# Tracers



## Soldier of Fortune (12 Apr 2002)

Hello, 
         I am wondering about tracers. I am aware them are beam of light shot from a rifle however if hit with one, what will it do? will it hurt you or is it just a beam of light?


----------



## bender (13 Apr 2002)

A tracer round is a bullet. The tip of a tracer round is coated with a chemical so when fired the bullet will glow.


----------



## Jungle (13 Apr 2002)

The tracer round‘s bullet contains WP (white phosphorous) that actually burns red (green for former Warsaw Pact countries). So what you see is actually a trail of fire. WP ignites when in contact with oxygen, and is nearly impossible to put out. So if you are hit by one, you will get the same effects as a normal round, plus burns if the WP is still burning...


----------



## Infanteer (13 Apr 2002)

Soldier of Fortune, even more dangerous are the tracers for blanks, as they burn a lot hotter.


----------



## Harry (13 Apr 2002)

Infanteer, please tell me you are kidding?


----------



## Gordon Angus Mackinlay (13 Apr 2002)

BLANK TRACER

That is beautiful, I needed a good laught on a awful day.

Yours,
Jock in Sydney


----------



## JRMACDONALD (13 Apr 2002)

Infanteer- not as deadly as the Blank Armour piercing!!!!


----------



## armd_recce (13 Apr 2002)

Just to clarify a few points, tracers do not contain WP, but most use a Strontium compound (no, I don‘t know what the ****  is in Strontium either), although there are others (like magnesium).
As Jungle said, willie pete ignites on contact with oxygen, and there is of course air in the cartridge itself. 
Trace compound is ignited by the powder, and is contained in the rear of the bullet, not the tip. Tracer bullets are long for calibre, so that they weigh the same as ball rounds (the light tracer material reduces density and the BC). 
Unless ignited by fire, tracers are stable, enough so that they can be pulled from mil ammo and are sold as seperate components (try ammoman.com)
The odds of tracer inflicting burns or damage above and beyond that of ball rounds is minimal, given the very small amount of compound used and the speed of bullet travel. If one impacted nearby and broke apart and the tracer pellet flew out and landed on you, you may get a burn like if someone put a cigarette out on you, but that‘s about it. Even shooting propane tanks with trace won‘t reliably set them off (don‘t try this at home).


----------



## Soldier of Fortune (13 Apr 2002)

Thanks for the help, but is there really blank tracers? How would they work if there was no actual bullet being ejected?


----------



## Infanteer (13 Apr 2002)

Just think long and hard about what has been said on this thread and then come back to me with an answer, SOF....


----------



## Soldier of Fortune (14 Apr 2002)

So there aren‘t blank tracers...


----------



## Infanteer (14 Apr 2002)

Good boy, you passed the test, NOW RIP OFF 50 FOR FAILING TO DO RESEARCH ON THE NET!!!

www.fas.org


----------



## Mike Bobbitt (14 Apr 2002)

Infanteer,

This  _was_ his research on the net!


----------



## Fishbone Jones (14 Apr 2002)

This is pretty close to jerking the chain on (dare I say it? Gasp!) SocNet. Jock, I agree. Just came in from doin 2 days of cold wet recce and needed a good hoot.


----------



## Art Johnson (14 Apr 2002)

Just like you can‘t get a hundred yards of Firing Line from the QM.


----------



## Harry (14 Apr 2002)

That rates up there with a bucket of prop wash or a length of hangar line for the airforce. The navyâ€™s, report aft to attend a wake.


----------



## MethylSilane (15 Apr 2002)

As the chemistry nerd, strontium is an element, so the only thing in strontium is...strontium.

It probably is in a salt (the chloride, or something).  It does make a nice brick red though colour when you burn it though.


----------



## Infanteer (15 Apr 2002)

> Infanteer,
> 
> This was his research on the net!


I guess I can‘t argue with that....


----------



## Harry (15 Apr 2002)

From what I remember from many, many moons ago, strontium was mixed with WP to produce the red we see     .  

I forget what the former WARSW pact used to make green, might have been copper sulfide (or sulfate) or something     .  

I do not want to get into a deep chemistry diatribe on it and I don‘t want to dig around in a bunch of stored boxes, cause "The truth is out there" (in my garage)     .

Just one of those threads that twigs the old memory banks.  Reminds me of certain cohorts firing FN blanks, supplemented with cleaning rods and t-flashes (liberal gun tape application around base)    .  

Amazed no one was ever killed, mutilated or lost an eye.  Even funnier that the Q would replace the missing rods and never question it  :warstory:  . 

  , I am getting old.


----------



## Michael OLeary (15 Apr 2002)

From  http://aec.army.mil/prod/files/range21_01a.pdf,  the component chemicals in red tracer composition are:

Magnesium - 28%
Calcium Resinate - 4%
Strontium Nitrate - 40%
Strontium Oxalate - 8%
Potassium Perchlorate - 20%


----------



## MethylSilane (15 Apr 2002)

Well, there you go.

Apparently in blank tracers, pixie dust is the element of choice.


----------



## Marauder (15 Apr 2002)

It should be noted that pixie dust is also the favoured propellant for use in the 5.56 NATO-Standard Mk2 Mod3 "Militia Round" favoured for use in the Reserves, particularly among recruit training platoons. The actual bullet material is still considered to be classified beyond top secret, as both it and the casing appear to have incorporated stealth technology into it‘s construction, and exhibits a reduced sound signature in level with a quiet yell from serving pers sounding like a low decibel "BANG" sound.
Supposedly, the Chinese and Russians are going mad trying to secure an non-fired example of this highly renown Canadian technology, as it has near-magical abilities to kill any and ALL forces it is fired at no matter their protective cover and/or presence of body armour.
Truly a marvelous piece of Canadian technical know-how and ingenuity, brought to you by the good folks at Bombardier.


----------



## Infanteer (16 Apr 2002)

I put a silencer on my C-7 when I use Militia rounds and it makes a "Pfftt" sound, the enemy haybales never hear me coming.


----------



## cagomez (16 Apr 2002)

HA HA HA HA........HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...HA !


----------



## herbie (19 Apr 2002)

Harry

reminds me of hunting prairie chicken with blanks and cleaning rods to try and supplement our IMP s
Dont know how I lived through the " full of p!ss and vinegar " days


----------



## Harry (20 Apr 2002)

Herbie,

Perchance any time in Third herd?   

The prairie chicken story sounds VERY familiar, any WX rabbit stories?   

UBIQUE, helmets on    :warstory:


----------

