.221 Fire Ball

[Eastsider]

Has any one used the .221 Fire Ball in a 10 inch Contender barrel?
I have a .22 LR 10 inch round barrel that has been rechambered to a .22 Mag and am thinking about having it rechambered to the .221. When I talked to a gunsmith freind of mine he said that I could not expect a high  degree of accuracy.(Which he says about any barrel for the Contender that I ask him about)

[Greyfox]

I don't have a 10" 221 Fireball, but I do have a 12". Accuracy is acceptable.

For starters, I sure wouldn't have that gunsmith do the rechamber. Sounds like he's setting himself up to say "I told you so" when his work turns out to be inadequate.  Also, I'm wondering why you wouldn't just sell the 10" 22 mag and find a 10" Fireball to replace it. The 22mag ought to bring $100-125 anyway and you can put the cost of a rechamber with that and get a Fireball. Matter of fact, if you wait til Virgin Valley has another "shorty" sale, you can just about buy a custom barrel for what you'd have in an iffy rechamber.  

anyway that's my take,
Rick

[contendernut]

There wouldn't be anything wrong with rechambering to 221.  The 22LR barrel will have a slow twist and slightly tighter bore than a 224 centerfire barrel.  The smaller bore dia. isn't a big deal but you will have to use short (ie. lighter) bullets for best accuracy.  For me, I would look elsewhere for a 221 barrel.  

If a 10" configuration, it should work fine.  The original 221 gun, xp100 came with 10" barrels and the cartridge was designed around the short barrel.