Tracers to mark a low magazine.. Who dun it?

I've been contemplating the ins and outs of this for concealed carry..

I've put tracers in to mark low mags when training and just screwing around but I've never done it in my day to day carry while carrying. I see a few downsides to this when carrying.. Gives away position in that rare opportunity you actually have a hide over an overwhelming force in you day to day edc run ins..(almost a null issue for me) also from what I've seen tracers a lesser performing fmj reall with a softer tip? Kinda defeats the point of an fmj for penetration but doesn't give you the bonus of a hollow point, am I right?

I've carried staggered mags before with fmj and hollow point I've also carried a mag of each.. But I haven't fully committed to the tracer idea yet.. Anyone on here do it or don't and why?

a reply to: mindseye1609

Tracers aren't good for firearms and I can't imagine it would be all that useful.

a reply to: greencmp

In a high stress environment the visual que to get ready to reload can cut reload time in half. I try my best to count but that's not easy if multiple people are firing.. I'm not a combat vet either.. Sure I've been in plenty of fights and andrenaline rushing scenarios... But I have no idea what An adrenaline dump is like in real combat.. And if I was ever exposed to that for the first time... No matter the training I've had... Every little advantage would be nice Imo so that's why I even contemplate it.

During WW II our fighter pilots used tracers as the last few rounds in a "magazine" (which is where the phrase "Gave him the whole 9 yards" comes from as that's how long the clip was). So the enemy was instantly aware when you ran out of ammo. Not such a hot idea, IMO.

a reply to: mindseye1609

Hmm, maybe some aftermarket signal based on the spring tension?

Wouldn't really matter for concealed carry. I know how many rounds I have and would rather focus on hitting my target than being distracted by a tracer then getting ready to reload. Besides....my indicator to reload is when my slide locks back....

originally posted by: schuyler
During WW II our fighter pilots used tracers as the last few rounds in a "magazine" (which is where the phrase "Gave him the whole 9 yards" comes from as that's how long the clip was). So the enemy was instantly aware when you ran out of ammo. Not such a hot idea, IMO.

Tracers were put in every few rounds throughout the magazines for targeting assistance, not to indicate a spent magazine which can't be swapped out in flight anyway.

a reply to: mindseye1609

Tracers were good when I was firing that 50 cal machine gun at 800 900 yards whatever.. I wouldn't use them in a handgun or anything else for that matter.

If you go the tracer route, one thing is they are hot rounds lol.. Careful with fire. I don't remember in training tracers being harder on your weapon of choice though.

They are very useful for knowing how bullets travel out of the end of your weapon just to have an idea of what's really going on. You can see how a bullet can bounce after hitting things too..

In a AR-15 platform the .556 tracers that I have used, have to travel over a 100 yards to ignite bright enough to see. Makes it impractical for close quarters combat.

a reply to: mindseye1609

I'm not sure if this is on topic or not but here goes. My friend was talking about a comic book series once (I don't remember what it was called) where the main character put tracer rounds in his firearm near the bottom of the magazine to show that he was getting low on ammo. Seeing your thread made me remember that. I can ask him what the comic book was called if you're interested.

ETA: There is a character in a series of books by F. Paul Wilson that's called Repairman Jack who staggers his rounds like that. He mixes regular rounds with hollow points.

originally posted by: KnightLight
a reply to: mindseye1609

Tracers were good when I was firing that 50 cal machine gun at 800 900 yards whatever.. I wouldn't use them in a handgun or anything else for that matter.

If you go the tracer route, one thing is they are hot rounds lol.. Careful with fire. I don't remember in training tracers being harder on your weapon of choice though.

They are very useful for knowing how bullets travel out of the end of your weapon just to have an idea of what's really going on. You can see how a bullet can bounce after hitting things too..

I noticed that too.

You never realise until you see it but they really do bounce around way more than one expects.

Also when shooting the .50 cal, watching one fly 900 yards it looks like you could see it coming and get out of the way.

Not saying you could, but it looked like it took so long to get out there.

I know it was really only like a second, but it was facinating to watch.

Tracers work both ways.

When the SHTF, and there are government helicopters looking for targets of opportunity, your tracer fire is what they will be looking for.

I know because tracer fire is what I looked for when we were hunting the Taliban..Idiots never seemed to connect the dots.

a reply to: Skid Mark

Hah narly, ive just read a ton on forums. Gotten all kinds of bad ideas from keyboard tactical instructors lol.

I'm gonna check that book series out, I just finished my most recent one and am in need.

Hey there

I'm an old war vet or some may call me young but I've seen combat first hand. With some of my contacts under 5 meters. From what I have learned
with my 8 years as a soldier. It doesn't really matter it comes down to how you train with your weapon, some of my army buddies like to drop 3 tracers in bottom but I've never done it. I've tried it but didn't feel i got any better reload but in a war zone it's always to kncd ow where the fire power is directed. surprisewise it's hard to say so I won't go into that but every warrior should find new cover to shoot from after the first exchange of bullets that way to keep the enemy guessing

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Ithats like accelerating on the green in drag racing.. You should already be through the motions before the light even changes.

If your waiting for the slide lock and the single "clank" then your definitely gonna have a slower then ninja reload time. And slower then ninja could mean dead lol.

In all reality more times then not your doing a tac reload from cover before your even out.

Speed wise tho if you can fire your last couple rounds one handed accurTely while grabbing a new magazine you can pretty much have zero reload time. Tough to do, I cant do it smooth yet, but totally tacticool lol

a reply to: hardminded

Welcome to ATS!

Great info on cover, not many people train to take cover and how to manipulate it properly, imo it's of utmost importance.

a reply to: schuyler

Not true in US guns every fourth round was a tracer so they could see where the bullet stream was going.

As for civilian use, I believe they are illegal in some weapons, maybe all.

A tracer in a pistol to let you know that you are about out of bullets sounds like a good idea--if your opponent isn't wise to the trick.

Let us hope you don't need a clip full to do business.

a reply to: mindseye1609

Here is his website. It should have all of them in chronological order. Enjoy!

Repairman Jack

a reply to: mindseye1609

If you decide to do it on your personal carry I would suggest replace your third to the last round with a tracer.

It will give you that visual notification as well as zero your next two shots and maybe scare the crap out of whomever you are targeting just a bit more giving you an edge. If you are carrying a separate clip you shouldn't have any in there to where they could be interchangeable as well.

It is a judgement call on your end overall. The reality is I doubt you will ever need to fire that many rounds just being a citizen for personal protection in the US.

a reply to: Grimpachi

That's kinda what I was thinking. I read about someone doing ages ago on a forum and it sounded legit but now that I've been training reloads heavily I can totally see the advantage to having a little warning. But the obvious disadvantages of tracers are obvious lol. I wonder if I put a 165gr light powder round in if I'd notice the recoil difference.. They sound a bit diff too.

What about a whistling round... Lol one that screams through the air... Boom boom boom boom BRANGGHGHGHG boom boom lol whistling rounds could probably be for suppressing Fire too.. Lol 4th July in 9mm!