221 Fireball, What's your opinion?

[Minnesota1]

I've been looking at some different barrels to put on my short action Stevens 200.  I was looking at the 257 Roberts and maybe I'd like to look at a small varmit round like the 221 fireball.  Can anyone tell me about the cartridge and your experiences with it?  What is an "equivalent" round?  Is there a lot of reloading data for it?  I've seen barrels in Midway so I might pick one up.

Thanks,

Bob

[Graybeard]

I think the .221 Fireball has a place I'm just not sure what that place is. In your rifle in my opinion is NOT that place. The round most closely related performance wise is likely the old .222 Remington since it's a slightly shorter version of that round but it's slower than the .222.

If you're gonna put a barrel on a full size bolt gun I'd not chose the .221 but rather either the .223 or the .22-250.

Another thing to think about is that the .257 Roberts has a .473" head so switching to a case with smaller head like the .221 or .223 is going to require alteration of the bolt head. The .22-250 wouldn't.

[Lone Star]

I agree with GB, the .221 is kinda wasted in a large rifle like your Stevens.  New bolt heads are relatively cheap to replace, but I'd rather have a .22-250 or a 6mm BR for a varmint cartridge.  Or the .250 Savage itself, not a bad varmint performer with high-BC 75-grain bullets and full-pressure loads.


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[billy_56081]

I gues I'm with Graybeard here too. A 221 fireball, like a 22 hornet is really neat in a little lightweight rifle. I'd go with the .223 or if ya wanted something smaller do a .204. If your anywhere near me in MN I'll give ya a hand swapping barrels.

[sonofafish]

I have to agree with you all,but the 221fireball in a xp100 is fun to shot.223 or 22-250 would be my choice.

[221fireball]

minnesota1 you didn't say what cal. your gun was you may not have to change anything. I really like the .221fb it may not have as much data as the .223 or 22-250 but it is real easy to load and has a lot of bullets choices and a pound of powder goes a long ways. Unless you hunt where there will be looooong shots the .221fb will do fine. I would get the .221fireball.

[Minnesota1]

It is currently chambered in 22-250.

Thanks,

Bob

[Ladobe]

Guess I don't like the 221FB case either, I only have five 221FB 's and three 17M4's.  

It's a great cartridge for predators and varmints within some range limitations.   Very pleasant to shoot.   Loading it is a breeze (there is plenty of data available) and with load development for each firearm it is very accurate in everything I shoot it in.    

My platforms are:
Specialty pistol... Remington XP-100's and TC Contender's
Carbine... TC Contender's
Rifle... CZ's

[221fireball]

Well you will have to makes more changes than just the barrel if you go with the .221fireball or .223 rem but if you did make those mods i would go with the .221 fireball. If you go to larger cal. i would see if a .260 rem would work. 

[jwv]

I had a 7mm-08 in a Stevens 200 that sat in the safe more then being used, I took it and put the Adams & Bennett barrel in Rem. 221 Fireball on it. I then changed out the bolt head to the smaller 223 bolt head , put the extractor and the ejector on it. I did buy the set of go/no go gages so it would be head spaced correctly.I also used the barrel nut wrench to remove the barrel nut which was not hard at all to break loose and remove. The stock  took more time to open up for the heavy Fireball barrel, but did not require a lot of time. It has been a fun project for me, it shoots the 50 grain Hornady spsx  in 5/8" groups and the 40 grain V-Max just a little smaller. With 15 grains of Lil'gun I will get over 460 loads with 1 pound of powder. Yes it is a little slower then the 222 and 223 but within a proper range it is hard to beat. A mild report no recoil for a 200 yard gun ain't bad. The brass is on the high side but it does last a long time. I guess if I ever get tired of it I can always go back to the 7mm-08. Like I said its been fun.     Good luck on your choice.    Jack

[sk330lc]

  I don't know Much about Bolt guns. Saying that I have a 221 rem in a Contender Carbine 18" barrel and Love it. It's Cake to load for. The bullet and powder selection is endless, and isn't that much slower than the 222.Rem. 100 to 200 fps slower? Mine loves all the 50gr bullets and shines with the 40gr ballistic tip bullets. RL-7, 2400, and IMR4198 are my go to powders.
  Recoil is Non-existant and The report is very Mild.  My neighbors love it because of the low report.
Go for it ! If it Can be done?

