Thoughts and advise for 218 bee

[labradigger1]

I've been looking for a good while for a 218 bee rifle. Got the itch bad. Had it for years. Now before naysayers chime in on brass availability I have plenty hoarded, 43 grn lyman mold, couple thousand hornet jwords also.
Here is my issue. I am not a fan of win 43's, can't afford a cooper, love leverguns but not for the bee.
I've been looking hard for a cantidate to rechamber. I would prefer a Remington no. 2 rolling block, low wall or martini cadet but most of those choices are not easily found or out of my price range.
I have the opportunity to buy a beat up savage 340D for cheap. How much trouble would it be to make the 222 bolt and extractor work with the rimmed case of the bee? Then there would be making the magazine work also.
This gun is well below average condition. The barrel would need a few inches cut off and recrowned due to cleaning rod wear at the muzzle. Could I set the barrel back and ream to the bee without much issue?
All work would be done by me in my shop and I have a south bend 13/42 "O" series lathe and am looking for the experience and a winter project.
Has anyone ever done a 340 in a bee? I know 30-30 was a popular caliber in the 340's so they will work with a rimmed case.
Oh yea, I have mashburn bee dies so that is what I would chamber to. I had a 340 E years ago in 222 and it was a shooter. Never liked the scope mount but it never gave me any trouble either.
Thoughts or advise?
Thanks.

[Mk42gunner]

I think you would be better off waiting for one of the Savage Model 23's in either .25-20 or .32-20 and relining the barrel. Doing all the work to get a 340 feeding the shorter case from the magazine strikes me as an exercise in frustration.

Of the other choices you list, I would prefer the Martini for the 218 Bee.

I wouldn't do it on a No. 2 rolling block because IIRC Frank DeHaas cautioned against using high speed loads for the .32-20 in them, unfortunately I can't find my book right now to make sure of the quote.

Robert

[country gent]

I have a cadet in 218 bee and its a sweet little walking ife for woodchucks and other varmints. Occasionaly the cadets show up at Gun shops and shows also pawn shops. Most founr here are in the original "military" confguration still so you need to look for them in that form. Another inexpensive rifle would be one of the H&rs and reline to bee. The savage can be rechambered the extractor may be require some work and the bpolt face may need opened up. The magazine work may be tough also. On model 70s the bolt stop set the stroke for shorter cartridges maybe this could be done also.

[roysha]

PM sent

[gnoahhh]

I too would recommend the Martini cadet. It is virtually custom made for the .218 Bee. Expensive? Yes, but so what. Save your nickels and get one. It's only money- and you only go around once. Why not have the best?

A Savage 23 has a one piece barrel/receiver. If there are any issues with the bore, you're screwed. A 340 will cost nearly as much as a Cadet by the time you're done investing time and money in it. And then you are stuck with a 340. If economics really is an issue, I would look hard at the Savage 219's. Find one in Hornet and re-chamber to .218 Bee. But even then you would be most of the way toward covering the cost of a Martini Cadet.

[labradigger1]

Well, I bought another Remington rolling block no. 2. No. 2's are just about my favorite rifles. This one is a straight bar extractor and has been relined with a 22 cal. Insert.
Will the RRB no. 2 handle the pressure of a 218 mashburn bee. I plan to go through the action and possibly turn new axles for the hammer and block. It will also need the Firing pin relocated to center fire. It needs a new mainspring, butplate, butplate and foregrip screw also since it has new unfinished furniture with it.
What say you about pressure? Will it handle the mashburn? I have other no. 2's and one is chambered in 25-20ss. 25/20 wcf has about 28000 cup pressure and what I can find the regular bee has about 40k cup.
Thoughts?

[badgeredd]

I've been looking for a good while for a 218 bee rifle. Got the itch bad. Had it for years. Now before naysayers chime in on brass availability I have plenty hoarded, 43 grn lyman mold, couple thousand hornet jwords also.
Here is my issue. I am not a fan of win 43's, can't afford a cooper, love leverguns but not for the bee.
I've been looking hard for a cantidate to rechamber. I would prefer a Remington no. 2 rolling block, low wall or martini cadet but most of those choices are not easily found or out of my price range.
I have the opportunity to buy a beat up savage 340D for cheap. How much trouble would it be to make the 222 bolt and extractor work with the rimmed case of the bee? Then there would be making the magazine work also.
This gun is well below average condition. The barrel would need a few inches cut off and recrowned due to cleaning rod wear at the muzzle. Could I set the barrel back and ream to the bee without much issue?
All work would be done by me in my shop and I have a south bend 13/42 "O" series lathe and am looking for the experience and a winter project.
Has anyone ever done a 340 in a bee? I know 30-30 was a popular caliber in the 340's so they will work with a rimmed case.
Oh yea, I have mashburn bee dies so that is what I would chamber to. I had a 340 E years ago in 222 and it was a shooter. Never liked the scope mount but it never gave me any trouble either.
Thoughts or advise?
Thanks.

