218 Bee~gone AND forgotten?

.22LRGUY

.22LRGUY

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Must be cabin fever...but I've been doing some reading on 218 Bee and am wondering whether or not I need it in my life. lol Probably not, considering I have a 17 Hornet I really dig, and a .223 that always gets things done nicely. Still, if it's a caliber you own/play with/load for...I'd love to hear about your set-up, and accuracy results. Were it possible to buy a Savage action (Stevens 200?) and re-barrel without going too nuts $-wise, that might be fun! I'm OK with single-shot, and could machine my own single-shot adapter. (or whatever is req.) I don't have any gunsmithing experience though..so no lathe/milling/chambering being done by me.

Looking for ideas and inspiration, photos welcome!

thanks
 
Yes, the 218 Bee is all but forgotten these days.The same is true of the .219 Zipper.Of the 218 Bee,219 Zipper and the 220 Swift ,only the 220 Swift seems to have a following of any size.
 
I have had several Bee'e the best of which was a Ruger No.1-S 26" that was insanely accurate... I should never have sold it. I love reloading the .25/20 case too. Will post some pics if I can find them.
 
hoytcanon said:
I have had several Bee'e the best of which was a Ruger No.1-S 26" that was insanely accurate... I should never have sold it. I love reloading the .25/20 case too. Will post some pics if I can find them.
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Hey Hoyt~I did search "218 BEE" and found your mention of having owned one. Yeah, I know the feeling of selling a rifle that worked perfectly and regretting it soon after. lol Granted, I'm not sure I'd ever be dedicated to the idea enough to warrant spending that much (Ruger #1) but since I know so little about the caliber, just sort of fact-finding at this point. I'm more about accuracy/performance than good looks...which is why I wonder whether or not an econo-build is even possible for an obscure caliber like this. (Brass/dies aside, I know that's a must)
 
It certainly is on life support but far from forgotten. It’d be a fun light varmint and also a great centerfire substitute for 22lr work on edible small game. Loaded correctly it would be great on hares, rabbits, turkeys where legal, crows, groundhog etc.

Personally I’d love one in a nicely stocked TC contender or Ruger #1, but if a guy could make a savage action work that’d be cool too. Nice light woods roving rifle.
 
The bottom rifle is the .218 Bee....I tried and failed to find the picture where I put 10 rounds through 1/2" @ 100 yards.
 
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The 218 Bee was starting to be forgotten back in the late 60's. Long forgotten now... as with any rimmed case, it will never compete in accuracy with a rimless case. (all other things being equal)
 
I've got a 218 Bee project based on a Remington/CBC single shot 410 action and barrel. Barrel stub was cut and 22 cal barrel inserted and chambered. Need to work on extractor.
 
I have brass and a mold, just in case another crosses my path. I like them. I also have ammo & brass for the 25/20, a great beaver cartridge. They may be old but so am I :). Still happy with the old cartridges
 
I have owned a 218 Bee in the past, in the Browning Model 65. It was a fun rifle to shoot and hunt with. Accuracy wise, I could keep most groups with the factory ammo under 2" at 100 yards with the open sights. Never did get around to handloading for it. Took a nice lynx with it. Sold it when I needed to raise some funds at one point. Factory ammo is getting harder to find, and when you do, it is well over $100 for a box of 50 rounds. (Which in the scheme of things is still decently priced compared to some of the other ammo out there, but nowhere as inexpensive as 223 ammo)
Would like to get another Browning, or a Marlin.
 
BlackRam said:
I have owned a 218 Bee in the past, in the Browning Model 65. It was a fun rifle to shoot and hunt with. Accuracy wise, I could keep most groups with the factory ammo under 2" at 100 yards with the open sights. Never did get around to handloading for it. Took a nice lynx with it. Sold it when I needed to raise some funds at one point. Factory ammo is getting harder to find, and when you do, it is well over $100 for a box of 50 rounds. (Which in the scheme of things is still decently priced compared to some of the other ammo out there, but nowhere as inexpensive as 223 ammo)
Would like to get another Browning, or a Marlin.
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I don't think I'd be interested if I couldn't hand load with V-Max/ballistic tip bullets. So that would rule out a lever gun. The ideal gun for me would probably be an ugly/cheap (but well fit) synthetic stock, and a heavy barrel of the best quality I could afford. OK with single-shot/loading. Curiosity can be expensive though, I've come close to getting a few oddball calibers like 20-223, 20 Vartarg etc. and got cold feet at the last minute. When I've found used guns, they seem to be in the west...and from areas with gophers. That draws into question the # of miles on them. lol
 
.22LRGUY said:
I don't think I'd be interested if I couldn't hand load with V-Max/ballistic tip bullets. So that would rule out a lever gun. The ideal gun for me would probably be an ugly/cheap (but well fit) synthetic stock, and a heavy barrel of the best quality I could afford. OK with single-shot/loading. Curiosity can be expensive though, I've come close to getting a few oddball calibers like 20-223, 20 Vartarg etc. and got cold feet at the last minute. When I've found used guns, they seem to be in the west...and from areas with gophers. That draws into question the # of miles on them. lol
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You need to get into the TC Contender or Encore game. Every time you get the itch for an oddball cartridge nobody chambers anymore just order up a barrel and give it a try. The options especially for these little oddball rounds is endless. Specially when you start looking at options available from BullBerry, MGM etc.
 
leveractionjunkie said:
You need to get into the TC Contender or Encore game. Every time you get the itch for an oddball cartridge nobody chambers anymore just order up a barrel and give it a try. The options especially for these little oddball rounds is endless. Specially when you start looking at options available from BullBerry, MGM etc.
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I've never been a fan of those guns, but "TC" keeps popping up when I look around @ 218 BEE. Will TC chamber anything for you, or, is it an aftermarket thing? (barrel chambered in that cal.)
 
I've had a few 218 B's over the years, and still have one. Its on a large Martini action and shoots very well. Likes the little.35 gr v-max bullets. It may well be the most accurate rifle I own these days.........and fun to shoot.
 
They used to chamber almost anything when their custom shop was open. Now it’s mostly third party barrel makers, but they’re all reportedly superior to TC’s barrels. Nine35 dot come can order any TC barrel you’d like. Unless a guy is set up to rebarrel on his own or the chambering he wants to do is a straight swap it’s gonna be cheaper and easier the TC route plus aftermarket accessories approach 10/22 levels.
 
I had a 218 Bee made from a short action of some kind and fitted with a 22 long rifle barrel. I was able to buy a box of ammunition for it from A&C Sports in Kelowna which gave me all the brass that I would need for reloading. I bought the deluxe die set from Lee. Standard Hornet bullets worked OK but anything larger such as the 46 grain bullets with a cannelure would keyhole. I liked that little cartridge but I think that the twist on the long rifle barrel was too long to stabilize the bullets that I wanted to use.
 
:) I have something that fits in the general focus of this thread. A while back I had a Ruger No.1 in 22-250 that my Son took a liking to. I gave it to him and replaced it with an old custom Winchester High Wall in 219 Donaldson Wasp. After showing photos and a detailed description of it on this site a few years ago, I received an 'inquiry' about it from a gentleman back east I believe. After I confirmed some points of identification on it, I found out he had once owned it. He expressed a definite interest in purchasing it if I ever decide to part with it. Oh, it has a 'matching' era specific scope, a 10X J.UNERTL scope and loves 50gr V-MAX handloads. I think it's a keeper :) for the foreseeable future :d.
 
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