218 Bee

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hawkeye10

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I have a Winchester 43 in 218 Bee coming next week. It has 360 rounds of unloaded brass and 60 rounds of loaded ammo with it. It also has a set of RCBS reloading dies. Do any of you guys have any experience with this round and the rifle? If so I would like to hear your comments. Thanks Don
 
I have a 43 in .218 in also and it is a blast to shoot. You should love it. I am currently working up a load for 40 vmax as the Nosler 45 hornet bullets I have shot in it for so long are no longer available. I have a couple of thousand Remington 45 hp to try too. Mine likes IMR 4227, but I have heard that 2400 and lilgun are good too.
 
I have owned a Winchester M 43 since 1980. A First year production gun. When I first started loading for it I used stick powders like 4198 and 4227. Results not so good. High pressure poor accuracy Then I tried W-W 680 ball powder. That was the trick, MOA groups all day long. W-W saw fit to discontinue 680 but Accurate arms 1680 came out at the same time and is 680s twin. I load it grain for grain to my old 680 loads and the results are the same-excellent.
One thing you will notice with that M 43 is that rear lock up bolt will allow the case to stretch. A single full power .218 bee load in a new case will show signs of case separation. I use .22 hornet data and get great case life. I really don't miss the 100-200 FPS loss but I sure like being able to use that expensive brass over and over.

My .218 is one of my favorite guns and is just a joy to shoot. My favorite marmot gun. I think you will enjoy yours.
 
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I have one of the Browning repro 65's.

The load I use is the Hornady #2229 45 gr. HP/BEE bullet, and 11.5 grains Alliant 2400.

Seems near max, but with good case life, and as accurate as I am with open sights.

Of course, finding the Hornady #2229 45 gr. HP/BEE bullets right now is near impossible.

I had the good foresight to buy 1,000 of them a few years ago, and that's a lifetime supply for me now.

rc
 
I shoot the 218 Bee in a Martini Cadet.I get good accuracy with 12 to 12.5 grains of 2400 with 40 grain Ballistic Tips and Hornady 2220's.Both seem to expand well and are pure death on prairie dogs.These loads are warm to maximum,so work up carefully.The Bee is a fun round to load for,easy on the shoulders,ears,and wallet.Plenty of lower velocity bullets have been on the market for some time.2400 works well for me,but 4227,4198,H110,Vh N120,AA1680,and RL-7 can all be used.You don't need a maximum load for best accuracy every time, but you should be able to find a good load or two in your rifle.
 
He has a Winchester 43 lever-action with a tube magazine.

So (pointy) spitzer bullets you might use in a single-shot or bolt-action are probably not a real good idea!

rc
 
probably a real bad deal. i'd have to get rid of it. winchester and 218 bee i'll get rid of it for you.:evil:

i'm real glad for you!:D ihats one i would want;)
 
He has a Winchester 43 lever-action with a tube magazine.
Click to expand...

Tilt!!! Methinks you are thinking model 53.

The Winchester model 43 is a bolt action rifle chambered for .25-20, .32-20, .22 Hornet and .218 Bee.

i've owned several of these rifles and currently own two, a .25-20 and a .22 Hornet. The .22 Hornet and .218 Bee chambered guns often develop excess headspace, especially with hot handloads.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...age&fr=yfp-t-900&va=winchester+model+43+rifle
 
i own two bee,s, a martini in .218 mashburn bee and a newly bought ruger #1 S in .218 regular bee. eastbank.
 
My good Bud owns a Winchester 43 in .218 Bee. Great rifle,great cartridge, easy to reload for AND very accurate. The rifle has accounted for MUCHO woodchucks over the years and several turkeys.
Have Fun
 
hawkeye10: I shoot a model 43 Win in 218 Bee. Bought it used in 1963 and I still have it, and shoot it quite often, It was my first center fire nad varmint rfle all rolled into one. I used Win 46gr hp`s and Rem 45gr hp`s and IMR 4227 for years. Can`t find thoes bullets very often any more. But I now use Hornady 35gr X-Max bullets but I still use IMR 4227 powder. And my rifle shoots the 35gr V-max and Imr 4227 powder better than any load I have ever used. I just don`t load hot because I think my cases strech to much. And now they are hard to find and when you do they are very expensive. I have shoot truck load of Varmints over the years from Coyotes to PD`s with it. If I could help you in any way, I would be proud to do so. Good luck to You:
ken
 
Jim, what bullet are you using?
Click to expand...

I tried every bullet on the market when I was doing load development and settled on a Hornday .224 45 gr RN. Not even sure it's still available as I bought 100's of them years and years ago. No nick name like vmax or anything like that, just Hornday .224 45 gr.
I have noticed others also have case stretch issues. Again I use .22 hornet data and that cured the problem.
Interesting that 680/1680 is also the best powder I have found for my Rem model 25 25-20. That little case just seems to like it.
 
Have the 43 in both 218 and Hornet.... Always used 2400 with great results until Lil'Gun came out....great times two... Accurate,low pressure and super velocity.
 
You guys have given me a lot of good information and I appreciate it. I already have some 2400 powder so I will start with that. I am going to load well of max so I don't stretch the cases. Thanks Don
 
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