[Tylermtech]

I have one in a Rem 700 LVSF and I really like it.  I form the brass form 223 brass.  I plan on using it as my cyote rifle this winter.

[Catfish]

What every one has saod so far is true. The .221 is just one in a long line of .22 cal. rounds. They all do the same thing, it`s just that some of them make alot more noise and do it a lot farther away. I have plaied with a lot .22 cal. rounds from the .22 Hornet to the .22-6mm and killed varmints with all of them. The .221 Fireball is one that I have not plaied with, but I do use the .221 brass to form cases for my .25-221 and my .300 Whisper. Personally if your .22-250 is a shooter I would not rebarrel it. If it`s not a shooter rebarrel it, but if your going to that trouble bed the action and float the barrel.

[saltydog]

What are you planning to shoot / hunt with your rifle ? The 221 Fireball is an excellent small caliber cartridge game / range round for someone who doesn't own a 22 Hornet, 223 REM, 222 REM Mag, 204 Ruger or similar lower powder capacity cartridge. The 221 Fireball makes efficent use of relatively small amounts of powder like a 22 Hornet but lets you shoot heavier bullets faster than the Hornet can. If you already own one of the other it is probably not worth the expense to get set up to shoot it. I am not sure it is a viable concept for you to change your current rifle over - total cost would be close to buying a new rifle - you would be better to sell it and move on. 

[LaOtto222]

I have 3 - 221 FireBalls. I have a 221 barrel for a Stevens 200 that I cut to 18". I did this to save weight, but it is still heavy. It is currently on the action, but is going to be replaced with a Shilen 223 barrel. I wanted a little more range than a 221 can get me with this gun. I also have a Contender with a 23" 221 barrel. It is light weight and to me, makes much more sense than a 22 Hornet, which I have 3 of too. It is more accurate tahn the 22 hornets and more versatile too as far as bullet choices (form 33 grains up to 55 grains) It does use a little more powder, but not a whole lot more (4 - 5 grains more); the cases are more expensive, but last a whole lot longer and gets considerably more velocity than a 22 Hornet and it is not too much louder either. I can get 3000 fps with 50 grain bullets. To me this is where the 221 shines, in a light weight carry rig. The third rifle I have is a Remington BDL 700 VS. It had a 222 barrel on it, and it was sweet, but the barrel was tired. I wanted to rebarrel it in 222 again, but I got a Shilen Match grade SS 221 barrel cheap and mounted it myself. If I hired some one to mount a 222 barrel and have to buy it too, It would have been very expensive - twice as much if not more. So I ended up with a heavy barrel, heavy gun in 221FB. It does shoot sweet, but it is too big to be considered a carry gun and it is limited in range for a PD gun. It would be fine if you set up some where and snipe your prey up to 250 yards and then only move occasionally, if it is not too far. I am just having fun with it off the bench in the back yard for now. When I get enough money and the itch, I will send it off to a good gunsmith and get it re-chambered in 222. I currently do not own a 222, but I really do like them. They are very accurate and have an honest 250 yard range, maybe 300 if you stretch it a little. If you can get your hands on a 222 barrel, I think it makes more sense on a big heavier rifle than a 221 fireball. But on the other hand it is hard to beat a 223 for range and economy and they can also be accurate. If you can get a light weight barrel in 221 at about 20" (some where around 7 pounds; maybe a little less); you would get a very nice walking around gun with up to a 250 yard range. Good Shooting and Good Luck