Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints first kill with the 221 fireball

I replaced my 22 hornet and 223 this spring with a CZ in 221 fireball. Finally got the first kill with it. 40gr nosler varmageddons dropped him on the spot at 75 yards.

Right on my CZ 221FB brother !!
My little CZ gets the go more often than any other gun -basically no recoil yet has great killing power.
Mine shot 3/4" groups w/the 45gr barnes tsx -first try so it is now going to get the call to whack a florida piggy.
My 22fb is a reloaders dream come true unless you like fighting a miserable inaccurate rifle.
3/4" groups or better from 40gr vmax/nbt -50gr vmax 52gr amax -55gr vmax and sierra blitzkings-all w/ AA1680..
OK sorry i got a little carried away when i saw CZ 221fb mentioned --great looking yote !

Mine has been pretty easy to load for as well. 40gr varmageddons and 50gr BT easily go well under an inch for 5 shots. I will eventually try the barnes.

Ah, another Furball lover! I like my little CZ so much that I made me a full size one with a (on sale-$100!) Adams and Bennett barrelled Savage 12. Lil' Gun powder seems to be made for the cute little .221 and ground squirrels, prairie dogs and one hapless coyote have fallen to the little round.

Once springtime gets here I will be doing my part do thin the ground squirrel herd around here. You can bet the Furball will be doing its part too!

nice yote and i do miss my Remington XP100 at times.

I have a sako A1 in 221 FB and it works well on coyotes with 40 grain ballistic tips and a generous dose of LilGun.

Good shooting! I guess the fireball runs a bit hotter than the hornet, but what specifically made you go to the fireball? What kind of barrel life do you expect? Just wondering how it shoots.

In my Remingtin 700 Classic .22 Fireball 15.5 grains of Li'l Gun gets 3400-3450 with 40's, depending on the bullet. My 26" barreled Ruger No. 1B .22 Hornet gets 3050-3100 with 40's, again depending on the bullet.

Kodiakisland: I also am a proponent of the 221 Remington Fireball cartridge in Rifles.
I have a couple of them (Kimber Ultra-Varmint & Remington 700 Classic) and love them both.
The little 221 Fireball is an efficient and accurate cartridge with long brass life and attending long barrel life!
My old friend Doc Mitchell from out in Puget Sound country owned the most accurate 221 Fireball I had ever seen/shot.
It was a factory stock Remington 40XB-KS with a 27 1/4" heavy stainless barrel.
I got to shoot this Rifle on a couple of occassions before Doc passed on and I have been trying to buy this Rifle since I first shot it and from his estate ever since.
Alas no luck yet.
Great photo by the way of a great trophy.
Many happy returns of the day to you and your Fireball.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

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Barrel life =10,000 rounds...

As I have gotten older, I've started decreasing the number of guns I have. I'm now down to 12 centerfire rifles and will probably stay at that for a while.

I had a 22 hornet and a 223. Most of my hunting with them was for coyotes inside 200 yards and a once a year use on prairie dogs in WY on an antelope/deer hunt. I load my 243 for coyotes at long range or really windy days. I just couldn't see the need for the hornet and 223 so decided to get the best round in the middle. The fireball shoots almost as fast as the 223 and barely uses any more powder than the hornet. I don't care about availability of factory ammo, so the fireball was the best of both worlds.

That yote has a nice coat on him, congrats and my best friend loves the 221 Fireball.

Yeah, the Fireball's ok I guess.
Been hunting with one for a long time, set back and rechambered Sako Vixen from 222 mag. I try to convert anyone I meet to .221! 40 grain ballistic tips and 18.7-19.3 grains RL7. My buddy says to try sparking it with a benchrest primer for even better accuracy.