Hi I am new to the forum. I just saw a BDL in 221 fireball and picked it up. It came with dies, brass and a brand new mounted Leupold vari x 2 3x9. The gun was in great shape, 95%? but had been threaded for a can. I ran out of the shop foe 625, yea? Looked like a good buy, the SA feels wonderful in the hands. I am going to load up some 221 fireball and see how she shoots. Anyone have any favorite loads? I was thinking of putting on a take off 223 barrel or maybe a match barrel on her. Is it worth adding yet another reload caliber to the reload bench/ project list? Never played with the fireball, wish me luck! Thanks.

Welcome. Love my Fireball. Try 1680 and a 40 grain V Max.

If you are gonna re-barrel look at the .20 VartTarg.

FireBall is a good little round.

If turning into a 223, be sure it will feed and eject loaded rounds and empties (with a .223 mag box)....the ejection plunger is in a different location for the shorter case.

Stick with the Fireball. Great little round.

I have a box (20 rounds)and a part of loaded .221 Fireball ammo 40gr Vmax molyed over 20.5 gr 1680 if anyone wants them the are free for the asking I no longer have that rifle

I would love to have them. sounds like the fireball is a winner! Thanks

nice score highdesertcentralor

highdesertcentralor,

Welcome to the Campfire!

I actually prefer the .221 to the .223 for most uses. I primarily use smaller varmint rounds for shooting abundant rodents like ground squirrels or prairie dogs, and a sporter-weight .221 allows you to see the bullet impact through the scope, while sporter-weight .223's usually don't. Plus, the .221 uses less powder and barrel life is longer. The only downside is finding brass, but if you look around and stock up it's no big deal, and it can be made from .223 cases.

The .221 will also take larger varmints as well.

Pm me your info and I'll send them off to you

A subject near and dear to my heart, the FIREBALL!!
My friend, do not let anyone talk you into butchering the perfect rifle into one of those other less desirable cartridges. Shoot your Fireball with GREAT confidence that it will kill cleanly out to 400 or 500 yards. It will serve you well.
My favorite load is 18.7-19 grains of RL7 and a Nosler 40 grain ballistic tip. For my rifle, it shoots a little over an inch at 200 yards. You can usually score a hit on a squeekers head if you can spot his beady little black eye staring at you from deep inside the short grass. You will kill coyotes like lightning because you will have so much confidence in your little cartridge.
FYI, you simply MUST make your trigger pull as light as possible to get the most out of this cartridge. AS has been noted, light recoil makes staying on target possible with a sporter weight rifle. Very important to me.
Velocities of the Fireball do not heat the barrel like faster cartridges and you won't feel guilty smoking off 100 shots in a row.
Simply put, the .221 Fireball is what other cartridges wish THEY were, not the other way around.

After you shoot and hunt with the Fireball for anything from coyotes down, I think you'll be in love. I have both a .17 Fireball and a .223. The Fireball goes with me 95% of the time unless I'm only planning to see coyotes. The .221 would be the perfect tweeter for these calibers. I 'd put my money into a higher power scope before buying another barrel.

Years ago I was out shooting gophers in Central Montana and a landowner showed me a cartridge he used on them. It was the new 221 Remington Fireball. At that time it was only available in a pistol (XP-100). When I got home I found a Ruger in 223 Rem and had it rechambered to 221 Fireball. It was great for gophers and prairie dogs. Like mentioned in this thread, you can shoot many more rounds than a 223 before the barrel heats up.

I no longer have a 221 Fireball, but my 20 Vartarg (20-cal Fireball) is so sweet that I probably will never go back to the Fireball. Enjoy what you have. Get a good high-powered scope and a good light trigger. Rifle Basix makes a good drop-in trigger.

I have three .221 Fireballs and a .17 Mach V (basically the .17 Fireball). The first one I got is a custom build on a L461 Sako that is a wonderful little rifle that has accounted for many a PA fall turkey and woodchucks, the second is a M700 Classic in the special run they did years ago and the third is a TC Contender with a 10 inch barrel. The thing the three have in common (other than the chambering)is they are ALL incredibly accurate, economical and just plain fun to shoot!

FWIW I have one .223 (AR) that is great but what I can't do it with the .221 I can do it with my .250-3000. I really can't think of a thing that the .221 can't do that the .221 can - FOR ME anyway

I am a BIG Fireball fan!
PennDog

One of my favorite forms of varmint hunting is to fill my pockets full of cartridges and wander off in search of pdogs, jackrabbits, sage rats, etc. For that use I really love the .221 Fireball. I have a classic 700 that carries easily and shoots lights out.

Out to 300 yards or so I can't think of a better option.

HD,
You now have joined the ranks of the really cool people. The Fireball is truly underrated, just a joy to shoot and even more of a joy if you are a sage ratter.
Others like 1680, I have had super good results with Lil Gun and Blue Dot under both 35s and 40 plastic tippers. Only caveat is, it is a high performance, small case, and picky about how much powder is too much. But when you get it right (carefully), it's sweet.

let's try this again, loaner computer is crashing...

less diplomatic, but the 223...

can do all the real world things a Fireball does... can be loaded to Fireball specs ( which are awfully useful)...

if you want a Fireball Magnum, just load to regular 223 specs...

brass is a lot easier to find and a lot more cost effective...

But the Fireball is NIFTY, Seafire.
Like I started downloading the 223 with BD because I had situations where the 223 was overkill and I didn't want a Hornet...
So now I have to wonder just how cool you really are.

