[Kentucky Rifle]

Since Nyclads are getting difficult to find, my wife and I have switched to Silvertips as an inexpensive practice round in our .38 snubs. One of the things I liked about Nyclads was that the bore stayed clean. The Silvertips seem to do pretty well in that department also. I was wondering if anyone had actually dug a Silvertip out of the mud and had a close look at it to see if the auluminum alloy coating actually stays on the bullet? It doesn't seem to be coming off in the barrels.

Thanks,
KR

[FPrice]

"...my wife and I have switched to Silvertips as an inexpensive practice round in our .38 snubs."

Inexpensive?

INEXPENSIVE???

I would sure like to know what you consider to be an EXPENSIVE practice round? :D

I use Silvertips in many of my self-defense guns but the .38 Spl round seems to have a good fireball. I have gone to WinClean as a good practise round, seems to duplicate SilverTips in what I have tried so far.

[Mike Irwin]

Ran into the same problem with Nyclads, so I've switched to Speer Gold Dots 125+P. They're surprisingly inexpensive for a high-end hollowpoint.

[Dr.Rob]

Well in 9mm the Silvertip still ships in 50 round boxes for around $15, compared to $12 for 20 rounds of Hydra-shock, I'd call that a savings.

For .38 practice good old 130gr fmj is fine, though I think the muzzle flash is more pronounced.

I've seen the Silver tip expand well and hold together in clay and gelatin, but I have also seen the aluminum jacket partially seperate when fired into a deer. It's a real jacket, not just plating.

[EJ]

I think if you fire both the SilverTip and Hydra-Shock into animal flesh-- You'll find that the ST works A LOT better--

Aside--The jacket will tend to seperate -- about 1/3 of the time in my experience-- but they def open up better than a Hydra_Shock--

[fastbolt]

Funny you should mention that ...

I've recently started re-evaluating the current crop of snub-friendly ammunition available, and I'm looking very closely at the Winchester SXT 130gr +P & the 125gr +P Silver Tip loads as a possible replacement for the Remington 158gr LHP +P.

[FPrice]

"Well in 9mm the Silvertip still ships in 50 round boxes for around $15,"

I'd LOVE to know where I can find 9mm Silvertips for under $20 a box. THey are not common around here (Western Massachusetts) and I generally have to order them from mail order suppliers.

[sm]

My experience is similar to Dr. Rob, no deer. Small game with .38 spl, 9mm and 45 ACP...had a few jacket separations.

I like the silvertips...except have experienced two things of late that I don't like. 1) bullet setback ( remove say, carry loads for range and re-load for carry. 2) increase muzzle flash with these 3 calibers of late.

[Kahr carrier]

Silvertips .

[hansolo]

I say, the more muzzleflash the better: give the perp a third degree burn while you're, hopefully, incapacitating him/her/it. If they survive, at least they'll have some really bad scarring to remember you by.:fire:

[DamnedDirtyApe]

.45 ACP 185 gr Silvertips, fired into mud from 50 yds. The round at 12 o'clock opened up to an amazing 1.120" and kept about 95% of its weight.
Fired from a Springfield 1911A1 Mil-Spec.

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL14/877946/1594531/19879700.jpg

[Kentucky Rifle]

Don't yell at me like that!!!:D
Seriously though. I'm looking at a box of 50, .38 Special Silvertips right now that I bought for ~18 bucks. I thought THAT was high. I can get them cheaper, but I didn't want to drive out to my regular gun shop in "school traffic". How much do .38 Special Silvertips cost in Mass.?

KR

[FPrice]

"Don't yell at me like that!!!:D "

Sorry, I just get frustrated with people who live in more gun-friendly states than the People's Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Which means everyone except those who live in New Jersey or California. No offense meant. You guys get to see and buy things I can only dream about in this place.

I cannot remember the last time I saw 9mm 115 grain Silvertips for sale in this state. So I order them one or two hundred at a time from places like Midway or CTD.

