Glock barrels and moly bullets

[MemphisMechanic]

I shoot Black Bullets International 147 Molys over 3.3gr of Solo1000. I clean the gun every 1,500 rounds, if I'm feeling ambitious. It's about as clean as the FMJs I shoot, really.

Didn't have the same luck with Precisions, but I wasn't using Solo, so I can't make a direct comparison. Oh - the gun is a G34 with a stock barrel.

[JohnGaultsGun]

We'll my test on my load change proved inconclusive. I had 2 failure to fires at todays match due to the slide not going into battery ... caused by oversized cartridges (yet another reloading issue I'm dealing with). No dent on the primer when I looked at the cartidges. My EGW undersized reloading die should arrive early next week.

There was a little crud build up in the throat area again (I scrubbed the bore till it was shiny new the night before!). Not enough to cause any malfunctions ... yet. This tells me it's going to occur again without regular cleaning.

Will post more this week when I get another batch reloaded.

[JohnGaultsGun]

I tested a new batch of reloads today. Bear Creek 125g RN, 3.9g of Univ Clays, Roal: 1.120. Barrel bore was clean, bright and shiny. After 120 rounds the 1st failure to chamber occurred. Lots of crud build up. So, unless I strip and clean my glock in between stages, it's time to change bullets. My buddy will be lending me his KKM G34 barrel to try out and see if the same thing happens but I'm not holding my breath.

[Dan Hefta]

You should buy a case guage and use it, I don't use any reloads that don't fit into my case guage.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: You may have to clean out the chamber shoulder when using moly bullets. I use a small diameter scriber I made out of a bicycle spoke. The corner of the chamber will sometimes get a buildup of moly after a couple of years that the brush doesn't get out. It will also stop the slide going into battery Thanks, Eric

[BlueOvalBruin]

If that crud contains any lead, that means you have a sealing problem with the bullet. While regular lead bullets can leave behind lead deposits as it goes down the barrel, moly-coated lead bullets will only leave behind deposits if the expanding gas leaks around and cuts into the bullet. Stock glock barrels can be bad with this since the chambers can be on the big side, lots of space for gas to go around the bullet. High pressures and fast powders usually just make it worse. You might get rid of the problem by playing around with powders and OALs. I had the same problem in my Lone Wolf .40 barrel using Win231. Lone Wolf barrel's throats are a bit shorter than usual and I had to load my .40 minor loads to 1.100" OAL. This was giving me leading on the top of the throat (gravity causes the round to lay on the chamber bottom, leaving a gap on th top). I had Lone Wolf ream the throat for my 1.135" OAL loads and now there's zero leading anywhere. The new minor load has the same bullet, powder, and PF, but the longer OAL (1.131") means the chamber pressure is lower and gas no longer cuts around the bullet. I know this tinkering is a pain in the arse, but the savings in bullet cost is significant with moly-coated lead and worth the effort in my opinion.

[JohnGaultsGun]

You should buy a case guage and use it, I don't use any reloads that don't fit into my case guage.

Yeah, I case gauged all my loads. I had a total of 4 failures and gauged the cartridges after each failure. They fit perfectly in the gauge but would not fit in the chamber. The build up was so bad that I was having to force the cartridge out of the chamber ... this after 150 rounds. Our local matches run 150-175 rounds so I'd have to clean out my barrel sometime during the match ... its easier to swap out bullets.

The up side to this is that I determined that my MagTech primers will only work with an OEM glock stricker spring. But this is for a different thread ;-)

[Dan Hefta]

Wow, that sucks, one more reason for me to stay with jacketed bullets. I hope that you get it figured out.

[JM Neighbors]

I did not like the coated bullets they smoke as much or more than plain lead in my gun. As a side note I only use the barrel for a case gauge because of what JohnGault said.

[kevin c]

My personal experience with BC 147's in my OEM and BarSto 9mm Glock barrels:

They tumble in the OEM bbl, even bullets sized extra large (.357 to .358). The standard .356 sized bullets don't tumble in my BarSto barrel.

I get the same chamber build up, but only under the chamber hood, where the bullet hits during the break over. After 50 to 70 odd rounds the build up in the BarSto is so bad that the slide will not go into battery with next round. The build up happens with the stock bbl, but the rounds chamber OK (but don't shoot well, as noted above).

It happens using OAL's 1.145" to 1.095".

It's worse with Tite Group, less with other powders, "less" meaning 70 plus rounds to jam up the tight chambered BarSto.

Shooting the Precision bullets (in .40, not 9mm) - no tumbling and no chamber buildup (factory bbl).

FWIW,

kc

Edited August 23, 2009 by kevin c

[Sean Gaines]

If any of you guys need a quality aftermarket glock barrel, pm me and I can tell you more

Thanks

sean

[Audifn]

I've been shooting BBI 130gr, 147gr and 180gr Poly (not moly) coated bullets with absolutely no fouling, tumbling or issues at all. I'm very happy with how these bullets shoot out of all my guns, not just my glock.

[noypi916]

I've been shooting BBI 130gr, 147gr and 180gr Poly (not moly) coated bullets with absolutely no fouling, tumbling or issues at all. I'm very happy with how these bullets shoot out of all my guns, not just my glock.

Sounds like marketing there. Can I get some sample please?

[Audifn]

haha, certainly. but really, I am very happy with the BBI bullets i've been shooting lately, I like them more than the Moly's I've been shooting for years.

[MoNsTeR]

I've also been very pleased with BBI 130s. G34, stock barrel, 6k+ rounds, no problems.

[gunprofit]

5,000 rounds before cleaning? Am I an old fart or what? I know you are shooting a Glock, (and they don't jam) but dang I still clean my guns before a match (because I practice before I compete) and after a match. And, no I don't own stock in gun cleaning companies.

I also have been using Bear Creek Moly Bullets for a very long time in all my guns, both revolvers and autos. I think lead bullets are the way to go and dry moly lube is superior to wet lube. If any of you ever shoot in a indoor range the wet lube bullets will smoke up the joint, and yes your powder does make a difference.

For all you who use FMJ bullets, your barrels do get fouled. Copper fouling is not as noticeable as lead or moly fouling, but it is still there. And it does have a big affect on accuracy.