Been out of town there Dave for the last week...

If brass was available... I have to acknowledge the cool factor in the Fireball.. but to my way of thinking that 'cool' factor starts with 17 caliber bullets in a Fireball case, and ends with a 20 caliber bullet in it....

have always thought a 19 caliber Calhoon bullet in a Fireball case would be kind of cool also...

A bullet velocity out of a 221 Fireball rifle will be more than a 22 Hornet but a little less than a 222 Rem rifle. I don't know why anyone would get a Hornet after 221s were available in a rifle. My rifle likes Re 7 with a 40 Gr bullet. I used my Fireball for shooting prairie dogs and jack rabbits but the rang is somewhat limited when compared to the 220 Swift ,204 Ruger, and 17 Rem cartridges.

Because the Hornet has class. 3000+ fps from 13 grains of powder.

Never was real fond of the Hornet, Crow. Never shot one that impressed me. And 3400 FPS from 15.5 grains, into a small hole, impresses me.
The .223 has always been a wonderful plaything, it can even be a "Hornet" with the right powder. Now that the Fireball has come into its own as a performer, it's ALL good.

Funny sent the OP ammo and a bunch of brass on my dime and not so much as a thank you
He hasn't even been back to the campfire
Next time I'll offer it up to a member with more than 2 posts

My love for the 223 is available brass... and it can handloaded to equal a 22 LR right up to the 223, and every thing in between...flexible little cartridge...

sure other cartridges can have a better "cool" factor...
but most of them can't be all the things a 223 can be handloaded to cover...

Well that sucks...

looks like he is from Oregon also... so the rest of us out here don't look so bad, thank you for your generosity...

if he can't show some appreciation, one has to assume he is probably a democrat & Kitzhaber Obama supporter.. entitlement mentality...

John,

I've loaded the .223 with everything from #4 buckshot at 900 fps to 40-grain jacketed bullets at what many would consider .22-250 velocities (though the second was done only during experiments). All of it was fun, but not nearly as much fun as also dinking around with a bunch of different cartridges!

JB,

don't tell anyone, but I have to admit... besides varmint shooting, the next best fun center for me is definitely at the reload bench...

if brass was available, I admit, I'd probably be loading and shooting a host of 17 caliber and 20 caliber rounds...

a 17 BR interests me... ( yeah I know, overbore) but even more curious to see is that Douglas lists a 17/22.250 chambering available on their web site...

TOYS TOYS TOYS....

That potlicker sounds like he's from my old stomping grounds. Don't worry, I educated all the coyotes in central Oregon, he won't even get a chance to trip the trigger.

Wow!! Hi guys, potlicker here. First off, let me say thanks to Dave for sending me the ammo and brass. I am guessing my PM thanking him did not go thru? Computer newbie, sorry. I am impressed with the form and will be digging thru my closet when able so I can pay it forward, what a great idea.
The last month was interesting. I had 3 surgeries in the the last month including eye surgery for 2 detached retinas. I go in for another today. Amazing what they can do today. I have not spent much time on the computer lately.
When I am back on my feet I am looking forward to seeing what the lil fireball will do. I am going to try out a few different handloads and see what she likes. Thanks for all of your input on my project.

It's Dan and glad you got the package,sorry but I didn't get a PM
Let us know how it shoots. Stick around there is much to be learned here!

i have a xp-100 in 221fb and a savage model 12 22-250. g-hogs die with the 221 out to around 325yds,after that its the 22-250's turn.my xp has dropped a few deer over the years to.the 223 to me just doesn't fit in my varmit guns. i like it in a ar15.

ditto on the 1680. RL7 and Lil' gun are pretty decxent too.

for good splat at lower velocities use the HDY SX

HM

Which shows that rifles vary. My .221 FB Remington Classic hasn't shot very well with ANY bullet using 1680!

With lighter bullets Li'l Gun is the standout, and with 50's TAC and 8208 beat 1680 in both accuracy and velocity, by far.

RL-7 does pretty well, but doesn't match LG, TAC and 8208.

Vartarg.....or Duece 20.........

Thanks again Dan for the Brass and dies. With your help I am going to run the 221 as is. She sounds like a great varmint gun.

Feeling a little better everyday and looking forward to getting to the range and see what she will do. Instead of modifying my Fireball to 223 I figured I would build a 223 Varmint rifle instead.

I am gathering the pieces to put my first AR together in 223. I have a 223 Howa but decided with the glut of AR parts to go ahead and put on together. So far I have wrangled a complete upper with a 24 inch Wilson fluted SS barrel and a stripped lower. Any experience with the Wilson Fluted barrels?
I am glad the 221 Fireball is going to be such a great little gun, sure feels great in my hands etc. One less gun smithing project for me. Thanks again everyone for all your input !

You are welcome...report back and let us know how it shoots

I think the .221 would be a great little cartridge to play with, never had one.

I am about to embark on a little adventure myself to see how well I can get LT-32 to work in .222 Remington shooting 50-grain V-Max. Looking at the scant data there is for this powder for .22 centerfires (NONE for the poor lil .222), it appears that it might be a shade fast-burning for .222---but then so is H4198 (in terms of filling up the case). When I read this thread, I had the idea that maybe I need something in .221 just to see how well LT-32 works in it...it seems like a match in my imagination. Maybe that's a lame reason to buy a rifle, but I've bought rifles for reasons way lamer than that!

No such thing as a lame idea to buy a rifle!