.221 fireball advice

bhw4235 · October 8, 2009, 11:18 AM

I am new to reloading and have endless questions, But the newest ones are.
I am going to reload for my .221 fireball, all the reloading data i can find is in the pistol cartrage section of the reloading manuals, the load i am wanting to use is the speer TNT ,IMR 4198, This load was tested in a pistol with a 10" barrel, i am shooting a rem.700 rifle with a 24" barrel, how much differance will this make as far as pressures and accuracy? Please help thanks.

flashhole · October 8, 2009, 04:28 PM

No difference in pressure.

Barrel length is not a big factor in accuracy if you are using a quality barrel to start with. This is especially true for the bullets you will use with the Fireball.

The big difference is velocity. The longer barrel will have a dramatic increase in velocity over the published handgun data.

My Fireball is a Remington 700 LVSF that I changed out the synthetic stock for a Boyd's Thumbhole Laminate. It has a 22" barrel. I use the handgun load data for load/pressure refernce but handgun data can't be used to define velocity in a longer barrel. Some folks can use ballistics programs to make a decent velocity prediction but there is no substitute for a chrony. I trust my Fireball for clean kills out to about 220 yards. After that I use the 223 or a bigger gun.

4198 is a good powder. I prefer Reloader #7. A lot of guys like Accurate 1680 the best and you will hear people swear by Hodgdon Lil'Gun. You just have to figure out what combination of components works best in your gun. Personally, I will sacrifice a bit of velocity for accuracy every time.

My gun does well with bullets that range in weight from 45-60 grains. I prefer flat base bullets that stabilize quickly because you don't have a long range gun with the Fireball.

If you play with your loads enough you will discover less aggressive primers are better than more aggressive primers and flash hole uniforming pays good accuracy dividends.

I tooled up to make 221 Fireball brass from 223 brass so I never have to worry about a supply problem. I have discoverd I like 5.56 military brass the best for reforming. This link shows what I do. I have since figured out how to eliminate a couple of steps. You will love loading for the Fireball.

http://shootersforum.com/showthread....ight=flashhole

steve4102 · October 8, 2009, 07:55 PM

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloade...aspx?gtypeid=2

http://www.reloadersnest.com/frontpage.asp?CaliberID=16

http://stevespages.com/224_44.html

October 8, 2009, 11:18 AM	#1
bhw4235 Member Join Date: February 1, 2008 Location: missouri Posts: 55	.221 fireball advice I am new to reloading and have endless questions, But the newest ones are. I am going to reload for my .221 fireball, all the reloading data i can find is in the pistol cartrage section of the reloading manuals, the load i am wanting to use is the speer TNT ,IMR 4198, This load was tested in a pistol with a 10" barrel, i am shooting a rem.700 rifle with a 24" barrel, how much differance will this make as far as pressures and accuracy? Please help thanks.

October 8, 2009, 04:28 PM	#2
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	No difference in pressure. Barrel length is not a big factor in accuracy if you are using a quality barrel to start with. This is especially true for the bullets you will use with the Fireball. The big difference is velocity. The longer barrel will have a dramatic increase in velocity over the published handgun data. My Fireball is a Remington 700 LVSF that I changed out the synthetic stock for a Boyd's Thumbhole Laminate. It has a 22" barrel. I use the handgun load data for load/pressure refernce but handgun data can't be used to define velocity in a longer barrel. Some folks can use ballistics programs to make a decent velocity prediction but there is no substitute for a chrony. I trust my Fireball for clean kills out to about 220 yards. After that I use the 223 or a bigger gun. 4198 is a good powder. I prefer Reloader #7. A lot of guys like Accurate 1680 the best and you will hear people swear by Hodgdon Lil'Gun. You just have to figure out what combination of components works best in your gun. Personally, I will sacrifice a bit of velocity for accuracy every time. My gun does well with bullets that range in weight from 45-60 grains. I prefer flat base bullets that stabilize quickly because you don't have a long range gun with the Fireball. If you play with your loads enough you will discover less aggressive primers are better than more aggressive primers and flash hole uniforming pays good accuracy dividends. I tooled up to make 221 Fireball brass from 223 brass so I never have to worry about a supply problem. I have discoverd I like 5.56 military brass the best for reforming. This link shows what I do. I have since figured out how to eliminate a couple of steps. You will love loading for the Fireball. http://shootersforum.com/showthread....ight=flashhole __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

October 8, 2009, 07:55 PM	#3
steve4102 Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,952	http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloade...aspx?gtypeid=2 http://www.reloadersnest.com/frontpage.asp?CaliberID=16 http://stevespages.com/224_44.html