looking for a .221 fireball

M

mkeller72

New member
I have been looking for a .221 fireball at every gun store that i have went to for a while and havent found one yet. I did find one on the internet that is a rem. 700 classic nib for sale. I also have been looking at the cz 527 american on the web. Which would be a better gun in this caliber or is there no clear winner? Also is remington the only company to make brass for the fireball?
 
mkeller72,

Unless you visit gun shops are fairly large, you probably won’t find a .221 in them. It is somewhat of a “specialty” round in that there is not an abundance of people shooting it and that makes it “different”. I have two and LOVE the round. (There are far more .223 rifles, brass, and loaded rounds are all over the place.) The .221 is accurate, quiet, and a pretty light carry. Both of my rifles are Remington and I have read on this board of quite a few people who like the CZ. I have never shot one to be able to tell you anything pro or con about it. Remington is the only commercial brass that I know of, but you can form your own – not really something I want to mess with right now. I don’t know why, but the Remington brass is fairly decent brass. There is not a lot of run out like there is in some of the Remington .223 brass that I have checked.

Hope this helps,

Hawk
 
Remington makes two rifles in .221 Fireball. They make the new LVSF and a laminated stock version of the Classic. CZ makes the 527. I have all the rifles and some of my old XP-100 handguns. Been shooting the Fireball for over 20 years and love it. Rem is the only souce for ammo and brass right now but that may change soon.

I would pick the CZ over the Remington as it has a much better trigger out of the box. Get on the CZ website and give them a call. They will be glad to find you a rifle.
 
The single shot XP 100's are worth pretty much any price you can find them at. The action alone is worth more than a complete 700.

Jack
 
I have a Remington 700 in .221 and really like it. I got mine throgh Gunbroker. It was the year (I think 2001) Remington did one of their "classic" models in this caliber. I think that new Remington LV-SF would be about perfect, though. I put an HS Precision stock on mine and it shoots the lights out. Just FYI, I reload with Lil-Gun (14 or 15 Gr) and a 40 Gr Hornady V-Max bullet. Grat stuff. --MB
 
From Accurate Reloading forum posted July 18th don't know if they still have any...

Its a long story but I will spare most of the details. I recently had occassion to search the two warehouses and the huge basement of my friends wonderful Gunshop in NW Washington State. I was looking for a Varmint Rifle that showed on the inventory but was not readily found in its proper "storage area"!
I was literally crawling for most of two hours looking for this particular Varminter which I never found!
I did find a small stash of the Remington 700 Classic's in caliber 221 Remington Fireball! I am sure that my friend had 3 of them - all new in the box and tucked away deep in amongst literally hundreds of other Rifles!
I have one of these Classic's in 221 Fireball myself and have been very pleased with it both accuracy and lethality wise in the Varmint fields. These Classics were pretty popular and it got difficult in my circles to find one once I made up my mind to get one.
If anyone is interested in one of these Classic Fireballs they are at the Kesselring Gunshop near Burlington, Washington and the phone number is 360-724-3113.
I also saw a Classic in either 300 Winchester Magnum or 300 Weatherby Magnum. It is also new in the box and carefully tucked away in a corner of the basement.
No prices were evident on the factory cartons of these Classics.
Long live the Fireball!
 
Nothing against the Remingtons, I've got a closet full but
for a light walk-around carry rifle the CZ is hard to beat.
The only rifle I have that is lighter to carry and is as whirlable is the T/C contender, and it has its limitations.
.221 Fireball is a good choice also,love the cartridge. 40gr
Bltz Kings shreds the barn yard, garden vermin and won't take the hens off laying. 50gr or 55gr spire points make a great close in night coyote round. Slamming a car door makes more noise. About the only thing that takes a little getting use to is the haul back safty on the CZ,(backwards from a Rem). The set trigger comes in the box, think about light. You may want to dry fire it a few times to get use'd to it. It may turn out to be your #1 grab and go.
Good luck.
JS
 
