Community Opinion: Tracer Units & Rounds
 

I've had repeated requests to carry tracer rounds. From what I have seen of some of my retail friends who carry them, they don't move very quickly.

My question is two part.

First, do you use and would you buy are planning to buy a tracer unit for your gun (if so, mag, hopup or barrel based system), and secondly, how often would you plan on using it?

Is use being hampered by availability of tracer units or tracer BBs or are people here simply not gaming at night or at times it could be used. Is there a cost issue?

Please enlighten me. You can probably see my motivation here.

IMO I need other gear before I go to get a tracer unit and I need way more experience to be competent at night in a game. And in the event that I do get those down I will need tracer bbs that are not madbull cuz they jam in my mags.

Would they be eco or silica?

I've bought thousands of tracer rounds (lol...really that only amounts to a jar or two)...and a TM V2 tracer.

I have yet to really use the tracer.

The only persons who use the tracer rounds are my two kids...who sprinkle them around the basement like pixie dust and then turn of the lights.

Now Duckman on the other hand probably shoots up quite a few.

Personally, I wouldn't bother carrying them. For what's already available it's probably not worth the expense/shipping/inventory/etc.... I doubt you're missing out on a significant market share.

I can make ECO tracers or Styrene tracers in green and red. No plans for silica tracers, I am not sure the luminence chemical would survive the high temperatures that silca BBs are formed with, or, if the addition of it would affect silica bonding. Silica rounds only work because the are pretty much pure silica. Doping it would be hard.

Is there a reason I have yet to see .3g tracers? Are they possible to make?

I'd like some nice bright red/orange ones in .25 at least.

I think the lack of night games is a key but they work great in early evening, indoor CQB and dark forrest also.

Just like all pushers a package deal with a tracer unit would be the way to start, and a few organized night games with a lot of units in action would show folks the way.

I do tend to mix mine, and not hose so they last a long time. Orange & normal white mix, then solid green towards the end.

See! I knew I had no good idea how to use these things effectively!
Anyway the madbull tracer hop-unit makes the demand for the bbs a lot higher.

.25g or higher ftw

I carry the Madbulls, and they don't move all that quickly. I hope with the new Madbull hopup, and the future release of a Canadian made (yes, it's happening) compatible LED unit, that sales will pickup as the availability of these parts becomes widespread.

Jeff

On this I totally agree. 0.12g and 0.20g tracers almost seem a waste to me as tracers are mostly an outdoor round.

I really like the madbull hopup based tracer system in concept but I've not heard any customer feedback on it. I personally like the tin cans because of the flash - while it gives you away, it creates really cool realism. I've done night games up at WP field using my TM tracer unit and we always used up our supply no matter how much we brought because it was just so much damn fun.

Well, I guess this is part of the answer, but I am wonder if as vendors we can do anything to make this segment of the market more appealing and accessible, or if we're just flogging a dead horse.

This is just one product direction I am looking at going towards but over the next 12 months BB Bastard will be expanding its product offerings, but I am not adopting anything without first seeing what the community here says in combination with the private fields and players who don't come here think.

Thanks Danke, thats what I had in mind, but actually was thinking of taking it a step further, tying the unit into a mass and discounted supply of tracer rounds, if in fact we're looking at a cost barrier. But if its a case of product rejection, doesn't matter what you do, customers won't come. I'm trying to land on an opinion on this.

I did a lot of night ops at Wolfpack field and Deadlands back in the day, but the night gamers seem to be waining. The new players seem to be predominantly day gamers.

[QUOTE=Scarecrow;1171043]But if its a case of product rejection, doesn't matter what you do, customers won't come. I'm trying to land on an opinion on this.QUOTE]

Definately not a rejection. I have a vid of a night battle here that I show to as many customers as I can, and the reactions are always "HOLY CRAP THAT'S COOL!", where do I sign up?

Simple organization of more night games would be a huge help.

