I have a Rem 700 chambered in .223. How difficult would it be to rechamber to .221 Fireball? Can the barrel be set back and rechambered? Will the bolt need any modification? Thanks in advance.

the 221 is a shortened 223. Should be no problem. Lop off about 1", rechamber, retread, presto, chango. HTH, Dutch.

Thanks Dutch. Thats what I had envisioned, but I needed to hear it from an expert. Now to find a competent gunsmith around here.

Whoa there! Dutch may very well be right about it, but first I would want to measure the diameter of the barrel shank to make sure that it doesn't start to taper in the area where the new threads would go. Otherwise, unless you have an oversized chamber in your .223 in the forward and shoulder area, I think you could successfully rechamber your current barrel this way. Also, you might find magazine operation and feeding to be improved if you block a bit off of the rear of the magazine for the shorter cartridge. This may or may not be desireable -- I'd check the new Classic 700 limited edition in .221 and see how the factory does it.

Good luck!

Stonecreek is correct. You have to have room to cut the threads. Dutch.

Forgive a dumb question, but WHY? This sounds like cutting off a 30/06 bbl so you can rechamber it for a 30/30!

Yes, you can probably do the deed, but you've sure got me scratching my head about your motivation. Is there a problem with the existing barrel? Last time I looked the .223 would do about 50% more tricks than the .221 ever hoped to do.

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A well placed bullet is worth 1,000 ft/lbs of energy.

I'm looking at doing something similar. The aim is to make a 17 mach IV, built on a Sako L461. Numerous Remington .17 take off barrels are available for the project, ranging in quality from unfired to just ok. Their price is right - basically zero.

Looking at this with the gunsmith the other day, there appears to be plenty of meat available on the barrel. The aim will be to have the new shoulder area only a small amount forward of the current one, almost, but not quite, using part of the old chamber.

The shank is also wider than the original, so we'll be turning it down to fit the action, and so should have a fairly 'original' stock fit.

And if the mach IV won't shoot, then we'll try again in 221.

Pecos, yes the .223 is more gun than the Fireball. I also have a .222 and a 22-250, so I do not need another 300+ yard gun. What I do need is a solid performer out to about 200 yards with less noise and muzzle blast than the others but with a little more horsepower that my Hornet. I think the .221 Fireball would fill that niche very nicely.
John, it appears that we are on the same path. I have not tried any sub .22 calibers yet, and was thinking some of the 35 or 37 grain .224 bullets on the market now might work well from a Fireball. Thanks.