I guess that's what I'm gonna have to do to buy a gun I want that's really hard to find from now on. Just buy three or four hundred dollars worth of stuff to put on it and shoot out of it. Scope,check. Powder,check. Bullets,check. Reloading dies,check. Gun.....still looking....
.221 Fireball
- Thread starter OKRattler
- Start date
RePete
New member
Originally Posted By: OKRattlerI figured I'd bring this back to life. I've had two FFL dealers looking for a CZ .221 Fireball since I decided to buy one and neither one has found one for me. It seems as though CZ no longer offers the .221 and hasn't in quite some time unbeknownst to me.
So....I have powder,brass,bullets,reloading dies and no rifle. What's a guy to do?
I'm starting to think getting a Thompson Center Encore frame and ordering a .221 Fireball barrel is my best bet at this point. I have everything I need except the rifle....Which I can't say I've ever bought ammo before I owned the gun but it seems as though I have done that now.
Scratch that. I don't even know if they make a barrel in that caliber anymore either.....ughhh....am I gonna have to buy one of those weird lookin pistols?
Everything that has .221 Fireball stamped on it is at least $1,000 or close to it. If I buy a gun that costs over $700 it's not for killin stuff....It's just for lookin at.lol
Another way to skin that cat would be to buy a CZ in 222 and have it set back and rechambered to 221.
I had a cheap Remington SPS rechambered from 223 to 222 a few years ago. It's a shooting sumbuck.
So....I have powder,brass,bullets,reloading dies and no rifle. What's a guy to do?
I'm starting to think getting a Thompson Center Encore frame and ordering a .221 Fireball barrel is my best bet at this point. I have everything I need except the rifle....Which I can't say I've ever bought ammo before I owned the gun but it seems as though I have done that now.
Scratch that. I don't even know if they make a barrel in that caliber anymore either.....ughhh....am I gonna have to buy one of those weird lookin pistols?
Everything that has .221 Fireball stamped on it is at least $1,000 or close to it. If I buy a gun that costs over $700 it's not for killin stuff....It's just for lookin at.lol
Another way to skin that cat would be to buy a CZ in 222 and have it set back and rechambered to 221.
I had a cheap Remington SPS rechambered from 223 to 222 a few years ago. It's a shooting sumbuck.
Coyotejunki
Well-known member
Originally Posted By: RePete
Another way to skin that cat would be to buy a CZ in 222 and have it set back and rechambered to 221.
I had a cheap Remington SPS rechambered from 223 to 222 a few years ago. It's a shooting sumbuck.
That is the same thought I had. Plus he will most likely have a much better than factory chamber. Maybe get lugs lapped and recrowned at the same time.
Another way to skin that cat would be to buy a CZ in 222 and have it set back and rechambered to 221.
I had a cheap Remington SPS rechambered from 223 to 222 a few years ago. It's a shooting sumbuck.
That is the same thought I had. Plus he will most likely have a much better than factory chamber. Maybe get lugs lapped and recrowned at the same time.
RePete
New member
Originally Posted By: CoyotejunkiOriginally Posted By: RePete
Another way to skin that cat would be to buy a CZ in 222 and have it set back and rechambered to 221.
I had a cheap Remington SPS rechambered from 223 to 222 a few years ago. It's a shooting sumbuck.
That is the same thought I had. Plus he will most likely have a much better than factory chamber. Maybe get lugs lapped and recrowned at the same time.
That's what I did....action trued, lugs lapped, and a new crown. Stuck it in a Boyds ADL stock and installed a sweet old Walker trigger I had on hand. After I sold all the SPS parts on line I had about $550 in it.
It consistently shoots 1/4 - 1/2 inch groups. Shot a .138" group one lucky day.
Here's a picture of it. (back) Not bad for a $369 SPS eh....
Another way to skin that cat would be to buy a CZ in 222 and have it set back and rechambered to 221.
I had a cheap Remington SPS rechambered from 223 to 222 a few years ago. It's a shooting sumbuck.
That is the same thought I had. Plus he will most likely have a much better than factory chamber. Maybe get lugs lapped and recrowned at the same time.
