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Jesse H. Miller, CBA COMPETITOR IN LRH.
Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2),
here-in-after known as Moly, is a chemical compound as shown by the
formula. It is used as a coating on cast bullets. Moly is basically an
inert substance, which is not dangerous if ingested in small amounts, but
is very harmful if it gets into ones lungs!
As a lubricant, Moly, due to it’s
molecular structure, is one of the best for reducing friction in sliding
lubrication applications. It is not a very good lubricant in rolling
applications.
The purpose of the coating on
bullets is to reduce friction, thus allowing higher velocities and
reducing the chance of leading in the bore of cast bullet guns.
Moly can be purchased in powder
form, in a solution, or as a spray. Thus it can be applied to cast bullets
by dipping, spraying or tumbling the powder form with steel shot.
In use on bullets, both jacketed and
cast, it has been reported that higher velocities can be achieved without
excess pressure, along with better accuracy and ease of bore cleaning.
There are reports of all of this being achieved in cast bullet shooting
without leading.
British military competitors have
for some time dipped issue jacketed ammunition in a Moly solution for long
range competition with reported higher scores.
One highly respected
competitor/experimenter reported no improvement for cast bullets; he was
using the spray-on form of Moly.
I have used Moly, applied via the
tumbling process, for a number of years, and did a series of experiments
to satisfy myself that it does do all of the things listed above. This was
reported in Issue #139 of the “Fouling Shot”.
An interesting article by another
author: “Heavy Moly Coat on CB, s” will be found in Issue # 144, of The
Fouling Shot.
The drawbacks are:
- The extra time
and steps required in bullet preparation.
- High
pressure/velocity loads, developed with Moly, cannot be used without
Moly. Excess pressure will result, with all the problems associated
therewith.
- Switching
back-and-forth between plain bullets and Moly coated will not be
satisfactory, as the bore will need to be cleaned or re-conditioned to
each form.
Moly Coating is an area that probably
should be left until the shooter has acquired a degree of practical
experience in the use of cast bullets.
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