incendiary rounds?

[Dueeast]

While shooting the other day, I brought out the 40 cal Glocks and also my S&W .357. Someone had given me a paper bag full of old ammo, some .357 and some .38spl.
Anyway, I'm shooting the revolver, and to my suprise one of the .38's lights up downrange and continues to burn at the backdstop for about 4 seconds! This was red in color and looked like a flare. This was a brass case with a FMJ bullet, but it had a red painted tip(it was so old and faded i hadn't noticed) What were these used for?

[Daryl in Az]

Lighting camp fires?

;)

Daryl

[grimmjpr]

Sounds like a tracer round

[Merkavaboy]

Sounds like a tracer round

Exactly what the .38Spl. rounds are: tracers. :thumbsup:

[revel8]

tracer rounds sound like fun. they are expensive though. any reccomendations for 9mm?

[DJ Niner]

It does indeed sound like .38 Special caliber tracer ammo. For general information and explanations, here is a link to the Wiki page on tracer ammo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracer_ammunition

In addition to the uses listed on that page, when I was in the military, we used tracer ammo in various calibers to test weapon ranges. Certain types of outdoor rifle/handgun/machinegun ranges must either contain fired bullets, or if they do leave the range, they must leave at high angle or low velocity (or both). If a bullet ricochets and leaves the range at high speed, with enough velocity to leave the surrounding containment area (danger zone), then the range must be closed until the source of the ricochet can be found and corrected. To "test" these ranges, weapons are loaded with tracer ammunition and fired at various parts of the range, such as the gravel floor, target mechanisms, support poles, side berms, and backstop. Observers are posted outside the range, at a safe angle and distance, and watch for the telltale red trail of a tracer leaving the range.

This is a photo of some .38 Special caliber tracer rounds:

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/9121/38tracerbb8.jpg

[kensteele]

^a military range that contains all the ammo shot thru it? close the military range down with a tracer round richocet off the range? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[kensteele]

While shooting the other day, I brought out the 40 cal Glocks and also my S&W .357. Someone had given me a paper bag full of old ammo, some .357 and some .38spl.
Anyway, I'm shooting the revolver, and to my suprise one of the .38's lights up downrange and continues to burn at the backdstop for about 4 seconds! This was red in color and looked like a flare. This was a brass case with a FMJ bullet, but it had a red painted tip(it was so old and faded i hadn't noticed) What were these used for?

if it were incendiary you would most likely have had a fire. tracers rounds will cause a fire as well but from pistols they usually smolder mostly.

[DJ Niner]

^a military range that contains all the ammo shot thru it? close the military range down with a tracer round richocet off the range? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::headscratch: :dunno:

What exactly do you find so funny? This is (or was) standard test procedure for military baffle-style weapon ranges for many years.