218 Bee Fondness

[SharpsDressedMan]

Anyone else have a fondness for the .218 Bee, or the .22 Hornet? Either is a great short range varmint buster. I got my Dad's old Marlin 1894CL in .218, that I gave him years ago, and am enjoying loading and getting ready for chuck season here in Ohio. It has been used to dispatch groundhogs and other pests for the last 20 years. I'm sure it's going to do some more here soon. Comment or shoot some pictures!

 

[Badlander]

I would love to have A Bee! The only one I have seen for sale was A ANIB 1984Cl for way more than I wanted to spend. Still lookin for that deal!

 

[Abel]

I'd like a nice CZ in 22 Hornet.

 

[dakotasin]

i have neither, but would love to find a 218 bee bolt gun or ruger #1...

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Anyone else have a fondness for the .218 Bee, or the .22 Hornet?

I have a Kimber M82 in .22 Hornet with an old steel tube Weaver K-6 scope.

I load the 35-grain Hornady V-Max ahead of a case full (literally -- I use the case itself as a dipper) of Hodgdon's Li'l Gun. Using fire-formed cases sized in a Lee Collet Die (with a couple of washers on the shell holder, so I only size the front half of the neck) and loading the bullets right into the lede, I get 0.5" groups -- and slightly over 3,000 fps muzzle velocity.

This rifle and load is deadly on crows and coyotes.

 

[rcmodel]

I have a Browning Model 65 lever-action in .218 Bee.

Wonderful gun - wonderful caliber!

I'm loading the Hornady 45 grain Bee bullet over 11.5 grains 2400 for about 2,800 FPS.
Very accurate & fun to shoot.

rc

 

[Cajun]

I would love to have a 218 bee and a 219 zipper both in the Marlin Lever Action!!!

 

[mbopp]

I had a Contender with a 10" 218 Bee octagon barrel years ago, I traded it on a 357 Herrett 14". I still had the Bee dies and brass, and wouldn't you know it I find a 14" T/C NIB Bee barrel last fall. It makes a nice mate to the Herrett.
Cajun, my uncle had an Ackley 219 Zipper Improved. Before I was old enough to ask him for it he traded it.

 

[farscott]

I love the .218 Bee, specifically the .218 Mashburn Bee. I have a twenty-four inch Bullberry barrel for a Contender. Lots of fun.

The only issue is getting dies and brass for it. My dies came from Bullberry as the Mashburn Bee chamber has some variance from maker to maker. Brass came in the form of loaded ammo from MidwayUSA, so fifty pieces of brass ran me $75.00. Winchester only seems to make runs of Bee brass occasionally, so I need to keep an eye out. Even then, the brass is $35 per 100 pieces.

Luckily, I also have a K-Hornet barrel with a 1:12 twist rate. Brass is much easier to find and much less expensive. The only issue is the K-Hornet barrel is thirteen inches long, so no butt stock on the Contender with this barrel. Lil'Gun seems to be the powder for the K-Hornet. I have been experimenting with the Hornady 45-grain spire point at about 2000 fps as my .22 WMR load.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Another one with love for both the 218 Bee and the 22 Hornet!

 

[fase3]

I have two CZ's in 22 Hornet and 221 Fireball. Grew up on the Hornet but the 221 blows it away in its ability to deliver accuracy.

 

[jkingrph]

I have a CZ and a Ruger #1 in 22 Hornet. Would love to have a 218 Bee in a Marlin 1894cl to go with my 32-20.