Jeff

I dabbled /w tracers when I was still new to the sport. My experience was that yeah it's cool looking, but given the average engagement distances in airsoft, during a night game there is a very good chance the fellow you just whacked has friends; and tracers work both ways.

I guess I'm drawing an analogy btwn highcaps and tracer units; something that a lot of players are interested in when they start, less so as time goes by.

would be nice
 

I find just locating a consistent supply of tracer BB' is difficult. We run a 3 or 4 night games a year and the tracer unit is a crowd pleaser. So it would be nice, especially in .25

I think that it has the opposite effect; suddenly when you pull the trigger everyone knows you are there so first you better hit the target and second you better move or have good cover.

Tracer units may not be as affordable for the masses to buy.. especially for a few night game they play.
Having more affordable tracer units should help out here.
Also tracer BB's in different colors (not always green) and in heavier weights (0.25 g or heavier).

I have an 8 year old original TM tracer unit I rarely ever use.
I find the length is too long and because it is plastic it flexes and the bb's hit the side/end of the tracer unit throwing off the accuracy wildly.

Maybe if there was .25 or .28 tracer BB's that flew in a straight line I would use it more.
I am not sure if newer units are made to avoid this accuracy problem now.

I've regularly carried tracer BBs of all brands and weights in my years of retailing here, and they do move extremely slow.

I've found that the biggest factor in getting them to move, is cost. It seems that users don't care so much for longest lasting brightness, as long as they mostly glow, are cheap, and offer the same production accuracy/quality as any other BB they would use in their guns.

I would like to see a lower cost high quality (BB Bastard?) alternative on the market.

There are. They come with metal threads now.

If you search hard enough, you can also find a metal adapter to fit your v1 tracer unit (I've had one in mine for years.)

YES make Tracers.... Green and Red and Blue and whatever other colour you can...

I have the TM V2 and love using Tracers every chance I get to...

when we have night games I basically load up totally on Tracer rounds.... Looks awesome indeed and is lots of fun..

so yep would purchase tracers

.25 and .28 forget .2

I wrote a review on the Madbull unit w tracer unit
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthr...ghlight=Tracer

Im using mags, hop up and TM Silencer style.

The only real weights im looking for is .25s and higher. .2's arnt really my cup of tea for outdoors.
Ive been looking for AGES to find tracers in red, but the only ones turned up are the madbull dark knight series, which are .12

After talking with Duy, he said something about the materials to make a red tracer unit just arnt heavy enough and to make .25s in red would be too expensive or something.

Id mostly buy em in red, but id love to have a mix bottle for fucking around with. While red is nice for games, theres just something about shooting out a spooge of blue, red, green, pink and purple on someone to really get that humiliating effect lol.

"who killed you?!"
"the guy spooging out the rainbow of colours" :D

I think it would be interesting.

What stops it for me is the price to get started using tracers. The TM tracer is way to expensive, mags with a light in it are even worst and the madbull hop-up just came out...

Forget about .20s... .25 and up would be great.

I personally have never bought or fired any tracer rounds. They do look awesome and all, but I never really found a need for them. Besides, I don't play too many outdoor night games.

Personally, I would be interested in a tracer unit at some point...but we're talking at least a couple of years. I barely have the money to get out to FR more than once or twice a semester (if that) at the moment. To be fair I get out more often during the summer when I have a paycheque, but that would hardly justify the cost of a tracer unit until I don't have to worry about the airsoft vs. food debate. I don't know how many other students/new players I speak for here, but personally? Talk to me when I graduate - I will run to you with open arms, cash in hand, and a huge smile on my face. For now I'm sticking to giving you 20 bucks here and there for a hit of the white stuff.

I own both tm's new tracer unit and the mag system by king arms.. The mag sits in a box as its crap but I use the tm unit pretty much every indoor game which is once every 2 weeks. My indoor guns have a low fps rating (on purpose) so I use .2s. I have .25s but dont get a chance to use them much (not many night games). I would buy more rounds if they were a bit cheaper, had a heavier weight (.28,.3), and had a better choice in colors. I am looking at the hopup tracer unit as well but am waiting on more feedback before the purchase as I have heard alittle negative feedback on madbull hopups in general.
As for giving your position away..sometimes thats a good thing..."hey look over here!"