That's what I did....action trued, lugs lapped, and a new crown. Stuck it in a Boyds ADL stock and installed a sweet old Walker trigger I had on hand. After I sold all the SPS parts on line I had about $550 in it.
It consistently shoots 1/4 - 1/2 inch groups. Shot a .138" group one lucky day.
Here's a picture of it. (back) Not bad for a $369 SPS eh....
Will CZ do that or would I have to send it to someone else? I've never known anyone that had a gun rechambered or anything so I'm not sure who to send it to or anything like that. But that is a good idea.
I don't necessarily have to have a CZ then if they're just going to rechamber it for the .221 Fireball. The bolt doesn't change correct?
Basically what I'm asking is any .222 can technically be rechambered to .221 Fireball or am I wrong about that?
I just wasn't sure if CZ maybe had a custom shop or something or if I'd actually have to have a gunsmith from around here look at it.
I don't necessarily have to have a CZ then if they're just going to rechamber it for the .221 Fireball. The bolt doesn't change correct?
Basically what I'm asking is any .222 can technically be rechambered to .221 Fireball or am I wrong about that?
I just wasn't sure if CZ maybe had a custom shop or something or if I'd actually have to have a gunsmith from around here look at it.
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RePete
New member
You'll have to have a gunsmith do the work but it's not a big deal.
And yes....any small bolt face .224 dia barrel will do but not very many will feed those short cartridges. CZ's micro action and CRF is about perfect for the 221. CZ's hammer forged barrels are also well know for their accuracy.
The only other action I'd even think about would be an old Sako Vixen but they're scarce and expensive.
And yes....any small bolt face .224 dia barrel will do but not very many will feed those short cartridges. CZ's micro action and CRF is about perfect for the 221. CZ's hammer forged barrels are also well know for their accuracy.
The only other action I'd even think about would be an old Sako Vixen but they're scarce and expensive.
Alright cool. I wondered about the shorter cartridge being able to feed reliably out of lets say maybe a Ruger M77 or even a magazine in a Savage Model 25 Walking Varminter or something similar. I'm wanting to say someone on here shot a Remington model 7 they had rechambered to .221 Fireball but that's been years ago when I saw that so it might not have been.
I'm gonna give a gunsmith a call tomorrow to see what he can do. With some luck the gun shop he's at will have a rifle I can just buy it and have it rechambered so it's all ready to go when I go get it.
I'm gonna give a gunsmith a call tomorrow to see what he can do. With some luck the gun shop he's at will have a rifle I can just buy it and have it rechambered so it's all ready to go when I go get it.
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RePete
New member
Remington actually chambered 700's in 221 FB for a while but they were hit and miss (mostly miss) when it came to feeding.
They also chambered rifles in 17 FB for a while. They clocked the ejector to improve feeding/ejection timing. That worked better but it was still problematic.
Think CRF.....luck.
Oh yea....and don't give up because any FB chambering is well worth the effort.
They also chambered rifles in 17 FB for a while. They clocked the ejector to improve feeding/ejection timing. That worked better but it was still problematic.
Think CRF.....luck.
Oh yea....and don't give up because any FB chambering is well worth the effort.
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Oh I'm gonna get me a .221FB for sure. I'm already committed. I started a thread about it and you fellas took time to teach me everything I need to know about it which I appreciate. And besides that I bought everything we talked about except the one thing I needed before I should have worried about all the other stuff so it's gotta happen now.
My Ruger .223 has got to be gettin tired anyways. I feel like I need to let it sit at home and take a break while the stock on it is still nice and pretty. How I've kept it from gettin really beat up and scratched up all these years is beyond me. Me and that rifle have walked a lot of miles together.
Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to get a new varmint rifle...which is fine too.lol
My Ruger .223 has got to be gettin tired anyways. I feel like I need to let it sit at home and take a break while the stock on it is still nice and pretty. How I've kept it from gettin really beat up and scratched up all these years is beyond me. Me and that rifle have walked a lot of miles together.
Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to get a new varmint rifle...which is fine too.lol
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RePete
New member
Since you have a Ruger in 223 on hand if it's CRF (which I think they are but I'm far from a Ruger expert) you might try seeing if it will pick a 221 cartridge up from the magazine and feed it to the chamber.
If it wiil that could give you another option for doner actions.
I'm not suggesting you rechamber your 223 but knowing that a Ruger will work opens up your choices.
I
If it wiil that could give you another option for doner actions.
I'm not suggesting you rechamber your 223 but knowing that a Ruger will work opens up your choices.
I
Yes sir I believe you're right both Ruger and CZ are if I'm not mistaken. I'd really like a Ruger but I'm really not too particular as far as that goes.
I just want it to be able to function well and shoot just as good so I'll take advice from guys that really know their stuff vs. what I know. I do really like Ruger rifles but I'm not dead set on one thing really. If it will reliably feed .221 ammo I'm all about it.
I just want it to be able to function well and shoot just as good so I'll take advice from guys that really know their stuff vs. what I know. I do really like Ruger rifles but I'm not dead set on one thing really. If it will reliably feed .221 ammo I'm all about it.
I bought two of the Rem. 700 Classics in .221 the year they were chambered in it. Long time ago, wanting to say they were almost a year late. I know I had them ordered for a long time before they showed up.
One, I never even put a round of .221 in, just pulled the barrel off it right out of the box and had the action blueprinted and a new Lilja in .17 Mach IV spun on. I still have that one. It feeds the .17 Mach IV real nice.
The other, I shot as a .221 for quite awhile. Had to have the chamber re-cut, the factory chamber was literally the worst chamber I had ever seen or worked with. Brass came out of it egg shaped. It was so bad there was almost not enough shank to get a good .221 reamer to clean it all up. Actually, couldn't quite get ALL of it cleaned up, tiny bit of old chamber remained, but just a teeny tiny bit. Rifle looked kind of funny when it was done with so much cut off the back of a factory sporter barrel. I pillar bedded it and floated it and tuned up the trigger and that was the most accurate "factory" rifle I have ever owned. It functioned real nice with the .221 too.
Ended up parting that one out when I did a big purge. Sold all the parts except the barrel - nobody wanted to buy it because of the re-chamber that had been done. So I sold the unfired .221 barrel from the other rifle along with that action. Still have that re-chambered barrel, in case I ever want to screw it on to an action and play with the .221 again. Still have all the brass and dies and a bunch of RL-7 for it too.
Anyway... If you were to stumble across one of those Classics, both mine functioned just fine. They did/do have the ejector clocked differently than a standard 700 bolt and had blocked up magazines too.
- DAA
One, I never even put a round of .221 in, just pulled the barrel off it right out of the box and had the action blueprinted and a new Lilja in .17 Mach IV spun on. I still have that one. It feeds the .17 Mach IV real nice.
The other, I shot as a .221 for quite awhile. Had to have the chamber re-cut, the factory chamber was literally the worst chamber I had ever seen or worked with. Brass came out of it egg shaped. It was so bad there was almost not enough shank to get a good .221 reamer to clean it all up. Actually, couldn't quite get ALL of it cleaned up, tiny bit of old chamber remained, but just a teeny tiny bit. Rifle looked kind of funny when it was done with so much cut off the back of a factory sporter barrel. I pillar bedded it and floated it and tuned up the trigger and that was the most accurate "factory" rifle I have ever owned. It functioned real nice with the .221 too.
Ended up parting that one out when I did a big purge. Sold all the parts except the barrel - nobody wanted to buy it because of the re-chamber that had been done. So I sold the unfired .221 barrel from the other rifle along with that action. Still have that re-chambered barrel, in case I ever want to screw it on to an action and play with the .221 again. Still have all the brass and dies and a bunch of RL-7 for it too.
Anyway... If you were to stumble across one of those Classics, both mine functioned just fine. They did/do have the ejector clocked differently than a standard 700 bolt and had blocked up magazines too.
