Since the 21 Sharp does not use a heeled bullet, you can expect better precision from lead-free 21 Sharp ammo than you’ll usually see with lead-free .22 LR loads.
Recently, we have seen a move from both the legislative and consumer front to move away from lead bullets. This is driven by the toxicity of lead and how it can impact the environment and human health. As a result, in some locations lead bullets are illegal, and in others, some shooters prefer not to use them. Though there is some cost increase, centerfire cartridges can perform very well with lead-free bullets on the range, while hunting and for personal protection. However, the .22 LR, which is our most popular cartridge, is dependent on lead bullets for its best performance. So, what are shooters to do if they live in a lead-free location or prefer not to use lead bullets? Well, Winchester has a solution, and it’s called the 21 Sharp.
Before we get into the 21 Sharp and why it’s an important addition to the rimfire-cartridge line, we need to understand the problem it corrects with .22 LR. In 1887 the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company introduced the .22 LR, and it’s really nothing more than a longer and more powerful version of the .22 Short, which is 30 years its senior. Like the .22 Short, the .22 LR uses a heeled bullet, and it’s the heeled bullet that’s the .22 LR’s—pardon the pun—Achilles’ heel.
Modern rimfire and centerfire cartridges use bullets that are the same diameter as the inside of the case mouth, and this diameter matches the diameter of the bore of the gun for which they are intended. A heeled bullet also fits inside the case mouth of the cartridge, but just forward of the case mouth, a heeled bullet is larger in diameter and equal in size to the external diameter of the case mouth. Essentially, a heeled bullet has two diameters. The smaller diameter of the heeled bullet matches the diameter of the inside of the cartridge case, and the larger diameter of the bullet matches the caliber or diameter of the gun’s bore. This is why heeled bullets are lead; it’s insanely difficult to make a heeled, jacketed projectile.
When Winchester and Hornady introduced the .22 WMR and the .17 HMR cartridges, respectively, they abandoned the heeled-bullet design. Both of those rimfire cartridges use bullets of only one diameter that fit inside the cartridge’s case mouth. This allows bullet manufacturers to load them with jacketed bullets that can deliver better terminal performance. It also greatly simplifies the manufacture of lead-free bullets for both. It’s quite difficult to make a lead-free, heeled bullet that will shoot with great precision. If you’ve ever tried lead-free .22 LR ammo, you already know this.
To further understand the concept of the 21 Sharp, we need to go back in time to when cap-and-ball revolvers were being converted to fire metallic cartridges. The chambers in the cylinders of those revolvers were the same diameter as the bore in the barrel. So, when manufacturers began making metallic cartridges for the conversion, not only did the diameter of the cartridge case need to match the diameter of the cylinder, but the diameter of the bullet did, too. Heeled bullets made this possible, because they allowed the cartridge case, bullet and bore of the revolver to all be the same diameter.
With the advent of smokeless powder came higher velocities, and ammunition manufacturers and firearms designers abandoned heeled bullets. This is how a revolver that fired a .38-caliber heeled bullet—like it did when it was a converted cap-and-ball revolver—became the .38 Spl., which fires a .357-inch-diameter projectile. Cartridge-case dimensions remained the same, but bullet and bore diameters were reduced to match the diameter on the inside of the case mouth.
This is all important, because it’s exactly what Winchester did when it created the 21 Sharp. Winchester simply used the .22 LR case without any modification, but it discarded the .223-caliber, heeled bullet for a .21-caliber, non-heeled bullet that matched the inside diameter of the cartridge’s case mouth. Winchester loads the 21 Sharp to the same pressure as the .22 LR, and it is the same length as .22 LR cartridges, using a smaller-diameter (non-heeled) projectile.
Winchester is currently offering four 21 Sharp loads. These include a 42-grain FMJ bullet at 1,330 fps, a 37-grain black copper-plated bullet at 1,335 fps, a 34-grain jacketed hollowpoint bullet at 1,500 fps and a 25-grain lead-free copper-matrix bullet at 1,750 fps. Cost, of course, is always a consideration, and 21 Sharp ammo will sell for between 17 and 30 cents per round. This is more than plinking-grade .22 LR ammo, but similar to the cost of premium and current lead-free rimfire offerings.
I recently evaluated the hollowpoint and lead-free 21 Sharp loads out of an affordable Winchester Expert bolt-action rifle and was impressed with what I found. Velocities were as advertised, and both loads averaged less than 1 inch for five, five-shot groups at 50 yards. And as sort of a proof-of-concept, the lead-free load shot the best. I also shot the jacketed hollowpoint bullet into blocks of Clear Ballistics, and it delivered better terminal performance than you’ll find from any current .22 LR load.
Until we see a widespread or total ban on lead bullets, I don’t think the 21 Sharp will become nearly as popular as the .22 LR. However, for those who must or choose to shoot lead-free bullets, it’s a fantastic rimfire alternative. Also, if you want a rimfire cartridge that shoots a bit flatter and can deliver better terminal performance than the .22 LR—without stepping up to the .22 WMR or .17 HMR—the 21 Sharp is the way to go.
If you want one, you’ll just need to put a new barrel on your .22 LR; 21 Sharp ammo should work from current .22 LR magazines. Or, you could just wait around for new 21 Sharp rifles to begin appearing. Currently, Savage catalogs four 21 Sharp rifles and I expect other manufacturers will soon follow.
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