A lot of tracers are sold in the 0.12g variety, a total waste and total crap in my opinion.
I used (and sold some at the game) 0.25g tracers at a large indoor game here (Melville).

I have a TM V2 tracer unit, and it's seen limited use.

So its looks like there is quite a variety of opinions here. Thats good to know. What I am hearing is opportunity is one barrier, and cost is another, but some of you would use tracers more often if you had access to a more reliable and cost effective supply of them.

Coming from a point of not having a tracer, if the BBs were decent in accuracy and Price then i'd buy a tracer. Since they are hard to find for a good price or weight I don't see the point in buying a tracer. Seems like people with tracers (v2) regret it as to the BBs problem. Hmm, if only we knew someone who could do it right.

i plan on using a TM New-Type Tracer Unit (silencer) with my G36C at any night games or at CQB Toronto when i play (which during the winter months, will be as often as there are games).

That being said, i was attracted to the notion of .25g Madbull tracer rounds. With my 350fps G36C, i will ONLY use .25g bbs in it (Bastards during the day and Madbull Tracers at night/indoor).

Again, i cant see these being a big seller unless one plays at night or at a dark indoor place (like CQB Toronto). Other than that, its .25g Bastards all the way.

With regards to cost, you will have to compete with Madbulls .25g tracer bbs: $22 USD for 2000 rounds. Considering i pay $20 for 1000 rounds of .30 Bastards (not complaining, it is totally worth it for the product that i get), i dont see that being an atrociously high fee with regards to bbs.

I don't have a problem getting good quality 0.25 tracers for a decent price. My problem is having the chance to use them.

The Quebec/Ontario guys probably have a lot more opportunity because there are a lot more indoor locations/events, which tracers work in.

Personally I find the green tracers unappealing, so red/orange is a prerequisite.

I'd use them in a 249 (little custom box mag project) to put in 1 in 5 tracers, so obviously the amount I use would be 1/5th of my regular BBs through that gun.

Likewise, like real tracers, the goal is to help see where shots are going and walk fire onto targets/areas, so the weight and general "ballistics" (for lack of a better term) should match that of the regular BBs otherwise it isn't all that useful.

Well I don't know. We DID move to zombie games due to lack of light later in the season.

The opportunity is there - we just need to get organized.

Honestly I probably shoot more tracer rounds then normal rounds.
I love my TM V2 tracer. I have used the Madbull .25, .12 and the BBB Bioval Fluo stuff.
I play mostly indoors in dim lighting and usually have a hard time seeing my shots (yes, my vision isn't the greatest...i'm the guy that loses track of the golf ball and needs a buddy to help spot it when I tee off). In any case, I'm a very small minority group in your market!

One thing I would love to see is a tracer unit that fits in already existing silencers, a nice drop-in kit!

*EDIT* Until it's proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the madbull hop-up tracer unit works I won't even think about it. Too many bad experiences with madbull shit.

If the madbul hop-up tracer unit works well, I would be very interested in tracer rounds.

Especially if hosts around here started organized night games where tracers were mandatory (hint hint :D)

If you could get enough people who have tracer units, and have a tracers only game at night, you would move quite a lot--at least for the op. We have a semi annual game at a local paintball park here in the States, and it's a night game, tracers required. I usually bring my M249 and load it up. There is no tactical value in using the tracers, but when everyone has them, it evens it up. Plus, it is just fun to watch--sort of like airsoft Star Wars.

During these ops I sell a few cases of the Madbulls, all .25g weight. This is my only real movement with tracer rounds and so I don't regularly stock them.

