218 bee help

[PD Gohil]

My dad just asked me to develop a load for a 218 bee he's had forever. The gun is a custom of sort. It is a 410 shotgun with a 218 bee inserted. The guy that did this work was the local gunsmith that was supposed to be really good. Way before my time.

Anyhow. I've got Hornady 40 GR VMAX bullets, new Winchester brass, federal small rifle primers and h110 powder.
Couple things jump out at me. The Hornady manual says 12.5 gr max, yet hodgdon says 12.5 minimum. I started at 12.5 and worked up to 13.3. Numerically the best load was 13.2. it had a standard deviation of 15.5 but shot horribly. 12.7 grains shot better at about 2 in, but the SD was out of sight.

Any thoughts? I don't have any other suitable powders and right now is the wrong time to be looking for other options, so I'd like to stay with the h110.

Thanks
PGohil
wv

 

[Outrider27]

First advice - let the target tell you what it likes, not the chronograph statistics; SD and such are nice to know, but as you have already found out, they don't tell you the most accurate load, they are just statistics that may (or may not) help explain why a load is accurate. Second, if you have any other primers (or can bum a few off friends) try them just to see if another brand improves groups.

Good luck.

 

[JohnHenry]

Check the twist rate of your barrel. If a 1 in 16" twist, your 40 gr. V-Max may be too long to properly stabilize. If a 1 in 16" twist, try a shorter length bullet.
Most published 218 load data is quite conservative as some of the older lever actions and rear bolt lug bolt actions chambered in 218 Bee were not that strong.

 

[lawman29]

H4198

 

[rockrat]

My Bee loves Lil Gun and 50gr Vmax

 

[PD Gohil]

Thank you for the video about determining barrel twist. I did not know how to do that but this looks easy enough.

 

[Outrider27]

Revisiting, as I forgot to ask; you only mentioned SD - what was the ES (extreme spread) of the 13.3 load as opposed to the 12.7 load? I find both to be a matter of interest after I find the load a rifle likes best with a specific bullet and primer, and often the best ES goes with the more accurate load, not the best SD.

 

[jds holler]

IMR 4227 (or H) is about perfect, and you will find loads with it in every book. Find out where your lands are, and that will help you determine what bullet type to play with. I pretty much have been using CCI 200 primers only, although Rem 61/2's used to be a thing.

I've fell in love with the Hornady 35 gr. V-max, which is a more straight sided stubby bullet with a flat base. For my rifle it gets the shoulder closer to the lands, and works just fine within the ranges that the Bee is used in.

DO NOT bump your shoulder back very much if you want any kind of case life. I don't mind a bit if my bolt is a little tight closing on my reloads.

I'd also find out where your chamber neck ends, and let your cases grow as long as is safely possible. With these short shanked bullets, you want all the neck you can get. jd

 

[jasophil1]

Lee taper crimp die will help a lot on these. and use the hornet round nose bullets .AA 1680 .

 

[jasophil1]

Check the bore it may be .223 .

 

[dellet]

Just a couple thoughts.
I have had better results with slower powders, 1680 is one of those. 4227 is another good choice. The 40 grain Vmax has worked very well with a 16 twist in both the 218 Bee and 22 Hornet, so unless its a very slow twist, you're probably fine.

Something I would be super cautious of is chasing high velocities without researching the model of the donor action. There are only a few shotguns suitable for center fire conversions, and most of those were for black powder cartridges. Shotgun loads are 15,000 psi or less. With a hot 218 Bee load you will double if not triple that pressure.

A lot will depend on how old the action and barrel are and if the manufacturer used the same parts for shotgun and rifle, Many did not.

Stay safe.