low at 250 yards, 10.2 inches low at 300 yards (or one prairie dog length), and 29.6 inches low at 400 yards. The fi nal drop recording at 500 yards comes in at 61.2 inches, and at that I fi gure the round is about done in terms of the trajectory department. When testing this round and the others presented in this review we (my partner Jerome Besler of Rapid City, South Dakota, and me) bracketed both the 5.56 NATO in AR-type rifl es and the 308 Win. (7.62 NATO) on each side of the three pri- mary rounds under review. As fi eld tested over several years in the S&W M&P Gem Tech suppressed, and the Rock River LR 308 via South Dakota Silencer suppressed (suppression af- fects accuracy), we found that the 308 was not about to be outgunned by anything in new cartridges illustrated here. Yes, the 223 (5.56 NATO), even though very accurate, tended to show some problems as compared to the 6.8 and 30 calibers that are well-known in rifl emen’s circles. DOWN RANGE
With the heavy snows of early
March 2011 letting up here in the Black Hills, the 6.8 mm was taken to the por- table bench rest for some zeroing work prior to the last days of coyote hunting season. Shooting the SR 556 platform Ruger gas piston gun, the task of test- ing the 6.8mm went off without a single hitch. Accuracy work from 100 to 300 yards was a snap from the bench rest, and shifting to different ranged targets, as in 12x12 black squares, was effortless. Because the Ruger is a very effective and smooth handling AR system, and the scope used was a new Millett short tube 1.5-4x fast handling system, and best suited to the M-16/AR-15 class rifl es, the whole test was nothing but easy, REMINGTON ADDS FUEL TO THE FIRE During the fi rst week of March
2011, I was invited to Remington’s ad- vanced ammunition facility in Lonoke, Arkansas. This huge facility east of Lit- tle Rock houses all Remington sporting ammunition production, and its engi- neers also work in the area of advanced military load development. Near the end of our two days at Remington a new M-16/AR-15 rifl e was introduced to the writers that previously had been dubbed “Blackout” by its designers. While this doubtless is a black gun concept, it illustrates that again the basic
This Ruger rifl e can house a large number of cartridge options currently being considered for modifi cations in both civilian and military use.
5.56 cartridge-length AR platform is just about never ending as an upgraded or specialty designed firearm, and will continue to bleed over into the civilian hunting market over time. The new Remington 221 Fireball
blown out 30 caliber cartridge is a wildcat by any measure. At 220 grains, it leaves the muzzle at 1,020 fps (sub- sonic) and the 123-grain bullet has a muzzle velocity of 2,230 fps. This makes the gun system versatile for both silent operation for military applications, and longer range work among snipers or varmint and small game hunters. Shooting the Freedom Group AR-
15, which consisted of a Bushmaster lower receiver and an Advanced Arma- ment Corp. (AAC) upper that was set up as semiauto and full auto, the 221 Fireball blown out 30 was a pure joy to shoot as a high velocity 123-grain round, or the big and slow 220-grain counterpart. How I wished I had a pile of grass rats in front of me instead of a paper target down range. As many of you know, I am a fan of the AR-15 suppressed in the 5.56mm NATO, and getting into one of these fi ne little rifl es is something I will consider doing at a later date. I observed during the 2011 SHOT Show that many new companies are moving into the suppressed line of products, and even my old buddies at Gem Tech have about tripled their fl oor space at the big event this year. On the range at Remington I was
allowed to shoot five-round bursts, which don’t apply to this article, but do indicate the fl exibility and handling
of the new gun and cartridge. With full auto and 123-grain bullets, the gun was a well-balanced dream to shoot. We had Jessica Kallam, a writer relations staff member at Remington, shoot full auto, and she handled the rifl e like she owned it. Moving to 120-grain bullets, the climb rate increased and the gun would “walk” off target. Selective single-round fire was
outstanding, and the 221 Fireball case and paired 30 caliber bullets tended to produce some solid accuracy. However, my testing was not tied down tight, and more detailed work would be required to establish the rifl e’s ability to drive tacks or not at varmint/game range limits. So far, no one has sent me any full auto fi rearms to test, and I doubt anyone will anytime soon, or so says BTAFE regulations. What the Reming- ton Arms Blackout modifi cation shows, however, is that the AR-15/M-16 platform possibly may be in a state of change. It would not surprise me at all to learn that some of our elite (and clandestine) military units such as Navy Seals are using something other than the standard M-16 (M-4) platform and 5.56 NATO round. From the 7.62x39, 30 Rem., and 6.8mm we are seeing change coming to a cartridge that’s had a long service life. From those “very possible” changes will come additional cartridge modifi cations that will bleed over into the varmint rifl e world. They always do, it seems, and that is as it should be, to my way of thinking.
www.varminthunter.org Page 39
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