Some lingering thoughts on the .21 Sharp
I'm getting old enough I'm really skeptical of anything new. At first I just didn't get it. Now I sort of do. The .21 Sharp is an industry attempt to make suitble lead free ammo with enough positive benefits, at a manageable price point, it will become an accepted addition to the rimfire world. I love the .17 HMR, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. The little .17 Mach 2 sounded cool but I never got to play with it. My buddy did mod a 10/22 for it and had a case head rupture. It blew out the mag but was otherwise OK. I thought it would be great for head shooting fox squirrels.
The .21 sharp is simply the .22 LR case with an inside crimped conventional type bullet rather than a heeled lead bullet. The reason / need for the .21 cal. diameter bore. Very intelligent and practical approach. Hopefully most rimfire platforms will only require a new barrel to be adapted. Winchester and Savage have several models of rifles available right now, ammo too. (I have not seen semi-autos, might need some special attention on blow back systems) However it's cost is $25/100, kind of close to the sale discount store .22 WMR pricing. But this should get better. Can California carry the need for this "lead free" hunting round? I guess some other states have no lead rules too. It's goofy but the tech is adapting to make it null, to a point. In retrospect it may be a very rational and efficient effort. No doubt Winchester is spending millions.
A friend was totally jazzed about the idea of the new round so it got me to considering it. The ammo runs from 25-42 grains and 1500-1800 fps. Faster than a "Stinger" and it's not designed for plinking, but hunting specifically. Range should be extended a bit by the improved B.C. of the projectile. Hopefully.
Being the LR case I expect handgun performance, when it trickles down, to be more efficient than .22 WMR in handguns. Most of my .22 WMR revolvers only run about 1350 fps for the standard JHP. Only 200 fps faster than the antique .22 LR. But the jacketed bullet is so much better designed.
It might be interesting to play with it after all.