.221 Remington Fire Ball
Introduced in 1963, the .221 Fire Ball and
its Experimental Pistol Number 100 were the brainchild of Remington's Wayne
Leek. An abbreviated single shot version of Leek's Remington Model 600 Carbine,
the pistol was introduced to the shooting world as the XP-100. During it
development stages, the XP-100 was first chambered for the
.222 Remington
cartridge, but Leek eventually decided it burned a bit more powder then was
necessary in a 10-3/4 inch barrel. Consequently, the
.222 case was
shortened to 1.40 inches and the new cartridge became known as the .221 Fire
Ball. Muzzle velocity with a 50 grain bullet was advertised as 2650 fps.
During the infancy of handgun metallic silhouette shooting, the 221 Fire
Ball was mildly popular among competitors in that sport, but as more powerful
cartridges became available in the XP-100, it went back to doing what it
had always done best, tumbling varmints at distances handgunners had never
thought possible before its introduction. Even today the 221 Fire Ball is
an excellent choice for varminting with single shot handguns. When chambered
in custom XP-100 or Contender barrels measuring 14-16 inches long, it is
only about 150 fps slower than the more popular 223 Remington.
For shooting varmints at long range with th .221 Fire Ball, 50 grain bullets
with extremely thin jackets are the very best choices. Good examples are
the Nosler Expander,
Hornady Super Explosive,
Sierra Blitz, and Speer TNT.
H4227 is an excellent powder for this mild mannered little cartridge.
Source: Hodgdon Data Manual, 26th Edition
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