Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Re-Chamber Rem .223 to Rem 221 Fireball

Question:
# 1 How much does has to be cut off?
# 2 Is the receiver the same length on both 221 and 223?
# 3 I found the part number for magazine is CZ 13005 Mag CZ527 221 Rem will it fit in 223?
# 4 About what cost am I looking at?
# 5 Can any run of the mill gunsmith do the work?
I have had some very poor gunsmith work preformed for me. Not all gunsmith are built equal.

This might seem strange conversion. However CZ has discontented 221 Fireball. Ruger and Remington have also discontented 221. I do not know what barrel twisted the 221 had, I would like 1:9 like .223. I have a other .223 Target/Varmint gun that weight in at 9.75 # with out the scope. I also have about 500 40 gr bullets, and about 500 50 gr bullets that shoots poorly in .223. I have unlimited supply of once fired .223 brass, of LC, Remington and Federal. I have good supply of three different powders that can be loaded in 221 with 40 and 50 gr bullets. Using the Fireball with 40 gr bullets I can load 130 rounds from one pound of powder over what is required for 223. With 50 gr bullets I can load 115 more rounds from one pound of powder than what is required for 223. With today supply of components it is a big issue for me.

Thanks

It had a 1-12 twist, generally. You're going to be better off finding a donor rifle and having a new barrel fitted.

Of course, you could simply load the .223 down to .221 ballistics, too.

If the 50's don't shoot well in that barrel, don't expect the barrel to like them a different way.
As for your questions, yep, it would be better to cut all the way back and rethread from a new shank.
I would presume the receiver is the same, no point in making a mini-mini Mauser. Call CZ about the magazine, there's probably a spacer as the only change.
But if you are looking to save money, forget it. You are looking 200 to 250 at least for a decent job.
Saner option would be trying Blue Dot loads in 223. I do that with my 223. But....
I also have a Fireball that "built" from a "retired" barrel that I had cut and threaded for Savage. Got into it for $500 total for the rifle, and another hundred or so for dies and brass.
Wonderful little devil, the Fireball.

Thanks Dave for your coments:

But I should have said the 40 and 50 do not as well as 55 gr. About .2 difference in 5 shot groups @ 100. So I just quit using them. I am shooting them out of a very heavy KM 77VT MKII with VX III 6.5-20x50 tactical scope. Second is I can not find any fast burning powder, or any powder as that goes. I need to use the powder I have for some of the other guns. I have a CZ 453 with set trigger in 22 lr, and it is very nice gun. Now sometimes I just like to have something no one has. I know that die set is going to cost very near 200.00 to resize 223 to 221, plus a lot of time. The CZ 527 also has a set trigger, so at time I going to call CZ Custom shop is what they can do. A standard 527 American is $733.00 MSRP. Remington 700 VLS in .223 $1056.00 (Wood Stock) MSRP. Ruger Hawkeye in .223 $939.00. MSRP. I just want like you said �Wonderful little Devil�.

Given your desire for a CZ Fireball, I'd consider hunting the auction sites and Cabelas library for a like-new factory Fireball. Even if you pay a little more on the supply and demand used market, it'll be cheaper than buying a new one and having it 'smithed. Just a thought.

I would just rebarrel and put a block in the magazine if it requires it

Might have to change up the mag follower too....

I figured out a way to smash down 223s into 221, kind of a pain but it worked. Didn't need new dies, just had to be brave enough to grind and cut on the dies I had.
222R probably has the most-painless path -- find a Fireball on Gunbroker or something.
As for me, my next Fireball is going to get cut with a 223 AI reamer. I want a ...... FURball.

Well played . . .

I made myself a 221 Fireball out of a 222 or 223 Remington 700 ADL.

I just re-barreled with a new Shilen 1-9 barrel and restocked it in a Brown Precision stock. I did nothing but re-barrel. Everything else is stock. It is a great shooter. I have used AA 1680 and AA2015 in it. I have shot 50 ballistic tips, and 50 grain Sierra Blitz bullets. Either is great on Ohio ground hogs.

I have never torn down a CZ. I would assume that they have a metric thread. Your smith would have to be able to do metric threads. I would like to make up a 25/222 Copperhead, or a 6mm/222. Good short actions are hard to come by. I think I might again look for a cheap ADL and put a 20 inch barrel on it in a light stock if I make something up for myself.

I put like a 22 inch No 3 Shilen on my Fireball. I tell everyone who shoots it that when it looses accuracy I intend to pull the barrel and run a 223 reamer into it. Most just give me a confused look, walk away, and think, "what a cheap SOB." (I forgot to stamp the caliber on it....)

I was always going to try 40 grain bullet, and about 4 grains of Bullseye and try shooting gray and fox squirrel with it. Never got that far. Let me know how that works. I have a standard Clymer reamer and gauges. Just FYI.

I went to Cabela's to purchase rifle, it was a good one. It has been sold three years ago. You know how they when something is put on the internet that it never goes away. Some how Google is cycling old adds. Boise store said it is happing more and more all the time. If a search is made with Google, take the Cabela�s reference number and use Cabela�s Gun Library to search for the item. Well so much for that, just to good to be true.

But thanks for looking.

Sorry man, what a let down.


BTW, I use Bing rather than Google, but obviously the same problem still exists.