Grandpa's Varmint Rifles
218 Bee, 1939 to date
The 218 Bee arrived in 1939 as a commercial cartridge offered by Winchester for their Model 65 lever action. The case is based on the 25-20 Winchester cartridge necked down to 22 caliber and, although it has a shorter case than the Hornet, it holds more powder. Some expected it to be the demise of the 22 Hornet, but that was not to be the case. Although the performance of the Bee exceeds the Hornet and is just as accurate, this is another cartridge whose sales were restricted because it was offered in a lever action. The Bee cannot exceed the limited pressures of a lever action, and factory ammo cannot include a pointed bullet.
Glenn with his Ruger No.1 Sporter chambered in 218 Bee.
Factory ammo can still be purchased with a 46 grain bullet and a velocity of 2760 feet per second. Reloading with a 40 grain bullet can produce a respectable speed of 2900 feet per second. And, for the those interested in squeezing the most from the little round using a strong bolt action rifle, reloaders have reported velocities over 3100 fps with a 40 grain bullet. If it had not been designed for a lever action rifle the Bee would have enjoyed better performance and might still be popular today.
The 218 Bee has spawned a few wildcats, most notably the 218 Mashburn Bee. A few years ago I gave this wildcat a try and was somewhat disappointed. Creating the cases was easy; just shoot a 218 Bee cartridge in a Mashburn chamber and the brass becomes 218 Mashburn Bee. The problem was the very short neck. It prevented most bullets from being seated to touch the lands. If a 40 grain Sierra was seated .005-inch off the lands the base of the bullet would only be a 1/16-inch into the neck… not enough for me.
From a positive prospective a 40 grain bullet could be driven at 3300 feet per second. Although I have never owned one, my favorite wildcat based on the 218 Bee is the 20 Killer Bee. This is a Bee case necked down to 20 caliber with the shoulder blown out to 40-degrees. It can shoot a 32 grain bullet at velocities over 3800 feet per second. Someday I may have to adopt one of these.
The Bee is another of the old twenty-two calibers that is a favorite of mine. Many years ago I enjoyed hunting with a Winchester Model 43 topped with a Weaver 4X scope. It was great for picking off a rabbit in the mowed fields, a crow on a tree limb or shooting mistletoe from the top of an oak tree for the Christmas season.
Not too long ago a Taurus revolver chambered for the Bee provided me with considerable entertainment. When the trigger was pulled it provided a nice kick, a fierce muzzle blast and hot gases from the cylinder gap seeking my fingers. It took a while to develop a load that was not terrifying to shoot, or would not agitate neighbors in the next county. After the fun with the Taurus was over it was offered to another curious shooter.
The Bee made somewhat of a comeback when Ruger offered it in their No.1 rifle and my affection for the little cartridge was still with me, so I got one. This is the Bee I plan to keep; it's not a target rifle, but offers a lot of fun for an occasional groundhog outing.
Summary
Well, that's a brief look at the 22 caliber center-fire cartridges that were born before the year 1940. It seems most of the old varmint rounds are still alive and kicking; the only ones no longer with us are the 22 Winchester and 219 Zipper… and brass for these cartridges can be made without too much trouble. All these vintage rounds have rimmed cases, except for the Swift's semi-rim, and this trait probably shortened the popularity of these oldies in later years. So, in response to the question; "Is the Hornet the oldest varmint round still in common use?" The answer is "yes" if you live in the USA, otherwise the honor would go to the 22 Savage HP, aka the European 5.6x52mmR.
(Neither the writer nor the publication accepts any responsibility for the safety of loads mentioned. When developing loads for an old gun be sure it has been checked by a competent gunsmith to insure it is safe enough to fire, and always take extreme care when loading cartridges.)
Note: the use of 'caliber' is sometimes confusing; is it .22 Hornet or 22 Hornet? Wikipedia states: "a small bore rifle with a diameter of 0.22 inch is a .22 cal; however, the decimal point is generally dropped when spoken, making it 'twenty-two caliber' or a 'two-two caliber'." As for me, I have yet to see a box of Hornet ammo showing the decimal point so I leave it off.
Glenn Burroughs is a retired computer systems manager with a lifelong love of guns. His main areas of interest are accurate rifles, wildcat cartridges, reloading and bench shooting. He also enjoys an occasional trip out west to the prairie dog country. Glenn was a columnist for Precision Shooting magazine and also wrote articles for Varmint Hunter magazine. He resides in Lynchburg, Virginia.
