I just talked with Maria at Rohrbaugh about a rust issue on my new R9S, and she said that they recommend the Winchester Silvertip first & the Speer Gold Dot second. Weird....
Thanks to all the brave servicemen & women.
Yankee 2500 makes a really good point in his post above.
OK, I just replied with a lot of technical info, but it was too long so the message disappeared.
I will give you the high points. The Silvertip rounds in the original FBI tests scored medium for accuracy, below the then new Federal Hydrashok and Gold dot was not even out. For wound efficiency they scored so low in .380 that they fell into the minus category (less effective than throwing rocks). A 9mm and .380 depend on bullet performance for stopping power and when bullet performance is that bad, your life insurance needs to be current. Both rounds are listed in the FBI Ammunition Test Summary Book from 1990. The Federal Hydrahok is also listed and did much much better in all categories. In wound efficiency nearly double the 115 and it's difficult to even grade a minus grade of the .380.
I personally prefer the 124 grain size in 9mm and Winchester doesn't even make that size in silvertips. Cost on silvertips in 50 rd boxes runs about 40% more than Speer and is not even carried by most LE suppliers because Winchester no longer considers it a viable LE round. Federal Hydrashok is still running neck and neck with Speer GD as the most heavily sold rounds to LE departments.
There is a lot of information on how bad silvertips perform and how good hydrashok and Gold Dot perform. But one takes their pick and lives or dies with the choice. I choose 124 grain Gold Dot so far. That's based both on accuracy, and bullet performance info out of a Rohrbaugh. The performance info I have on silvertips 115 and their 380 85 is from the FBI tests when fired in a SIG 226 and a Walther PPKs
which have longer barrels and will develop higher velocities than a Rohrbaugh. However, if someone else choses differently, then that's why they make chocolate and vanilla. I won't challenge their choice and I drink to them from the bottom of my glass. Here's hoping they don't ever have a chance to regret their choice. Because those regrets would appear at a really bad moment.