Getting ready to order a custom barrel for my T/C Gen 1 Contender Carbine and debating between the .17 Fireball or .221 Fireball. Principal purpose will be colony varmints and certainly won't be the only rifle at the party. Just looking to maybe split the difference between a hornet and a .223.

Any reason to maybe go for one versus the other?

I can find brass for both but .17 bullets are a little more readily available. I have a decent stash of .224 bullets so that is not a primary concern.

Thanks for the input!

221 fireball! it's way cool and i like more of the red mist

I really like the .221 FB, but while it has been the parent case for some other very good rounds, it never got the respect that it deserves. I can find .17 FB on the shelves, but I haven't seen a factory .221 FB box of ammo in years outside of my own supply. The .221 bullets don't blow around as much as the .17's, but if I had it to do over again my Cooper would be a .222.

For colony varmints...the .221....

I've never used the 221, but I have used the 17FB.

For what you want, I'd go 17FB.

Only concern I'd have is if it gets really windy, but then nothing does well in an Alberta or Montana wind.

MedRiver: I have a pair of Varmint Rifles in 17 Remington Fireball (actually one was a custom built 17 MachIV - which is the Fireball before it was commercialized) and a pair of Varmint Rifles in 221 Remington Fireball.
It is VERY difficult for me to recommend one over the other - but for your "fit in" circumstance and for your uses I would venture to the 17 Remington Fireball!
I have killed large Varmints (Rock Chuck, Badger and Coyote) out to 450 yards with my 17 MachIV and 17 Remington Fireball using the amazing 25 grain Berger bullets!
Best of luck to you with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VamintGuy

A 17 Hornet and a 221 Fireball make a great pair at the dog town.

All you need after that is a 220 Swift and a 6mm Improved.

I have a .22-250 and a 6mm-06. Close enough???

That'll do!

I personally have 5 221's and I 17 Fireball.

I believe that shows how I feel.

I have both a 17 and 221 FB. Both great cartridges. I use the 17 for PDs and the 221 for coyotes. The 17 gets 20 gr V Max bullets and is very effective on PDs, but doesn’t creat the carnage of heavier bullets.

Thanks for the input. I am leaning towards the .221 but will probably end up with barrels for both before it’s over.

I've got a barrel for the 17 Fireball, on a Savage action... as soon as I can find that darn barrel nut wrench....

and although I can load a 223 down to 221 Fireball speeds, so don't need one....

I think your solution is by far and away the best solution possible... on a TC, one of each...

I wish on that TC Compass I have, that they would do a varmint platform and make it available in all the varmint cartridges that are based off the 223 and its derivatives..... even be better if they were as easily changed as a Savage is....

I have owned both, .221 in a 700 LVSF and .17 in a 700 SPS. The .221 was great, slaughtered ground squirrels with it for 2 seasons. 40 grain VMAX and some amount of AA1680 ... splat. The .17 was my favorite though. Even less recoil, less movement of the crosshairs when the sear broke. I could watch the hits even when I was in an awkward position. (I did not say anything about truck windows. DID NOT.) I left the plastic stock as is, stuck in a Jewell HVR trigger set to about 4 ounces, and mounted a Leupold 4.5-14X AO in Leupold dual dovetail base 'n' rings. Load was simple, 20 grains of H335 under a 20 grain VMAX with Remington cases and Fed 7-1/2 primers. 5 shot groups were around 3/8ths of an inch and after the first 100 rounds or so, I never saw so much as a hint of copper fouling.

I would definitely do either again if I could get brass but it's the .17 FB that really calls to me. I'll probably do .17 Remington instead because I've got the brass.

Tom

Get the 221. Fill the case with 18-19g of RL7 and top it off with your favorite 40g bullet and enjoy.

Lapua is making brass, and it’s readily available.

My small rifle is a 17 Hornet. I’m having trouble getting good groups with it. My 204 regularly shoots .5” groups at 100 meters With 40 gr bullets. .
My 222 is about the same accuracy as the 204. Then there’s the 223, 22-250, 22-250 AI, and the 244 that I use for prairie dogs.
The only one with accuracy issues is the 17. The 223 is getting shot out and so is the 244.
I was a big fan of the 223 because I could bring a couple thousand of them loaded - brass is cheap. But I have not got into the big towns as much anymore.

Between the two you are asking, I’d pick the 221.

Dude, you know anybody lives nearby?

I have a T/C Encore with a 24" MGM .17 Fireball barrel. It, along with a Remington SPS .17 Fireball are my favorite groundhog and fox rifles. The T/C is a great walk-around gun because of it's compactness. I've shot coyotes with both too but you have to be careful of shot placement. I always thought about getting a .221 but I see no advantage to a .221 over .222 or .223 which can be loaded to meet or exceed what the .221 will do. But I do love my .17's.

yeah, but I thought he was a Model 99 guy only....

evidently my wife Just "moved it for a second, and then put it right back".. as always...

I knew you’d come around eventually 😆

I split the difference and went with the .20 Vartarg Dies and barrel ordered today. May be June/July before they show up so the Vartarg might miss the best ground squirrel (gopher) shooting but should see some PD action this year.

On my T/C frames this year I will have heavy barrel:

.17 HMR
.17 Hornet
.20 Vartarg
.223

The plan is to take two frames so I can shoot closer in with the HMR and Hornet then switch barrels to the Vartag and .223. Should be fun. I have three frames so may add a .22 hornet and .204 to the TC party.

Nice choices. I've got 3 frames and all those same barrels except for the 20 Vartarg. Instead of that I have a 17wsm. Hits noticeably harder than the hmr and almost as much as the 17 Hornet. It's a good one when I don't feel like burning through all my 17H ammo on the sage rats. But even with the 17hmr, 17wsm, and 17Hornet I still feel a compulsion to pick up a 17 or 221 Fireball.

Will be in WY late May for our annual shoot. This year I'll be doing a lot more rimfire work than before. We do lots of walk around shooting sessions and enjoy them very much. We use Primos trigger sticks.
I'll use the 17Mach II and HMR from the sticks and the 17 Hornet, 19 Badger & 204 Ruger from the bench.

Gee Cliff.... you sure know how to have a good time....

I'll likely be spending entirely too much time changing out rifles and ammo...
As I get closer to going and realize how much space I will need, I'll likely cut down that number by ½

My shooting buddy just got 2 17 fireballs. I have a Cooper 38 Varmint coming in 20 VarTarg next week. It fits right in with all my P-Dog rifles. Rifle is NIB. Dies and brass coming this week.

Yes indeed! A .17 Hornet and a Furball for everything out to 400 yards and a .243 AI or 6 AI for the outchonder shots.

I would add a .17 HMR for close in ones and a .22 handgun for the dummies that get way to close to your shooting bench.

I have a T/C Encore with an MGM .17 Fireball barrel and love it. I haven't had an itch for the .221 because I know I could just download my .223 to .221 specs if I wanted too.