Can you get killed by tracer bullet?

Question

If it hit you would it just bounce of or would it be able to penetrate and even kill you?

Answer 1

Absolutely. And like the other poster said, "Even blanks can kill you." Tracers might not just kill you, but they can actually start a fire.

H

Answer 2

Tracers are ballistically matched to the ball rounds they fire. The bullet also carries a phosphorus payload that creates that line of fire when it is fired and it allows for machinegunners to adjust their fire without having to rely on the sights, or it can be used by section commanders and even designated marksmen/snipers to designate targets for the others to engage.

However, a "standard" tracer isn't as hard a ball round and if it hits something hard, it'll break up all over the place. Hardened tracers, like the .50 cal Armour-piercing tracer rounds, on the other hand, are designed to have a secondary incendiary effect after penetrating the target.

So yes, if a tracer hits you, it can kill you. And even if it doesn't hit a vital area, the burns from the phosphorus mixture will cause extensive damage that could easily lead to amputation.

Answer 3

Tracer ammunition (tracers) use special bullets that are modified to accept a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited upon firing, the composition burns very brightly making the projectile visible to the naked eye. This enables the shooter to follow the bullet trajectory relative to the target in order to make corrections to their aim.
Tracers can also serve to direct fire at a given target, because it is visible to other combatants. The disadvantage is that they betray the shooter's position: the tracer path leads back to its source. To make it more difficult for an enemy to do this, most modern tracers have a 'delay element' that results in the trace becoming visible some distance from the muzzle. Its lethality is similar to conventional ammunition. However, the mass loss and the burning aspects can make the consequences of the impact slightly different.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracer_ammunition


Any projectile flying at that velocity can kill.
Whether it’s steel, copper, lead, wood, or even wax at close range can kill you at that velocity.
I would go as far as saying a good tight spit wad at that velocity and close range could kill you.

So yes a tracer is deadly.

D58

Answer 4

Yes, a tracer is just like any other bullet, only this one has a compound that makes it glow and follow a trail that is visible.

These bullets are usually used by machine gunners and can be seen quite often in video games. I remember that they used tracer rounds in one of the machine guns in Saving Private Ryan on the last battle scene for the M1919

Answer 5

The "magic bullet" term seems to have been intended to belittle the Warren Commission's theory that one bullet struck both Texas Gov. John Connally and President John Kennedy and wound up in almost perfect shape. This probably seems incredible to people who have no experience with small arms, but it really isn't. Here's why: -- The 6.5mm Carcano fired by Lee Harvey Oswald is a moderate-velocity rifle round -- about 2,200 to 2,300 feet per second at the muzzle -- firing a roundnose bullet that is heavy for caliber with a high sectional density. Such bullets are very stable in flight, tend to penetrate deeply in obstacles such as tissue or wood and are less likely to deform or shatter than spitzer designs fired at higher velocity. That is especially true of the fullpatch bullets fired by Oswald. You don't have to take my word for this. The ballisticians and engineers at bullet makers such as Sierra, Speer and the old Army Ordnance Department have noted these characteristics. We also have the testimony of hunters and soldiers in the 100 years since such cartridge designs came into wide use. This is exactly the behavior attributed to Oswald's "magic bullet," so the theory has basis in science and experience. It may not be without fault, but it is not the contemptible canard some have described. -- Was Oswald an expert? That depends on your definition. He was an ex-Marine who had successfully completed Marine basic training, including rifle training. He was not an exceptional shot, but Marine training then and now is very good, so he had good training in the recent past. He was probably a better-trained rifleman than 90 percent of the legions who go deer hunting every fall. He may not have been an expert in the strictest sense, but neither was he the incompetent clown some have portrayed. -- Conspiracy theorists and armchair experts like to portray Oswald's shot as impossible or freakishly lucky. It was neither. He was firing from a rest at a target below him at moderate range. The motion of the car relative to Oswald's position was very small and there was no need to compensate for wind. It is not an easy shot, but it is well within the realm of the possible. I would like to see the same shot set up in a safe place with a chance for extensive trials by riflemen with experience similar to Oswald's. I'll bet a bunch of 24-year-old ex-Marines (which is what Oswald was in 1963) will score a lot of hits in that situation. Highly trained marksmen will do even better. So is there such as thing as a "magic bullet?" Of course not. There's only incomplete evidence and a theory that is mostly supported by the facts. I don't know if Oswald killed Kenndy or if the bullet in question did the job, but I think it is possible and I am unconvinced by the conspiracy theories.

Answer 6

YES> What ever made you think that you could not be killed by a tracer??

Answer 7

Yes it could kill you like any other bullet. These bullets still have the same weight and speed as a regular bullet, so that they give an accurate "line of fire" as the regular bullets.

Answer 8

As a tracer projectile still has a solid component, as well as the pyrotechnic material which makes it 'burn', it still retains mass and velocity to penetrate the body and damage internal organs, so, YES, it CAN kill you!

Answer 9

A tracer bullet is still a real bullet.It just has sum kinda chemical behind it to make it glow,such as a firework.Even a cutterwad can kill if fired close enough.

Answer 10

what? its a bullet just like the others and anyone can carry them not just guns,yes it will kill!