need some help posting pics of my 218 bee single shot build.

[jreedtn]

ive been building a little falling block 218 bee from scratch and nearly have it ready to test fire. alot of people have asked about it, but I cant post pics of my build over my phone.. (no computer) and pics too big. would someone post some pics for me if I emailed 5 or six to them? I really appreciate it in advance.
thanks,
john reed

 

[fdshuster]

E-Mail msg sent.

 

[tazzman]

Hi John,

Here are the pics of your projects. Beautiful rifle by the way!

Phil aka tazzman

 

[tazzman]

John,

Two more pics on the way!

Phil aka tazzman

 

[jreedtn]

thanks for all the help with the pics guys. ive been building this for about 7 months now. this is my first attempt at building a rifle totally from scratch (except for the barrel).. so any advise or suggestions are very appreciated. the barrel is a douglas xx 26" 14 twist. stock I carved from a piece of circassian walnut blank I bought off ebay. I built the action using alot of ideas from frank de haas chicopee plans. I modified mine quite a bit from the plans however. engraving was done by eddie leasure in grand junction CO. after test firing it this weekend, I will dissasemble everything and inspect all the parts, then its off to turnbull restoration for color case hardening and blueing. while the stock and forearm will get checkered. let me know what you think guys... positive or negative.
thanks,
john in tn

 

[pacificman]

Very nice! I can see you have put a lot into that rifle. I want to know how it shoots! Would be interesting to see targets and what powder bullet etc. it likes. I don't own a 218 bee but if one becomes available someday I would be interested. I never thought I would like the 22 hornet but it is now one of my favorite cartridges. I bet it will shoot "lights out man".... ;D

 

[tazzman]

John,

Now that you have one in the small calibers, have you put thoughts in building one in, let's say, 45-70 Gvt? A matched set, so to speak?

Phil aka tazzman

 

[jreedtn]

I have. maybe not 45-70, but something larger. I would need to do a different design action though to handle the pressure.

 

[jonbearman]

If you machined all of that my hat is off to you.It is gorgeous. Let me know if you ever found any bee brass as I could sell some once fired .The woodworking is really good.Turnbull is a friend of mine and his work is the best around,you will be super pleased with his case coloring.I cant wait to see the final product being I am a fan of the .218 bee myself.I have a ruger #1 and a marlin classic 1894 which are both accurate shooters.

 

[jreedtn]

jon, thank you for the kind words. it was really a fun project. I dont consider myself a machinist, and its a surprisingly simple design. just took my time and learned alot as I went. I found some brass and loaded some various loads from 13 gr to 14 gr of 4198 (all I had) & 40 gr hp and 50 gr vmax. just want to test everything out. im going to try some light bergers in it after it gets back from turnbull. going to be nice to hear it go bang after all the work!

 

[jonbearman]

try ww296 with the 45 grain bullets and start at 10.0 and do not go over 11.0.I got this load from ken waters and it is a hammer.You can substitute 40 grainers.

 

[jreedtn]

well I shot the little bee today for the first time and it shot perfect. reaally happy. 0 recoil low noise and great accuracy considering it printed about 1/2-3/4" groups with no load developement using 13.5 gr of 4198 I had for my 222. still have all my fingers and eyes! lol. not sure what I was expecting but the little bee is a really mild mannered little gem. I dont know why, but the 4198 was really fouling the barrel im not sure if it was burning too slow or what but I had to run a patch through it every couple shots. no copper fouling hardly, just powder. ill have to find some different powder to try and I think this little thing will be a shooter. this is the first 218 bee I shot, and I think im going to like it alot.

 

[CatShooter]

4198 IS too slow for the .218 Bee. Go to something faster like Lil' Gun, or 4227.

Also, loading manuals give data for the lever action rifles and the old Winchester 43 bolt (with no lugs), so the cartridge is normally loaded to ~30,000 psia.

But the Bee will take loads in the 221 FireBall range if you are shooting it in a falling block. My .218 Bee loads for my Ruger #1 are quite fast - the loads for my Browning/Winchester 65 are mild.