.221 fireball question

[tree rat]

If I use hodgdon lil-gun in the .221 fireball, can I use cci small pistol primers? I only want to run hornet speed, up to 3,000 fps with a sierra 45g, but have very long case life

[trotterlg]

Guess you could, but why would you want to?  Larry

[Totenkopf]

I'm just guessing, but it seems to me a small rifle would burn the powder more completely, so it would require less powder.
 Here's a load for lil gun.

 221 Fireball
 
Bullet Sierra SPT 45 grs
Powder Hodgdon Lil'Gun
PowderWeight 13.8 grs
Primer Remington 7 1/2
Brass  Remington
Barrel Length 24"
C.O.L 1.8"
Velocity 2964 fps
Energy 876 ft-lbs 
TKO 4.23 
OGW 79 lbs 
IPSC PF  133.38

[trotterlg]

All the small pistol primer would get you is a much thinner and softer primer with less output.  I would think it would result in inconsistant ignition, especially with cases that are less than full.  Larry

[tree rat]

I guess then I will just stick with the hornet!  I wanted longer case life, but did not want to ream to a K hornet. and was wanting to use the same primers, powder, and bullets in both the hornet and 221 fireball.

[LaOtto222]

I would think that you could use small pistol primers if you do not push the pressure any higher than a 22 Hornet. You will more than likely get a lot of streaking down the sides of the case. A 221 case is thicker than a 22 hornet and takes more pressure to push out the case walls. To get 3000 fps with a 45 grain bullet will most likely exceed 22 hornet pressures and pierce small pistol primers. I have 3 221 Fireballs and I think they are much better than a 22 Hornet. You can get better accuracy, higher velocity with not much more powder. I use some where in the 12- 13 grain range for 22 Hornet and about 16- 18 for the 221 fireball, depending on the powder used. BTW I use Remington 7 1/2 primers for the most part. My second choice is CCI BR4. they do about as well as the Remington, but the Remington are cheaper. Good Luck and Good Shooting

[giturgun]

Have 1 hornet Handi  and 2 221 f balls   1 savage long action with A n B barrel  other is a Xp 100 . Like all 3 . The hornet is favored for walkin and the Savage is almost brand new with this barrel , haven't shot it enough to tell. I f I loaded it down I would use the fastes powder recommended and use the correct primer. The pistol would probably ignite this small a case , but as pointed out . it is for pistol cases nor rifle

[saltydog]

I would not use it except in an emergency. I am not sure about chosing the 45 gr. bullet for your FB or hornet. I gave up on 45 and heavier along time ago for my smaller capacity cases. I use 35 and 40 grain Vmax's for my shooting. I tried the 33 gr.TNT's but they would not group for me. The Hornet with 35 Vmax's will shoot over 3000. For use on Turkey's you need to shoot the head or area where the neck meets the body.

[flashhole]

I've done it in my Rem 700 221 Fireball.  Super cartridge by the way.  The load was 19 grains of Reloader #7 under a 40 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip.  No issues at all.  In fact I favor less aggressive primers in the Fireball.  I see better accuracy.  As a matter of choice I use Rem 7 1/2 or CCI BR4.  CCI 400 work well too.  I didn't have good luck with Federal primers in the Fireball.  The Fireball case life is very long, especially if you take the trouble to anneal them if they start to get hardened.   I started re-forming 221 from 223 last summer.  Military brass is thicker and requires neck turning.  If you want to see how I re-form look here  http://shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=54312&highlight=flashhole  The benefit of re-forming is you can turn the necks to exactly fit your chamber.  Lil'Gun was the least forgiving powder I tried, it gets the velocity ribbon but it was not as accurate in my gun.  I've never heard anyone talk bad about the Fireball.  If you do get one I think you will like it.


 

[saltydog]

I don't use pistol primers in my Hornet but one could. Not sure I have ever got "3000" fps out of a 45 gr. bullet in my Hornet. Your case is going to grow a bit as is the nature of the design. You will have to buy a trimmer and keep them in spec. IMO Lil Gun or H110 is not  the ideal powder for the Fireball. Great cartridge - the 17 is nice also. YMMV

[tree rat]

I have long given up getting a .221 fireball, my hornet is doing great and since I am using lil-gun and neck sizing, my cases are lasting just fine! bought a encore hornet and it shoots so unbeleivable well that I let the CZ hornet go.