Revisiting Tracers...

[hdwhit]

A while back I posted asking about tracer bullets in 223/5.56.

I hear they can start fires.
But, I'm well aware of that, so we're beyond that issue at this point. ​

I'm at the point of starting to actually load some of these bullets into charged cases. I have reduced the charge to compensate for the fact the bullet is longer.

My concern is making sure I can identify the tracer rounds if they get separated. The military paints an orange tip to identify tracers, but this is missing from most of the bullets I have. So, my question is this:

Can I "paint" the tip of the bullet orange using fingernail polish or will that cause a problem in chambering, firing or accuracy?​

As to accuracy, I do most of my shooting a 100 yards or less, offhand, and expect accuracy of 3-4 MOA, so trivial influences on accuracy are not a concern like they would be to a true bench rest shooter.

Thanks.

 

[Dudedog]

Red or orange sharpie and color the base of the case maybe.
If they are in ammo boxes it's quick to do the bases, probably easier than doing the noses.
Get the large flat tipped permanent markers and one swipe is usually enough.

 

[Klint Beastwood]

neh. Just the tip....(hehe) is fine. the boolet's meplate and a good portion of the ogive wont even touch the barrel. Or you can use a black sharpy on the casing or whatever.
Curious though, i cant see a tracer...trace.. at 100y, they arent designed to. Unless you where just talking in general a 100y about the accuracy. The M856 have the precision potential of around about a sling shot...which is not all the best in the world, they weren't designed for that application, it may be possible with reloading however...you'll need a 1/7 twist barrel, match up the bullet weights and do all the reloading for precision type stuff. It will change in accuracy when mixing it will other bullets say m855 in a magazine obviously. The path will be different as the bullet profile and weight are different. The tracer round itself is designed to mimic the area denial traits of a machine gun and suppressive fire, where spread is a good thing. It wasnt designed for one shot, one kill.

 

[FROGO207]

Yeah around here I shoot mine into the snow covered backstop at the range in the winter time. They make fair blasting ammo for the price I paid for them. I did clean mine off in the tumbler (corn cob) because of crud on the jackets. Then to ID them, I purchased a wide tipped permanent marker that was red in color and recolored the tips. I did not need the paint to stay on for decades of rough handling so this worked well. I held the marker and twisted the assembled round to mostly cover the tip with the red. I did it with both .224 and .308 tracers. I used surplus tracer propellant from Pats Reloading and took the time to work up accurate loads. They were NOT that accurate though but cheap shooting non the less.

 

[dgod]

I use the Sharpie (Different Colors) for different loads, then mark a 3X5 with the Load Data and color of primer pocket.Then record Chrony/MOA data on other side of 3X5.

Works well for me

Dan

 

[hdwhit]

FROGO207 wrote:
I did not need the paint to stay on for decades of rough handling so this worked well.

Well, I have a history of work interruptions and health interruptions, so a decade sitting in plastic box inside an ammo can is not something I can rule out.

I used surplus tracer propellant...

I bought these tracers because they were ridiculously cheap. I think the seller just wanted to be rid of them because I ordered 500 and they sent me nearly 600. That's nice because I now have some extra bullets for load development. Whether they ignite or not isn't really a concern. In fact, it would probably be easier on everyone if they didn't light up, so I'm planning to use the normal canister propellants that I've already got on hand.

They were NOT that accurate...

Accuracy is relative to the standard used to measure it.

There are people on this site shooting a couple hundred yards off a bench that think they had a bad day if they can't cover a 5 shot group with a quarter.

And I respect that. And I doubt I could duplicate even their bad days.

But, for me "accuracy" is whether I can hit the circular divot on the side of a milk jug at 100 yards shooting offhand. That already means I'm happy if I get all my rounds inside a divot between about 3 and 4 inches in diameter (so, 3 and 4 MOA). If the tracers open that up a bit, I'm okay so long as I can still get them to make holes in somewhere on the milk jug.

 

[hdwhit]

Dudedog wrote:
...color the base of the case maybe.

I have a hard time getting Sharpie off cases and I don't want to confuse myself when I reuse the cases, so I'm going to stick to marking the bullet.

 

[hdwhit]

dgod wrote:
...then mark a 3X5 with the Load Data and color of primer

Each time I reload a batch of cartridges, I print out a checklist to accompany my reloading procedures as well as a load data form (on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper). The data form and the box containing the loaded cartridges get a unique identifier so that I can track them "from the bench to the range".

 

[rg1]

Don't know why but Dillon Case Lube on a rag will completely remove sharpie permanent marking off a case. I think it must be the alcohol in the lube?

 

[Englishmn]

Just get a can of red brake caliper paint and dip the tips.

 

[Sunray]

"...they can start fires..." Only if your range condition are extremely dry.
You can paint the tips or just mark the base anyway you like. The advantage of the Sharpie is that they're really cheap to buy. Suspect marking each loaded round would be a bit time consuming though. Dip 'em in paint or even dye.

 

[444]

I mark my cases with Sharpies all the time. Alcohol will take it right off. Or as mentioned, just color the tip and put a note in with the ammo detailing your load data including what bullet it is.

I never shot tracer for serious accuracy. But I have used them to good effect. I used to shoot in a match using bone stock military surplus rifles that went out to 800 yards, shooting at steel plates. If you arrived at the match the day before, you could shoot on the range all you wanted. So a number of times I went there and needed to confirm my sight dope out at 700 or 800 yards and I didn't have anybody to spot for me. So, I fired tracer and was able to get pretty close on elevation, then just fine tuned it with regular ball ammo. This has been awhile ago and I don't even remember what powder I used to load them. They used to have tons of pulled tracer at the gun shows I used to go to. But, that one range was the only one I ever fired them at. I worked as a professional firefighter and if I had started a brush fire the media would have loved to announce that a firefighter started it.

 

[hdwhit]

rg1 wrote:
Don't know why but Dillon Case Lube on a rag will completely remove sharpie permanent marking off a case.

I did not know that. Thanks for the tip.