Cast loads for 221 Fireball

[CENTEX BILL]

I recently bought one of the group buy NOE molds in 22 cal 55gr. I have a 1/14 ROT 221 Fireball in Remington 700 Classic. I have not yet cast with it, but hopefully will soon.

Can anyone give some pet loads? I have H322,Unique and Red Dot, Varget and 4895.
I await your replies and appreciate you input.

Centex Bill

[runfiverun]

never seen a load for 221 fireball and cast if i had to do it i'd do the 60% 4895 thing.

[Jetwrench]

may take a while but i have an old gun digest article ill try to find it. it is all pistol data but it will be a start. pm me if i forget, i get side tracked sometimes.
Jetwrench

[cdet69]

Lyman manual data 221 Remington fireball Manual is 49th edition
mould 225415

powder start grains vel max grains vel
unique 4.3 1444 6.o 1751
2400 11.0 1924 14.0 2496
sr 4759 10.5 1779 13.5 2226
Remington case, Remington 7.5 primer, cast bullet sized to .224, bullet weight 55 grains.
Firearm used TC Contender with 10" BBL.
Most accurate load sr 4759 with 13.5 grains of powder.

Hope this data helps.

[Jetwrench]

Sorry false alarm, the data is all for jacketed. Handloaders Digest 1997, 16 ed. Has a short article on the .221 in a 10" TC Contender. Had some reduced loads, factory and max loads. Writer was Stan Trzoniec. I have 1 with a 10" barrel, never really gave it a proper goin over guess I should change that, well some day. Jetwrench

[happyret65]

If you are not going to buy an oversize mold, don't waste your time (about 3 thousands oversize). I used the standard size cherry molds, nothing good. When I got an oversize mold everything change for the better. Good luck, little cals are hard to get the load right before you want to go back to the jacketed bullets.

[Rocky Raab]

The current issue of Handloader has an article on the Fireball - with 55-gr cast bullet load recipes using 4198, 4227, RedDot and Unique.

I'd use TiteGroup because it is designed to be position insensitive. I'd begin with about 4.5 grains and work carefully DOWN.

In my recent work with cast in the .223, the best 50-yd accuracy came at .22 LR speeds of 1,000 fps. Below that, there's a real risk of sticking a bullet, so be very cautious.

[canyon-ghost]

unique 4.3 1444 6.o 1751
2400 11.0 1924 14.0 2496
sr 4759 10.5 1779 13.5 2226

That's all I have from Loadbooks and cast too.
4.3 to 6 grains Unique
11.0 to 14 2400
10.5 to 13.5 SR 4759
These are for short barreled TCs, they'll be fast for a full length rifle, so reduce carefully.

[georgerkahn]

I recently bought one of the group buy NOE molds in 22 cal 55gr. I have a 1/14 ROT 221 Fireball in Remington 700 Classic. I have not yet cast with it, but hopefully will soon.

Can anyone give some pet loads? I have H322,Unique and Red Dot, Varget and 4895.
I await your replies and appreciate you input.

Centex Bill

I hope you fare better than I have with cast! I use Lapua brass holding Jacketed bullets with a clear barrel and I get tighter groups than I should be getting! I've used Unique and Trail Boss both with my cast, and -- for me -- it becomes an inverse problem. Huh? As I increased the load the groups tighten -- but my barrel leads. So, my best is in the same ballpark as regular .22 long rile with groups just about the same as my S&W 617 target revolver in this calibre! My lead mix, btw, is reclaimed wheel weights to which I add some (RotoMetals) pure tin and their SuperHard. (The latter tried to reduce leasing). My 1975-made XP is a stock -- no mods -- in .221 Fireball.
Wishing you the best!
geo

[gloob]

As little as 2.7 grains Red Dot gets a cast 55 grain bullet out the barrel of my 223's, subsonic and quiet. I like SR4759 for higher velocity. Always gas checked.

If you can get those bullets to shoot, a magnum pistol powder should be about right for max gas checked velocities.

[racepres]

As little as 2.7 grains Red Dot gets a cast 55 grain bullet out the barrel of my 223's, subsonic and quiet. I like SR4759 for higher velocity. Always gas checked.

If you can get those bullets to shoot, a magnum pistol powder should be about right for max gas checked velocities.

Today, Nitro 100NF is showing Promise.. at low velocity with 50gr Cast

[racepres]

Tested, Easy shooting yet accurate...
55 gr cast flat nose. with 4.5 gr Unique beget 1520fps
52 gr Pointy cast. with 5.0 gr of BE-86, beget a very consistent 1620fps
a 50gr cast flat nose over "undisclosed" gr of Nitro100 NF returns a clean, consistent, and extremely easy shooting 1356.
All Gas checked..of course, and using Remington 5-1/2 primers... Oh, and seated jammed into rifling..
45gr Cast RN next!!!

[longbow]

I am surprised it isn't mentioned here so I will... the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook third edition lists cast boolit loads for the Lyman 45 gr. 225438 and the Lyman 50 gr. 225415 with 13 powder choices each. These are for the XP-100.

Longbow

[georgerkahn]

I am surprised it isn't mentioned here so I will... the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook third edition lists cast boolit loads for the Lyman 45 gr. 225438 and the Lyman 50 gr. 225415 with 13 powder choices each. These are for the XP-100.

Longbow

Bion, the mould I bought and used for my XP-100 is the Lyman 225-415 -- a 55 grain mould, gas checked , complemented with their #415 top punch. I have a Savage Striker pistol in .22-250 and this bullet has performed well in it. However -- perhaps I did not mate them with "right" powder? -- loading/shooting them in my XP-100 was a disappointment. With these, on a Gil Hebard rest, I can regularly do pie-plate groups at 100 yards -- about the same as my Anschutz Kadett in .22 long rifle. Vis the XP-100, when I use Sierra jacketed -- my groups shrink to roughly half the size as lead. Probably "just me" but I fiddled with "laddering" loads in 3-grain steps -- plus as well as minus; and even played with altering alloy in pot. Then, too, it may just be "my XP-100" -- but as I wrote in earlier post, my best results come from using Lapua brass loaded in a Forster Co-Ax with measured minimal run-out -- and factory jacketed bullets.

[racepres]

@georgerkahn
I have very good luck with the 60gr RN Lyman #??? I forget right now... In my Savage, 22-250 Super Stryker..
FWIW

[georgerkahn]

@georgerkahn
I have very good luck with the 60gr RN Lyman #??? I forget right now... In my Savage, 22-250 Super Stryker..
FWIW

Yupper -- I get great success, too, as I had earlier noted, in my .22-250 Striker (Model 516FSAK). "Funny thing" is with the muzzle brake on it is a zillion times louder -- but my groups average a noticeably smaller/better size. To confess, I do have a scope on my Savage -- an el cheapo Burris, and shoot off a Harris bi-pod; range is fifty yards, most of the time -- 75 yards when (not too often) I'm "warm" (too lousy a shot to ever be "hot" ) (I bought the Savage for varmint shooting, and I'm almost embarrassed to confess I have yet to am it at a critter .)