221 Fireball "Gopher Slayer"

I was just looking at the ballistics of the 36gr Varmint Grenade and they are terrible. The bullet loses 1000 fps in the first 200 yds and is only going about 1250 fps at 500 yds. This is def a short to med range cartridge.

My 6BR shooting 70gr Ballistic Tips is still doing 2000 fps at 500 yds. I have easily whacked gophers at 400 yds with it.

But I still think the 221 is going to be a lot of fun in the gopher fields next summer. :)
 
Your little 221 Fireball will be a great rifle for gophers. I have acquired a new 218 Bee Improved in a Ruger #1 that I plan on using for gophers this summer. I have 500 pieces of new brass ready to get loaded.

It will be great out to 200 yards. These little cartridges are not the 400 yard lazer beams that everyone wants but that gets old fast in the gopher fields. You can spot your hits, it is easy on your head and shoulder at the end of the day. I use a breaked 223 as one of many and the break is a nice touch to help spot shots.

Will it work on coyotes. Yes it will if you limit the distance of your shots. I have a friend with a Rem 700 in 221 fireball cut down to 16" with a suppressor on it and it does the deal on coyotes. I would limit shots on a yote to 200 yards with it personally.

Greg
 
My biggest issue with the Fireball cartridge is the cost of brass. I seriously doubt the longer barrel life will ever be compensated over brass cost.



Then again, I'd really like one.

In a southpaw configuration.

:D
 
Your right the 36g BVG sucks in the number dept but you will love what it does to a gopher. The BVG is one of my favorite bullets in my 204 for closer shots. Need to load it pretty hot to get good accuracy.
Just wondering if you took a look at the 20VT before you built this? That will be my next caliber. Cooper chambers for it and its very popular with the "serious" varmint shooters;)
 
firemachine69 said:
My biggest issue with the Fireball cartridge is the cost of brass. I seriously doubt the longer barrel life will ever be compensated over brass cost.



Then again, I'd really like one.

In a southpaw configuration.

:D
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How much do you spend on brass, really? Once you have a hundred (or two for a varmint gun) you're pretty much set. Keep the loads reasonable and you shouldn't have to buy more. - dan
 
Indeed, brass cost means nothing. I prefer the lower muzzle blast, higher efficiency, more shots before a hot barrel, better accuracy (in my experience) and on and on with the Fireball. I think my next build will be a .20 Vartag on a CZ527 action. (.20 Vartag is the Fireball case, simply necked down to .20). Probably the best varmint cartridge ever developed, splits the benefits of every great purpose built varmint cartridge and combines them into the best package possible in my opinion.
 
My biggest issue with the Fireball cartridge is the cost of brass. I seriously doubt the longer barrel life will ever be compensated over brass cost.
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It is quite easy to make from .223 Rem brass. Just cut off the shoulder, run it through the sizing die and trim to length. Simple, cheap and an endless supply of decent quality brass.

Just wondering if you took a look at the 20VT before you built this? That will be my next caliber. Cooper chambers for it and its very popular with the "serious" varmint shooters
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I did and I may build a 20 Fireball at some point in the future. Really I wanted something I could use the same bullet as my .223 in. Trying to cut down the number of different components on my loading bench.

A number of years ago I had a run in with a .17 Mach IV (necked down 221 Fireball) and that caliber also interests me. Along with my 300 Whisper I could find myself with 4 different caliber rifles based off the same little case.

I prefer the lower muzzle blast, higher efficiency, more shots before a hot barrel
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This is very important factor in the gopher fields of Southern Alberta. We engage in high volume shooting here and so a round that doesn't overheat the barrel quickly is important. Yesterday I ran 20 rounds in quick succession through the thing during chronographing and the barrel barely got warm. This is GOOD.
 
Being able to use the same components for a few different calibers is a great idea and is something I am leaning towards as well now with my 223, 22-250', 22k Hornet and 218 Bee.

However, I too always go back to calibers like the 17 or 20 family. There just ain't enough time!!!!!

Greg
 
I did and I may build a 20 Fireball at some point in the future. Really I wanted something I could use the same bullet as my .223 in. Trying to cut down the number of different components on my loading bench.

A number of years ago I had a run in with a .17 Mach IV (necked down 221 Fireball) and that caliber also interests me. Along with my 300 Whisper I could find myself with 4 different caliber rifles based off the same little case.
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Giving your current AR build in .300/.221 I'm kind of surprised you didn't build a bolt gun on this cartridge. Sure, it wouldn't have even close to the same range as the .221 FB but I think ot would be equally as fun.
 
Giving your current AR build in .300/.221 I'm kind of surprised you didn't build a bolt gun on this cartridge. Sure, it wouldn't have even close to the same range as the .221 FB but I think ot would be equally as fun.
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Who says I haven't? :cool:

When we ordered the 1:8 blanks for the AR based Whispers, I also ordered a #7 taper 1:8 blank for a Whisper bolt gun. Now I just have to find a suitable action. I am thinking a 16" heavy barrel would make for a nice handy medium range plinker with loads of hitting power and less noise.
 
Suputin said:
Who says I haven't? :cool:

When we ordered the 1:8 blanks for the AR based Whispers, I also ordered a #7 taper 1:8 blank for a Whisper bolt gun. Now I just have to find a suitable action. I am thinking a 16" heavy barrel would make for a nice handy medium range plinker with loads of hitting power and less noise.
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*cough*

This thought never occurred to me either. ;)

-M
 
OK... tagging this thread so I can post pix of my .221 later, it's a bit heavier than yours (so offhand shots are strictly a short range thing), and is also giving me very good accuracy with the 36 grain BVG and 40 grain V-Max (the good loads averaging a bit less than 0.5 MOA out to 200m, so far).
Now I'm thinking that I should be considering slightly heavier bullets. There's probably a reason that the factory ammo uses a 50 grain bullet.

Is it just me, or is Li'l Gun a pretty dirty powder?

(just for giggles, I'm going to try to work-up a load for the 68 and 75 grain bullets this winter)
 
giving me very good accuracy with the 36 grain BVG and 40 grain V-Max (the good loads averaging a bit less than 0.5 MOA out to 200m, so far).
Now I'm thinking that I should be considering slightly heavier bullets. There's probably a reason that the factory ammo uses a 50 grain bullet.
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You are punching 1" groups at 200 yds and think you need to improve the accuracy? I'd say the load you have is workig just fine. Keep in mind an adult gopher is roughly 2.5" wide and the 221 loses velocity so quickly that its effective splat range is not much over 300 yds. If I were you, I wouldn't change anything.

Is it just me, or is Li'l Gun a pretty dirty powder?
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Don't know, I am using H4227 cause it produces the best velocities.

(just for giggles, I'm going to try to work-up a load for the 68 and 75 grain bullets this winter)
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I purposely chose a 1:12 twist barrel cause I knew I'd never shoot anything heavy through it. Mine wouldn't even stabilize those heavy ones.
 
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