Picked up some Glow Ammo for 9mm from Midway the other day...thought I'd try it out.
If you're not familiar with it, Glow Ammo is new cold tracer technology (from their website) without all the traditional tracer issues. It's basically a sticker you place on the base of the bullet similar to a gas check bu you don't have to crimp it.
It was introduced at the SHOT Show in January of this year.
Midway price is $47.99 for 255 pieces and they're available in 9mm, 38, 40 and 45 diameters.
Here is the box:
As you can see by the circled area on the bottom right, they say they're visible from dusk to dawn and in your indoor range. NOT during daytime.
This is what comes in the box:
Three sheets of sticky dots in the diameter you purchased.
Here are your instructions:
Very simple directions. I was using 115 LRN lead bullets and the stickers were sticking well enough.
Midway used the product I purchased for their website photos...I thought that was kinda cool.
This is what the stickers look like after applying them to the base of the bullets:
Nowhere in the instruction did it say anything about a preference on bullet types, and I can't imagine it making a difference, but looking back I should have tried it with some plated/jacketed bullets. Unfortunately, that's not something I usually stock.
The tracers are a peach color and have no smell. They are firm until a flame is applied to them when they get a bit soft...like taffy or chewing gum.
Here is a video from my garage. I applied two to a box and slowly applied a torch to them. You can see them glow. I was fairly excited at this point to see how they shot.
I shot them out of a RRA 9mm AR pattern carbine with a 16" barrel. I did not try a pistol.
I went out at night and fired a whole sheet...85 shots. Performance did not meet my expectations. I had maybe 2-3 out of 5 that worked properly. Most of the time the tracers would come off the bullets and flare off to the side of where I was aiming. I was unable to watch them through my EOtech, but could easily see them from the side of the shooters position.
Unfortunately, my FLIP couldn't catch the action, so I have no actual video to show you.
When they did work, you'd see a faint pink/orange streak ala Star Wars.
I think the technology is awesome, but some better glue would work go a long way towards improving this product.
Additionally, at nearly $50, I don't find it something that I'll do all the time. I can see training and entertainment applications, but not very often.
Since I have two more sheets, I'm going to apply the tracers with a bit more finger pressure to see if that keeps them attached more...and if that doesn't work, I'm going to buy some glue and glue them on.
No matter the solution, putting the tracers on the bullet bases is tedious and time consuming...something you should be prepared for.
Applying 85 tracers took significantly longer than firing 3 32 round magazines.
Hope you enjoyed.
Ed
If you're not familiar with it, Glow Ammo is new cold tracer technology (from their website) without all the traditional tracer issues. It's basically a sticker you place on the base of the bullet similar to a gas check bu you don't have to crimp it.
It was introduced at the SHOT Show in January of this year.
Midway price is $47.99 for 255 pieces and they're available in 9mm, 38, 40 and 45 diameters.
Here is the box:
As you can see by the circled area on the bottom right, they say they're visible from dusk to dawn and in your indoor range. NOT during daytime.
This is what comes in the box:
Three sheets of sticky dots in the diameter you purchased.
Here are your instructions:
Very simple directions. I was using 115 LRN lead bullets and the stickers were sticking well enough.
Midway used the product I purchased for their website photos...I thought that was kinda cool.
This is what the stickers look like after applying them to the base of the bullets:
Nowhere in the instruction did it say anything about a preference on bullet types, and I can't imagine it making a difference, but looking back I should have tried it with some plated/jacketed bullets. Unfortunately, that's not something I usually stock.
The tracers are a peach color and have no smell. They are firm until a flame is applied to them when they get a bit soft...like taffy or chewing gum.
Here is a video from my garage. I applied two to a box and slowly applied a torch to them. You can see them glow. I was fairly excited at this point to see how they shot.
I shot them out of a RRA 9mm AR pattern carbine with a 16" barrel. I did not try a pistol.
I went out at night and fired a whole sheet...85 shots. Performance did not meet my expectations. I had maybe 2-3 out of 5 that worked properly. Most of the time the tracers would come off the bullets and flare off to the side of where I was aiming. I was unable to watch them through my EOtech, but could easily see them from the side of the shooters position.
Unfortunately, my FLIP couldn't catch the action, so I have no actual video to show you.
When they did work, you'd see a faint pink/orange streak ala Star Wars.
I think the technology is awesome, but some better glue would work go a long way towards improving this product.
Additionally, at nearly $50, I don't find it something that I'll do all the time. I can see training and entertainment applications, but not very often.
Since I have two more sheets, I'm going to apply the tracers with a bit more finger pressure to see if that keeps them attached more...and if that doesn't work, I'm going to buy some glue and glue them on.
No matter the solution, putting the tracers on the bullet bases is tedious and time consuming...something you should be prepared for.
Applying 85 tracers took significantly longer than firing 3 32 round magazines.
Hope you enjoyed.
Ed
