Pet .221 Fireball loads

1

1stpitch

Member
Guys, I'm sure this has been hashed out here many times, but I haven't been keeping up. I have a .221 on the way and I'd like to hear what your favorite loads are. Hope to shoot a few coyotes with it after deer season, and I planned to start with 40gr. Nosler BT's, Lil'Gun, and Rem 7 1/2 primers. What else is good?

(If someone can point me to a recent thread on this, that's ok too. Search is not turning up as much as I expected.)

TIA


 
I use 16.3gr of 4198 under a 52hp Speer, CCI primer, out to the lands.
I use an old ( low 4 digit # ) XP100, not sure if longer barrel rifle will like this combo, but works wonders for me. Last time at the range I shot a 3 shot group that was 3/4 inch. The XP is wearing a 2X leupy, shooting off 1 bag on the bench.
John
 
Originally Posted By: 1stpitchskb2706, do you turn the necks of that reformed brass?

I definitely have to turn the neck for the .221 using reformed brass. Mine is a Contender barrel with a min spec chamber. I have system to make up .221 brass from .223 brass that is 98% successful and fairly easy to do. Obviously finding .223 brass is much easier than .221. It is a time killer [beeep]....I did a big batch of them last winter and probably won't have to do any more for a very long time. Tedious at best.
 
AA1680 is a very good powder as well. That and a good 40gr bullet will get 3550fps from my CZ Furball with no problems.
 
14.7 grain lil gun with winchester primers, and 40 grain v max. lots of guys use lil gun. RL7 is also popular....do a search here within the past year.....i asked this question a while back , and got lots of responses. chris
 
Originally Posted By: venaticAA1680 is a very good powder as well. That and a good 40gr bullet will get 3550fps from my CZ Furball with no problems.

+1
 
Originally Posted By: toomb14.7 grain lil gun with winchester primers, and 40 grain v max. lots of guys use lil gun. RL7 is also popular....do a search here within the past year.....i asked this question a while back , and got lots of responses. chris

You bet! My Furball just seems to be having a love affair with Lil Gun. Last summer I took a many a prairie dog with my favorite load of 16 grains of that powder with a 40 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. I used the CCI BR primer to spark things off. This is over 3300 FPS in my little CZ 527. This gun and load got shot more than my .204 or my .220 Swift. Only my AR-15 .223 varminter got used more. Dogs out past 300 yards were a cinch. For true.

I also like this powder with 15 grains and the 50 grain Nosler BT. So much so that I almost have no druthers as to which one that I like best. Both loads will almost always toss 5 into a half inch at 100 yards. For a light and handy little rifle this aint bad.

I hope you enjoy your gun. I think that you will.
 
Lil-gun shines in the Fireball as well as in the 22 Hornet. I shoot 16 grains with a 40 grain vmax for 3565 fps and tiny little groups in my 221 Fireball. This is out of a CZ 527. I love it, mild report, great accuracy and just a blast to shoot. I have formed brass from .223 cases but it is very time consuming to say the least. Just not worth it in my opinion. I have some old Winchester 680 and also tried AA 1680 and RE 7, but they don't perform as well as the Lil-gun.
 
I re-form 223 brass too. I prefer the military stuff marked 5.56 and yes, I have to turn the necks or they just won't chamber. They sure do make accurate loads for my Rem 700. My go-to powder is Reloader #7. My gun likes just about every bullet I put through the barrel with the exception of Barnes Varmint Grenades. Just could't get them to work. I like the BR-4 primers too but can't ever find them. CCI 400 and Rem 7 1/2 are good second choices. Some folks really like LilGun but it was not as accurate as RL#7.
 
Originally Posted By: 1stpitchHas anyone used WW296 or H110 in the Fireball?


I would think that 296 or H110 would be a hair on the fast burning side for the 221. Lil-gun is a little slower burning than those two.
 
According to Hodgdon, H110 is between Lil'Gun and AA1680 (both good Fireball powders) in burn rate. I think the issue with H110 (and it's twin WW296) is ignition. It needs a full case and a magnum primer to ignite reliably. I was curious if anyone had gotten it to work in the Fireball, as I have about 5 pounds of it that I use in 357 magnum.

Thanks for the input. Any others?
 
It all depends on what chart you look at. Most charts show Lil-gun being a little slower. Win 296 and H-110 are virtually identical. As you said, you need a full case with either one. I tried H4227, RE7, wIN 680 and AA-1680 in the Fireball. None performed as well as Lil-gun, both in velocity or accuracy. It is also a awesome powder in the .357 with 180 grain bullets as well. A pound goes a long ways. That is another great thing about the 221 Fireball. Lil-gun is the powder that is factory loaded in the 17 HMR Hornady loads. Somewhere around 5 grains with the 17 grain V-max. Trust me, if you have a Fireball you owe it to yourself to try Lil-gun.
 
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