.21 Sharp - new kid in town

[Telecaster]

Answer to a question nobody has asked? Let's all run out and replace ourr .22 guns with .21s!

Winchester's New .21 Sharp Cartridge | An Official Journal Of The NRA

 

[sigp220.45]

It makes sense for those areas that restrict the use of lead bullets. By moving away from the heeled bullet to a more conventional fit they can use all kinds of bullet types and construction. Using the existing .22 LR case will keep costs down. Sounds good to me.

 

[erikpolcrack]

If they offered it with a hollow-base projectile, could they make a version that would work well in an existing 22LR rifle?

 

[LoadedRound]

And aftermarket 10/22 barrels will be available in 3,2,1........l

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Looks like a good idea but I'm thinking it could be another solution in search of a problem.

I've been using .22 rimfire for over 60 years with great satisfaction. Within the limits of range and ballistic performance the .22LR provides generally excellent accuracy and terminal effect on just about any small game critters in North America. Even with the rise in prices over the past 20 years or so my needs continue to be met with excellent economy.

My latest rimfire rifle is a CZ 455 American which already offers quick and easy change-out from .22LR to .22 mag and .17, which I have so far felt no need to utilize. I wouldn't be surprised if CZ announces a replacement barrel for the new .21 Sharp, but I doubt if I will take that step either.

Many other popular rifles offer fairly easy barrel change-out, such as the Ruger 10/22 and 77/22 models. I expect a good percentage of owners will adopt the .21 Sharp, as there always seems to be a demand for the latest, greatest, super-duper whatever.

I doubt the .22LR will be going away for a long, long time.

 

[Krogen]

Sure seems like an interesting concept. It will be interesting to see how many gun manufacturers jump on the bandwagon. Without a selection of firearms, then ammo production won't get off the ground and in turn, nobody else will want to produce firearms for the round. It's achieve critical mass or die an early death. I would think a feasible pathway would be guns with easily replaceable barrels like the CZ457 and 10/22. If the round doesn't get any interest, then you're just out a barrel and can return the gun to 22LR.

Grin . . . . Seems like Lobo and I think alike!

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Another useless cartridge........Just like the 30 SC.....VAGUELY remember the 5mm Remington?.........It's a nothing burger to me........If I need a faster .22 jacketed bullet I'll just use my 22 mag.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Had a Brain Fart Back during recent 22LR shortage.
Sportsman's Warehouse had a nice Laminated stock LH Stainless Savage Bolt Action in 17.
And they had 500 round boxes of 17.
No 22 in sight!
But I didn't really want a 17. Or a 21. Or a 20.
But maybe a 19!

 

[clang444]

It's biggest hurdle are the 100 million or so .22lr guns already out there. That's a lot of inertia to overcome.

 

[Photog]

I recently watched the American Rifleman TV show. The gent from Winchester made the statement that, and I am paraphrasing this, "if you have a .22, it is an easy rebarrel to the 21 Sharp", well, maybe for a Ruger 10/22, but I don't think it would be so easy on a CZ or Anschutz rifle. And again, how is it that a company can develop a new cartridge, have powder and bullets available, yet can't seem to make available many of the cartridges that are for the hundreds of thousands, or more, of firearms out there?

 

[Telecaster]

.22 Magnum is good, but costs about as much as 9mm. .21 is supposed to be priced closer to .22LR. Which probably means it'll sell for just under Magnum prices.

 

[LVSteve]

Clever that they use the 22 LR case. I wonder how it will deal with rough handling. One thing about the rebated heel is that it prevents bullet set back.

 

[Buford57]

The slightly oversize heeled lead bullet of the .22 LR may not allow it to fully chamber in the .21 Sharp, but I predict a lot of them will get stuck trying.

.17 Mach 2 anyone?

 

[s&wchad]

I'm certainly not going to run out and buy a .21 Sharp rifle. I have dozens of guns chambered in .22LR and far too much ammo to jump ship now.

 

[hkcavalier]

Neat concept but yes, it's about the guns. There was that bottleneck hard plastic cased shotgun shell that seemed to solve all the issues that 12g has with magazines and feeding. But the market for absolutely reliable box/drum fed shotguns is a very small one.

Near me, a couple of years ago the local stores couldn't give away their 6.8 Western rifles and ammo. Nice cartridge but just not all that different than what's already out there. Most of your "latest and greatest" already bought a 6.5CM and maybe a 300PRC too.

 

[s&wchad]

Most of your "latest and greatest" already bought a 6.5CM and maybe a 300PRC too.