I cannot wait until I retire and get to move someplace more gun-friendly.

[106rr]

I like Silvertips but Wally World stopped selling them. They were my only cheap source. I have a couple of boxes of 125 gr Nyclad left. When they're gone I 'll switch to Black Hills125gr. Hornady 125 gr XTP are excellent but pricey.
Winclean is way accurate in my snubbie.
The 110 gr non +P sometimes rivet with little expansion.

[Dr.Rob]

Honestly, I think I bought my last box at Wallyworld. It was maybe 6 months ago?

Expensive ammo is one reason to reload your own to practice with.

I told a story at TFL about using a .380 with hydrashocks to kill an antelope. Yes you can do it. No I don't recommend it. Nor was it intentional ( I didn't know it wasn't dead and had slung my rifle) I fired three times and got three hits. The expansion was rapid, in fact so rapid that I wouldn't trust a 380 HS to break heavy bone. (Antelope bone is very brittle.. even more so than ours apparently)

Never saw that happen with 9mm or .45. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a hydra shock that had jacket seperation.

Also I think the 9mm Silvertip has a very low flash signature.

[Kentucky Rifle]

No problem. :) (It was a joke.) Your frustration is very understandable, and reading "firearm forums" probably just adds more & more frustration. I simply don't know how people get elected and THEN look at the main function of their job as the "taking away" of basic rights. I don't get it. They're supposed to be working for us, yet they think they can have their OWN National Carry Permit, their OWN free health care system, and get their salary for LIFE when they quit or get voted out. However, WE can't!:confused: If this is not "corruption", then I don't quite understand the definition.:mad:

KR

[Kentucky Rifle]

Thank you for the pictures. The aluminum alloy jacket is thicker than I thought.
I did pull out my Sebenza and think about trying to whittle off the aluminum just to see how deep it went, however when I tried to whittle off the plastic on a Nyclad, I nearly "whittled" off a finger. (I put the Sebenza BACK in my pocket. :uhoh: )

KR

[RON in PA]

Why don't you check-out the Winchester White Box "Personal Protection Ammo". It seems to do well in Ammotest reports.

[treeprof]

158 gr +P LSWCHP Silvertips run abt $18/50 in these parts. I practice mostly w/Ga Arms 158 gr plated SWC in my snubbies, and they are pretty clean for a copper jacketed bullet. I have 750 or so 158 gr +P SWCHP Nylcads I'm judiciously using up as I rotate my ammo. New ones are now >$26/box when I can find them, and I'm not sure it's worth it as compared to other loads out there.

[Gearhead Jim]

FWIW, the low velocity Silvertips like .45 ACP and .38 Special, use an aluminium jacket. Higher velocity stuff like 9mm used to use the alum jacket but had fouling problems, they switched to normal copper jacketing with a silver-colored (nickel?) plating to keep a similar appearance.
Most Silvertips loads are pretty good stuff (I carry the 115 gr Silvertip in my 9mm), but the 110 gr .38 Silvertip is said to be a poor stopper.

[Big_R]

If you guys are looking to use silvertips for practice you really need to consider handloading. Midway sells the silvertips for $120 / 1000. It's easy to save brass from a .38 or it's very cheap to buy. At $20.00 / 50 loaded rounds, 1000 rounds will cost you $400.00. Even if you had to buy a cheap reloading setup (Lee, etc.) powder, primers, and the rest of the necessary toys, I bet you'd more than break even after the first 1000 rounds. Besides, reloading's fun.

Ryan

[Mannlicher]

I too have pretty much switched to the Winchester white box .38 Special +P Personal Protection 125 gr JHP for practice, if not for carry.
In my informal tests, shooting into old clothes stuffed with wet phone books, or layers of mud and soaked newspaper, I find these performing as well as NyClad and HydroShock. Jacket retention, penetration, and expansion are all about the same.

I buy these at Wally World for $10 bucks and change for 50 rounds.