I have seen this ammo mentioned here and there and I wonder about its uses. It seems as though the bottom of the cases make it able to be used in a standard 22LR firearm.
First of all, I question what’s different or special about it?
I see there are some guns made for it…that’s cool, I suppose.
Oh, heck! Has anyone ever used it or experienced it before? And will it work in a semiautomatic? Just wondering…

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Waiting For The Sun.

Another USELESS cartridge...........Will DIE just like the 5mm Remington.........The 9mm rimmed Federal and the 30 SC S&W.........NONE are needed or wanted.

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S&W Accumulator

The .21 Sharp is a new introduction by Winchester. The only real distinction between it and .22 LR appears to be that the Sharp uses a lead free solid copper bullet. It is apparently intended for the states where lead bullets have been outlawed, like California has done.

The only similarity between the .21 Sharp and .22 LR is that it is a rim-fire! The bullet diameter is only .210", smaller than the bore of a .22 LR! The bullet will not engage in the rifling of a .22 LR gun and it is way too long for .22 box magazines. It is absolutely not able to be used in .22 rim-fire firearms, although I will bet some people will try.

Thank GOD I was born and have lived during the times that "Land of the Free" really meant something!

I agree with the previous statement that it probably won't be long for this world. just like the 5mm Remington that actually looked like a good idea!

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Gunsmithing since 1961

It will probably be culled from the market in short order. Far too large a base of shooters with ordinary .22 rifles and handguns that cannot use the .21. And the .21 ammo will be somewhat more costly than regular .22 and won’t perform much differently. There were other problems with the 5mm Remington RF, but the comparison with the .21 is somewhat appropriate. But maybe the Winchester marketing guys are aware of things that we don’t know.

The difference is the 22 LR is an outdated heeled bullet. The 21 is a regular straight walled projectile like everything but the 22 LR and short.

The 21 is a great idea. A lot of great ideas fail tho. Look how long it took the AR-10 to get traction.

I agree with post #3, Alk8944 up above, and others' comments. Maybe there's a niche or some group that get into shooting that one caliber? I wish it all the luck.

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Waiting For The Sun.

The OAL of the 21 Sharps and 22 LR are the same - as well as the rim diameter.,

As said abobr, the primary difference is the inside lubricated bullet versus the outside lubricated bullet of the 22 LR.

Years ago I spoke with the CCI rimfire engineer about doing a similar round, but basing it on the 22 WMR case and actual 22 bullet. (which may habe been what the older 22 NAACO (?) round was, but I jave not checked)
.

It will all but disappear like the 17HMR and 17 Mach2.

Great ideas but won’t catch on because 22LR will always be the king of rimfire cartridges.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

I thought the 17 HMR was doing OK popularity-wise among varmint hunters.

The 21 looks like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. The 17HMR is one of my favorites, and spend time with it, you will find it flatter shooting than the 22LR. The 17HMR is pretty popular in my neck of the woods.

I believe it is doing well. The 17M2 isn’t doing great and the 17WSM seems pretty much dead though.

For the .21 Sharp to survive, 10/22 barrels chambered in it will have to start appearing... soon. No amount of new guns in it will save the round, you've got to appeal to the 10/22 pattern crowd, and provide them with an easy way to rechamber one of their existing guns. I'd love to have a 10/22 takedown barrel in .21 Sharp that I could switch back and forth, but I'm not buying a new Winchester or Savage rimfire rifle.

I’m glad companies are still trying new things. New rounds aren’t meant for the Curmudgeon Crowd, so it doesn’t matter what they think since they aren’t going to buy it anyway.

The .21 is meant to get past the old .22 LR heeled bullet and take advantage of a modern bullet design. The use of the existing LR case will keep ammo costs down.

I hope it does well.

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Rule of law, not a man.

Yeah the bullet design looks interesting. Like to see how this round fairs down the road.

It may be. I haven’t seen the ammo or a gun chambered for it in years. But then again, I don’t live in the flat lands.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

The 17 HMR is kicking butt up here. The 21 Sharp seems to be a solution for a non existing problem. Doesn't matter about bullet design as it is not a reloaders cartridge. The target ammo is expensive. One can buy 300 rnds of CCI compared to 50 rnds of 21 Sharp Target. I'm told the standard grade stuff is less, but there is none of it up here, so I can't elaborate.

If the 22 LR and the 21 Sharp were both introduced the same day, the Sharp would be the better choice.

It’s going tough for the Sharp to compete with the LR, even tho it’s the better choice. The LR has had about 150 years head start.

And the 17HMR? That’s one of my “Killing Guns”. It is quite efficient at that role. I don’t mess around with shooting groups with my 17HMR very often. If you have to kill a skunk, groundhog, or something similar and you’re worried about ricochets etc, the 17 is it.

I just got stocked up on .22 long rifle! Why would I switch now... Maybe if I was just starting out I would consider something like the .21, but in my mind, the hill it has to climb is just too steep.
As far as the .17HMR goes, it is extremely popular here. The .17WSM came to the show too late and is dying. If it would have been first on the scene, the HMR would have failed. But like most things, whoever gets there first usually wins.

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Randy
SWCA #2468 SWHF #346

Obsolete doesn't mean unpopular. If manufacturers are trying to position themselves to be in good shape for any lead ammo ban, well...

The graveyard of "good idea" cartridges is a pretty big one, and growing every year. I even like some of them, and have been trying to get examples of pieces in .300WSM, .358 Winchester, 9x25 Dillon, etc. I seem to add a new caliber or two every year, and as I get older, these are getting more and more obscure. This year it was .41 Magnum, which is hardly odd here on the S&W Forum, but among the gun community as a whole, it gets very little love. I can technically include .45 Auto Rim this year as well, even if my new TL was intended to be a .455 converted to .45ACP. Next year it'll be .17HMR when my newest odd duck shows up. I have found .17HMR at pretty much every gun store I've visited, so I'd hardly call it dead. I'm probably going to get a Henry lever action in the caliber to go with the handgun.

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Psalm 27:2

I'm still waiting for the .327Fed Magnum to gain some more traction! I love shooting that one but it's a little pricy sometimes. Another answer to no question.

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Waiting For The Sun.

The new .21 Sharp will only take off if Glock makes a pistol for it.
Wait, I may retract that in light of the '.45 GAP'.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

Not only am I stocked up on 22LR ammo,
I’m also stocked up with 22LR guns.
22LR was here when I arrived, I expect it’ll still be here when I depart.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I am in the camp of "it is a solution looking for a problem". Until Anschutz starts making target rifles chambered in them I doubt there is any real advantage. As for lead ammo being banned in CA this only applies for hunting, there is no problem using it at the range.

21, 22 whatever it takes.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan