How many times have you been on a dove field, missing shot after shot and prayed you had a "tracer round" to show you exactly where or how you were missing.
Now you do.
Carlo Fiocchi, vice president of sales and marketing for Fiocchi ammunition, holds up the new 12-gauge ChemiTracer shotshell, its Cyalume capsule activated by a falling to the concrete pad on the 5-stand range. Note the Cyalume capsule sits above the shot charge.
Fiocchi Ammunition has come out with what might prove to be one of the greatest training tools ever for shotgunners... albeit it expensive. Fiocchi is now selling chemical tracer rounds called "Canned Heat." They say they are non-toxic, non-pyrotechnic, biodegradable, and safe for any modern shotgun.
Mike Love, Fiocchi’s area manager, launches a 12-gauge Cyalume illuminated ChemiTracer round at a clay pigeon.
“It’s probably the coolest training aid since the shotgun,” said David Shaw, Fiocchi’s marketing director. “In the evening it’s orange, and during the day it’s more like a white dot. It’s visible against a blue sky.”
WATCH A VIDEO OF CANNED HEAT IN ACTION
The technology behind Canned Heat is simple; it’s the same stuff light sticks are made from. Fiocchi partnered with Cyalume Technologies to use their chemiluminescent light technology to create the chemical tracer for shooters. At this time, the only gauge that’s available is 12-gauge.
“It’s a 12-gauge shell with Cyalume Tracer and ¾ ounce of number 8 shot,” Shaw said. "Other loads are planned, including #7 ½ and #9."
So what's it going to cost?
Let's start out saying you probably WON'T want to shoot them on the dove field... at least not all the time.
“The suggested retail price on the box or can of ten (1) will be $19.99, so it’s about $2 a shot,” Shaw said.
However I did find it on HinterlandOutfitters.com for $17.99 a box
“We’ve already seen people who want to shoot it just because it’s fun,” Shaw said. “The shell has enough shot in it to break a clay target. The Cyalume Tracer is actually ahead of the shot string, and it stays in the dead center of the shot string out to 30 yards, and with the shot string out to 75 yards.
"What’s even cooler than just using it as a training aid is what happens when the shot string hits a clay target; if you break the bird directly with the tracer itself, it lights up in the sky.”
The ChemiTracer is shock sensitive, however the additional loaded shells in the magazine or barrel can handle recoil without being activated, however, if a shell is dropped on concrete, it can be activated.
So remember, the next time you're missing and start wishing for "tracer rounds," you can get them.