tracer rounds

bismarck SG

wonder what's the purpose ? Mr. Green

foga SG

for night shooting..
first round tracer so u can shoot and see if ur round hit the target. if it does u hit it continously .... mai teng mai teng

ditzy SG

So you know where your shots are heading and landing to in the dark dark night. Very Happy

bismarck SG

as in used in wars or ranges ?
i mean if wars, it would be a dead giveaway right ?

ditzy SG

Yeah, used in wars and training. Works both ways, what a pity. Very Happy

foga SG

nite range and nite live firing...
in war.... got round better than no rounds... mai hiam Laughing

SpecOps87 SG

Well,it works both ways.Tracer can also be used to direct you forces fire to the general or point direction of the enemy.

Personally,I feel that if possible,it is always advisible to load the first two/three rounds of a magazinewith tracer and the last round a tracer too.If permitted,it would be ideal to load every 5th round of a mag with a tracer,and the first five with tracer.

This is to allow the firer to upon firing the 1st shot see where it lands and follow up,and with the subsequent shots directed in the same direction.And when the mag is close to finishing,can be notified as the last shots are all tracer.Thus signifying a time to reload.

deathscythe99 SG

Think usage of tracer rounds is SOP, depending on unit Wink

sgFish SG

well..when they still mounted guns on heavy bombers and ships, tracers make it easier for them to aim..sort of like using a water hose like that

fett SG

huh, i thought all recruits are taught the loading combo at bmt?

BrUtUs SG

wat colour r there? onli say red b4…

specfore SG

Yes, I thought it was every 3rd round you load would be a tracer. Practice was different. But the theory was such.

By the way, the tracer also has incendiary effects. It will more likely , because of the tracer chemical on the bullet tip, ignite some inflammable substance , than a normal round.

fett SG

carrect. and brutus, i think we only have red tracer, give my limited exposure.

DarrenWong SG

in war no matter wad kind of rounds u're using, the enemy can still see where u're firing from due to the explosion of rounds creating a bright spark at the muzzle of ur weapon...

tracer rounds are juz to direct ur buddies rounds to the target or vice versa....

gary1910 SG

Right, that is why you have blinking light during nite shoot, so to simulate enemy muzzle flash.

SpecOps87 SG

Have seen red and green tracer rounds before.But when u load an entire belt of 7.62 Tracer for the GPMG,and fire it,you will get an entire star-wars effect.Woohoo!!!!wahahah,and yes,its true that the round will ignite flammabe substances when it has not burned out yet.Saw some cock during the night shoot at the Army Open house,shoot at the wooden range marker,and the tracer just simply burn a hole there.The round basically just get stuck and burns there.

storywolf SG

Tracer are use at night. This is because it is hard to tell or point to where the enemy is, so when enemy is spotted , you shoot at him, everyone in the team just see where your tracer fly to will know enemy is there.

Usually it is every fifth rounds, you don't want too much tracers, as it wear out your barrel faster and let enemy know where you are also.

Tracers round is good for ignite things like flamiable stuff. Use tracer to shoot at gas tanks and stuff.

sillyme SG

that's why tracers are used sparingly. (one in every five) so to reduce your "signature"

and flash supressors are used to, well, supress flashes at the muzzle.

Moxie SG

Agree that tracer rounds are basically to check accuracy at night (variously interpretable).

With regards of the effects "working both ways", I'll say the 1st enemy instinct isn't so much to see immediately where you're firing from, but rather which direction the rounds are coming from - & taking appropriate defensive cover accordingly.

Imagine it being pitch dark & all you hear, like a blindman, is the rifle report. How to take cover?

baer SG

Tracers have a burning element on the base of the bullet. When fired most of the light is seen after the bullet actually flies past you. Looking head on it is possible but difficult to determine the source of the tracer round, although from an angle it is easier.

It is seldom able to ignite anything when shot at unless the bullet stays long enough on any flamable material to spark anything. Forget Hollywood, a burning car or fuel tank seldoms explodes with such dramatic effect when shot with tracers, its more the fumes catching fire after it has split a bit.

Infantry SOP combat load is a mix of tracers, ball, ball... tracer... ball etc to indicate first and last few rounds (leave it at that).