.21 Sharp - new kid in town

[Dave Lively]

With all the supply chain issues and inventory shortages that have plagued the firearms industry for the better part of the last decade, this is the LAST THING we need!!

I looked online and saw all kinds of primers for sale. Large and small, pistol and rifle, magnum and regular. The supply chain issues are over. Factory ammo availability is back to where they were in 2020. Its not like Vista, who owns Speer, CCI, etc. is not selling primers because they need them to load factory ammo.

Prices are up, particularly for primers, but the odds of ever seeing primers at the pre-pandemic prices are lower than the odds of finding a nice $225,000 starter house in most markets. Those days are over and are not coming back.

Even if there were still supply chain issues so few people are going to be buying the 21 Sharp it will have no measurable effect on the availability and price of primers or factory ammo. Its not like the people designing new rounds would otherwise be on the factory floor cranking out primers or building new factories.

Winchester introducing this round is not going to hurt you in any way. The price of ammo and reloading components is maddening but if someone wants a 21 Sharp rifle there is no reason to rain on their parade.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

American RIfleman has given the coveted "Ammunition Product of the Year" award to something called a .21 sharp, a rimfire cartridge that is not a heeled bullet but fits inside of the (I am assuming) standard .22 LR. cartridge. I suspect it will go the way of the .17 Mach 2 rimfire.
Why did they make it? To sell of course. Problem of using lead free ammo in the rimfire rifle is pretty much solved with the .22 magnum-just make lead free cartridges for it-problem solved. This new cartridge will necessitate buying a whole new rifle as from what I read, the bore of a standard .22 lr. will be slightly oversized resulting in the same accuracy as shooting a .22 lr our of a .22 magnum barrel in the convertible revolvers. Can think of absolutely no reason to own one.

I guess I'll have to spell it out again. For this fat boy, deer hunting .30-06. Why? because I got one, it goes boom when you pull the trigger and the point of impact ids reasonably where I want it to be. Happened to be what I bought. I use exclusively 180 gr. If I had wanted to use 165 gr bullets, I'd a bought a .308 or a .270. Don't need the new fangled 6.5 whatever. A guy I play poker with has a tricked out AR in 6.5 something or other with a latest generation night scope that records everything and gives **** ***s if you hold it just right -the whole rig ran him between $8-9,000. He uses it to shoot hogs at night for ****s and giggles.
Duck Hunting- .20 gauge cause my shoulder is a gettin' up in years.
as far as rimfires, I'll stick with the .22 lr for the reason being I already gots a ****-load of 'em. and whatever I hit with them either dies right there or it dies when I shoot it again.

 

[Timothy2700]

I am baffled why some think that the Sharp is supposed to replace and/or be better than the venerable .22LR. It is rather different tools for different jobs.

If you can hunt game in your state with either round then you have a choice. If so a .22 would likely be the economical and time-proven choice.
However in locations where it is a violation to shoot lead bullets in a hunting situation the .22LR is off the table. A .21 sharp with copper bullets would then move higher on the list of chamber options for a new rifle.

 

[RoyB]

There is a lot to learn about the advantage of a non heal based bullet in a small rimfire. Back before the 17HMR was introduced, the "Extruder" rifles were a big hit in Australia and for those Prairie Dog hunters here in the USA that could understand the logic. A 22RF, healed based bullet was fired through a 17 or a 20 caliber barrel. The bullet "Extruded" down to that diameter and lost it's heal base. MUCH better stability in the bore with more surface area, higher pressure and better velocity. And great accuracy! Of course the fantastic 17HMR made all of this unneeded. I too thought, "Here we go again" another totally unneeded new cartridge. But the more I research it and understand it, it's a true winner! Now we need CZ, Bergara, Mossberg and Savage to offer true, heavy barrel, target/varmint rifles instead of the goofy stocked, Mattel offerings we are now offered.....

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

IT will go the way of the 5mm Remington rimfire.........the 45 GAP and the 30SC......Totally useless cartrridges.

 

[AJ]

IT will go the way of the 5mm Remington rimfire.........the 45 GAP and the 30SC......Totally useless cartrridges.

A flash in the pan as the saying goes.......

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

American RIfleman has given the coveted "Ammunition Product of the Year" award to something called a .21 sharp, a rimfire cartridge that is not a heeled bullet but fits inside of the (I am assuming) standard .22 LR. cartridge. I suspect it will go the way of the .17 Mach 2 rimfire.
Why did they make it? To sell of course. Problem of using lead free ammo in the rimfire rifle is pretty much solved with the .22 magnum-just make lead free cartridges for it-problem solved. This new cartridge will necessitate buying a whole new rifle as from what I read, the bore of a standard .22 lr. will be slightly oversized resulting in the same accuracy as shooting a .22 lr our of a .22 magnum barrel in the convertible revolvers. Can think of absolutely no reason to own one.

I guess I'll have to spell it out again. For this fat boy, deer hunting .30-06. Why? because I got one, it goes boom when you pull the trigger and the point of impact ids reasonably where I want it to be. Happened to be what I bought. I use exclusively 180 gr. If I had wanted to use 165 gr bullets, I'd a bought a .308 or a .270. Don't need the new fangled 6.5 whatever. A guy I play poker with has a tricked out AR in 6.5 something or other with a latest generation night scope that records everything and gives **** ***s if you hold it just right -the whole rig ran him between $8-9,000. He uses it to shoot hogs at night for ****s and giggles.
Duck Hunting- .20 gauge cause my shoulder is a gettin' up in years.
as far as rimfires, I'll stick with the .22 lr for the reason being I already gots a ****-load of 'em. and whatever I hit with them either dies right there or it dies when I shoot it again.

AR is just another hot air magazine.......They right what they are paid to write..........Sorta like the world's oldest profressiion. .......Predict it will be dead in 2 years and forgotten in 5.