Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .218 Bee experience

My first" Varmint " rifle was and is a 43 in .218 Bee. Accurate enough ....if one can use the term accurate. The trigger is poor and the only way to try to improve it is to change angles and not recommended.

The 43 is a basically a model 69....a weak action in centerfire and prone to headspace issues.

I have had both flavors of Browning 65's. I shot the jane the most. It had the distinct issue of denting the tip if the brass on ejection. The deluxe version did not do that.

I picked up a Winchester 65 and sold both Mirokus. I offered the Deluxe version in the classifieds ....think I sold it elsewhere.

The Bees are fun to shoot as are the Hornets

I can solve your dilema. I have a grade 1 Browning 65 I'll trade you for the High Grade. That way you can feel good about shooting the Grade 1. It won't bother me to shoot the High Grade. Everybody wins.

Seriously though the 65 is a lot of fun. Mine's a tack driver. I put on a Marbles windage adjustable tang sight and am liking the combination a lot. Shoot yours and enjoy it. Life's too short not to have fun with the pretty ones.

I have a Ruger No.1, Browning M65, and a Taurus Raging Bee revolver. I don't use that flat point Bee bullet in any of them. In the M65 I load spitzers, one in the chamber and one in the magazine. I can get away with a longer C.O.A.L. in the M65 with perfect feeding using pointed bullets.

I've had a Browning Bee for some time now. Very accurate little rifle. At almost 70 years I thought I was going to have to get rid of it because I can no longer see a front sight. Rigged up a fastfire and back in business. 218's like reloader #7 with 45 gr. bullets.

Vapodog: Good for you - let us know how it shoots!
My friend hand loaded "pointy" bullets for his Browning in 218 Bee!
He Hunted Coyotes with it - he simply loaded one round in the chamber and then one round in the magazine - on those rare occasions he missed with the first shot he then safely levered in the second round.
This friend is left handed and that Browning solved the problems for him of finding a left handed Rifle in 218 Bee.
Again happy for you and your new "Bee".
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

It was shipped USPS and delayed two days for bad weather.....so I'm off to Wisconsin without it but will pick it up when I get home again about Feb 12th.....be assured....it'll get a tryout immediately (weather permitting)....It's what my old .25-20 should have been!

I picked up a Stevens 044-1/2 action in 1991 and built a Bee on it. Ran a few different loads thru it and sort of parked it for about 15 yrs, never really finished working up loads on it. I shot a few yotes and a few gophers with what ammo I had loaded for it over the years. So, being as what I had was almost all gone, I am restarting the process. I still have lots of bullets from back then, but the selection these days with the 35 & 40gr stuff is a boon. I put a 24" stainless octagon barrel and built my own stock for it, that isn't finished yet either. I was playing with it over Xmas and loaded it with LilGun and 40gr Vmax, the LilGun sure performs in it. I'll have to wait til it warms up a bit and get outside with it to see how the loads I tested so far really perform, but am definitely looking forward to it. So far that gun will put 10rds in an inch at 100 with 45 & 50gr loads, 1.5 at 200. Cast bullets worked great in it as well. See how these loads do when I can get out with them. I still have 8 boxes of 50gr Nosler Expanders I may put thru that gun, as that was what I'd chosen for it at the time. They may get relegated to the .223 yet as I picked up 1000 Vmax's and probably another 500 Varmint Grenades and 500 Varmageddon's and 6-800 Sierra's to try out as well. 40gr bullet at 31-3200 is plenty adequate for my purposes.