Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 221 Fireball

Had a bunch of 221 model 700s. None of them worked correctly.

Picked this up several years ago and I don't think there's a better .221 repeater out there. Good luck and I hope you find one.

Agreed - my CZ 527 Fireball is a sweet shooting rifle! And mine has lovely wood as well.

I am wondering how a Howa Mini might work with the FB case.

May not be any better than a 700 either.

A buddy of mine built a Fireball on a regular short action (not Mini) Howa (PacNor full-bull barrel 1-14" twist) and it was harder work shooting a large group than a small group. It was scary good, and showed no problems with feeding, extraction or ejection. It was pretty flippin' nice, although it probably weighed 12 lbs, with it's Boyd's laminate stock. It was perfect for shooting prairie dogs within 300 yards. He mostly used 40gr. plastic-tipped bullets, but for fun and plinking at the range, he used some contract overrun 33gr. "Remington" bullets for the .22 Magnum (probably made by Hornady). That heavy of a gun didn't have recoil, just a pop! and stuff got a hole in it. It was a brute, and not suitable for walking around, but lordy, it shot well.
I have a CZ Fireball, and it shoots "almost" as well as his custom rifle did. It was one helluva rifle. He should have kept it.

The Remington 700 fireballs are supposed to have the ejector and extractor clocked differently than the 223. If they don’t it’s likely the case will just pop over and turn backward in the action and not eject.

No way would I do a fireball on a Remington. My buddy has a 17 m4 and it’s persnickety with its feeding. I have a cz 527 in 17 fireball I had done up. Highly recommend over a 221 btw! It’s my favorite rifle. It chokes down fireball like a fat chick giving a bj on a first date.

The other people have good luck with the fireball on is the sako vixen. It’s a crf with fixed ejector. If you do a 527 custom and want a fireball. Start with one that’s either a 221 or a 222 already. Or one of the hornets and have a different bolt or mod the bolt. Then you get the correct trigger guard for 221 mags. Parts are hard to find. Good luck trying to find a starter trigger guard if starting with a 223 or 204

Said it before

only thing better than a 221 FB

Is a 20/Fireball

AKA as the 20 Vartarg

Also love my CZ Fireball and like Mt-DD-Fan I won the wood lottery. Unfortunately it doesn’t get used much since I picked up a Rem Predator in 17FB.

Sorry to hear that your CZ 527 221 FB isn't loved anymore but I'm confident you could find someone that would give it a good home...

As I’ve mentioned a time or ten before, anyone with or pursuing a 527 should get the magazines you want while the getting’s good. Many are unavailable from CZ now, and I can only think the other sources will dry up soon as well. I bought four for my Howa conversion, and may get one or two more.

I have two 700's and they are perfect.


Buddy has a couple too...and they are perfect.

I have a 700 LVSF in .221 as well as two 20VT's built on 700 Fireball actions that all function to my satisfaction. Using a bolt that was configured for that case has worked out well for me.

The 221 Fireball will be my next rifle. I have spent a few years thinking about what it will be. I’m still not sure. I think Remington will be ok if you get the Sako or mini M16 extractor installed. I have 4 Model 700s and I got the M16 extractor put on a 223 that I have because of feeding & ejecting problems. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done for a rifle and plan on getting the rest done in the future. I’ve never had such positive feeding or extracting before. It’s a real pleasure to shoot. That’s why I’m so interested in the Fireball. I shoot a lot and I’m not wealthy, so it’s cheaper to shoot and would have the accuracy I expect to be a lot of fun. I’m a lefty so I’m limited to what I can do. Howa I hear is good, CZ if you can work it over could be nice too. If you go with Remington, it’s a must the extractor be part of the build. I like Remington, but think their extractor design is garbage.

I always wanted a 221 fireball. Then I got to playing with Quickload and found that in 40 gr, 45 gr, and 50gr bullets my 20 inch barreled 223 pretty much matches a 221. Same gun basically, same bullet diameter, so I quess I will just reload to match a 221. If I had a 16 inch barrel, I might have a hard time matching a Fireball.

I had a 700 LVSF in .221. Magazine was twitchy. Once in a while it'd get notional and spit the whole magazine full of cartridge into the air when I'd eject an fired cartridge. Might be a candidate for a single stack instead of staggered magazine.

On a 700 you need to have a clocked extractor .. M16 extractor conversion meets the need.

The cartridge is cool. For me, 40 grain B-tips or 40 grain VMAX, 4198 or AA 1680 work well. I usually shot the AA-1680 + VMAX combination though it was the least accurate of the 4. It was damned good enough, faster to load, and a little more explosive.

Nifty little cartridge, but so is its daddy the .222, and I can’t think of a good reason for me to choose the shorter one.

Simple. The .221 is cooler.

I’m waaaayyyy to old to be cool, or worry about it😜

Yea, I never was cool. So a cool cartridge is the least I can do.

I think a chronograph would say different.