Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Best 221 Fireball Bullet?

I have just purchased a new 700 LS Fireball that I will be using in South Texas. I will be shooting anything from jackrabbits, javelinas, Coyotes, and I'm sure an occasional hog.
Any recommendations on what would be the best "all around" bullet assuming its accuracy is acceptable in my rifle. I have been thinking about the Sierra 45gr SPT or the 50gr SP Blitz but will take any recommendations.

Thanks

I like Hornady's V max...40 or 50 gr in the FB...

may be a little thin skinned for hog huntin'

I have several furballs and the load that always stands out is 19 grains Reloader 7 with a 40 grainer. And 18-18.5 grains with a 50 grainer. CCI BR4's work very well with compressed loads in this round.

I have used the 40 and 50 grain ballistic tip on coyote and it knocked the snot out of them.

Only bullet I've shot out of the fireball is the 50 v-max. Shoots bug holes on paper and I have no doubt it would cover the bevy of game you plan to use yours on.

I would think the 40 grain nosler BT would be about perfect.

FWIW I have found the nosler BT's to be more stoutly constructed than others maker's tipped varmint bullets

bingo....

Ive been messing with Hornady 52 Amax lately, made specifically for 1 in 14 twists and am impressed...might be worth a try....

Gail Root, one of Nosler's finest ballisticians EVER shot a .221 Fireball a great deal.

His bullet of choice was one that he designed and "flew in the computer program" ... the Nosler 40-grain Ballistic Tip.

Gail was simply incredible with the cartridge and the bullet. It kept me humping HARD to keep up with him shooting 40s in my .223 Normal.

Oh, a Gail Root quote, "Steve, the damned 40-grain is just a pumpkin with a pointy end on it ... I wish I'd had two more grains of bullet weight to work with, but I didn't. Still, the little SOB just plain SHOOTS."

Indeed, it does.

Blessings,

Steve

What I fired from my 221; 40 BT with Gail's manual recommendation of RL-7 replete with the much maligned but seldom tried Rem. 6.5 primer...

It shot great.

Thanks for all the great advice!

Its much appreciated!

Damn. Just when I think I have a load worked out, you knuckleheads throw me a curve. Didn't think the VMax could be beat. Back to the loading bench.

For blowing stuff up, I like the 40g V-max. For thicker skin I like the Nosler.

That's a good way to go, but the Tipped Varmageddon is also good for "splodin" stuff, usually costs less than the V-Max, and is also very accurate.

Take a look at the 45gr Barnes TSX as an all-rounder. I use it in my .221 LVSF and have taken everything from small game, winged varmints, bobcats, foxes, coyotes, and large bodied deer. It's an amazingly versatile little bullet, the only way it could get better would be a tipped version with a boat tail......


X-VERMINATOR

after going thru a couple of thousand last season, I have to concur with that....turns 'em into fuzzy cole slaw....

Now, THAT's a word-picture. Fuzzy cole slaw -- sure that isn't fuzzy peppermint ice cream?

I'll third this one.

Eastcut96: I have two Varmint Rifles in caliber 221 Remington Fireball and they both perform well (best?) with 40 grain bullets.
I am talking accuracy and lethality here.
My Kimber Ultra-Varmint prefers the 40 grain Berger hollow-points and my Remington 700 Classic prefers the 40 grain Nosler Ballistic-Tips.
Best of luck to you with your new Remington.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I recently picked up a Rem 700 in 221 Fireball. My best load has been the 40 gr Sierra Blitzking with Reloader 7 powder. Not far behind and still very good is the 40 gr Nosler ballistic tip, also with Reloader 7. Good luck for on a fun shooting gun.

It's been a few years since I had a 221 Fireball to play with, but when I did, one of my favorite bullets was the 50 grain Speer TNT Hollow Point. The little bastid was purely evil on crows, groundhogs and coyotes.

I'm shooting 40 gr V'Max's with IMR 4198 in my Fireball. Use it for coyotes and PD's.

The most accurate 50 gr bullet in my M-700 Fireball turned out to be the old-fashioned Sierra Mid-Velocity Blitz soft-point, #1340.

It's best load is H-4198, 18.4 grs, with a Fed 205-M primer, loaded .010" off the lands at 1.900 OAL. Velocity is 3050 fps, which is 50 fps faster than the Remington 50 gr. factory load.

It is not as explosive on squirrels as the 40 gr. bullets, or the plastic-tipped 50 gr. bullets, so I think it might do a good job on the bigger varmints like coyote.

It is easy to have fun with the 221 Fireball.

After doing some bullet testing with my newly acquired Cooper M21, I called Cooper and asked for their load data they used for their tests. I forget the grains- but they use the 50gr blitzking and AA1680. I just ordered some blitzkingsand lapua brass and will load with the same powder weight and COAL as Cooper did. Will report back when I'm able to load and shoot.

Couldn't find a sweet spot with RL7 and 40gr vmax or 50gr nosler ballistic tips, but admittidly I didn't try too hard. Lil gun and 40gr vmax looked promising. I'll get back to that combo of the blitzkings don't work out well.

Best accuracy for me came from the 40 grain ballistic tip, best splat from the 40 grain VMAX. Not enough less accuracy to worry about, though, so I shot the VMAXes most of the time.

