Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 218 Bee. What's it good for?

The 218 Mashburn Bee is the coolest looking little round with the sharp shoulder. I thought really hard about it, but I couldn't find 218 Bee or 25-20 brass, so I decided to go with the 22 K-Hornet. Push the 40gr V-Max to 2900-3100fps and you have a nice 100-150 yard varmint rig,

100-150 yards?

Have shot plenty of varmints with 40 V-Maxes and 40 Nosler Ballistic Tips at those velocities from the .22 Hornet, K-Hornet and .218 Bee. The longest kill was 427 yards, and have killed hundreds at 200-300.

I have a scoped Raging Bee Taurus revolver. Handy, nasty little sucker out to about 125 yds.

Mine was a Marlin 1894C, great little quiet round for coyote calling, I bought it brand new. It got to be worth too much and kind of a tweener with my CZ 455 22 WMR and 222 Rem with light 800x loads and 45gr softpoints. The 222 Rem is so versatile that it has pretty much killed the desire for a Hornet or Bee. I gave my Hornet to my niece as he first predator hunting rifle.

It's one of the very cheapest reloadable cartridges to shoot and has no recoil to speak of. The rifles are small light and handy. Velocity is 3000+ if you want it to be, so within the accurate range of the Model 65 it's a complete laser (unlike 22LR). Ammo, Brass and bullets are in production.

I've taken rabbit, squirrel and pests with it. It's also a good first levergun for children and people new to guns. Never fails to put a smile on people's faces. I've never had one in hand when I saw a coyote, but it would be perfect there too.

I've owned small frame Martini rifles in .22 Hornet, .218 Bee, .218 Mashburn Bee, .219 Zipper and .225 Winchester. I never really saw a lot of difference between the first three, although the Mashburn Bee was probably good for another 300-400 fps over the Hornet. The .219 and the .225 were whole different critters.

I'm down now to the .218 and the .225, although I do also own a custom Springfield 1922 converted to a .22 Hornet repeater and a T/C Contender barrel for the .22 Hornet. There's also a Winchester Hi-Wall in .219 Zipper Improved, which will put you close to .22-250 ballistics, particularly with its 27 inch barrel. Since I have brass in abundance for the Hornet, the Bee and the .225, I'll probably hang on to all three until the time comes to dispose of everything.

I use the 22 K-Hornet for fox on my wooded property, most of my shots are under 150. For smaller varmints, I use 22lr or 22 mag. So I guess I was speaking from my experience, no doubt in skilled hands such as yours it can reach out and touch varmints much further than 150 yards. I guess my point was, not every round has to burn a ton of powder, kick the crap out of you, have blazing speed or burnout the throat in 1000 rounds to be useful and fun.

I believe most of John's longer shots with cartridges like the 22 Hornet, K-Hornet and the Bee were for ground squirrels.

Your assessment of the various rounds is right on the money. You do not need a large cartridge that burns large amounts of powder. We need to use the cartridges that suit our situations. Years ago, when Hornady first came out with their VMax line, I bought a couple boxes of 35 grain bullets for my 22 Hornet, thinking that they would be perfect for foxes. Unfortunately, things didn't pan out.

I shot a fox at short range, about 40 yards I think, with the little VMax. It was the first and only time that I heard a fox screech. It jumped, and took off. At least, that's what I thought. My hunting partner and I hunted for that critter for a while, but we couldn't find it. He suggested that it wasn't a good hit, but I knew that it was. We went back to where I thought it was standing when I took the shot. We began a second search, and found it a few yards away. We just didn't see it the first time.

The bullet clipped the front leg and shattered the bone. The only thing that held the bottom half of the lag was some skin. When I cut into it, I saw tiny holes in the connective tissue. The fox died after being bombarded with a shattered bullet and bone. Much like a shotgun.

I tossed the guts into a ravine about 1/2 mile from where we were camped. I returned the next day to see a fisher dragging his prize away.

Steve,

Yep, most of my longer shots with the small-capacity .22s have been on "ground squirrels," including prairie dogs. But have also killed animals up to whitetail deer with the .22 Hornet, using a 60-grain Nosler Partition from a 1-12 twist T/C Contender Carbine barrel at around 2400 fps, which worked fine.

Have also killed larger-than-ground-squirrel varmints such as white-tailed jackrabbits (about the size of a typical red fox) at ranges far beyond 150 yards, using various 40-grain plastic-tipped bullets.

While I appreciate MOW's post on why he personally knows such cartridges are good to 150, I thought this might be useful information.

Essentially, the improvements in both ballistic coefficient and expansion due to 40-grain plastic-tipped bullets, along with newer powders, have made .22 Hornet/.218 Bee rounds even more effective than the .222 Remington with the original 50-grain softpoint load. And yes, I know this from personal experience.

I think most people who use the 22 Hornet/22 K-Hornet, 222 etc., and reload, have been using 40 grain bullets for a while. Their superior BC extends the useful range. Like everyone else who has used a 22 Hornet/K-Hornet or 222 for many years and reloaded, the arrival of the 'pointy forty' changed the game. I don't think it will be too long before you see the traditional Hornet bullets fade into the sunset. It's much like RNs in the bigger calibres.

For many years, the only 222 load around here was a 50 gr. PSP. With the arrival of the 40 grain polymer tipped bullet, it provided more options for hunters. For me, that was eastern coyotes and marmots. But far and away the best use of the 40 grain bullet was in my 22 K-Hornet.

