The Rimfire Report: 21 SHARP Ammunition and Rifles Now Available
Welcome back to The Rimfire Report, our weekly article series where we discuss everything related to rimfire ammunition. Last week, Luke talked about the possible military applications of the American-180 rimfire submachine gun. In today's installment, we are reporting rimfire news - Winchester Ammunition's new 21 Sharp cartridge, which was standardized by SAAMI over a year ago, is now available. Shortly after the release of this new rimfire cartridge, Savage Arms announced the availability of a number of their rimfire rifles chambered in 21 Sharp. Let’s take a closer look at the new cartridge and rifles.
The Rimfire Report @ TFB:
“Winchester Ammunition is pleased to introduce 21 Sharp, a revolutionary rimfire cartridge designed for unmatched accuracy and performance with lead and lead-free projectiles. Built from the ground up, 21 Sharp offers improved on-target results with bullet options like FMJ, copper matrix, and JHP. Ideal for recreational shooters and small game hunters, it's the next step in rimfire evolution.”
The 21 Sharp Cartridge
If you compare the SAAMI drawings of the 21 Sharp and 22 Long Rifle, you'll notice that the cases of the two cartridges have identical dimensions. Both cartridges also operate at the same maximum average pressure of 24,000 psi. So I think it is safe to say that they use the exact same case.
The overall lengths of the two cartridges are also identical - 1". The same case dimensions, overall length and chamber pressure should make it very easy for the manufacturers to produce 21 Sharp versions of their 22LR firearms, it should be just a matter of barrel change.
The difference between the two cartridges is in the bullet design. The 22LR uses heeled projectiles where the bullet tail is rebated to fit inside the case and the bullet’s diameter outside the case (caliber) matches the case mouth diameter. According to Winchester Ammunition, “heeled bullets are ballistically inferior compared to modern bullet designs, they have limitations in terms of terminal performance, and they are a giant pain to mass manufacture.”
The bullets of the new 21 Sharp cartridge are nonheeled, similar to most modern bullets, and that’s why they have a smaller diameter to fit inside the 22LR case. So this rather odd .2105″ (5.347mm) caliber is apparently what perfectly fits the 22LR case in a non-heeled configuration.
You can download the full SAAMI drawing of the 21 Sharp cartridge here.
Winchester Ammunition's 21 Sharp Offerings
As mentioned in the first paragraph, after over a year from the SAAMI acceptance of the 21 Sharp cartridge, Winchester Ammunition has finally released it. The following loads are currently listed on the company's website:
SKU | Bullet Type | Bullet Weight (gr) | Muzzle Velocity (fps) | Muzzle Energy (ft-lbs) |
S21SLF | Copper Matrix | 25 | 1750 | 170 |
USA21 | Full Metal Jacket | 42 | 1330 | 165 |
X21C | Black Copper Plated | 37 | 1335 | 146 |
X21JHP | Jacketed Hollow Point | 34 | 1500 | 170 |
The test barrel length for the muzzle velocity and muzzle energy data is unknown.
The Winchester 21 Sharp ammunition is sold in 100-round boxes. There is no information on the prices.
Firearms Chambered in 21 Sharp
At the time of writing, it seems like only Savage Arms has introduced 21 Sharp versions of their rimfire rifles. The following bolt action rifle models chambered in 21 Sharp can be found on the Savage Arms' website:
Model | SKU | Barrel Length | Stock | Stock Color |
B Series F | 70242 | 21” | Synthetic | Black |
Mark II F | 26741 | 21” | Synthetic | Black |
Mark II FV SR | 28741 | 16.5” | Synthetic | Black |
Mark II Minimalist | 26743 | 18” | Laminate | OD Green |
All four Savage rifles have a magazine capacity of 10 rounds. No price information is available.
There are also pictures of a Winchester Xpert rifle in Winchester Ammunition’s 21 Sharp release content, however, Xpert rifles chambered in 21 Sharp can not be found yet on Winchester Repeating Arms’ website.
Will this new cartridge be able to survive in an environment where there is a beast like the 22LR or will it become extinct like many a rimfire cartridge species before? The time will tell. Let us know what you think in the comments section. In what applications do you think the 21 Sharp will shine and be superior to the 22 Long Rifle?
To learn more about the 21 Sharp cartridge, read Winchester Ammunition’s blog post here and watch the video published on their Instagram channel here.
See you in a week for another episode of The Rimfire Report.
Pictures by Winchester Ammunition ( www.winchester.com) and Savage Arms ( www.savagearms.com)
Managing Editor Being a lifelong firearms enthusiast, Hrachya always enjoys studying the history and design of guns and ammunition. Should you need to contact him, feel free to shoot him a message at Hrachya@TheFirearmBlog.com
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PRS folks might keep it alive; also folks who hunt in lead-free zones.
I think what we all want to see now is how it performs in rifles and handguns chambered for .22LR, since it is absoloonly going to get used that way by people who can't be bothered to pay attention.