I have 2 Fireballs, a CZ527 American, and a Cooper Model 21 which I use regularly at a local Metallic Silhouette Prairie Dog shoot which will take the 9" x 5" groundhog silhouettes off the stand at 385 meters (that's 417 yds folks). My load for the COOPER is 57gr Calhoon Double Hollowpoint over 17.5gr of Accurate Arms AA1680 in Remington cases with Winchester WSR primers. Average velocity on 3 different occasions was 3053 fps (5 rds), 3058 fps (10 rds) and 3058 (5 rds). Very consistent with a max S.D. of only 11. I call the Fireball cartridge "Mighty Mouse" as it is simply AMAZING, and the interest in it as a RIFLE cartridge is really showing after 43 years of life!!! For comparison purposes, I have a Cooper Model 21 Montana Varminter in 223 AI that shoots my 60gr Hornady Spire Point loads (my P/D Silhouette match winner) at 3148 fps...that's less than 100 fps difference from the Fireball. Go Figure. That load incidentally uses 26gr of Alliant Reloder 15 in Lapua cases with CCI BR4 primers.
Now for the GOOD news. J & G Sales in Prescott, AZ is a CZ-USA dealer. Their web address is . When you get the home page click on "ONLINE STORE", accept the agreement, then go to "CZ RIFLES" on the page that appears, then "CZ 527" for their current listing. I see the current price on Fireballs is $509.95. I purchased my CZ527 Fireball from J & G in Dec 2003 for $469.95 NIB. That was with scope rings included. The gun has a mini-Mauser type action, hammer forged free floated barrel, BEAUTIFUL walnut stock and single set trigger that goes into set mode by pushing it forward...SWEET. The rifle shot a 5 shot group that measured 5/8" out of the box with handloaded 42gr Calhoon DHP bullets over 17.5gr of AA1680. It has absoluitely NO recoil so you can see every shot hit, and it handles like a BB gun for weight and balance. It has a Burris Fullfield II 3-9X40MM matte scope with Ballistic Plex reticle that complements it perfectly. I love my Coopers for accurate, match type work, as they are a bargain, and a success story unto themselves, but for an accurate, inexpensive varmint hunting rig the CZ 527 can't be beat on a dollar for dollar basis. Total investment with new scope included will be approx $700 if you do your homework. Good luck and keep us posted about your success with your Fireball quest.
 
I JUST PURCHASED THE REM. LVSF IN THE FIREBALL. GREAT GUN AND ACCURATE,LIGHT EASY CARRY. LOADS ARE H-335 21.5 GRAINS WITH SPEER TNT HP 50 GRAIN. SCOPE DOCTOR OPTICS 3X9 EXCELLENT SCOPE WORKS GREAT AT NIGHT WITH SNOW COVER WHO NEEDS ARTIFICIAL LIGHTS. THIS ROUND IS GREAT I'M HAVING TROUBLE DECIDING WHICH GUN TO TAKE OUT .222,.223, 22-250 OR THE FIREBALL MOST OF THE TIME IT'S THE FIREBALL. HOPE YOU FIND ONE YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. VIC.
 
Welcome to the board yote10. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

I am sure you did not realize it but all caps is really frowned on on the web. It makes your posts much harder to read and is called 'SHOUTING.'

Jack
 
I am really starting to lean towards the cz from what i have read on the forums and what i have found on the web. I like the looks of the classic though,and could get a composite stalk easily for a 700. I think i would like the adjustable trigger on the cz that also can be a set trigger compared to the remington trigger. I was looking at the cz 527 and the remington 700 classic because i am not a big fan of stainless steel, that is why i am not really interested in all the other remington models out there. I would like to know where i could buy a composite stalk for the cz without spending a ton of money. Also why are the other major companies not making a gun in the fireball if it is such a fine shooter? I also thought i saw a post one time that said you could make the mag on a cz a flush mount, does anyone have the know how? To me that is the only thing i dont like about the cz, the funny looking mag.
On another note, i think i am going to first buy me a cz 527 varmint with bull barrel in .204, my gun dealer in town can get one at his gun warehouse for $357, because they ordered way to many. It doesnt have the laminate wood, just the walnut for that price and doesnt come with rings so i have to find some rings to fit a cz for a 40 mm scope with a/o. I thought that seems like a good deal, so the fireball is going to have to hold on a little longer.
 
Burris makes rings for the CZ (Burris CZ Ring Mounts). I just checked my MIDWAY catalog and see they are listed for $32.99 a set. Stock number for the CZ527 is 687-393; Stock number for the CZ550 is 812-313. These are medium height rings which has plenty of clearance for a scope with a 40MM objective lens. I have Burris rings on my CZ527 American for a Burris 3-9X40MM Fullfield II and it has more than enough clearance. Does your gun dealer have any extra 204's? If so I'd like one too!!!
 
My 221 FB is a Cooper. I load a 40 gr. V-Max over Lil' Gun and the accuracy is incredible. It is my walk-around gun, but it shoots so well and is so good on PD's, I tend to use it a lot more than my 223's.
 
Thanks for all the info. This sight sure helps with all the knowledge on this forum. Also thanks for the info. on the rings for the cz AE35GUNNER, got them ordered today. When we called my gunshops wholesaler to order the .204 they were already sold out but got one from one of their other warehouses. The wholesaler is jerry's sportscenter in spring hill, kansas but they have others around. Their website is jerryssportcenter.com if anyone is interested in having their local gun dealer try to get a cz bull barrel 527 .204 for theirselves.
 


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