AsianDragonPower
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???????????
whats the difference between green tips white tips red tips etc etc?
whats the difference between green tips white tips red tips etc etc?
Whats the difference between different colored tips for ammunition?
- Thread starter AsianDragonPower
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DWARREN123
Member
At one time, don't know about now, the colors designated type of bullet. Don't remember the types.
RON in PA
Member
Black tip=armour piercing
red/orange tip=tracer
green tip=m885 ball
That's off the top of my head, refers to US military and it's 2AM so may contain errors. Essentially it's a way for the military to distinguish between loose rounds of ammo.
Other countries use different systems.
red/orange tip=tracer
green tip=m885 ball
That's off the top of my head, refers to US military and it's 2AM so may contain errors. Essentially it's a way for the military to distinguish between loose rounds of ammo.
Other countries use different systems.
AsianDragonPower
member
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whats the best kind?
and what is subsonic?
and what is subsonic?
Geronimo45
Member
Best kind is whatever you like best. If you need to shoot mutant armored zombie bears, go with armor piercing. If you need to light things up a little, tracer. If you just need normal bullet, ball.
LiquidTension
Member
Blue - incendiary
red/orange/yellow/brown - tracer
silver (if memory serves) - APIT
These are for .50bmg rounds. As someone mentioned above, manufacturer and country of origin also dictate which colors are used for what.
red/orange/yellow/brown - tracer
silver (if memory serves) - APIT
These are for .50bmg rounds. As someone mentioned above, manufacturer and country of origin also dictate which colors are used for what.
stevelyn
Member
Subsonic= Initial muzzle velocity remains below the speed of sound and eliminates the sonic crack as it's going downrange.
Subsonic ammo is most useful in suppressed guns. In my experience, subsonic tends to be more accurate, especially rimfires.
Subsonic ammo is most useful in suppressed guns. In my experience, subsonic tends to be more accurate, especially rimfires.
Keith Wheeler
Member
It radically depends on whose ammunition you're talking about.
5.56mm NATO with a green tip is usually 62gr SS109. 7.62x39mm combloc with a green tip is usually tracer. My dad has told me many stories about watching green tracers come up at his Huey. Freaky.
Black? usually AP. I've also seen black tipped subsonic 9mm, AND black tipped +P+ 9mm subgun ammo.
It's just paint, painted on by whoever made the ammunition to meet somebody elses requirement of being able to identify it. So what it signifies depends on who it was made for, which can often be inferred by caliber and headstamp information.
And no, not everything the Mythbusters say is true. Tracers are bullets with material in the base that ignites and burns to create the trace, not "coated with phosphorus that ignites from air friction" or whatever they said to indicate it was the painted tip that did the tracing.
5.56mm NATO with a green tip is usually 62gr SS109. 7.62x39mm combloc with a green tip is usually tracer. My dad has told me many stories about watching green tracers come up at his Huey. Freaky.
Black? usually AP. I've also seen black tipped subsonic 9mm, AND black tipped +P+ 9mm subgun ammo.
It's just paint, painted on by whoever made the ammunition to meet somebody elses requirement of being able to identify it. So what it signifies depends on who it was made for, which can often be inferred by caliber and headstamp information.
And no, not everything the Mythbusters say is true. Tracers are bullets with material in the base that ignites and burns to create the trace, not "coated with phosphorus that ignites from air friction" or whatever they said to indicate it was the painted tip that did the tracing.
now, only military really does this color coded thing.
For example, you can get shotgun shells in a rainbow of color, and there is no ryhme or reason to what type gets what color. Red might be buckshot for one maker, while red is field load for another. Then of course there is nice pinkish purple Fiocchi uses for it's light target loads
For example, you can get shotgun shells in a rainbow of color, and there is no ryhme or reason to what type gets what color. Red might be buckshot for one maker, while red is field load for another. Then of course there is nice pinkish purple Fiocchi uses for it's light target loads
Ross
Member
If you are not asking about the newer plastic point protectors on commercial ammunition but about military bullet tip color codes, there are heavy books about the subject.
Each country uses its own codes, and has changed them a little over time.
The IAA cartridge collectors forum and the forensic examiners forum have available charts, and these can be of great help.
Common US codes show silver (aluminum) API
black AP
blue incendiary
as well as the various reds and oranges for tracer and green and brown frangible ball.
Huge topic.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross
Each country uses its own codes, and has changed them a little over time.
The IAA cartridge collectors forum and the forensic examiners forum have available charts, and these can be of great help.
