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I picked up a nice little Browning 65 from one of the members here, CBinNH. Great guy to deal with by the way. I added a Marbles tang sight to it as soon as I got it home. I already have one of their 53's and always wanted the 65. These are neat little guns.

I got out to the range yesterday for some preliminary testing. I only had 50 rounds of Hornady brass so I loaded up three different bullets, all 45-46 grains, five rounds each with 11.5, 12 and 12.5 grains of IMR4227. I tried the Speer 46 grain FP, Hornady 45 grain HP and Sierra 45 grain Hornet. I was thrilled with the groups I got. Especially considering the sun was low, shining bright and hard over the left side of the barrel and in my left eye. I'm a lefty so it made for some challenging group shooting. I have 200 more rounds of brass coming, picked up some Sierra 40 grain Hornet bullets and am anxious to get in some shooting at 100+ yards.

I have to leave for a week to see my Dad in NY but when I return I think I'll sneak out for a day or two of calling for fox before I head back to the slope. I have a few of the Speers loaded ready to go.





The rest of the groups were very similar to this one. I'll be anxious to test it in better light conditions to see what it will really do.

Nice rifle. What distance was that group shot at? Didn't see it in the post. Should be great for fox.

Sorry about that. 50 yards. When I get back from my next hitch on the slope, lynx season will be open. I'd love to call one into for a shot with the Bee.

😊😊😊👍👍👍. Very nice!

Very nice looking rifle!

Very cool rifle.. Best of luck with the lynx!!!!

They're a lot of fun. I loaded mine with the Hornady Bee bullet and it was ideal in all regards. Mucho pleasuro.

What a beautiful rifle, good photo. You will get the cat with that.

Mart: Good for you on the nifty Rifle and how well its shooting.
My good friend Jack (southpaw also!) from Yelm, Washington had one of these Model 65's many years ago and he let me shoot it. I fell in love with it.
I have been looking for one ever since but they are kind of rare!
I did come up with a pair of Rifles in 218 Bee (Ruger #1-B and a Kimber Model 82-B) though - they both shoot VERY well and indeed the 218 Bee cartridge is a lot of fun.
I use the wonderful Sierra 50 grain Blitz (not the BlitzKing!) bullets in both my 218's - be sure and give this bullet a try someday!
Good luck on the Fox Hunt.
Enjoy your "Bee"!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Mart you got a nice one there , they only made 3,500 of them and 1,500 with the silver and gold engravings. I`m in eagle river and have one just like yours, it is very accurate but I haven`t shot it in years. Still upset I never got the other engraved one for 200.00 more to go with the blued one when I bought it at Boondocks . I got it because one of my highschool buddies had the original winchester one in 218 bee. We used to prarie dog and marmot hunt alot in hatchers before it became a tourist trap and fish and game changed the rules . But back then I always took my kimber 82 k-hornet to use. aaron10

Aaron10: Let me first welcome you to the Campfire.
I was reading your post and noticed your reference to "Prairie Dogs" in Alaska.
I did a Wikipedia search on "Hatchers, Alaska" and there was a interesting page referring to Hatchers Pass, Alaska.
On that page they showed a picture of a chubby little rodent which they referred to as an "Arctic Ground Squirrel".
That was probably the creature you were Hunting?
Was it not?
By the way I have a Kimber 22 Hornet (Kimber of Oregon) and if I recall from way back then the Kimber Company also offered their Rifles in 22 K-Hornet?
Is your Rifle a factory K-Hornet or did you have it "improved"?
Sorry you lost your Hunting place (if that's what happened).
The pictures of the Hatchers Pass area were very scenic.
Again welcome to the Campfire.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Yes they are called arctic ground squirrels or parka squirrels and they burrow like prairie dogs, also alot of marmots aka groundhogs and pikas up there too in the pass, and yes I had my 22 kimber hornet rechambered for the k-hornet , kimbers seem to have large chambers at base so I neck size all my ammo now. Had the issue early on of bad extraction thought it was the extractors but came to find out it was mainly cases getting to long and pinching in throat of the rifle. Yes fish and game made it so you had to salvage meat and fur from them now , marmots aren`t good eating we tried one once . We use to hunt up there back in the 70`s and early 80`s only people you`d see were the goldminers and a few tourists taking a scenic drive. Now it has become snowmachiner, snow boarder and greenie land hell were you get dirty looks for even carrying a shotgun and wanting to bird hunt ptarmigan up there. I am new here but have read posts for years here I`m mainly over on gunboards . Love the hornet have a few different ones .cz527`s, ruger bolt gun and contender with pistol and carbine barrels . I joined because I saw mart was in state and had a pretty model 65 like mine . Aaron10

Aaron10: Thanks for the comeback and all the info.
Again sorry for the change in "regulations"!
The Ground Squirrels in the state where I live (and the surrounding states) are considered "Varmints" and have no closed season or methods of take. No license required to Hunt them either.
"Weed" your way through some of the sporadic goofiness here and there is a lot to learn and be entertained by.
Stay warm this winter, up there.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Mart: Would be kind enough to post a link to where I can pick up the Marble's tang sight you mounted on your 65? Also, did you remove the factory rear sight and replace it with a blank?

I did remove the rear sight and installed a Marbles slot blank. You'll also want the screw set. It is sold separately. The long tang screw is a touch longer than the original. I got all the parts from Brownells. The front screw does require drilling and tapping. Seems like it was a 10-32 but I don't remember for sure.

Marbles

The long tang screw was a bear to get started. I fought with it for quite a while. The threads are extremely fine and you are hitting a blind hole. I ended up putting a super fine disk on my disk sander and giving it a light spin to taper the leading edge of the screw. It dropped right in, grabbed the threads and tightened up just fine. It sure was exasperating trying to start it before I champhered the leading edge.

I really prefer the Marbles tang sight over the Lyman. The Marbles is windage adjustable. I've had a couple of rifles with Lymans that required moving the front sight a fair amount. I have a Remington Model 8 that I had the front sight 2/3 of the way to the right in the slot to get it zeroed. I found a Redfield for it that was windage adjustable and replaced the Lyman.

Thanks for the information, Mart. I picked up a NIB Browning Reproduction 65 today. I haven't decided yet whether I am going to install a tang sight. I have a Winchester Model 71 with the Williams receiver sight and really like it. I am getting a little long in the tooth and a V or U notch style rear sight isn't as sharp as it used to be. Anyway, I am looking forward to shooting the Bee. I have a bunch of hogs on my hunting lease and I may try to take a smallish one with it. Merry Christmas, my friend.

Great little gun isn't it. I can't get enough of handling the one I just got. Hardly a day goes by when I'm home that I don't go by the safe and grab it just to shoulder it, run the lever and dry fire it. I have a Browning 53, Winchester 64 and a 71. I really like the pistol grip Winchester lever guns. That 65 is a gem though. I don't think you'll regret the tang sight. I'm not crazy about them on a 64 or 71 but like them on the smaller guns. I have a Redfield 102F on my 64 and an ancient Redfield (I think. I'll have to check when I'm home) on my 71. The 53 has a Lyman 66 but I think I may change it out to a Marbles tang sight. You can see I like receiver sights. I'm in the same boat. I don't do the V or U notch well anymore and I've always preferred the receiver sight anyway.