The .219 Zipper
cartridge was created by
Winchester Repeating Arms in 1937 to be used in their
lever-action
The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms
Lever-action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger ...
Model 64 rifle. It is a
30-30 Winchester
The .30-30 Winchester/.30 Winchester Center Fire cartridge was first marketed in 1895 for the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle.[Marlin Firearms
Marlin Firearms Co. is an American manufacturer of semi-automatic, lever-action, and bolt-action rifles. In the past, the company, now based in Madison, North Carolina, and formerly based in North Haven, Connecticut, made shotguns, derringers, ...]
also offered their
Marlin Model 336 rifle (Marlin 336 Zipper) chambered for the cartridge.
While the .219 Zipper was supposed to compete against other
varmint cartridges of the time, most lever-action rifles use tubular magazines, which prohibit the use of
pointed bullets. This led to problems with accuracy. Winchester stopped producing .219 Zipper ammunition in 1962,
Remington Arms
Remington Arms Company, LLC was an American manufacturer of firearms and ammunition, now broken into two companies, each bearing the Remington name. The firearms manufacturer is ''Remington Arms''. The ammunition business is called ''Remington ...
stopped production of the cartridge soon afterwards. The .219 Zipper is the parent case of the
.219 Donaldson Wasp, and
P.O. Ackley created the
.219 Zipper Improved in 1937. Leslie Lindahl's ''Chucker'' and ''Super-chucker'' and "wildcat" case modifications by Hervey Lovell, Lysle Kilbourne, and W. F. Vickery offered similarly superior ballistics in stronger single-shot and bolt actions.
[Landis, Charles S. ''Twenty-Two Caliber Varmint Rifles'' (1947) Small Arms Technical Publishing Company p.60]
Though the flat- or round-nosed slug causes rapid loss of velocity, the .219 Zipper is suitable for
small game or
varmints, including
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
or
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
, and even deer if loaded with a heavier 55 grain bullet.
[Barnes, ".219 Zipper", p.9.] It works well in guns designed to fire rimmed ammunition, such as rebarreled
Steyr-Mannlicher M1895s or
Lee–Enfield
The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's sta ...
s, but not in
Mauser
Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arm ...
-type actions, which are not,
although Winchester's
Model 70, also a
Mauser
Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arm ...
-type action, had been successfully adapted to semi- and fully-rimmed cartridges, such as the
.220 Swift and the .219 Zipper.
Note
The ballistics data in the infobox are for maximum loads, as determined by the writers for Accurate Arms. This was based upon the Winchester Model 64 rifle being chambered in .25-35 WCF and
.30-30 Winchester rather than SAAMI specifications.
See also
*
List of rifle cartridges
List of rifle cartridges, by primer type, calibre and name.
File:Cartridge Sample 2.jpg, 350px, From left to right: 1 .17 HM2,2 .17 HMR, 2.5 .17 wsm, 3 .22LR, 4 .22 WMR, 5 .17/23 SMc, 6 5mm/35 SMc, 7 .22 Hornet, 8 .223 Remington, 9 .223 W ...
Notes
References
*Barnes, Frank C., ed. by John T. Amber. ".219 Zipper", in ''Cartridges of the World'', p. 9. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. .
External links
219 Zipper ImprovedThe .219 Zipper: A Good Cartridge That Didn’t Quite Pan Out
{{DEFAULTSORT:219 Zipper
Pistol and rifle cartridges
Rimmed cartridges
Winchester Repeating Arms Company cartridges