A quick look at .219 Zipper, a cartridge that’s gone the way of the dinosaur.
The .219 Zipper was brought out in 1937 by Winchester for its Model 64 lever-action rifle, which was a modernization of the Model 94. This combination (as with the .218 Bee in the Model 65) did not prove sufficiently accurate for long-range shooting on small targets and, in addition, did not allow the proper mounting of telescopic sights. Winchester discontinued the Model 64 after World War II.
The last commercial rifle chambered for the cartridge was Marlin’s Model 336 lever action, discontinued in this chambering in 1961. A number of custom-made single-shot and Krag-Jorgensen rifles have been made for the .219 Zipper. It’s not and never has been very popular, and it’s based on the necked-down .25-35 WCF case.
Winchester dropped the .219 Zipper in 1962, and Remington followed shortly thereafter.
General Comments
In a good, solid-frame single-shot or bolt-action rifle, the .219 Zipper is just as accurate as any other high-velocity .22 in its class. Since it was designed for tubular magazines, all factory-loaded ammunition is furnished with flat- or round-nosed bullets, and this causes rapid velocity loss.
Although overshadowed by the .222 Remington, it’s still an entirely satisfactory small game, varmint or target cartridge. Given carefully prepared ammunition in a properly functioning lever action, performance of this cartridge and rifle combination is limited more by the necessary use of blunt bullets than by intrinsic accuracy constraints. Such a combination is certainly capable of 200-yard shots on vermin, which is stretching what most shooters can do with iron sights anyway; beyond that range, velocity drops off so fast that trajectory limits usefulness, even given a telescopic sight.
This is one of the few American cartridges that functions well through the British Lee-Enfield action. Some of these rifles have been rebarreled and altered to handle the Zipper. Anecdotal information from several serious shooters who have bothered to wring out the cartridge’s accuracy in the Model 64 suggests that Winchester should have spent more effort on ammunition quality.
In 2022, the Zipper was loaded as complete ammunition by a few custom shops. Hendershot’s Extreme Custom Ammunition listed 45- and 55-grain bullet weights with properly headstamped brass. Reed’s Ammunition & Research listed loads for 40-, 50-, 55- and 60-grain V-Max bullets and 46-grain flat-nose soft points suitable for use in lever actions, as well as Zipper brass. Buffalo Arms Co. also loaded the 46-grain ammunition. MidwayUSA.com also listed .219 Zipper brass.
.219 Zipper Loading Data and Factory Ballistics
| Bullet (grains/type) | Powder | Grains | Velocity | Energy | Source |
| 45 SP | IMR4320 | 30.0 | 3,600 | 1,295 | Hornady |
| 45 SP | BL-C | 27.0 | 3,400 | 1,152 | Hornady |
| 45 SP | H380 | 30.5 | 3,500 | 1,224 | Sierra |
| 50 SP | IMR3031 | 26.0 | 3,400 | 1,284 | Sierra |
| 50 SP | H380 | 31.0 | 3,500 | 1,360 | Hornady, Sierra |
| 55 SP | IMR4320 | 29.0 | 3,300 | 1,330 | Hornady, Sierra |
| 55 SP | H380 | 30.0 | 3,300 | 1,330 | Hornady, Sierra |
| 55 SP | IMR4320 | 27.0 | 3,300 | 1,330 | Sierra |
| 60 SP | IMR4064 | 28.0 | 3,300 | 1,451 | Hornady |
| 60 SP | H380 | 31.0 | 3,300 | 1,451 | Hornady |
| 45 Hornady HP | FL | – | 3,400 | – | Hendershot’s |
| 55 Sierra HP | FL | – | 3,300 | – | Hendershot’s |
Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt of Gun Digest's Cartridge's Of The World.
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