Posted: 3/27/2006 7:39:29 PM EDT
| In another tread was discussing a young man who got busted with his AR shooting off tracers near a residental area. I always was under the belief tracers were illegal in IL. But I did some research on find law and an old copy of the criminal code I have and I couldnt find anythign on it. Any one have any idea were in the statutes it is? Or am I wrong? It woudn't be the frist time. |
They ship them here! |
I am not a LEO, nor do I play one on TV. I did, however, stay at a Holiday Inn last night. AFIK, tracers are legal in IL. I did a search of the entire IL code for "tracers" and had no hits. ARTICLE 24. DEADLY WEAPONS (720 ILCS 5/24‑1) (from Ch. 38, par. 24‑1) (Text of Section from P.A. 94‑72) Sec. 24‑1. Unlawful Use of Weapons. (a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of weapons when he knowingly: * * * * (7) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or carries: (iii) any bomb, bomb‑shell, grenade, bottle or other container containing an explosive substance of over one‑quarter ounce for like purposes, such as, but not limited to, black powder bombs and Molotov cocktails or artillery projectiles; or * * * (11) Sells, manufactures or purchases any explosive bullet. For purposes of this paragraph (a) "explosive bullet" means the projectile portion of an ammunition cartridge which contains or carries an explosive charge which will explode upon contact with the flesh of a human or an animal. "Cartridge" means a tubular metal case having a projectile affixed at the front thereof and a cap or primer at the rear end thereof, with the propellant contained in such tube between the projectile and the cap; or * * * (720 ILCS 5/24‑2.1) (from Ch. 38, par. 24‑2.1) Sec. 24‑2.1. Unlawful use of firearm projectiles. (a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of firearm projectiles when he or she knowingly manufactures, sells, purchases, possesses, or carries any armor piercing bullet, dragon's breath shotgun shell, bolo shell, or flechette shell. For the purposes of this Section: "Armor piercing bullet" means any handgun bullet or handgun ammunition with projectiles or projectile cores constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper or depleted uranium, or fully jacketed bullets larger than 22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25% of the total weight of the projectile, and excluding those handgun projectiles whose cores are composed of soft materials such as lead or lead alloys, zinc or zinc alloys, frangible projectiles designed primarily for sporting purposes, and any other projectiles or projectile cores that the U. S. Secretary of the Treasury finds to be primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes or industrial purposes or that otherwise does not constitute "armor piercing ammunition" as that term is defined by federal law. The definition contained herein shall not be construed to include shotgun shells. "Dragon's breath shotgun shell" means any shotgun shell that contains exothermic pyrophoric mesh metal as the projectile and is designed for the purpose of throwing or spewing a flame or fireball to simulate a flame‑thrower. "Bolo shell" means any shell that can be fired in a firearm and expels as projectiles 2 or more metal balls connected by solid metal wire. "Flechette shell" means any shell that can be fired in a firearm and expels 2 or more pieces of fin‑stabilized solid metal wire or 2 or more solid dart‑type projectiles. * * * (d) Sentence. A person convicted of unlawful use of armor piercing bullets shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony. (Source: P.A. 92‑423, eff. 1‑1‑02.) |
Bunch of them. .30'06, .308, 5.56, 7.62x39, .45, 9mm, .38spl, and .44 Mag, IIRC. WIZZO |
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I'm thinking where I saw was in blue tri-folded flier maybe got at FFL on counter that listed specific to IL..... It covered exceptions to unlawful use of weapon such as on personal property, business, etc. Don't have it real handy (I should) but my take on what it said was tracers are legal other places, but IL had specific mention.... it was with AP (or what they considered AP) and remember it specificlly saying Dragons Breath, etc. (listed as examples of shotgun rounds not allowed in IL) I'm not the type to just assume something's illegal at all.... but I'm real sure I read it 3-5 years ago on what seemed to be govt. pamphlet specific to IL gun grey-area questions..... or else, I would have piles of that stuff along w/everything else...... I remember when every shotgun news had listing of that kind of specialty ammo. did see recently on History channel (maybe another channel....) about a lot of misses due to aiming w/tracers at distance... said military round drop was different between tracer and non-tracer and quit linking w/tracers for that specific gun.... anybody know about that??? prob. not a big deal if not firing out of jet... |
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I may be wrong about the properties of tracers but, aren't they considered an Incindiary ? Perhaps this may be what they are talking about. I would think there would be a risk of fire when using tracers if this is the case. If so that kid is lucky he didn't get an arson charge too. Just my 2 cents  |
Incendiaries are different. They burst into white-hot sparks (I believe it's white phosphorus) when they hit something hard. Tracers have a certain amount of material much like a match-head, IIRC, that ignites when the round is fired. It burns for a just couple seconds which is usually enough to trace out to 800yds or so (for 5.56). The thing is, if you're not shooting at 800yds+, they will hit the ground while the base material is still on fire. This is where regular tracers can start fires.....I found out the hard way a couple years ago when I started 2 different grass fires  WIZZO |
The actual tracer is in the bottom of the bullet. Kinda acts like a commet tail when the round is fired. Tracers are legal in Illinois. I will rip a mag of them into the pit next blastfest. |
Thank you Wizzo. Tracers are not allowed in the pit for the simply reason of a possible fire. We have signs posted at the range also stating that you cannot shoot tracers there. Your neighborhood Range Officer |
M856 takes 100yds to ignite, therefore tracers would be worthless at the pit anyways edit for clairification...they would be igniting in the ground, but would not be visible. |
Oops. I stand corrected. I WILL NOT be ripping a mag of tracers into the pit. Sorry for the ignorance on my part. 
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Where did you get this info? |
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I know from personal experience that the .30-06 military tracers (M25 Tracer) don't ignite before 75 yards either. IIRC, it is designed that way so as to not give away the exact source of fire to the enemy. www.inetres.com/gp/military/infantry/rifle/30_ammo.html |
You learn something everyday!! Thanks Silas. 
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