just gotto shoot the new 218 bee i got , a rechambered NEF single , i cant belive the fun that lil round is to shoot an accurate as iam hahaha anyone else enjoy a 218 bee????

I have a 218 BEE barrel in a contender. It's a fox ridge 26 incher. I use hornady 2229 & 2230 bullets ahead of 12.0 gr of H4227 with br4 cci primers.
will do 7/8 groups @ 200yds.
Love it
Jim

i loaded forthis 10 gr of lil gun an the 45 gr hornady bee bullets an a small pistol primer just fantastic, still havent figured out why this round faded from the shooters

Shaner: I have a couple of 218 Bee Varmint Rifles right now. One is a Ruger #1-B with the 26" barrel and I have a Leupold 6X18 scope on it! It really "whops" the Varmints. Love that rig!
My other 218 Bee is a Kimber (Kimber of Oregon - the original outfit) this Rifle has a 4X12 Leupold on it and has a 23 1/2" barrel. I have had it since 1985 and it has taken virtually every type of western U.S. Varmint!
Enjoy the "Bee" - it will be a fun and accurate Rifle for you for a long time (long barrel life).
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My brother made a .218 Mashburn Bee on a Martini Cadet action. He put an octagon stainless barrel on it and put a peep sight on the back with a Globe front sight. It is a nice looking gun and a ball to shoot! He fireforms factory brass, and even that process is accurate enough for ground squirrels as far as you can see them with a peep sight.

[ 07-14-2003, 22:40: Message edited by: Calif Hunter ]

sounds fun varmint guy , both of those rigs would be a pleasure to shoot ,i see ur in montana , id love to visit that state , any good ideas?

cali hunter i dont know what a 218 mashburn is? can u tell me more on this cartrige?

I rebarreled a Martini Cadet into a 17 Ackley Bee, but unfortunately have only test fired it as I haven't completed the stockwork. I can't wait to have it finished for this fall's fox and coyote hunting though!

Shaner,
A mashburn Bee is a much improved bee with parallel sides and a radiused shoulder with short neck.
I have one built on a little Martini cadet and it will shoot 40gn BT's to 3300fps.
I neck down 25/20 cases and fireform to the Mashburn chamber.

Shaner: Where are you coming from (which direction)? I think the nicest month in Montana is late May through early June! Its green lots to do and the Varmints are still going to be "learning". The most beautiful month in Montana is from September 10th to October 10th! The Brookies are hungry and the Elk are buglin and cool nights, frosty mornings and warm days are the rule. Snow sometimes caps the mountains and.... oh.... don't get me started. Its fun to be in Montana anytime. No license needed for Varmint Hunting and fishing licenses are reasonable. Glacier Park is glorious in the fall and Yellowstone is still neat then even though the Wolves are killing all the Elk there.
Let me know which direction you would drive in from and I will make an itenerary for you. The most bang for the mileage buck so to speak!
Let me know what kind of things interset you and I will include them.
More later ten
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My .218 Bee is a 20" Bullberry barrel for my Contender. My load is 40 gr. Hornady VMAX, 14 gr. L'ilGun, CCI small pistol primer, Winchester cases. Darn nice set up and if I was limited somehow to fewer barrels this would be a keeper.

well hadnt really thought of where in montana just want to see it sometime just one of them want toos i guess

hey hobie a 20 in on a contender? wow do u use a bipod or anything with it?i seen one on a encore i think it was? would u put lil gun on top of the powder list for the 218 bee?

Calif: I would really be interested in seeing a picture of the Martini and the peep sight installation. I'm on the same path to one in 256 Win Mag.

Rick

Had both a Win M43 and a Browning M65 in .218. It is a great fun cartridge, and surely beats the .22 Hornet!!

