Winchester Debuts New .21 Sharp Rimfire Cartridge, Savage Has Rifles

Olin Winchester has made good on its plans to introduce a new and improved rimfire round, and Savage Arms has four new rifles ready to use it.

Winchester last year submitted the new .21 Sharp cartridge to the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, the standardization body for the American firearms, ammunition, and components industry. SAAMI accepted the new round with a 25-grain bullet traveling at a velocity of 1,725 fps and a Maximum Average Pressure of 24,000 psi, publishing the spec last June. The design includes straight profile, non-heeled bullets, which should make them of interest to the NRL and ELR crowd.

For comparison, many popular .22 LR 40-grain loads run at a much slower 1,200 fps velocity.

Now ready for the prime time, Winchester this week announced four new .21 Sharp loads including a 25-grain lead-free Copper Matrix capable of sub 1.5 MOA groups at 50 yards, a 37-grain Black Copper Plated round pitched for economical plinking applications, a 42-grain full metal jacket, and a 34-grain Super X jacketed hollow point. All are north of 1,330 fps, with the lightest billed at 1,725.

Winchester .21 Sharp ammo — (Chart: Winchester)

A closer look at the new .21 Sharp loads show a quartet of relatively long bullets for rimfire work, pointing to a better ballistic coefficient than seen in legacy rounds.

As described by the ammo maker, "The new .21 Sharp rimfire cartridge from Winchester was purposefully designed by Winchester to provide top performance with lead-free projectiles rather than accommodating them later."

Savage's .21 Sharp Line Up

Coinciding with the new cartridge's availability, Massachusetts-based Savage Arms announced four of its bolt-action rimfire rifle models will be available to use the .21 Sharp. The new models include a trio of Savage Mark IIs and one B Series model.

The Savage Mark II F in .21 Sharp includes a button-rifled 21-inch sporter barrel, a 10-round detachable box magazine, black matte synthetic stock, and iron sights. MSRP is $269. (Photo: Savage)

The Savage Mark II Minimalist in .21 Sharp has an 18-inch carbon steel barrel with a threaded muzzle, a 10-round detachable box magazine, Boyd's Minimalist laminate design stock, and two-piece Weaver bases. MSRP is $389. (Photo: Savage)

The Savage Mark II FV-SR in .21 Sharp includes a button-rifled 16.5-inch heavy barrel, five-round detachable box magazine, black matte synthetic stock, user-adjustable AccuTrigger, and one-piece scope rail. MSRP is $309. (Photo: Savage)

The Savage B Series F in .21 Sharp has a 21-inch sporter barrel, 10-round rotary magazine, black matte synthetic stock, and is drilled and tapped for scope mounts. MSRP is $329. (Photo: Savage)

"Rimfire caliber additions are rare," said Beth Shimanski, Director of Marketing at Savage Arms. "Adding the .21 Sharp to our proven and coveted rimfire lineup is a win for everyone involved. We’re excited to see how plinkers, precision shooters, and small game hunters take advantage of the new performance capabilities of this cartridge."

Savage's .21 Sharp Line Up

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