Tom

I use the Sierra 40gr HP and AA1680 in mine...good velocity and accuracy...they work good on coyotes and cats....the Barnes might be interesting.....

Wonderin, is the VMAX Zombies the same bullet as the VMAX other than tip color?

Yes.

40 grain BT, 19 grains RL7, just like everyone else. killed a boatload of coyotes with it.

I tried a few loads with RL-7, lil gun, and AA1680.

Lil gun was rather dissapointing, to the point that didn't even bother with keeping that data. In the area of 2 inch groups.

I settled, rather happily, on 17.4 grains of AA1680 behind a 50gr Blitzking, sparked by a BR-4. I believe it was a COAL of 1.910. Also equally loved 50gr nosler ballistic tips with AA1680. Both are 5 shots.

Being Hogs are on your list thought I might share my luck with Bulk Hornady 55 grain flat base spire points may be of interest. In the 2 rifles I shot this bullet in H4198 at max plus shot .5 moa at above published velocity.

robertham1: That's good shooting. What are the specs on your rig? Where in Cali?

Robert

grand,

The rifle is a Cooper 21 Montana Varmiter. I stumbled upton it while visiting San Luis obispo. Story is that it was the longest tenured rifle on the shelf (9years) and they made me a deal I couldn't turn down, so I made the trip back down from the Bay Area after the dreaded waiting period. It wears a leupold 4.5-14.



It shoots better than I can.

Nosler's 35 grain Lead Free Ballistic Tip is worth a look...

I've used a batch in the 223 and the 22.250....

its the length of a regular 50-52 grain Plastic Tip bullet,
but the lighter weight allows one to get some better velocity going on...

My laminated stock 700 likes both the 40 gr Berger (best accuracy) and the 40 Sierra Blitzking for a close second, both with IMR 4227.

My R700 definitely did not like Barnes 36 gr Varmint Grenades. Thought they would be the bomb with Lil' Gun. This gun seems pretty fussy on the bullets it likes. Prefers 40 gr FBHP Varmageddons over the tipped version, even set to the same ogive length.
Thinking of re-barreling it with a fast twist 1-8" or eventually go 20 Vartarg.
Anyone ever use a fast twist Fireball?

Nice shooter! What a find, huh?

I haven't seen bad bullets for a fireball in the 40-55gr weight range. Even the cheapies do just fine. If it were me, I'd spend on what I could buy in bulk. My brother likes the 55 Hornady PSP with cannelure. I like the 50gr Z-max. Have wanted to try the Nosler Varmageddon stuff, but haven't gotten a round tuit yet.

Strange that the Lil' Gun did so poorly for you. I've only seen it shoot well, and fast. Very fast.

Robertham! What a beautiful Varmint Rifle!
And it shoots beautifully as well.
Good for you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I have had great luck using 40 grain BlitzKings, V-max's & Ballistic tips in my 700 classic. Settled (for the time being) on RL7 & Federal match primers.

I have found BlitzKings to be spooky accurate as well as the most explosive o the three on small critters like sage rats & p-dogs. Ballistic Tips seem to hold together better, followed by V-max's so they may be the better choice for chucks or coyotes.

I could happily live with any of the three. Will be picking up some Varmageddons on my next trip to Bend and I am sure they will be great.

Have not tried Lil Gun but by all accounts it may be a fine choice.

One of my favorite past-times is walking the sage for Jacks. The fireball is just perfect for that.

Thanks, robertham1. Been trying to find a 50 grain bullet combo that'll shoot better than the mediocre results I've had with both RL-7 and Lil' Gun. Will try some 1680 (if I can find it).

Have you tried the cheap, old-fashioned 50gr. Hornady SPSX and Sierra Blitz bullets? My CZ seems to favor those bullets by a good margin over the plastic-tipped bullets.

I use Re-7 and Federal Match primers also. They make my little rifle happy, although they aren't too fast, if you can't hit 'em, you can't kill 'em. These hit 'em.

I've been using the 40 Berger Varmint and the 40 Nosler Varmegedon with great success in the accuracy department. The 52 Berger Varmint should also be worth looking into.

+1

50g Nosler Ballisitic tip and for a tougher critter, a 50g Sierra High velocity spt is a super accurate bullet.

Good luck

The Fireball is about perfect for 40gr bullets. Take your pick, whichever shoots best in your gun. With that cartridge all I've ever used is a 40BT.......on countless groundsquirrels, pd's and rockchucks, only one coyote. Lots of good 40gr bullets out there. And nothing wrong with 50's. Years ago I knew a guy who shot 20-30,000 rds per year on groundsquirrels with mostly a .221......he definitely found what works and swore by the .221 with 50gr TNT. Lots of things work and there's no one way with any of this, just go by what the gun likes.

You're right, Ackman. The Fireball is just right for scooting 40s at sufficient speed while not warming things unduly. I'm still kicking myself for not "discovering" the 221 much earlier.

Whittakerguns just got in a shipment of CZ 527s in .221Fireball, and they're selling for under $600.

If you don't have one, now's a good chance to pick one up at a great price. They come with a single-set trigger and scope rings.

Mine is a real shooter. Spectacular, for its weight, even.