Favorite 221 Fireball Loads??

carvercalls

carvercalls

Retired PM Staff
I just picked up a 221 fireball in a rem 700. All the data I have on the 221 is old data. I would sure appreciate it if you fireball owners would share some of your favorite loads. Thanks Kerry
 
19grs of RL7 behind a 40gr Sierra HP always worked for me..

Or even better,, the old Barns Varminator's if ya can find some..


Good Luck
 
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My cz likes 20.4gr AA1680 and 40gr v-max. the three loads I most cam across when looking for load data was all of them with 40gr balistic tips 19gr RL7, 16gr lilgun and the one abouve that I use.
 
With a 50gr bullet I get great results with 18.5 gr of Reloader 7. For 40 gr bullets I use 15.5gr of LilGun.
Good luck it is a fun round to shoot! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
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Or even better,, the old Barns Varminator's if ya can find some..



Still burns my butt they quit making those. We should complain to them and see if they would bring them back. I can see the future with the VG, non toxic and all but they are junk compared to the Varminator!! It was a great bullet in my hornet, and the price seemed right too!!

I got about 50 of them in 40's, 30 or so of the 40 VLC same bullet just coated, and some 50 grainers out there. Problem is you cant buy them anymore, so why should I bother working a load for them.

On the fireball loads.
14.5 grains of Lil'Gun and a 40gr V-Max. Its not a hot load, its on the low end but shoots great in both of my furballs.

I had some luck with the 1680 too, not as good as the LG though.
 
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Or even better,, the old Barns Varminator's if ya can find some..



Still burns my butt they quit making those. We should complain to them and see if they would bring them back.



I'm in,,, let's get to bichin... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
I'll send em a scathing e-mail post haste... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

You're right though,, seems like they could have just added the VG to their line-up..
I mean,, it's not like they would have had to retool or reinvent something.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif They already knew how to make em for crying out loud....
If cost was an issue they could have just raised their prices like everyone else did and nobody would have even blinked..

I am going to send them a polite inquiry,, and if I get a reply I'll post it..
 
AA 1680 with a good 40gr bullet is hard to beat.Max load in the Lee manual shows 20.5 gr in my gun 20.0gr gives over 3500fps with a 40gr Blitzking and it has been excellent on bobcats/coyotes never have had an exit. Did blow up one fox though. Lil Gun was really good also. Reloder 7 was not that great in my gun.
 
My fireball load is 16.9 IMR 4198 with a 52 HP, but thats out of a standard barrel XP100. Not sure if this helps in a rifle though, just what works good for me.
John
 
My CZ 527 just loves 16 grains of Lill Gun and a 40 grain Vmax or Nosler BT. It also does well with the 50 grain bullet with the 15 grains of Lill Gun. I have tried a few other powders, mainly RL7, but have not gotten results as good as I have with Lill Gun.

Last June one of the guns that I took with me to Wyoming was my Furball. And you know, out to 250 yards or a bit more I reached for the .221 more than my other guns. I really was close to amazing myself how deadly this cute little gun was. It really tossed those dogs let me tell you. And I enjoyed watching the hits through the scope too.
 
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anybody use hornet type bullets in fireball or is it too fast?



I have, and it's not too fast - they very work well.

My best load was the Hornady 45 Hornet (it an SPSX) and W-680 in a 12" twist.

.
 
my tightest groups in a rebarreled m700 is 40grn berger mef(varmint) over20.0 of AA2200 with 205M gives me .25- .50 . since that data powder may be hard to locate......... same bullet over 19.0 of RL7 with 205M and 40 nosler bt over 18.5 of AA1680 with 205M
by the way,excellent video........wait'n for sequel!
 
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As most have said RL7 and Lil gun are excellent choices and work well with the different bullet weights.I found that 18.5 grains of IMR 4198 worked the best in my rifle with Nosler 50 grain.I can tell you this you will enjoy your Fireball.
Good luck, Jack
 
My own personal experiance is a full charge of Reloader7,topped off with a 50 gr TNT Speer,will handle stray cats nicely.The cat can hold it.Still a little afraid to turn one lose on a Red,because they are a little thinner skinned,but as far as I'm concenred the 221 is one of the most accurate,efficient,yet overlooked cals.out their today.And as long as we are on the subject,I saw a load on realoadersnest that had a 30 gr over 4000fps on the 221.Naturally I had to try it out.I backed off a little from his charge wheight.Topped it off with a 30gr berger and ran it over the chrony.Wowwee!!!I think I came up a little short,but by very little.Oh,that was out of a 22"barrel.I think I read somewhere earlier in this post about the Barnes Varminator.They would have been super for the .221.I wasn;t impressed with the hotter cals,but would have paired up great with a fireball or a .222.They shot great but the boys wanted to run them a little to fast and had a few run offs.I'd be plum tickeled if they would come out with that bullet again.To me it was like a 50gr v-max and a Sierra blitz,not blitzking.If the gun didn't like the 40 v max,50v max,or the barnes varminator,or a Sierra blitz, the gun needed a new owner.Btw,I don't use any of the bullets mentioned in my killing guns.But what bullets that have been mentioned shot great groups.as far sa killing,in a 22 call,I'm a 52gr Speer.No boattail,no match just the old fb Speer hp.
 
My CZ is another one that really likes 16gr. of Lil' Gun with a 40gr. V-Max.

I bought some HSM "factory" stuff loaded with 42gr. Calhoons and the gun really seemed to like them as well. I plan on ordering some of the Calhoon bullets and see what I can concoct with them.

As an aside, has anyone tried the 45gr. Barnes TSX in a furball???
 
Thanks for all the great input guys /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif I went out and loaded up some 40 grain V Max's with 19 gr. of Reloader 7 that is deffinantly the load that mine likes. Thanks again for all your help /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Kerry

Chapped Lips Im glad ya liked the DVD, the next one is about half way done as far as getting the footage. We have got some fantastic footage so far for the next one. Thanks Kerry
 


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