Don't forget .22 Velo-Dog, .22 Win Auto, Daisy VL .22, .357 Maximum, Winchester WSM, Remington Ultra Mag and a host of other cartridges that are now obsolete.

With all the functional firearms in circulation, gunmakers need to come up with new products to keep their businesses alive. There's a good reason many gunmakers have been bought out by ammunition companies since the Civil War.

 

[mauser9]

Yeah seems they come up with new stuff hoping some will "stick" Some did and many have not. Can't keep track of the 6.5 or 6 whatever lately. Maybe a good cartridge but will stick with my 06 or 270. No need to blow big bucks on a new gun for my hunting.

 

[DWalt]

I predict——DOA.
The traditional .22 RF is essentially irreplaceable in the mass market as it is so firmly established and there is an immense installed user base that cannot be overcome. Especially by a new round that offers no tangible performance or cost advantages to users.

 

[twodog max]

Nope sticking with 22 LR. Nice sales pitch but I predict an early demise.
If I were 50 years younger I would buy some ammo, a rifle never open it set it back and sell for $$$$ in a few years.

 

[cadmike]

I'd like to shoot one before I form an opinion.

 

[1BadSmith]

With this release, I would urge all these gun companies to step up and immediately release a 27 gauge and a 409 cal as well. Huge profits to be had, one could say!!!!

 

[moosedog]

I'll make a prediction that this will end up like the Electronic Ignition Remington Rifles and ammo of years past.

 

[chief38]

My suggestion - - - RUN & don't look back! Another attempt to separate your Greenbacks from you. I can't wait to see how much the ammo will cost a few years down the road after a bunch of people actually buy a gun chambered for that cartridge. Winchester will (or might be) the sole supplier) of that chambering.

NOTE: if lead bullets are restricted or outlawed, they already have lead free 22's, 22 mags.

If you need a small caliber varmint rifle and a .22 Hyper Velocity round that is already made won't due, then step up to the 22 magnum which has been around for decades, has many makers of ammo and is readily available.

If a 22 mag won't due then step up your caliber to something that will and is a caliber readily available at a reasonable cost.

Almost every one of the Johnny come lately "miracle" calibers has either failed commercially, become very hard and or expensive to get. We have more than enough variety of calibers and chambering to fulfill anyone's needs IMO. The .21 Sharp seems like a money grab to me!

 

[mauser9]

Yeah already got lead free 22 L.R. ammo out there. Even CCI offers 22 mag. ammo which is lead free. might see how it performs in my gun.

 

[TJm15.38]

It's too late in life to switch to another rimfire caliber. Think I'll stick with tried and true .22lr.

 

[AJ]

Just another way to scam more money from the consumer........

 

[SweetMK]

They should have designed it as a .22 Sharp,,
(the same bullet diameter as the 22LR)
THEN, have Brownell's offer a reamer that any homeowner could operate,

The reamer has two functions,, enlarge the chamber of the rifle to the needed .23 diameter,,

and the end of the reamer has ".23" engraved so that the reamer could be used to re-stamp the barrel.

With that,, my trusty old Winchester pump could shoot the new round.

 

[Piwo]

Of all the cartridges out there, they pick the 1st and oldest....the original self contained metallic cartridge to compete with. It's going nowhere. I would have preferred that they put their energy and resources into making primers, powder and 410 shotgun ammo.

The wheel has already been invented.

 

[SweetMK]

Of all the cartridges out there, they pick the 1st and oldest....the original self contained metallic cartridge to compete with. It's going nowhere. I would have preferred that they put their energy and resources into making primers, powder and 410 shotgun ammo.

The wheel has already been invented.

There is ALWAYS room for a re-invent,,,,,,,,,

Look at what Bill Ruger re-invented,, some pistols,, didn't he??
Maybe not exactly S&W, or COLT,, but, they sell,,,,,,,

 

[SG-688]

I had to dig for the information to refresh my memory of another new rim fire cartridge from a decade ago. The NRA apparently has forgotten it.

What has become of the .17 Winchester Super Magnum??

".17 Winchester Super Magnum, commonly known as the .17 WSM, is a rimfire rifle cartridge developed by the ammunition company Winchester in 2012. It descended from a .27 caliber nail-gun blank cartridge by necking down the blank case to take a .17 caliber (4.5mm) bullet. Initial loadings were with a 20 grains (1.3 g) bullet, delivering muzzle velocities around 3,000-foot-per-second (910 m/s)." (Wikipedia)