I have a friend here in Montana who has a bunch of 130 Silvertips recovered from elk. His father bought 1000 in a single batch years ago, and all ended up in "perfect mushrooms."
But the original Silvertips were highly variable in performance, depending on when they were made. One of the very few instances I've witnessed of a bullet actually coming apart on a deer and failing to penetrate was a 150-grain Silvertip from a .30-06, and the buck was a forkhorn mule deer about 200 yards away. The bullet hit the shoulder joint and never made it through the ribs. Have other stories as well, and not just from that batch.
