.303 ammo question

[kjohn]

A friend gave me a bunch of .303 Br headstamped DI Z 1943. It is red tipped. What does the red tip signify? The bullet looks to have been dipped in red.

Thanks in advance.

 

[green]

Tracer .303" MkIIz

 

[kjohn]

Tracer .303" MkIIz

Okay. Thank you! Does that little bit of red actually do the trick? I'll have to take one out and fire it off.

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

The trace compound is in the hollow base of the bullet. It will have a squarer skirt than an ordinary ball (if my mind's eye remembers correctly). The red paint is just a visual indicator for the troops. There is a veritable rainbow of colours - red, white, black, gray, etc

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.303_British#Headstamps_and_colour-coding

 

[kjohn]

The trace compound is in the hollow base of the bullet. It will have a squarer skirt than an ordinary ball (if my mind's eye remembers correctly). The red paint is just a visual indicator for the troops. There is a veritable rainbow of colours - red, white, black, gray, etc

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.303_British#Headstamps_and_colour-coding

Ah! I should have known that. Thanks for pointing out the details. I did look at the Wiki but didn't maybe read through slow enough...

 

[55recce]

Watch your back stop if you are going to shoot it. There was a major fire at a local range when someone decided to get rid of some old tracer.......

 

[nitro-express]

Watch your back stop if you are going to shoot it. There was a major fire at a local range when someone decided to get rid of some old tracer.......

I did hear of a pair of shooters that had to pay for a stack of bales. Took several hours to start on fire because the bullets were deep in the stack.

Nitro

 

[kjohn]

Thanks for the info and the caution. I am well aware of the possibility of starting a fire, so I will be using my 60 years of shooting experience if I do try one out.