And because we do not have ground squirrels here, 40 grains is the lightest bullet I will load. That said, when using coyotes with a 222 or 223, the 50 grain Speer is perfect, and inexpensive too. Others may have different experiences, but it is important to choose the bullet that fits your situation - not what others say will work. For that, you have to do your own research. When a long shot is 150 yards, using a Nosler or Hornady VMax isn't necessary or cost effective.

While it is good to experiment, if you have a proven combination that gets the job done, it's not always wise to switch. I no longer use the older Hornet bullets in my 22 K-Hornet, but continue to use Speer 50s with my 222s. They are accurate, inexpensive and reliable.

Technology gave me options. From that, I chose what fit my needs.

Back in the 1970s I considered the Hornet to be a 175 yard cartridge on groundhogs. I had a Handi Rifle so chambered as a walking varminter. That was with the old powders and bullets. Powders like Lil Gun and bullets like the 40 grain V Max have certainly breathed new life into the Hornet.

Steve,

Unlike you, I write for a wider audience who wants to know what might fit their needs.

A while back I was assigned an article by the editor of VARMINT HUNTER magazine to both range- and field-test every available varmint bullet. Of course, this proved to be impossible, because during the period involved new bullets kept appearing. But I did get to test enough bullets thoroughly, both at the range and in the field, to come to certain conclusions.

Have owned several .222s, and used them on animals from ground squirrels to coyotes, and so far have not chosen 50-grain softpoints for any of those purposes. But whatever.

That's fine, John. But as often happens here, we have drifted from the original question.

Do not mistake my bullet choices as being the only ones I have tried or would recommend. I believe that experimentation is paramount. After trying many out, I decided on what works for me.

When I was younger and looking for a good bullet to load in my 222, I took in what the gunwriters of the day recommended. But I also listened to several long time club members who said to identify my target and choose the bullets that fit. They told me to seek out advice from multiple sources, but after that, I had to experiment. I have always followed this and passed their advice along.

Because technology never stands still, it is necessary to stay current. That is why you will continue to get paid, until you decide to pack it in. That said, unlike 'the days of yore', when information was more difficult to obtain, technology has also given us the ability to explore on our own.

In addition to reading about the experiences of others, shooters and reloaders can now go to manufacturer's sites and easily search for bullets and powders that suit their purpose. For those who shoot cartridges like the 223, 22 Hornet and 218 Bee, feeding the rifles is considerably cheaper than the bigger stuff. These cartridges are also easier on the shoulder.

The usual position taken about any professionally written article is that the expertise of the writer can be a great help when searching for a new cartridge or bullet. I agree. It certainly can. In the end however, the shooter/hunter has to find things out for himself. I am not downplaying the importance of gunwriters, but acknowledge that it is easier for the shooting public to assess more information in a shorter length of time. They no longer have to rely on a handful of sources.

Today's shooter can take more control of his unique situation. He has distinct advantages over previous generations. He has more tools, better technology and considerably more sources of good information.

Which brings me back to the original question. The 218 Bee in a lever is good as it ever was, with the possible exception of brass procurement, but if one was considering a 100 yard coyote gun, there are better choices. and decidedly better bullets.

Steve,

You misinterpreted my post.

I do NOT often recommend specific bullets, cartridges, powders, scopes, etc. Instead I report what happened when I used/tested them.
That's a very different thing.

No, I understood.

If your report shows that bullet x and powder y worked for you, people will often copy it. To them, it's an endorsement. You do not have to say, "I recommend bullet x and powder y." It's the nature of the reader. Have no worries, I am not suggesting anything nefarious.

I'll confess to having never tried any of the "new generation" plastic tipped bullets in my K-Hornet. Its a 1935-vintage Winchester M54 built by Mr. Kilbourn himself, and its twist is 1-15" (whether it should be 1-14 or 1-16 I don't know, I suspect 1-16). Would such projectiles be stable at modest velocities, at sea level? I suspect they would, but I got a tremendous supply of old school 45's and 40's with the gun which need to get used up first (said bullets shoot very nicely by the way). 60 grain Partitions are right out there.

My other Hornet, actually a German kiplauf chambered for 5.6x35R, has a 1-9" twist believe it or not, but it's groove diameter is .226. It gets fed a diet of 60 grain gas checked lead bullets at velocities around 2000fps.

All the Lovells have 1-14's and their diet consists of 45 and 50 grain old school blunt bullets, not that the paper targets which are mostly what my .22 centerfires kill these days care very much.

Making them fit the magazine is a trick, too. My Dad has an older Winnie in Bee (model 43 maybe, I don't remember for sure) and you can't get a lot of the new, sleek bullets in the case far enough to fit the magazine without them wanting to fall down in the necks.

I have the same issue with my old 840 222. It's a 1-16 twist, but none of the more areodynamic lightweight bullets will work in the magazine. I'm using the 30gr Barnes VG in it... they're potatoes, but very accurate potatoes so I can deal with being limited to shorter ranges.

The short magazines are why most of my .22 Hornets have been single-shots--but not all.

Had a CZ 527 K-Hornet for a while, which proved to be impossible to load with plastic-tips and still have the rounds fit inside the magazine. But some years later bought a Brno K-Hornet, which was supposedly the prototype/predecessor for the 527, and in fact the integral scope bases used the same rings as the 527. But the Brno's magazine was enough longer to handle plastic-tips.

I’ve always wanted one. That’s all
I know.

When I had a 527 I mostly loaded 35 grain V Max bullets in it because they were stubby. I did find I could load 40 grain V maxes and get one in the chamber and two in the mag. I sold the rifle when I went to all left hand rifles.