Tracer rounds

[rem22long40x]

I was given some 170 gr. pulled Tracer rounds , thy have a cup over the phosphors and I was told that thy take a special powder to ignite them can any one give me some info on loading them ? I was going to load them with BLC-2 ?

 

[Reloadron]

You may want to give this thread a read.

Personally I have never loaded pulled tracer bullets or used pulled down powders. I saw lots of tracer powder at a gun show today and never gave it much thought. The issue with powders used especially for tracers is lot uniformity varies considerably.

Anyway, I would just use what you have. Worst case some may not ignite. Maybe another member has better thoughts?

Ron

 

[Reloadron]

Sorry, I managed a duplicate.

Ron

 

[medalguy]

What caliber? I load a lot of .30-06 M25 tracers and 7.62 x 51 M62 tracer bullets. I have better luck getting the .30-06 to lite than 7.62 x 51. Both bullets appear nearly identical and both weigh about 142 grains.

Pulldown powders are safe and used to be an inexpensive way to reload. Todat it's nearly the same cost as new powder. The only difference in ball powder and tracer powder is that the tracer powder burns a little hotter to insure more reliable ignition of the tracer element. Pressure differences are negligible.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I've loaded and shot quite a few tracers in .30-06. I used IMR 4895 and they lit just fine.

One word of caution, though. They can start fires, so be careful. The trace compound will sometimes come out of the bullet upon impact and may go another direction, too. I've had that happen a couple of times. Some ranges also won't allow them because of the fire issues.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[medalguy]

I don't think the OP is using .30 cal with a 170 gr weight. Maybe .303 British? I'm not sure what tracer bullet would have a 170 gr weight.

 

[rem22long40x]

Thanks for the input guys . the bullet wt. I am not certain of as thy are bring given to me and have not gotten them yet , the guy I am getting them from was just guessing at the wt. (just trying to get the info so that when I get them next week I can have all my ducks in a row) thy are 30 cal. and I will be loading both 7.62x51 and 30-06. As for the fire hazard , This I am aware of all ready. Thanks again.

 

[medalguy]

OK, good info. Assuming these really are .30 cal, then 4895 will work just fine. I've used it when reloading tracer bullets and they lit as well as with other powders. I generally use pulldown powder for several reasons. It's cheaper, or it used to be cheaper, and it's plenty accurate for its intended purpose. Tracer bullets aren't the most accurate bullets, so pulldown powder is fine. You're never going to achieve MOA with tracer bullets anyway.

Just be careful where you shoot them. They probably won't lite for about 100 yards out, and shooting them into a sand or soft clay bank will keep them out of the grass and weeds.