I've seen there are quite a lot of you that shoots .221 FB. Most loads presented here seem to be for bullets < 50gr though. How about heavier bullets? My .221 rifle has a 1/14" twist, 22" barrel. How heavy bullets will it be able to stabilize and can you perhaps help me with a starting load for this heavy, yet stabilizing bullet?

55's are likely at the upper limit to be stable in a 1:14 twist. I can't recall if I've ever tried 50gr+ in my Fireballs, leaving those for the 223 Rem.
RL7 or H322 should be good choices for the heavy bullets.

I have an Encore with a 26 inch 221 FB barrel and it seems to like everything from 40 to 55 grains! The guns accuracy is a lot better than mine!

I haven't tried any of the bullets less than 40 gr or heavier than 55 gr.

The year before last, I did take a whitetail with my 221FB and a 55 grain Hornady SP!

Olimahtes...

Sounds like you may have the same rifle I do...Remington 700 LVSF? Same specs...

Anyway, I am working on load development myself, and actually just posted in the Reloading forum. My best results (so far) have been with a 50 grain V-Max, Remington 7 1/2 primer, and H335...between 21 and 22 grains gave me about 2900 ft./sec. and a 5 shot group with all holes touching. I don't think I would try anything bigger than a 50 grain...55 might be acceptable, but my .22-250 will work better with those...

It seems, looking at your responses, that 55 gr is about the heaviest bullet that a 1/14" twist in .221 FB is able to stabilize. This is consistent with some bullet stability formulas that i have used to assess the bullet stability factor. Since those methods have proven not to be very accurate I was looking for some real-life experiences. Thank you for helping me with that.

I want to highlight the second part of my original question. Does anyone want to share their favourite .221FB, heavy bullet (52-55gr)load to me?