I wish other co. besides remington made brass for the fireball.I just bought some once fired 223 rem brass and I'm forming them I run them through a full length sizer cut them with a my little air sawsall in a jig then cut them to final length with my case trimmer but I end up with a thicker neck and then cut the necks they come out alot better than the rem 221 brass and I bought a 1000 for 35 bucks the fireballs are 25.00 a 100

If another company made .221 brass, it would still have necks similar to the Remington brass. Your process of forming brass out of a larger case is one that is frequently used to reduce the overly abundant clearance between chamber walls (which tend to be close to SAAMI maximum size) and brass necks (which tend to be close SAAMI minimum size).

I sometimes use .308 Winchester necked down to .243. It rarely requires neck thinning (which speaks poorly of factory chambers) and provides a much nicer fit between case and chamber.

The unfortunate fact is that most shooters don't reload (nor are they particulary fussy about accuracy), but they raise hell if a factory cartridge chambers stiffly in their gun. As a result, manufacturers tend to make chambers generous and ammunition small.

Dear 221,
I make most all my "hunting" brass from GI Match brass for several reasons.
1. Seems to be more consistent in weight etc
2. Lasts longer than comercial stuff.
3. I have the time and don`t mind the work.
4. I have lots of Lake City NM brass.
I make all my 250 Sav Ackley Imp from L.C NM brass. Ditto for my various wildcats based on the 308 case.[260 AAR etc] I have found the L.C brass much more consistent that the so-called Win Match brass. For the 30-06 based ones I use the Lake City NM.I do the same thing on my 221 Fireball as you do also. Same reasons. I have lots of the Rem 221 Fireball stuff but it isn`t as accurate as the cases I make from other 223 brass. I have some made from the Korean PMC that is still going after I don`t remember how many loadings. These cases often have less powder capacity but still produce the virtual same FPS.

Aloha, Mark

Fireball10X & Bohica: I have been using Remington 221 Fireball brass in both my 221 Varmint Rifles without any troubles what so ever.
What do you percieve is wrong with the Remington stuff?
In addition I use the Remington 221 Fireball brass to make my 17 MachIV ammo from! And this Rifle with this brass is consistently splendidly accurate!
I will relay to you all the last groups I have made with the 3 Rifles using the Remington factory 221 brass:
1) Kimber Ultra Varmint in 221 Fireball with Leupold 12x scope last 5 shot 100 yard group = .424"!
2) Remington 700 Classic in 221 Fireball with Leupold 4x12 scope last 5 shot 100 yard group = .435"
3) Custom Rifle built on Remington 700 action in caliber 17 MachIV with Leupold 6.5x20 scope last 5 shot group at 100 yards = .264" (the several prior groups to that measured .339", .322" and .262" with this Rifle).
I do not sort the brass for these Rifles nor do I neck turn the brass for these Rifles.
Brass life is apparently "infinite" with these Rifles using the Remington brass as well.
I am very pleased with the accuracy, durability and reliability I have gotten using the Remington 221 Fireball brass since I began using it in my Kimber Ultra Varmint back in 1993.
Is there something I should be looking for?
And, by the way, the last Fireball brass (Remington) I bought I paid well under $20.00 per 100 for.
Just a hint here - I never pay full retail for ANYTHING!
I just checked the latest Midway flyer and they are offering the Remington 221 Fireball for $22.99 per 100 - and I am sure a "good" sporting goods shop would have it much cheaper than that.
If your problem with the Remington stuff is accuracy then I suggest before you go through the trouble of buying the wrong head stamped brass and cutting it down with a saw and then trimming it in a case trimmer and forming it and what ever else you do to it, that you go back and try the Remington brass again!
Your time is worth something isn't it?
You sure won't catch me converting 223 brass to 221 when the Remington 221 factory stuff is working out so well for me.
Wishing you continued happiness and accuracy with your Fireballs - no matter which brass you use.
Long live the Remington 221 Fireball!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I am not particularly fond of Remington brass but it seems that the .221 brass I get from them to be very consistent.
I would like to know the process that you are using to make up .221 brass from .223 just to try it. I don't really want to spend a bunch of money on form dies but if you do it without let me know. I did try it a couple of times with no results and basically gave up the idea opting for factory .221 brass for ease of loading.