Tracer Rounds in a heavier weight like .30s

I have both Tracer unit styles. The TM Tracer unit (V.2) is by far better IMHO than the Madbull Hopup tracer. The TM version will work in dim lighting situations as well as dark or night situations. The Madbull Hopup is OK to fair in dim lit areas (the front "office style" area of XT) in dark areas it works well (the dark "black light" area of XT). My preferance would be the TM Tracer unit only because it works in both dim and dark lit areas and for the simple logic of you get what you pay for. The TM unit may be pricer but works, where as the Madbull version works but only in dark situations.
As for BB's no lighter than .20 please .28 would be very nice. For colors red and green are fairly standard.
Here's some Night games from the US where they had all tracer units.:D

YouTube- Airsoft Night Ambush and Attack with Tracers by Utahs Premier Airsoft Community Black ops Elite.

YouTube- B.o.E Combat Airsoft Night Operations April 25th 2009

Yearly I think my sales on tracer BB's (Ordered from airsoftparts.ca, don't worry, I'm not cheatin' on the bastard ;) ) are maybe... 10-20 bottles... If you could get bastard Tracers... You'd have to make something that isn't already available (Red .28's and heavier would be a big hit as there's nothing else like that on the market)

Well I bought a bottle of madbull .12 multi color tracers from airsoftparts just to screw around with to see how well they glow and have found that red and green glow the best and the blue and purple barely glow at all. Perhaps this is why you dont see as many colors available.

I had a talk with Jugglez a while back too when the MadBull multi colour tracers came out. They aren't able to make the coloured ones in heavier weights. they aren't able to produce the red/blue/purples in anything heavier than .12's which sucks for outdoors. I'm happy with green and red though. shooting a green/red Christmas mix would be cool for a winter game.


Scarecrow, if you do begin a tracer line, I know there are a few of us that will support you and buy them. Price wise, if it's similar to what madbull has, I'm all for it. even a buck or two more isn't going to deter us.

knowing that madbull can't produce heavier should direct more business your way if you could do .25's in both red and green. I know people want heavier but beggars can't be chooser when it's a matter of wanting to know if your rounds make it down range in the dark!

which tracer unit are you using? the blue and purple work better with a UV light source.


here's my clip @ Soldier Gear Paintball when the MadBull Dark Knight tracers first came out. would love to use Bastards instead.

Soldier Gear :: MVI_2264.flv video by Coach_ASC - Photobucket

if you make the heavier wieghts i will use them jay.

i've always found that the relative cost of a tracer unit to the number of times most will actully show up to a lower light game is a huge factor. around here there arent all that many night games and people lack the availibility or willingness to play them for whatever reason. i use my tracers pretty much every chance i get..indoor, outdoor, it doesnt matter to me. if i have .12's, .20's, .25's...it's never really mattered to me since personally i'll just run them through which ever piece of my collection is appropriate for that particular mass off bb. that being said, ive found the average player out there isnt really looking to spend $150+/- on a tracer unit that they're going to use once a year. nubs and vets alike all love them when they see them used but it's generally not enough to spend the money on a tracer unit and the, typically, higher priced ammo.

to me the giggle factor and the "HOLY SHIT!!!" factor from those who have the multicoloured streaks zipping passed them is all too worth it. i'm an airsofter to be entertained and tracers (and various other goodies) help me reach that goal when i'm out there.

some might argue that tracers work both ways and will compromise your position...well...what does a flashlight do? all those die hard would be simmers out there really should be all about having a tracer and running some sort of mix since it would make it a closer simulation to live fire. those that use white ammo, and i'm not saying it's a bad thing by any means, essentially run tracers all the time during the day. how many of you can honestly say that you dont EVER walk your fire in by watching your rounds down range? i run black rounds primarily with whites mixed in as my daytime "tracer" mix specifically for that purpose. how's it any differant for a low light game?

i love it...i use it every chance i get...if you make it i will use it!

You know the weights I'm looking for there bro....gimme a 0.28 for AEGs, 0.30 for any GBB/GBBR, and possibly a heavy for sniping (nothing heavier than 0.36 of course).

Any colour would work sweet a sweet comb with my NVS, where I wouldn't need to use the emitter to track the BB's in on every shot for correction, but red would be the best. However, then comes the next dilemma..... a tracer unit that will consistently work with high fps of an Upgraded BA, though I suspect that I will end up modding my mags to accommodate an LED set up.

Now making, and marketing, your own tracer kits might just take flight, but the problem becomes in the combination of the clockwise/CCW is it 14 mm or different adapters as part of the kit. There are now just too many inconsistencies in the different makes and models (except for TM and CA I believe) to really consider including the adapter in the package deals. I would personally leave that to the already existing manufacturers, and just keep yours a standard -14mm.

And as for all you poor guys who haven't done night games......dude, you don't know what you are missing. FR night game on the Victoria Day weekend a couple years ago;
Threatening cloud cover, occasional thunder and lightning, mixed with the thunder crackle of fireworks from the three near by cities and a light fog....WOW, an awesome ambiance. It made working the Marine Base section of the field what I'd imagine WWI was like in the Bulge.

SHA DO

The TM V2 unit has no problem illuminating .20 BB's flying out of my VSR at 470 FPS

The TM unit is excellent ;)

I have a TM V2 as well. I threw in new batteries and the .12s in blue and purple had a slight glow enough to see when its first shot out but after maybe 5 feet they died . The green and red work fine. My madbull .25s work great as well. Never a problem.

those ones pretty much "require" a uv light source to come anywhere close to the regular green stuff...add in the fact that they're not the easiest coloured light to see and you've got a rough combination. even the red ones pale in comparison to green.

I would love some basterds in tracer. I think the issue is more with the availibilty and cost of the TRacer units them selves. rather than the BB's

But yes a basterd version in .25 would greatly increase my chance of buying a tm v2.

I dont like the hopup idea, as then I am stuck with tracers for only one of my rifles :)

I'm wanting to buy a silencer this summer. for exactly this reason :D

What I always wanted to do was to rig up a strobe unit assembly that would fit inside madbull suppressors. Just not enough time to do it. (I even bought a TM v2 to use the internals with the intention of gutting it and reconfiguring it to fit into a G5 or QD suppressor)

Never got the project off the ground. But that'd be sweet. Drop in "universal" assembly that could go right into the favourite suppressor that you've already got.

Maybe I'll take another run at doing that....it's about $10 worth of electronics.

Hooked a TM unit to a G&G G36 using Boival 20gr fflo tracers,and shot some in the store,these illuminated quite well,green in colour,can,t wait to bring them to the club for our first night ops,looks very exciting,Thinking on calling those game "you light up my life" lol

Come to think of it. I would host two tracer only games in manitoba if you made them and amos brought them in. Hell i'd bring them in if he didn't feel like it :)

With enough notice I'm sure I could round up a good sized group

not a tracer kind of guy sorry.

good Silencer type unit.. with the flash at the end (under $100 I'm sure they are out there, I just haven't looked)... although a silencer on a saw would look goofy ;)

.28's and .30's in ATLEAST 2 diff colors (be nice for a little help of team seperation)


a silencer unit on a GBBR/GBB would definately add a cool effect at night seeing the gas cloud get lit too

ofcourse... I'm building a mini gun spun off the basic idea of Killbuckets stuff...and having in the middle of the rotating barrel flashing will look kinda silly too ... oh well silencers on saw's, and funny flashing Mini gun.. sign me up! definately wanna get into more night games

I would buy a tracer if bastards started making ammo for them since bastards are one of the few bb's that will feed in my gun, also if i did buy one it would be the tm silencer type.

but that's where the fun of milsim is man, communicating with your team to avoid friendly fire etc. BUT that would look pretty cool tho, like GI Joe vs Cobra

If by some chance you could do it, I'd love a PBS-1 and possibly a PBS-4 AK tracer unit.
That way my AK can stay true ;)

I've thought about loading the first ~5 rounds in my mag as tracer rounds, then the rest as normal rounds
That way when I get down to the last 5 rounds, I know I need to reload.
Mind you the enemy might catch on so that could be a downfall hehe.