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Do I want a rifle in 221 Fireball?

Oso said:
6mm-.222 Remington would give you a longer neck for handling longer bullets without having to seat as much in the case, and a little more case capacity. Just a thought!!!

I have a 17-222 and 222... sure would be nice if someone ordered up a reamer for a 6-222.
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I believe there is a "6mm VarTarg Turbo" wildcat, which uses the 222 Rem. parent case.
 
How much more capacity does a 221 fireball have over a 22TCM. they seem like the same thing. The TCM may be shorter
 
TAJ45 said:
Any chance the 6x45 would put it in the shade and maybe greater reamer availability and cheaper dies?
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The 6x45 is definitely more common with dies available. I was just hoping someone would round out my 222 based wildcat collection!
 
ebb said:
How much more capacity does a 221 fireball have over a 22TCM. they seem like the same thing. The TCM may be shorter
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I built a "20 TCM" Wildcat. (just because);) Just over 1" OAL. Maybe 10 grains of powder in the TCM to the shoulder/neck junction where the .221 Fireball gets real close to 19 or 20 grains. So, about double in case capacity. The TCM won't be as hot as the Fireball but at least I built it so I'll see how it works.:D
I still prefer the Remingtom .221 Fireball.:cool::cool: One thing about factory TCM brass? :cool::cool: No issues like trying to build it from .223.:( And with the .221 Fireball, you could always neck it down to 20. IMHO, easier that the VT.;)
 
NorCalMikie said:
:( And with the .221 Fireball, you could always neck it down to 20. IMHO, easier that the VT.;)
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I fail to see how a 20-221 is any easier than a Vartarg. They are both just a single pass through the press and cheap off the shelf dies exist for the Vartarg (Hornady). I won't bulls!!t you that the 30degree shoulder is a noticeable difference over the 23degree in the fireball parent, but the Vartarg has a tiny bit longer neck, if that's important to you.

I'd go with whichever your smith has a reamer for or which set of dies you can easily acquire.
 
I used one in a Remington about 10 years ago. It did fine to about 200 yds or so. Maybe 85-90% of a .223 and a bit more than a hornet.
It did a good job and I liked it. Problem for me it was not popular enough and I don't reload.
Ammo was very limited locally, rifles in that caliber were scarce, and comparable stuff was readily available. At some point it will be available chambered in a popular trouble free rifle but may never be easy to find for a non reloader.
 
I built a couple of the 20 VTs from Remington .221 Fireball brass and had neck thickness issues.
Once fired .221 brass, changed into the VT, neck thickness all over the place.
New Remington .221 brass into VT was more consistent but still had fat necks.
Built some VT brass out .223 but didn't like the finished product. For all the work you put into it, they better come out looking and working good.:(
Neck thickness issues solved be having my own custom reamer cut with a .234 neck.

Even tried a "short" version of the VT with crappy brass results. :mad:
Found factory TCM brass, liked it so much that the VT ended up in the bone yard.
Custom "20 TCM" reamer cut to MY specs, custom made full length and seater dies. ;) If you're going to do it, DO IT RIGHT!!:D
 
My 221fb would be the last rifle I'd part with. Got a Rem 221fb LVSF maybe 10 yrs ago to carry more ammo when l fly to shoot PDS. Rules for ammo is 5kgor 11 lbs. I know nobody ever checks, but that's the law. There is always a first time. 11lbs =566rds in 221FB. 421 in 223Rem. 35gr Bergers @ 3400 will still make em BLOWUP. LVSF is a nice size and weight w/22 inch fluted barrel
 
I have a Remington Classic in 221 Fireball I an thinking of selling . Have the itch to build a heavy barrel bench rifle ..
 
Oso said:
Unfortunately, Lefty Trigger is the OP, and we are trying to help him spend his money!!!
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That's ok I enjoy the help... I ended up missing out on the rifle but got my hands on a barrel for one of my Savage rifles and man is it a shooter. I have searched for a couple of years for a small rifle caliber specifically the 5.7x28 that Savage built a few years back. However there is none to be found then I came across the Fireball rifle and it's bigger but close so it got my attention. Now after shooting it a bit I want another barrel and maybe have found an older Remington, we'll see if that pans out...
 
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Lefty Trigger said:
I have searched for a couple of years for a small rifle caliber specifically the 5.7x28 that Savage built a few years back????
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News to me. The 5.7x28 is just at the 17 VHA but not as good because of the poor quality brass. Doesn't work worth JACK on a Savage action. You have to point the round up and into the chamber BEFORE you even think about closing the bolt. Not much fun when it comes to range time. More time messing around to get the round in the chamber than shooting.:(
 
It's a good one. Mine are loaded to 3450 with 40's and very accurate. Although I'm not a big fan of Rem. brass, I load 40's to 3450 and don't really need Lapua, the Remington stuff works ok. But I am making a set of cases off some IMI to see what happens. It's killed tons of groundsquirrels, perfect for that. Also real good for pd's when they're not way-way out there. And even chucks, I've killed a lot of chucks with the .221. Got 5 or 6 in one bunch at a rockpile paced at 275yd and was surprised at just how much carnage there was, I wasn't expecting such a nasty mess. Another place, a series of small boulders stretched from 150 to 450 paced with chucks on many of them. Finally at 450 the holdover was pretty much and they just fell over anyway. Switch to something larger. But that's not what it's meant to do with 40's anyway. Sako AI actions, the round feeds beautifully, and match barrels.
 
Ackman said:
It's a good one. Mine are loaded to 3450 with 40's and very accurate. Although I'm not a big fan of Rem. brass, I load 40's to 3450 and don't really need Lapua, the Remington stuff works ok. But I am making a set of cases off some IMI to see what happens. It's killed tons of groundsquirrels, perfect for that. Also real good for pd's when they're not way-way out there. And even chucks, I've killed a lot of chucks with the .221. Got 5 or 6 in one bunch at a rockpile paced at 275yd and was surprised at just how much carnage there was, I wasn't expecting such a nasty mess. Another place, a series of small boulders stretched from 150 to 450 paced with chucks on many of them. Finally at 450 the holdover was pretty much and they just fell over anyway. Switch to something larger. But that's not what it's meant to do with 40's anyway. Sako AI actions, the round feeds beautifully, and match barrels.
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So Sako makes a factory 221 Fireball rifle? I'm looking at an older Remington now but I think the guy selling it is backpedaling now that I have shown interest in it.
 
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