using JB to remove it, it will do the job and remove the build down to the bare metal, but the clean part of the barrel is getting scrubbed too. And you creating uneven wear in you barrel. I think you are much safer to use a non abrasive paste such as USP.