- DAA
Thanks guys I appreciate all your help. I think a Ruger will work as long as it doesn't have a detachable magazine. I'll also keep an eye out or ask about a Remington 700 Classic since I know they'll work. I guess really all I need to know that I can think of now is what would be the ideal length of barrel on a .221 Fireball be? Also the .221 normally had a 1:12 twist barrel on them if I'm not mistaken. Will taking a .223 in lets say 1:9 twist and having it rechambered to a .221FB matter much as far as accuracy goes?
Rustydust
Active member
I mentioned before that my Furball is a CZ 527 that now wears an 24" ER Shaw barrel on it with a 1/14" twist. Oh but it shoots good! I usually use only 40 grain Vmax bullets in it and 300 yard ground squirrels are no problem at all if (here it comes!) I do my part with the trigger end. I am so delighted with it what I seem to find little reason to take out my .223 or larger guns out when this little jewel will do such a fine job with a lot less boom and barrel heat. Next year I plan taking my newly acquired .17 Hornet and my .221 for almost all my whistlepig shooting. Quiet(er) and deadly is more fun than loud and deadly.
Yes, I love the .221 a whole lot. Springtime squirrels and early summer prairie dogs are going to be in for a whole lot of more whupass this coming year.
It's going to be a LONG winter again.
Yes, I love the .221 a whole lot. Springtime squirrels and early summer prairie dogs are going to be in for a whole lot of more whupass this coming year.
It's going to be a LONG winter again.
You'll have a lot of fun it sounds like Rusty. Don't let Winter get you down. You can paint snow red with some prairie dogs or something can't ya?
I decided on a 24" barrel to put on the rifle I'm going to get. It's really nothing fancy but for a varmint/predator rifle that I'll carry a lot it should be just fine. I just don't really know what twist of barrel I should get since a completely new barrel will be put on it I suppose it will be my choice. I'd like to be able to shoot at least 50 grain bullets out of it but that's not a must.
I'm pretty sure I'll probably need a magazine feed Remington 700 and the guy that's going to rebarrel it for me said he'd block the magazine up so I wouldn't experience any feeding issues.
I decided on a 24" barrel to put on the rifle I'm going to get. It's really nothing fancy but for a varmint/predator rifle that I'll carry a lot it should be just fine. I just don't really know what twist of barrel I should get since a completely new barrel will be put on it I suppose it will be my choice. I'd like to be able to shoot at least 50 grain bullets out of it but that's not a must.
I'm pretty sure I'll probably need a magazine feed Remington 700 and the guy that's going to rebarrel it for me said he'd block the magazine up so I wouldn't experience any feeding issues.
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Rustydust
Active member
Originally Posted By: OKRattler I decided on a 24" barrel to put on the rifle I just don't really know what twist of barrel I should get since a completely new barrel will be put on it I suppose it will be my choice. I'd like to be able to shoot at least 50 grain bullets out of it but that's not a must.
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Mine shoots both the 40 and 50 grain bullets with fine accuracy. I stay with the 40's because I like the speed that I can get with them (3500+ FPS) and they make things fly at all the ranges that I am likely too shoot at. Made a big fat badger die quick last year too. He was over 200 yards away but he did not have to be shot twice. Teach him to eat my ground squirrels I did!
The 1/14" twist will do you very well on 30-50 grain bullets. If you ever wanted to go to a 55 grain then I think that a 1/12" would be better but the speeds are too slow with that heavy of a bullet to interest me.
Sounds to me like you too should have yourself a real shooter once you get it finished. You will keep us posted, right? Furball addicts are few in numbers but we are rabid lovers of the little round! No doubt about that.
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Mine shoots both the 40 and 50 grain bullets with fine accuracy. I stay with the 40's because I like the speed that I can get with them (3500+ FPS) and they make things fly at all the ranges that I am likely too shoot at. Made a big fat badger die quick last year too. He was over 200 yards away but he did not have to be shot twice. Teach him to eat my ground squirrels I did!
The 1/14" twist will do you very well on 30-50 grain bullets. If you ever wanted to go to a 55 grain then I think that a 1/12" would be better but the speeds are too slow with that heavy of a bullet to interest me.
Sounds to me like you too should have yourself a real shooter once you get it finished. You will keep us posted, right? Furball addicts are few in numbers but we are rabid lovers of the little round! No doubt about that.