The 218 Bee arrived in 1939 as a commercial cartridge offered by Winchester for their Model 65 lever action. The case is based on the 25-20 Winchester cartridge necked down to 22 caliber and, although it has a shorter case than the Hornet, it holds more powder. Some expected it to be the demise of the 22 Hornet, but that was not to be the case. Although the performance of the Bee exceeds the Hornet and is just as accurate, this is another cartridge whose sales were restricted because it was offered in a lever action. The Bee cannot exceed the limited pressures of a lever action, and factory ammo cannot include a pointed bullet.
Glenn with his Ruger No.1 Sporter chambered in 218 Bee.
Factory ammo can still be purchased with a 46 grain bullet and a velocity of 2760 feet per second. Reloading with a 40 grain bullet can produce a respectable speed of 2900 feet per second. And, for the those interested in squeezing the most from the little round using a strong bolt action rifle, reloaders have reported velocities over 3100 fps with a 40 grain bullet. If it had not been designed for a lever action rifle the Bee would have enjoyed better performance and might still be popular today.
The 218 Bee has spawned a few wildcats, most notably the 218 Mashburn Bee. A few years ago I gave this wildcat a try and was somewhat disappointed. Creating the cases was easy; just shoot a 218 Bee cartridge in a Mashburn chamber and the brass becomes 218 Mashburn Bee. The problem was the very short neck. It prevented most bullets from being seated to touch the lands. If a 40 grain Sierra was seated .005-inch off the lands the base of the bullet would only be a 1/16-inch into the neck… not enough for me.
From a positive prospective a 40 grain bullet could be driven at 3300 feet per second. Although I have never owned one, my favorite wildcat based on the 218 Bee is the 20 Killer Bee. This is a Bee case necked down to 20 caliber with the shoulder blown out to 40-degrees. It can shoot a 32 grain bullet at velocities over 3800 feet per second. Someday I may have to adopt one of these.
The Bee is another of the old twenty-two calibers that is a favorite of mine. Many years ago I enjoyed hunting with a Winchester Model 43 topped with a Weaver 4X scope. It was great for picking off a rabbit in the mowed fields, a crow on a tree limb or shooting mistletoe from the top of an oak tree for the Christmas season.
Not too long ago a Taurus revolver chambered for the Bee provided me with considerable entertainment. When the trigger was pulled it provided a nice kick, a fierce muzzle blast and hot gases from the cylinder gap seeking my fingers. It took a while to develop a load that was not terrifying to shoot, or would not agitate neighbors in the next county. After the fun with the Taurus was over it was offered to another curious shooter.
The Bee made somewhat of a comeback when Ruger offered it in their No.1 rifle and my affection for the little cartridge was still with me, so I got one. This is the Bee I plan to keep; it's not a target rifle, but offers a lot of fun for an occasional groundhog outing.
Summary
Well, that's a brief look at the 22 caliber center-fire cartridges that were born before the year 1940. It seems most of the old varmint rounds are still alive and kicking; the only ones no longer with us are the 22 Winchester and 219 Zipper… and brass for these cartridges can be made without too much trouble. All these vintage rounds have rimmed cases, except for the Swift's semi-rim, and this trait probably shortened the popularity of these oldies in later years. So, in response to the question; "Is the Hornet the oldest varmint round still in common use?" The answer is "yes" if you live in the USA, otherwise the honor would go to the 22 Savage HP, aka the European 5.6x52mmR.
(Neither the writer nor the publication accepts any responsibility for the safety of loads mentioned. When developing loads for an old gun be sure it has been checked by a competent gunsmith to insure it is safe enough to fire, and always take extreme care when loading cartridges.)
Note: the use of 'caliber' is sometimes confusing; is it .22 Hornet or 22 Hornet? Wikipedia states: "a small bore rifle with a diameter of 0.22 inch is a .22 cal; however, the decimal point is generally dropped when spoken, making it 'twenty-two caliber' or a 'two-two caliber'." As for me, I have yet to see a box of Hornet ammo showing the decimal point so I leave it off.
Glenn Burroughs is a retired computer systems manager with a lifelong love of guns. His main areas of interest are accurate rifles, wildcat cartridges, reloading and bench shooting. He also enjoys an occasional trip out west to the prairie dog country. Glenn was a columnist for Precision Shooting magazine and also wrote articles for Varmint Hunter magazine. He resides in Lynchburg, Virginia.
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