I have an image in my mind of a single shot rifle chambered in .218 Bee. I want it to be simple, elegant, old world in style. The image consists of a small action; at this point I am seriously considering a Farquharson by Bailey Bradshaw. The stock will be slim with a cartidge trap, red leather (or similar) recoil pad, the fore end a slim Schnabel type. Wood will be determined depending on what catches my eye, but for some reason I love Black Walnut best! The barrel will be a contoured octagon barrel, roughly a #1 or #2 contour in size, 1 in 12 twist, with an integral full-length rib and front sight base.

I need suggestions on the sights. This rifle will be primarily for “varmints” at close range, groundhogs, raccoons, possums, from 1-75 yds. I was thinking a Marble 1/16 gold front sight (or similar) and NECG express sight with 2 leafs. Though I may have to make the rear sight.

Any other suggestions for sights? I need quick acquisition, which is why I was thinking the express style sights. Ideally a 1-3x large objective or even a red dot would be best, but I just do not think those will fit for this rifle.

Any other suggestions? Opinions? Ever built something similar? Have pictures of something similar? Feel free to post!

If I may; 219 Zipper comes to mind. Has that 3/4 scale 300 H&H flanged case look to it. Maybe a 25-20? Good rim if you have extraction issues. Perhaps a 1-9" twist for the 22, 1-10" twist for the 25.. You could shoot about any weight/length bullet you chose then.

Sound like a great little "Rook Rifle" in the planning stages.

Rich

I've built a few in the style you describe, the typical 'rook' rifle, except I usually use 22"-24" bbls, shorter than the 26"-28" that were so common back then. I usually use low walls or Cadets since that's what's available to me.

My friend George the Knifemaker has many many Cadets and likes the 25-20 and 256 Win Mag cartridges. He has found that they won't achieve enough velocity to be accurate with a 10" twist but when rechambered to 25-35 AI the 10" twist works fine.
Regards, Joe

i have a cadet in 256 win mag - its a fun cheap shooting gun. great little small game/varmint round

I did not choose .218 Bee as much as the .218 Bee chose me. My grandfather handed me a box of .218 Bee brass and said to make something with them. It was also convienant because I already have bullets ranging from 45gr up to 69gr, primers, powder, etc. I am considering however the .218 Mashburn Bee.

So... opinions on the sights? Anything I have missed? This will be my first single shot build, so feel free to give input.

thanks

I'd second JD's recommendation of a small frame Martini action - either the Cadet or a BSA Model 12 or 12/15 converted to center fire. I've owned a couple of Bees built on the Cadet action and they were all superbly accurate. If you want a bit more velocity, you can go to the Mashburn Bee. I have one I haven't shot yet, but I'd be surprised if it didn't do quite well. Once upon a time, long, long ago, I owned a .20-20 Kiel Centerfire (sporter weight built on a Cadet action), which was essentially a .20 Mashburn Bee, topped with a Lyman Junior Targetspot 10x. It was superbly accurate, and a delight to shoot. Sadly, this was before the advent of Berger's .20 caliber bullets or the .204 Ruger and I sold it when I couldn't find a source of .20 caliber bullets. I think the current owner visits the Rimfire Central discussion boards occasionally. I've tried to buy it back several times, but he just laughs.

I have thought of something similar on a low wall action in 22 hornet. I would use a marbles tang sight. If I wanted quick aquisition, I would remove the apature and use the threaded hole as a ghost ring. A short or medium range target type peep would also do if a large enough apature was available. DW

quote:

Originally posted by dwheels:
I have thought of something similar on a low wall action in 22 hornet. I would use a marbles tang sight. If I wanted quick aquisition, I would remove the apature and use the threaded hole as a ghost ring. A short or medium range target type peep would also do if a large enough apature was available. DW

A suggestion here, please. I've found that the usual 22 Hornet reamer cuts an oversize neck whereas the usual K-Hornet reamer cuts a snugger neck and therefore is almost always more accurate. The low wall is perhaps the ideal action for this cartridge IMO, I've built several. Here's the latest.

Regards, Joe

It looks good JD, I did not know about the neck dimensions of Hornet vs K Hornet. Thanks