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Hot on the heels of Winchester announcing the new 21 Sharp rimfire cartridge, Savage has already got rifles chambered for it. They’re offering four models to start with. So far they’re all bolt actions, and they’re all reasonably priced. Models start at just $269 with the Mark II F. The most expensive model is the Mark II Minimalist at an MSRP of $389. If you’re wanting to check out what the 21 Sharp has to offer, at least you can jump into it at a decent price.
Savage already has a robust line of rimfire rifles, so it makes sense for them to be at the forefront of 21 Sharps development. The new rifles will let shooters take advantage of the 21’s performance in proven, existing rifle platforms.
Cost is always a concern with new firearms cartridges but Savage notes that the 21 Sharp is pretty affordable even being brand new. It’s priced between the .22 LR and the .22 Magnum. Being that it gives ballistic performance between those two rounds that makes sense. It should offer superior accuracy to either as well from what Winchester is saying.
Savage is inititally offering the 21 Sharp in three MARK II models and one B Series model. All four models are bolt actions to start, although I’m curious how the round will work in a semi automatic as well. For whatever reason I’d be curious what something like a Beretta Model 21A Bobcat would be like in 21 Sharp. But we’re talking Savage right now, so let’s look at the models offered.
The B Series F rifle is geared towards target shooters. It has a button-rifled barrel for precision shooting coupled with an ergonomic stock. It wil be available in both left and right-hand models as well.
Variations of the Mark II make up Savage’s other 21 Sharp offerings. All of them feature the excellent Savage AccuTrigger. The Mark II F is a workhorse with its rugged synthetic stock. The Mark II F Minimalist Green is a slick compact and lightweight option that should be popular with hunters and youth shooters. The Mark II FV-SR has a shorter 16.5-inch threaded barrel and an optics-ready rail. Between the B series and the various MK II models folks interested in the new 21 Sharp will have a lot of affordable options to choose from if they want to check out the round right away.
Part No. / Description / MSRP
26741 / MARK II F 21 Sharp / $269
28741 / MARK II FV-SR 21 Sharp / $309
26743 / MARK II Minimalist Green 21 Sharp / $389
70242 / B21 F 21 Sharp / $329
For more information about Savage Arms and its extensive line of leading firearms, visit savagearms.com.
Where To Buy
MARK II F 21 Sharp
MARK II FV-SR 21 Sharp
MARK II Minimalist Green 21 Sharp
B21 F 21 Sharp
Check out Ammo To Go, the ammunition retail sponsor of TTAG, for all of your ammunition needs.
I guess they couldn’t figure out how to manafacture a decent .17 Winchester Super Magnum cartridge (after 10 years of trying) so instead of focusing on “what everyone wants” in the ammo world they decided to create yet another orphan-to-be. Not seeing a lot of confidence here.
No doubt the new caliber and rifle are all they are said to be. I just don’t need another caliber. I have several quality .22 LR rifles and handguns. From there I jump to centerfire. Never felt a need for anything else.
100%
.21 Sharp is the BetaMax to the VHS .22lr
Wake me when they come out with something enough better that it leaves the entire technology behind. I don’t want the BetaMax replacement of .22 long rifle. Make the DVD of 1/4″ projectiles. Caseless? Methane/LOX? Something worth abandoning the .22lr workhorse.
Don’t give me beta and tell me it’s raining…
I am simply not buying it and I doubt many others are either.
I imagine it would probably be a useful pest control round for some things. Don’t really have such a need yet but hope it does well as even failed calibers tend to be great data points for improvement.
Safe, about the only pests I need to control are the squirrels in my pecan trees. I live in town, but no one bothers me about shooting. I use standard velocity ammo, but no suppressor. It’s kinda quiet. Besides, we own half the city block and it’s heavily wooded. Got a couple of nice 8 pts living in the back yard. Anyway, I’m betting those .21 Sharp are a bit more audible, but no more deadly at 50 yards.
Realistically 22 for squirrels up my way is right out unless I want to go a mile or two out and do some hunting for the invasive version. With that said if this is somewhere between 22lr and 22mag yeah probably wouldn’t see too much difference until the 75-150 yard area where 22 drops off a bit. If anything more interested in seeing if it ends up being more efficient to manufacturer at scale as that is the only way it will be relevant long term……..or if people have a lot of longer range rimfire level pest control that isn’t 22 mag territory but that seems to be a small niche at first thought.
