.218 Mashburn Bee Load Information

[farscott]

Which manuals contain loading information for the .218 Mashburn Bee? Most have information on the .218 Bee itself but I have found very little data for the Mashburn variant. The Hornady manual does not have any information, and Hodgdon does not offer any online. Too bad on the latter as I want to use Lil'Gun.

Since this is such a small case, I want to be very careful with load data as the difference in starting loads and maximum loads for a 50-grain Nosler with Lil'Gun for the regular Bee is 1.2 grains and 0.9 grains with H110. I should have some headroom with the improved case, but I am concerned about keeping my eyes and fingers.

I am looking to load this for a Bullberry Contender barrel, so the dies need to come from Bullberry as I want to be sure the dies match the chamber.

 

[loadedround]

If you check out www.reloadbench.com you will find some reloading data for the 218 Mashburn Bee, and if you Goggle this cartridge you will find a wealth of information. Where did you manage to dig up this oldtimmer?

 

[farscott]

Thanks for the reply and the hints.

Perhaps my Google-fu is weak, but I have not found much current data for the .218 Mashburn Bee. I am looking for data more recent than 2005, which is the last data on the www.reloadbench.com site. I would like to use Lil'Gun, and I have not found any data anywhere for that powder. There is data on Hodgdon's web site for Lil'Gun and the .218 Bee.

As far as digging up the old timer, it is a used Bullberry Contender carbine barrel. I am a sucker for the older .22 center fires with small cases, high efficiency, little recoil, and less muzzle blast, especially the improved versions. I already am loading for the .22 K-Hornet in a thirteen-inch MGM Contender barrel, so I jumped at the chance to mess with the Mashburn Bee.

 

[jim147]

Send Hodgdon an E-mail or give them a phone call. They may have a starting point for you.

jim

 

[farscott]

Jim,

Thanks for the suggestion. I will do that.

 

[NCsmitty]

Here's a not yet verified load from reloadersnest site, using Lil'gun in a Contender.
I would drop the charge by 10%, and work up, if you use it.

www.reloadersnest.com/unverified_detail.asp?CaliberID=409&ID=5332



NCsmitty

 

[cdet69]

Here is some load data for the 218 Mashburn Bee out of the June 2009 issue of Handloader magazine. The article is by Stan Trzoniec.

Bullet powder charge velocity

40 Nosler Ballistic tip 2400 14.0 3,147
H-4198 17.0 2,944

46 Winchester HP IMR-4227 16.0 3,144
IMR-4227 16.5 3,233

50 Hornady V-Max H-4198 17.5 2,956

55 Nosler Ballistic Tip H-4198 17.0 2,788

Firearm used was a Cooper Arms Model 38.
Primers used were CCI BR-4 and Remington 7 1/2.

Hope this helps some.

 

[farscott]

NCsmitty,

Thanks for the great info. 13.5 grains of Lil'Gun makes sense based on the maximum for the regular Bee with a 40-grain Sierra BK being 14 grains per Hodgdon.

cdet69,

Thanks for the data. I may try some powders other than Lil'Gun.

 

[Kernel]

A .218 Bee case holds 19 grains of powder. How much more does converting to a Masburn add? 10 or 15 percent? That’s just 2 or 3 grains more. Any starting load for the Bee would be appropriate. It's a Bee with a small bit of additional capacity. Find starting loads should be easy. What ever works well in a Bee should work equally as well in a Masburn. Conventional wisdom is that 10-15% powder increase should result in a 5-7% velocity increase.

 

[Rushmore X]

Resurrecting a thread here. I only get 15 grains of 4198 in a case, and that's full to the top. How are they figuring 17.3 grains? I'm using IMR for powder. Thanks