SmallCaliberCentral

Is anyone using coated bullets in their .204? I have some moly and tungsten disulphide (aka Danzac) and wonder how they perform. Have you noticed less cleaning required/lower pressures/accuracy improvement etc.

boomer68 wrote:Is anyone using coated bullets in their .204? I have some moly and tungsten disulphide (aka Danzac) and wonder how they perform. Have you noticed less cleaning required/lower pressures/accuracy improvement etc.

Yes to all three

We use only Moly coated bullets in all our rifles now...30.06, .243, .204, .17Rem, and 22Hornet.

When Fred Dobbs chimes in he will give you all the real Tech Talk Think he favors the Danzac

Anyways, my son and I can shoot hundreds of rounds in 204, and 17rem before we see any signs of failing accuracy. Which really pays off when we are whacking PDogs. Hardly any copper build-up. We use the Lyman moly coat system, but we replaced the ceramic media with just plain steel airgun BB's. And I usually use an electro-magnet thing to separate them when finished. And buff them up in a separate full size tumbler, that is lined with terry cloth/towels. I've taken most of the "Mess" out of using the Moly, and They turn out better than factory-store bought

I use WS2 in my 223's, 223 Ackley, 17 Ackley Hornet, 17 Mach IV and 243 Ackley. I can go up to 100 rounds without cleaning (usually stop around 60 to 80 though), and all barrels clean right up. I get about 80 fps more velocity with less pressure after bumping the powder charge back up. I use the impact plating method using a rotary tumbler and 3/16" burnishing balls.

Just for grins, here's some WS2 coated Berger 25 grainers loaded in freshly formed and neck turned 17 Mach IV cases in my bench block waiting their turn in my Sako Vixen:



If you decide to use WS2, make SURE to clean your barrel down to bare metal prior to starting. Also, don't break-in a new barrel with coated bullets.

I coat .204s and .243WSSMs. I started out with WS2 (AKA DanZac) and am transitioning to hBN.

I can't say coated bullets have any effect on accuracy, pro or con, except that you can shoot longer without cleaning before the buildup affects it, and it holds down barrel temps in a long session so you have less barrel walk. Plus, the shift in point of impact of the cold bore shot is reduced with a well-conditioned barrel.

It definitely reduces chamber pressures, which means the published load data doesn't strictly apply. I don't have any pressure measuring equipment but I do use QuickLoad software for load development. It has a "switch" for coated bullets and, when you turn it on, chamber pressure falls about 2000 psi. You also lose 20-30 fps MV but you can bump up the charge to the original MV and still have less pressure. In the course of load development for the two rounds I'm coating, I did exceed the published max by a considerable margin but in neither case did I see and adverse pressure signs.

Thanks for the information on coating bullets. I was wondering what hBN is.

hBN is hexagonal boron nitride. The hexagonal part is important because boron also comes in a cubic form that's used as an industrial abrasive. You don't want that stuff on your bullets.

WS2 is tungsten disulfide ("W" is the atomic symbol for tungsten). It's sometimes called DanZac because the first guy who marketed in bulk to shooters named it by merging the names of his children. No, I'm not kidding.

Moly is molybdenum disulfide.

All three are sold in powder form and are applied the same way (except moly has a carnauba wax step, which some folks skip). hBN has the highest lubricity but all three are so slick, any difference is of little consequence. I switched to hBN because I was running low on WS2 and found a deal for 1# of hBN for $49. Unless you're coating bullets for your electric Gatling gun, a pound of this stuff is a lifetime supply for you and the guys in your car pool.



For comparison, the bullet on the left is coated with hBN. The bullet in the middle is coated with WS2. The bullet on the right is nekkid. Some folks think the hBN looks like frosted copper. I think it looks like gold-toned titanium.

Colloidal graphite and naked bullets....

No mess, no fuss, and very simple prep as a last step in cleaning a barrel.

-BCB

Thanks for the replies everyone. I currently use WS2 with my .17 Rem and was thinking of using it on the .204 also. I picked up a Lyman moly kit so might try both.

[quote="Fred_C_Dobbs"]



Moly is molybdenum disulfide.
(except moly has a carnauba wax step, which some folks skip).

Mr. Dobbs,
What is the wax step? I'm considering coating my .204's with moly.

Jeff, if you use moly, you need the wax to avoid the stuff wiping right off. If you use WS2, no wax is required. Also, WS2 will not build up in lumps like moly does, and only coat onto itself in .001" coating thickness.

I'm considering switching to colliodial graphite, as you don't need to coat bullets, just the final step in barrel cleaning, a la BCB's method.

Might want to read the MSDS on this substance.

http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C1528.html

Humm.....BCB, any issues using this stuff in your opinion? How long have you been using it? Now you've got inquiring minds wanting to know......

I'm no BCB but some benchresters have been using colloidial graphite for years. Colloidial just means its graphite with a carrier. The graphite itself would be similar to Imperial dry neck sizing lube.
The most popular is Lock Ease. Not easy to find in my neck of the woods.
The carrier in Lock Ease is N-Hexane, Stoddard solvent, Propane/Isobutane/N-Butane, Mineral oil and few other things.
Sounds nasty but its tasty on Cheerios in the morning


I'll bet you can mix up some Imperial with your own homemade brew and try it out. Never tried it making it myself tho.

How often do they have to re-apply the Lock-Ease? As it happens, that's what I use to pre-condition my barrels when I'm shooting WS2-coated bullets. I forget where I got it, probably Wally World or Advance Auto.

Fred: Is Lock-Ez basically colloidal graphite then?

When I'm shooting WS2 coated bullets, I've taken to using a small plastic squeeze bottle (Sinclairs) with about 20%+/- WS2 added to isoprol alcohol for a pre-shooting barrel treatment. I've used it for years, and now wonder how that would work (or Lock-Ez) with naked bullets in a pre-treated barrel.

Our friend BCB has had good success using this method. Have you tried it yourself?