This topic has me turning around in circles. My next rifle is either going to be a CZ in .22 Hornet or a Ruger No.1 in .218 Bee. Both really appeal to me. I want it strictly as a fun gun. I have a .17 Remington and a .222Rem. for serious varmint shooting so this new rifle won't do much for me battery wise, but I just want it as a plinker. It's hard to select between these two fine
old veterans. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

ill throw a few new question's out on the subject, how heavy of a bullet does everyone use?
or have u tried?
plus anyone found a good source of brass either new or used for them?

I've got a HandiRifle that's going back to NEF for a litle work, and I am considering having a 22 Hornet barrel being fitted at the same time. Does a 218 Bee reamer clean up a Hornet chamber?

H. C.

I just bought a CZ Hornet for my wife. Using 35 Gr V-Max over 13 Gr of Lil'Gun, she shot a .409 group out of the box. Rifle is a keeper.
Pete

The Nosler Solid Base 45 grain Hornet bullet works well in all my Bees and Hornets...
Both a Model 43 Winchester and a Ruger 1B in 218 Bee are partial to Lil Gun powder with this bullet. I also have had the best success with the Remington 6 1/2 primer.....

I use 40gr Vmax's and H110 with Rem 7 1/2BR primers in my #1. Velocity is right at 3100. Very good accuracy. As far as I know, only Winchester supplies cases.

wow PJ now thats a group for sure !!!! rifles a keeper an if she shoots that well wife better be also , dont think u can out run a shot like that hahhaha
u know ive seen guys say the hornet isnt a good rifle for target shooting an a lot of other things , but all the ones ive had an still have all shot better then i can shot if i do my part they work!!! finding this about the 218 bee also

SHANER
i shoot a hornet 1/2 inch groups at 100yrds,over 200yrds the lil,hornet is running out of puff !have tryed to load 50g v-max but cannot get them to spin fast,they seem to go all over the place and they are to long for the standard mag so i had to modify another mag.I am using 9.1g of 2400.

Think .219 Zipper. A 30-30 case necked down to .22. It do "zip" right along.

219 zipper,,, do u have one of these ??? never heard of this caliber that i know of , what rifle does it come in?

Sorry I haven't gotten back on a couple of questions. I will try to get a picture of my brother's little Martini Cadet - it really is a sharp little gun with the half-octagon stainless barrel. He fireforms regular .218 Bee brass to fit, and it's sure fun on ground squirrels out to about 100 yards (remember - it has a peep sight.)

The Zipper was chambered by Marlin in their Model 336SC carbine in the mid 1950s and Winchester offered their Model 64 in the Zipper during the 1930's...It was never as popular as the 219 Donaldson in the custom single shots of the pre WWII era, being neither as accurate nor as efficient as the Wasp.....

...quote.. I've got a HandiRifle that's going back to NEF for a litle work, and I am considering having a 22 Hornet barrel being fitted at the same time. Does a 218 Bee reamer clean up a Hornet chamber?

yes, it would, but so does a 22 K-Hornet reamer.... the K-Hornet is every bit the equal of the 218 Bee, and I think it actually uses a touch less powder. I'm sort of addicted to the hornets.. they are remarkably efficient little varminters...although the Bee is pretty much in the same boat. I believe brass is easier to come by for the hornet, but if you buy a couple hundred new cases, availability won't be an issue for quite a while, unless you're trying to firewall the loads. Brass, with reasonable loads, should last 7 or 8 loadings, easily.

how much difference in the K-hornet an plain hornet, as too powder charge an speed of the loads ,

I recently purchased a win mod 43 in 218 bee and have been fooling with it some. The load that is doing best is 12 gr W540 shot gun powder and winchester 46 gr bee bullets. I have a loopy 2X7 scope and that seems to be a nice compac package. I have shot groups with it a little over 1/2" at 100. I am working on a load for the 45 gr remmy bullet. I have used this gun on ground squirrels and there is very little differance in appearance between the squirrels hit with the bee or 222. I have taken a few at about 200 yds with it. It is real eccomonical to shoot. I noticed some one using small pistol primers. why?

not to be nosey ,but whats a goin price on a win 43 in 218 bee,