Home › Browse Calibers › .219 Zipper
Common uses: Varmint, Small Game
| Type | rifle (centerfire) |
| Typical load | 60gr reference load |
| Muzzle velocity | 3200 fps |
| Muzzle energy | 1365 ft-lb |
| Stored G1 ballistic coefficient | 0.264 |
| Case length | 49.23 mm |
| Overall length | 2.26 in |
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Energy (ft-lb) | Drop (in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3200 | 1364 | -1.5 |
| 100 | 2824 | 1063 | 0 |
| 200 | 2479 | 819 | -2.9 |
| 300 | 2160 | 622 | -11.5 |
| 400 | 1865 | 463 | -27.6 |
| 500 | 1599 | 340 | -53.8 |
Small-game/varmint context — the deer- and elk-sized energy references aren't applicable to the cartridge's listed uses. When a downrange table is available, its retained-energy column can provide context; verify the exact load and follow local game regulations for legal methods.
Published BCs depend on a reference drag model and stated velocity conditions. A source review does not independently measure a BC. Understanding BC sources
This reference load is not verified factory-load data; confirm the displayed inputs against a reliable published source where available, and verify modeled results with your own rifle.
The .219 Zipper is remembered as a fundamentally sound varmint cartridge held back by the rifles that fired it. Its rimmed .30-30-based case delivers ample case capacity for a .22-caliber bore, giving it flat-shooting velocity well suited to fox, woodchuck, and other small game and varmints at moderate ranges. In practice its accuracy was limited by the lever guns it was housed in: the top-ejecting Model 64 made scope mounting awkward, and the tubular magazine demanded blunt, flat-point bullets whose low ballistic coefficient bled off velocity and downrange precision. Those platform and ammunition compromises, combined with the rise of more capable bolt-action varmint rounds, kept it from ever competing seriously with cartridges like the .22 Hornet or .220 Swift. Today it survives mainly as a collector's chambering and a handloading curiosity rather than a working field cartridge.
Winchester introduced the .219 Zipper in 1937, formed by necking the .30-30 Winchester case down to .224-inch bullets. It was intended as a high-velocity varmint round for lever-action shooters and was chambered in the Winchester Model 64. The cartridge never gained a strong following, and factory production wound down by the early 1960s; Marlin also briefly offered it in the Model 336.
Run this cartridge in the ballistic calculator · Compare it against another cartridge · How this data is produced