Winchester Ammunition Introduces New 21 Sharp Rimfire Cartridge

Winchester Ammunition has introduced the .21 Sharp round, a new rimfire cartridge with an innovative design that provides benefits for modern recreational shooters as well as for small game hunters. The engineers at Winchester designed the cartridge from the ground up for enhanced accuracy and terminal performance with both lead and lead-free projectiles.

Some of the industry’s foremost have attempted to incorporate lead-free projectiles into their .22 LR cartridge lineup, but results have been mixed. Some of those products are on the market, but none have met the accuracy, reliability and on-target performance of a lead projectile. The challenge is found in the original .22 LR design, which is now more than 130 years old. The new .21 Sharp rimfire cartridge was purposefully designed to provide top performance with lead-free projectiles rather than accommodating them later.

“The .21 Sharp cartridge offers significant advantages in the rimfire category, which is one of the more popular types of firearms and ammunition used by millions of people throughout the world,” said Kyle Masinelli, senior director of product innovation and strategy for Winchester Ammunition. “Winchester leadership in cartridge development spans more than 100 years and as the global leader in ammunition design and manufacturing; it’s our job to serve our customers with innovative products that fit their needs now and into the future. That is what has been done with .21 Sharp.”

The new cartridge allows for a wide range of bullet types including full metal jacket (FMJ), copper matrix and plated-lead options. Jacketed hollow point (JHP) bullets will also be available in .21 Sharp, delivering extreme expansion and energy transfer.

Four different Winchester .21 Sharp loads will soon be available—if not already on FFL shelves—include: Game & Target 25-grain, Copper Matrix (capable of sub-1.5 MOA groups at 50 yards); Game & Target 37-grain, Black Copper Plated; Game & Target 42-grain, FMJ; and  Super X 34-grain, JHP.