Common US codes show silver (aluminum) API
black AP
blue incendiary
as well as the various reds and oranges for tracer and green and brown frangible ball.
Huge topic.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross
Harley Quinn
Member
I saw a 204 with red tip
I was looking at 204 ammo and saw a red tipped (plastic tip) box of them.
Little bitty dudes 35 grain.
HQ
I was looking at 204 ammo and saw a red tipped (plastic tip) box of them.
Little bitty dudes 35 grain.
HQ
Colored tips
The colored plastic tips found on some sporting ammuntion today has no "meaning" outside of something internal to the manufacturer. For example red tips might go on .22 cal bullets, blue on .30, etc.
The colored tip on military ammunition is a method for identifying the type of ammo. With US ammo black is AP, red/orange is tracer, etc, other countries use different color codes.
The color of shotgun shells is different. Originally, companies tended to use a color of their choice, but there was no hard and fast rule. Winchester tended to be red, Remington green, etc. But some specific shells would be different. Just whatever the maker wanted. Now, with the introduction of plastic shotshells, and the rise in the popularity of the 20ga. then major manufacturers generally agreed to make 20ga shells yellow. Yellow was not widely used for 12ga (red blue and green being most common), so it was a good choice for the 20ga. The main reason was so that 20ga could be identified at a glance.
If you drop a 20ga shell into a 12ga gun, the 20ga shell slides down the barrel for a few inches, then stops. Loading and firing a 12ga shell results in a burst barrel, and likely am injured shooter or bystander.
I have recently seen 20ga shells in colors other than yellow, so it appears this ploicy is slipping. Be careful, and make sure you have ONLY the correct ammo for your gun.
The colored plastic tips found on some sporting ammuntion today has no "meaning" outside of something internal to the manufacturer. For example red tips might go on .22 cal bullets, blue on .30, etc.
The colored tip on military ammunition is a method for identifying the type of ammo. With US ammo black is AP, red/orange is tracer, etc, other countries use different color codes.
The color of shotgun shells is different. Originally, companies tended to use a color of their choice, but there was no hard and fast rule. Winchester tended to be red, Remington green, etc. But some specific shells would be different. Just whatever the maker wanted. Now, with the introduction of plastic shotshells, and the rise in the popularity of the 20ga. then major manufacturers generally agreed to make 20ga shells yellow. Yellow was not widely used for 12ga (red blue and green being most common), so it was a good choice for the 20ga. The main reason was so that 20ga could be identified at a glance.
If you drop a 20ga shell into a 12ga gun, the 20ga shell slides down the barrel for a few inches, then stops. Loading and firing a 12ga shell results in a burst barrel, and likely am injured shooter or bystander.
I have recently seen 20ga shells in colors other than yellow, so it appears this ploicy is slipping. Be careful, and make sure you have ONLY the correct ammo for your gun.
I've seen resources that explained that the color coding on shotshells is for guage, not type. Twelves are red, twenty's are yellow, etc.
Yellow was not widely used for 12ga (red blue and green being most common), so it was a good choice for the 20ga. The main reason was so that 20ga could be identified at a glance.
While it is true that yellow is pretty common for 20 guage and not for 12, the rainbow of colors available for 12 (after looking in my box, 2 different greens, 4 red-burgandy, 2 blues, purple, pinkish purple, black, greyish clear) nope color isn't by gauge.
yes, internally a company may have a set pattern on who gets what, but in general, color will tell you nothing. Add to this that I consider shotgun shells the easiest thing to reload, well, anyone can be sticking anything in those same hulls the second time around.
Some folk will even tell you that you can tell low power target load from full power high in the sky loads by the hight of the brass at the end of the shell, but that doesn't hold true anymore either. Maybe it used to, but it doesn't now
Yellow was not widely used for 12ga (red blue and green being most common), so it was a good choice for the 20ga. The main reason was so that 20ga could be identified at a glance.
While it is true that yellow is pretty common for 20 guage and not for 12, the rainbow of colors available for 12 (after looking in my box, 2 different greens, 4 red-burgandy, 2 blues, purple, pinkish purple, black, greyish clear) nope color isn't by gauge.
yes, internally a company may have a set pattern on who gets what, but in general, color will tell you nothing. Add to this that I consider shotgun shells the easiest thing to reload, well, anyone can be sticking anything in those same hulls the second time around.
Some folk will even tell you that you can tell low power target load from full power high in the sky loads by the hight of the brass at the end of the shell, but that doesn't hold true anymore either. Maybe it used to, but it doesn't now
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