.223 Tracer Ammo

Fired sparingly, it won't cause any problems with your barrel. However, rapid-firing tracers can cause your barrel to overheat faster than with normal rounds. That's the only real concern. You shouldn't just rapid fire off a whole magazine of just tracers, but slow firing or once in a while is fine.

I think that the back of those tracer rounds contain manganese, the metal that burns. Temps over 4,000 degrees F.

In my defensive AR mags, the 6th round is a tracer. That way, should it all hit the fan, I know that when I get down to the tracer, I have 5 rounds left - mag change, upcoming!

Remember that tracers can cause fires rather easily.

War Wagon, you have 11 round AR magazines? I'm not understanding the math.

TX1911fan said:

War Wagon, you have 11 round AR magazines? I'm not understanding the math.

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6th round. Means I put 5 in ahead of it. Usually got 24 more on TOP of it.

Those 24 are fired - you fire the tracer - means I have 5 left in this mag.

Hope that helps.

War Wagon, you have 11 round AR magazines? I'm not understanding the math.

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He explained it. But for those that are limited to 10 round magazines they could chamber one round and top off. Thereby you have 6 shots, tracer, and then 5 more rounds.

So they can start fires fairly easy huh? I don't think I'll be doing that 6th round trick then.

Most tracers don't ignite till after they leave the barrel. Inside the barrel, same as anything else.

I warn you, once you do nightfire with tracers, you will never quite feel safe about backstops again. We got to play with them while I was in the Army and I was amazed at how many hit the backstop and ricocheted into the air. It looked like Star Wars with all the lights zipping into the sky.

I believe that's just the tracer portion of the bullet separating. It's happened to me... bullet hit my backstop, and the tracer likely came out and flew back in a pronounced arc towards a spot 200 feet to our left, and 150 feet up in the air, where at the point it burnt out. All this time it was rapidly decelerating, and following a increasingly rapid curve towards Earth's gravitational pull. The piece that bounced back slowed down much too quickly for a piece of lead.

That being said, know your backstops regardless!