The Mashburn Bee has a very short neck. I have a 1895 Mauser that is made into a single shot with the standard 218 Bee chamber. I also have a Winchester 1885 chambered in Mashburn Bee. In the Mashburn I have used several cast bullets in 50 grains or less with great accuracy BUT I have found one must be meticulous in loading them due to the short neck. The standard Bee is a bit more cast friendly.

As far as pressure, one can easily load to lower pressure, but IMHO one should chamber any cartridge in an action capable of withstanding factory loads. My 2 cents.

Edd

[bdicki]

I was at the Kittery trading post several years ago and they had 2 Ruger #1's in 218 Bee somewhere around $750 each. I already had a Marlin 1894 CL in 218 Bee and I left without the Rugers. Every time I hear or read about a 218 Bee I remember those 2 rifles and regret walking away without at least one of them. Here's one;
http://www.gunbroker.com/item/593801139

[Parson]

Friend of mine has one in a Ruger #1, one of the most finicky rifles I have ever seen but with the right load, seating depth and the day it wants to co-operate it will put them all in one hole but another day or slightest change in load and it will open up but still acceptable for me but he insists on bench rest accuracy

[Parson]

Should have added, I once had one in a 43, shot more coyotes with that rifle than all others put together, miss it but my daughter needed braces on her teeth more than I needed my guns and pickup

[Bent Ramrod]

I would not recommend a Mashburn Bee chambering. I had a Low Wall once in some kind of Mashburn chambering; only 0.020" or so neck, the rest cylindrical with a sharp shoulder.

I found about 10% of my cases were lost by blowing them out, with holes and cracks in the new shoulder area. This was back when .218 Bee cases were relatively easy to get. The performance increase was not sufficient to make it worth the trouble.

Stick with the standard Bee chamber. If you get tired of it, it will be more salable also.

[TCFAN]

I had to get me a 218 Bee when I found over 500 new 218 Win. cases in a flee market for .15 cents each.I used a TC Encore frame and had MGM make me a 22 inch stainless barrel with a 1-14 inch twist.It shoots very well with both NOE 225107 and the 225-45 WFN boolits both gas checked.I have not shot very many factory bullet but it does like the Winchester factory loads with the 46 grain jacket hollow point.

[labradigger1]

Seems like the mashburn is a problem child. I think I will go regular bee and could always ream to m bee later.
What about the Remington rolling block number 2 action? Will it hold up to the bee?

[Parson]

Suggest you ask over at. assra.com

[richhodg66]

I had to get me a 218 Bee when I found over 500 new 218 Win. cases in a flee market for .15 cents each.I used a TC Encore frame and had MGM make me a 22 inch stainless barrel with a 1-14 inch twist.It shoots very well with both NOE 225107 and the 225-45 WFN boolits both gas checked.I have not shot very many factory bullet but it does like the Winchester factory loads with the 46 grain jacket hollow point.

I've had the itch for a Bee a long time too, and I think this is the route I'd go. I picked up a G2 Contender in .17 HMR, which is a nice rifle, but I'm not wild about the caliber. Since the Contender switches from rimfire to centerfire, I think I'm going to order one of these barrels eventually.

[richhodg66]

Here's a thought. Could one of the rimfire barrels for the H&R rifles, one of the ones designed for a rimfire frame so the bore is centered, be installed on a centerfire action and then rechambers? I think the bore size for .22 LR is different (.222 as opposed to .224?) and not sure the twist would work either.

[Baja_Traveler]

I have an old reworked martini that has a Remington .22 target barrel chambered in .218 bee. Still working up a load for it, but it shoots tighter groups than my Marlin lever gun in .218 - which I never could get better than a 4" group at 100 yards.


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[Ballistics in Scotland]

The .310 Greener and BSA Cadet rifles are collectible and expensive now, if they are in good original condition. But they were very cheap in the 60s, and many were badly converted or rechambered. You might find a bargain that way.

There are also plenty of BSA target rimfire rifles which are made on the same action, Francotte's patent. A lot have worn bores, and they were superseded for formal target shooting by the BSA Martini International. If you can convert the falling-block to centerfire they are every bit as good as the Cadets built that way. In the past I have found a rimfire and an original centerfire block completely interchangeable, but that might be true only to those particular specimens.

The late pre-International models, such as the 12/15, have thicker sides. Not that you need that from the point of view of strength, but it suits a thicker pistol grip and forend better.