Well the problem I have with remington brass is the necks one side will be 10.5 thousands and the other side 13 thoudsands thats too inconsistant for me! the bullet hits one side of your lands before the other so you end up with fliers and larger groups my gun shoots alright with the remingtons around a half inch with fliers here and there but with the brass made from 223s I get 1/4 inch groups with no fliers and if you cut them to 10.5 they won't hold the bullets so if I make them from 223s I end up with necks that are thicker say 12.5 to 13.5 so I cut the necks to 12 thousands and have more consistant smaller groups with no fliers I also use forster dies they have alot less runout less than a half a thousand the rcbs had from 2 to 5 thousand runout and to make my cases I just run them through a 221 full length die without the decapping pin and neck expander setup and trim them to length then I resize them with the neck expander and decapping assy and cut the necks to 12 thousands and I get 1000 once fired 223s for 35.00 thats 900 more for 10.00 and varmintguy I'm a gunsmith and have been buying wholesale for 32years! wholesale on 221s is 18.00 to 19.00 depending on what wholesaler you buy it from not well under 20.00 and most of the guys on here have to pay retail 23 to 25.00 and I reload to get the most accuracy out of my guns I'm not worried about the time, the bench rest shooters spend many hours working on that perfect load for their guns do you think they are worried about there time? I'm surprized you load at all!

Fireball10X: Good for you and the splendid accuracy that you work to achieve!
Neither of my Rifles have the capability of 1/4" groups! So I am more than satisfied with the norms of accuracy that they achieve!
Seeings you are a 221 Fireball kind of guy let me tell you about a nifty Fireball Rifle I am dealing on now.
I fired this Rifle about 9 years ago as it belonged to a dear and now deceased friend of mine. My friend was a VERY successful Dentist and was a Gun Nut of the highest degree! For instance, I went with him one day to his Dental office (he was through for the day filling cavities but his assistants were still very busy cleaning teeth). Several customers were seated in his waiting room (startlingly to me!) as we walked in - the Dr. was carrying a scoped Varmint Rifle (no case) and not even one of the customers or secretaries or assistants even looked twice at us! He took me to his basement walk in vault where he had several dozen Rifles and several shotguns - I had previously been to his home where he kept "most" of his arsenal! Anyway, "Doc", as my friend was known to everyone, bought a factory stock Remington 40 XB-KS in caliber 221 Remington Fireball! The factory made a small run of these some time back!
I eventually got to shoot this Rifle on a dead calm day. The Dr. had mounted a high range NightForce variable scope on it. I was shooting it in kind of a hurry and yet still easily shot a group on Doc's multi-bull target that measured right at .250" (5 shots 100 yards)! Doc had shot many splendid groups with this Rifle and yet he never got to take it on a Varmint Safari.
Doc passed on last year and I discreetly let his sons now (after they put out the word his arsenal would be sold) that I would love to own this particular Rifle of his.
In the past when I would hear folks mentioning that the 221 cartridge was not very accurate I would just smile and keep my peace. I no longer do that. I know better and now I "gently" correct my conversation mates to the "enlightened" opinion I have of this fine cartridge!
One more quick 221 Fireball story. My good friend Jack also of the Puget Sound region had a very accurate Ruger 77 V/T in caliber 223 Remington. Jack had taken a liking to my "quiet" 221's and asked what I thought of him re-chambering his honest 3/8" group shooting 223 to 221!
I advised him not to mess with his exceptional shooting Ruger and to get another format going for a 221. I advised that he should NOT mess with a Ruger that shot that well.
Well Jack ignored my advice and went ahead
and had the Rugers barrel removed and rechambered to 221 Remington Fireball.
The newly chambered Ruger then proceeded to shoot several 1/4" groups! I have shot alongside this little Fireball in the Varmint fields for many years now! It is sublimely accurate and so quiet that Prairie Dogs and Ground Squirrels are not disturbed (scared down) as much as with even 223's!
Jack does use extreme care in his reloading and did have a Bausch & Lomb high power variable scope on it (8 x 32 power?).
Long live the 221 Fireball!
Thanks for advising of the Remington brass's shortcomings. I will go measure some of my empty cases.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy