Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints 221 fireball

AA1680 will give you the longest barrel life, by far.

AA#7 is terrible to get out of the barrel when you start examining with a bore scope.

Many years ago, I had a custom 221 with zero freebore on a Rem 700. I shot the 50g Sierra blitz at 3200 with H322, used a cci br4 which is a thick cup primer, also use a 55g Sierra lead tip blitz for coyotes that was the hammer of thor on them, 3000fps.

Later on, I had another rifle with the same reamer used. I learned the value of AA1680 on squirrel fields with a short range load and a long range load, barrels had around 25,000 rounds of barrel life.

A 221 FB with a good match chamber with zero freebore is unbelievably accurate.

Agree: Lil Gun and 40g V-max does amazing things.

An example of one-

After trying a few powders and bullets, I ended up with 1680 and 50gr blitzkings in my cooper. I started with lil gun and rl7, but 1680 was the most accurate for me.

Once again....a person needs not try anything above 40 grains.

Only thing better than the 221 Furball.......is the 20-221 (AKA the 20 Vartarg)

Been running this one prob 14 yrs now...totally amazing in a dog town

Normally run 40 V Max..this summer switched over to 32's...Nosler & Hornady

AA1680 & H4198 for fuel.....picks up the dogs & turns 'em inside out even at 300+ yds

Round estimate down the tube ? 8K would be close....keep chasing the lands with the OAL

Go with Jim’s recommendation of 40gr bullets and AA1680.

i ended up using cfe blk with 35 or 40 gr. v-max bullets.

Ed

Keith: I "believe" the great accuracy that is possible with the 221 Remington Fireball - not only from experiences I have with my 221 Remington Fireball Rifles, over the years, but with a "factory" Remington 40XB-KS that my old friend Doc Mitchell "co-erced" the Remington Custom Shop into producing for him. The Rifle had the long stainless heavy barrel and was a single shot.
One calm foggy day at the S.P.A.A. Range in the tide flats of south Seattle my friend let me shoot his 221 Fireball 40XB-KS Rifle with a 24 power Leupold scope.
It simply was a "one hole" gun!
Exquisite trigger, no recoil and it seemed shot after shot went into the same hole!
I made Doc Mitchell promise to sell me that Rifle if he ever got into the mood to sell it.
IIRC Doc had that Rifle set up with a 52 grain match bullet - I forget the rest of the particulars.
Another example, was owned by my good friend Jack from Yelm, Washington.
Jack had an extremely accurate Ruger 77 MK-II V/T in 223 Remington - it regularly would shoot groups (5 shots at 100 yards) at or just over 1/3"!
After a couple years Prairie Doggin with it he had the barrel removed and re-chambered (shortened a tad!) into a 221 Remington Fireball - against my "sage" advice at the time I might add.
Anyway that 221 Remington Fireball shot even BETTER in the new caliber!
Yes I have great admiration for the accuracy capabilities of the 221 Remington Fireball.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

To read this thread a guy would sure think that the Fireball would get more respect than it has. I really like the cartridge, but I haven’t seen a factory loaded box of .221’s for sale on a shelf in years. I bought a Cooper years back because I liked the wood in the stock, but always wished that it was a .222 instead. Good to read that the 40 grain BT works that well on coyotes. I always figured that the 50 grain Remingtons would be my coyote load. Not many varmint shooting opportunities here in the Midwest.

Ream your Cooper out to .222...you might have to change the follower, but that's no biggie.
My favorite varmint rifle is a Remington "build" using a .221 fireball reamed out to .222 Easy Peasy cause the deuce is the parent cartridge.

Dont fugging listen to this guy.

First little switch to 222.....then he gets you to change to 223AI.

He is a bad......bad man.

....and lastly he introduces you to the .270 Winchester! His depravity knows no bounds!!!

I know guys rechamber rifles all the time, but like most of you, I'm getting a little gray around the muzzle and eventually either one of the kids or someone else is going to end up with a nicely wooded Cooper marked ".221 Fireball" on the barrel and if it was rechambered for something else, that reads like it could be a disaster in the making to me. I did lay in a bunch of boxes of factory .221's for $3.00 a box when a guy at the range sold off his own Fireball.

keep telling you guys

20-221 is where its at !

https://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/20caliber/#20VARTARG

And I'm going to try to get up to your neighborhood and do a little predator hunting this fall's watch out!

I might darken your doorstep to see what kind of whiskey you have!

You will smoke a turd in hell for that...

Brass is very important in the 221.

Rem brass will give up primer pockets around 150 fps less than Lapua or Formed Lake City brass.

Correction, I use LilGun, 15.0 grains and 40 bt. Very accurate in my rifle.

I would like to have me a Vartarg, but not if I had to get rid of my Furball to do it. Just too much love for that little round.

just have one of each !