winchester silvertip ammo

soldier506

Regular
Rating - 100%
11   0   0
Hi, I am not an expert when it comes to types of ammo avaliable. But I am curious about winchester silvertip ammo. I was told that this type of ammo is similar to a hollow point bullet for expansion upon impact. This would make much larger exit and entry wounds on game. Does this ammo expand more than other comercial hunting ammo? Where does the name come from? Do the bullets actually contain even a small amount of silver or is it just the color?

Anyone here on the forum recommend using silvertip ammo for hunting? Or other choises more better?
 
Personally i have used silvertip ammo, the traditional type and not the ballistic silvertip recently made by winchester. The silver cap is actually an aluminum cap over a large lead tip. This tip as you can observe is larger than most commonly available soft point big game ammo and as a result on entering the vitals of a deer or black bear they break up pretty fast and carry out a tremendous amount of damage.
I would say deer shot with this ammo did not take many steps(if any),this is not saying that remington core lokt or regular winchester power point is not good for deer hunting, I just find the silvertip ammo more violent and quicker killing.............Just my opinion. I do not know how they came to that name.
And no I do not believe there is any silver in there, it is just a marketing ploy.
I have used this ammo in 308 and 30-30 and I strongly recommend there use on Whitetail deer.
I actual use in both calibres I have often found the copper base minus the front lead portion "mushroomed' and just under the hide, opposite the entry wound on chest shot deer......
 
"...just the color(sic)..." Yep. They're SP bullets with a cap. No silver.
Shot a ground hog with a 220 grain silvertip one time out of my Garand(no ill effects to the rifle either.). Nicked the bottom of its head. Said body part literally disappeared. The second shot, it was still twitching and I didn't have the bayonet with me, blew the other side right out.
Silvertips penetrate then drastically open up. I wouldn't think twice about using them for hunting larger game.
 
Hi,thanks for the reply. Sounds like they are ok for hunting big game with. I just can not use it against warewolves. Would the bullet break up too soon before any amount of penetration into a carcas ?
 
I reccommend the Winchester Supreme Accubonds. Much better performance on big game than the Ballistic Silver Tips. I shot the Auccubonds out of my 270WSM (140gr.) 7mm RM (160gr.) and 300WM (180gr.) at everything from elk and moose to larg WT & mulie bucks. Incredible performance. I was really impressed with this bullet in the 270WSM.
 
silvertip

I have put 130 grain Silvertip bullets through a moose at 200 yards with a 270 Win.:) The last big moose I got in PG was about 300 yards out and the 130 grain Silvertip .270 bullet stayed inside and it was in the hide on the offside.:cool: It held together really well but I have not shot anything at close range so I don't know how they hold together.:)
 
Hi,

My .308 just love the 180gr Silvertips, (not Ballistic silvertip) and they indeed provoque fast expension but stay more together then the Ballistic Tip whom literally explode on contact.

Shot a deer with the 165gr (.308) Ballistic tips, actually , my biggest deer and it did the job well but also good dammage. If the point is to take the game down, they all do the job but it also depends what caliber you use and the distance that you expect to have a shot. Shorter distance and powerful gun with Ballistic tip is not when it will perform the best but it will do the job. Silvertips on the other hand seems to hold a bit more together on contact..... even if the tip is called silvertip, it is soft aluminium kinda material.

I tried the Accubond 160gr on moose and it works really good, similar to how Partition bullets would react but they are a bit less accurate then the Ballistic tips 140gr which group .5" at 100yds in my 7MMRemMag.:) I also used these on deer with my 7MM and the result was a dead deer but wow, the exit hole was about 2 1/2" - 3" in dia.:eek:

Just received some 140gr Silvertips for my .270 to test. I don't know how they will react in this rifle but if they do good, it might end up been a good one for deer. Also, they are less expensive then Accubond.:)


PaulT
 
Pic of some Silvertips I have used (except for the .358 Win which is a friends)

.303 BR 180grn
30-06 180 grn
30-06 220grn
.300 Win Mag 220grn
.338 Win Mag 250grn
.358 Win 200grn
.375HH 300grn

Siltip.jpg


All perform very well and are accurate and relatively inexpensive although some of these are no longer available much to my regret (I still have lots of most though).

I have used many of the "high tech" bullets for most of these calibers as well, like trophy bonded, swift A frame, grand slams, as well as noslers of course but have never noticed that any of them really do any better in game than the silvertips.
The one thing I do use some other bullets for is for what I would refer to as longer range loads becuase of superior ballistic properties, but as most of my hunting is done at less than 200 yds this is not a great concern as the silvertips will do the job out to there and more in most standard loadings.
 
Last edited:
Silvertips

I used Silvertips on my Moose last year and it did not go far. I chose it because I couldn't afford to shoot premium stuff, and since I started with it, I have gotten lots of feedback in its favor. This year I will be trying some other bullets, but will bring a box of Silvertips in case WHY. I use 30.06 with 180gr bullets. Best grouping is .8 of an inch at 100yds. The exit hole on the moose after blowing through a rib, heart and two other ribs on the other side was about 2". This shot was at about 70-80 yards. The moose wasn't too happy, but I sure was.
-Tarp Man
 
I used one of those old silvertips last night. Had a 30-06 and a box of 180 grain bullets. Came accross a young bull moose and, well, scratch one moose.

The shot was about 150 yards. The blood spatter on the other side of the moose was rather impressive, and the blood trail was significant. I can't complain.

A few years ago I dropped a huge bull, from around 200 yards, with a 7mm Rem Mag and 175 grain silvertips. Same performance.
 
Here is a quote


Winchester Silvertip
The company's heavy-duty game bullet for decades, the Silvertip was given a new nosecap in the 1960s. It now opens more quickly, performing more like the Winchester Power-Point than a controlled-expansion bullet.
 
These are a couple pics of a 170 grain silver tip out of a 32 Win Special. That my grandfather took out of a whitetail doe about 20 years ago. I found it again in a kitchen drawer when I moved into my house last year. I remember my grandfather shooting the deer when I was just little. It was in the woods behind my fathers house.

As you can see the bullet formed an almost picture perfect mushroom. And it's not even a premium :eek:

I wish I could still get the silver tips for the .32 But I never see them anymore and they are not listed on the winchester website.

You can see a little bit of the "silvertip" foldedback.
DSCF0135.jpg

DSCF0138.jpg
 
Last edited:
I got my deer for the year two days ago using a 150gr .308 ballistic silvertip . The round went clean through the shoulders and if I hadn't known what side I shot it from I wouldn't have been able to tell the exit from the entry. The deer started limping in slow circles and I thought I had shot it's leg, even though I was positive I had got it where I aimed. Usually they drop pretty good for me so I guess I freaked a bit at its limping around and my next shot ended up low in the guts, close to the ribs (I can't believe I just admitted to a bad shot :eek:) Well that round performed as advertised because even though it hit no bone and a thinner cross section of the animal it didn't come out. The deer dropped after that. So was that first shot a bad round? freak occurance? Distance was less than a 100m and greater than 50 so I was close to it but that doesn't explain the second round. Anyway just a recent experience of mine using the ammo of your question :)
 
i wouldn't worry about a lack of penetration with the silvertip. I put 2 180's through a bull moose with my .308 and i have never had one stay in a deer. Shot my biggest buck with a silvertip and it dropped in its stride. A couple bucks haven't dropped on the spot, but none have made it even 50 yards. I'll be using them again this year.
 
Back
Top Bottom