The Silvertip .32 ACP is a 60-grain jacketed hollow point from a defensive line, loaded to 970 fps and 125 ft-lbs. Those are mid-set numbers: faster than Speer Gold Dot 60, slower than PMC Bronze 60-grain JHP and both Hornady 60-grain loads. From a 25-yard zero the bullet is 2.0 inches low at 50 yards and 14.7 inches low at 100; this is a close-range pistol cartridge, and the 100-yard figure is there for reference. Recoil energy is about 6 percent less than either Hornady load in the same pistol.

The standard-pressure loads are tightly grouped. Hornady Critical Defense 60 and Hornady Custom 60 XTP both leave at 1,000 fps and 133 ft-lbs, the top of the group. Speer Gold Dot 60 at 960 fps and 123 ft-lbs is the only load slower than the Silvertip, and it produces about 1 percent less recoil energy in the same pistol, a difference no shooter will feel. PMC Bronze 60 runs about 2 percent more. The one load that separates itself is Buffalo Bore's +P Barnes TAC-XP at 1,150 fps and 176 ft-lbs, with about 34 percent more recoil energy in the same pistol. It is loaded to +P pressure, which not every .32 pistol is rated for, so check yours before using it.

Buy the Silvertip if you want a standard-pressure jacketed hollow point that sits in the middle of this set on speed, energy and recoil. If you want the most energy from a standard-pressure 60-grain, either Hornady load is the step up at 133 ft-lbs for about 6 percent more recoil. For practice, PMC Bronze 71-grain FMJ at 900 fps runs 70 fps slower than the Silvertip but produces about 23 percent more recoil energy in the same pistol because of the heavier bullet.