Gadsden Flag,
I would not use .22LR for shooting squirrels up in trees in a populated area. If you miss, that bullet could go almost anywhere and be destructive. For that task (shooting squirrels up in trees) I would use an accurate air-powered pellet rifle.
As someone who has worked in this industry for 30 years, this will be a total commercial FLOP. This is what happens when gun companies hire executives who aren’t also gun people. Case in point: Freedom Group.
I can tell you I am very excited to buy a rifle that takes ammunition that will always be expensive for what it is and very hard to find! And then when the ammo is discontinued I can have that special feeling that comes with owning an historic flop, scrounging a few rounds for it now and then at exorbitant prices off eBay, like rounds for that ’60s rocket pistol.
You can add this to your collection of other popular 20th century rimfires: 22 Automatic, 22 Remington Special (22 WRF), 5mm Remington, 17 Aguila & 17 WSM
If I had an actual reason to be interested in 21 Sharp I would wait for someone to bring out a conversion barrel for the 10/22. At least then when I decided it was a flop I could return the Ruger to a useful condition.
How long before Ian Maccallum at Forgotten Weapons makes a video on it?
He could almost make another channel on Forgotten Calibers.
The rocket pistol was designed for combat in open space. Self-propelled projectiles to avoid any ignition problems from lack of oxygen that would affect traditional firearms, and since any breach on a space suit would be fatal, accuracy was not critical. We ended up not having infantry battles on the moon or in orbit, so its reason to exist dried up and it became an expensive novelty.
If I want a small caliber jacketed rimfire, there’s this .22 WMR stuff that’s been around for a while…
Cloudbuster,
The down side to .22 WMR is that it is very expensive for what it is.
And what is it? It is .22LR with a slightly longer case and a bit more propellant–for that you will pay about 3x the price of .22LR. It makes no sense to me.
For punching holes in paper, .22WMR is definitely expensive compared to .22LR in cost per round. Where .22WMR (and .17HMR for that matter) excel over .22LR is pest & varmint control, particularly at distance. Offing gophers, prairie dogs, skunks, badgers, and such at 150+ yards is a lot easier with the ‘magnum’ rimfire cartridges.
9Volt,
No arguments from me on the utility of .22 WMR over .22LR. I am simply complaining about the unjustifiable 3x increase in cost for nothing more than about 25% more material mass.
.21 Sharp is also going to be expensive for what it is — for the short time you will be able to find it.
The benefit to .22 WMR over it is that .22 WMR will still be there.
5mm rimfire magnum, anyone.
I would imagine it would be difficult to seat and retain the crimp on a heal based copper bullet.
Lead is close to being banned.
This is why the .21 Sharp.
Nope
I have WAY too much .22LR ammunition on hand and too many firearms chambered for it to switch over to .21 Sharp.
Nevertheless, I wish everyone the very best who opt to purchase firearms and ammunition in this caliber.
Same. I might consider it if I was starting out, and I thought it would be widely available.
Another cruddy commercial (for crap).
They should include a chamber reamer so that the gun can be converted to .22LR when the bust occurs.
The squirrels, rabbits, deer, birds, turtles, etc. that reside on my property are protected from bozo harm. As far as the rifle it is nice to see something affordable, of course the one I prefer is the most expensive. Actually most any model .22 is a good place to start for someone wanting to enter the world of shooting. I recall my first .22, it was like my first bicycle with training wheels.
Sunday Morning Coming Down…
h ttps://youtube.com/watch?v=gPGuUHNT7U4&feature=shared
Go make a sandwich, Debbie.
An answer to a question that no one asked. What’s the over/under on obscurity?
80 percent flop unless the ammo becomes cheaper due to oversupply then it may find a niche. Wild ass guess no real supporting evaluation.
About the same as Stingers on Midway… 17 vs 18 cents, although match ammo is 26.
If they made a good replica Model 1903 (another victim of flop ammo), I might get stupid and buy it.
Not to mention, those rifles are down right ugly. odds are good that no other major arms company creates guns in this caliber.