New old rifle!

[paul s]

I have a weakness for single shots and Unertl scopes, so when this one was offered I jumped! 218 Bee caliber, don't know who built it but it looks like they were good and it shows promise at the range, ordered reloading dies, brass, bullets and powder to see what it will do with reloads. Anybody have 218 Bee experance to share?

 

[Coogs]

Had two Win Model 43's in .218. Just ran factory, have the Lyman Jr. dies, never did get around to reloading it. Great little cartridge on chucks out to about 100-125 yrds, Coogs. Looks like a Winchester rec'r.

 

[Mike Armstrong]

Had a Mashburn Bee in a BSA Cadet Martini for a while, but have always preferred .25-20 for eatin' game and .22 Hornet for close-up varmints, probably because I had the reloading stuff for them.

That re-barreled and re-stocked Win 1885 Lo-wall Bee you show is a beaut! Back in the day, someone knew what he was doing! Any hints as to who the 'smith might have been? Is this by any chance a converted Winder Musket (any Ordnance marks on the reciever?). It is too nice to be a Sedgley--might it be a Griffin and Howe?

 

[Easy Ed]

That's a very fine rifle. I have a love for single shots and really love the old varmint rifles, especially with Unertl scopes.

Ed

 

[45flattop]

Ii have an Australian BSA Cadet Martini that was sporterized in
218Bee, I use a 50gr spitzer(Sierra) ahead of 10 grains
of 2400 and it was and is deadly on varmints and small critters
out to 250 yards. I vastly prefer that cartridge to the Hornet
since the brass lasts SO much longer, the case necks mike out
to much thicker in every brand I've tried. Your gun is GORGEOUS!!

 

[Mike Armstrong]

The .218 is definitely a better-designed ctg. for reloading than the Hornet. The Hornet CASE was designed by Winchester in 1884 for the 1885 single shot rifle and was originally known as the .22 WCF, loaded with black powder. Certainly some of the old-timers that used it reloaded it (Ned Roberts for one) but I doubt if it was designed with reloarding in mind. The .218 is based on the .25-20 Win and .32-20 Win, which were designed to survive being run thru repeating rifles. Much sturdier cases.

Has anyone here actually tried black powder in a Hornet/.22 WCF case? How long before you had to clean the bore or shoot "patterns"? I've never shot black in any bore smaller than .257, and even in a .25-20SS you need to clean frequently to keep shooting groups. Just wondered what a .22 black powder experience was like.