I bought a Marlin 1894CL in 218 Bee yesterday

[AkRay]

I saw it on a table at the show and let it sit for a day. I thought there would be other things I could buy. It was wearing a scope and was priced at $475.00. The next day, I had just sold a gun and the money was burning a hole in my pocket. I went back to look at a different gun, and saw that this 218 Bee was still there, but marked down to $445.00. As I stood there, I found that it was easy to picture myself carrying this small caliber levergun through some of my favorite woods, or target practicing with something that's probably less expensive than a .22 magnum, so I bought it. It's got some dings in the wood, and some small scratches on the metal, but the overall impression it gives when looked at is that it was very well taken care of. It's got a brown rubber Marlin recoil pad on it, and a buckhorn rear sight, and a half length magazine tube. The stock has some of the nicest grain I've seen on a Marlin lever action. It just looks classy but businesslike at the same time. I was also able to buy a set of reloading dies and a shellholder from the seller too. I just need some brass, powder and primers and I can give this rifle a try.

[2ndovc]

That was a deal!!

Those darned little riflles are next to impossible to find used around here. Make great woodchuck rifles.

The .218 is a great round too. I had a martini cadet rifle chambered in the .218 and knocked off a bunch of critters with it.

Have fun!!!!

jb

[Nath]

I think you'll enjoy that

Nath.

[O.S.O.K.]

[mescalero1]

I'm jealous

[Bill in Oregon]

I'm with OSOK here. Lesseesumpitchers!

[Hobie]

Neat AND a VERY good price. The Bee is a prime candidate for L'ilGun and a 40 or 45 gr. bullet. Mine is on the Contender. FUN cartridge without the supposed problems of the .22 Hornet.

[.45]

Just out of curiosity(sp), what are the hornets "problems".
Only problem with mine is that I don't get to shoot it enough.

[gundownunder]

If I saw a Marlin bee on the shelf over here I wouldn't risk leaving it there for more than two seconds, their as scarce as rockin horse dumplings.
Congrats and enjoy

[slickrock]

mine was a lot of fun. would like another...and a 25-20,,,,and a 25-35, and a ..... LOL

[TedH]

Congratulations! Wish I could find one for that kind of money.

[Sixgun]

You done well. Not a whole lot of them out there in 218. Mine shoots into an inch with the Hornady 45 gr. "Bee" bullet over a dose of IMR 4227. I call my .218 my "cat rifle". I have shot a mess of fox and crows with it though. I ain't admittin' to the "cat part".--------------Sixgun

[Rimfire McNutjob]

Great buy for that money. You and Sixgun should get together for a cat spinin' session. With proper placement, I hear Sixgun can get three full rotations on a tabby. I had a Browning 65 in Bee that was a blast.

[AkRay]

I went to look for reloading components yesterday, and found bullets but no brass. 100 bullets make a small package when you compare them to others. I did find one box of factory ammo on the shelf at Sportsman's Warehouse for $73.99, and that box of ammo is still sitting there. I'll try a couple other places in the next day or two to see if anything is available.

[mod71alaska]

I have a Browning 65 in 218 Bee and it has been one of my favorite levers to walk in the woods with. The best and most reasonably priced 218 Bee ammo I have found is $30 for a box of 50. You can buy it either on GB or direct from Reeds. If anyone knows where you can beat the price for first quality 218 Bee ammo please post it.

Check it out here:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =112881864

[Sixgun]

Great buy for that money. You and Sixgun should get together for a cat spinin' session. With proper placement, I hear Sixgun can get three full rotations on a tabby. I had a Browning 65 in Bee that was a blast.

McNutjob--That was good! Thanks for the laugh.
-------Sixgun

[1886]

I would say that you legally stole that rifle. Great job! 1886.

[Ysabel Kid]

Oh man, now we're going to start hearing complaints again about cat abuse!

Congrats on the new lever - looking forward to the pictures!

[Hobie]

Just out of curiosity(sp), what are the hornets "problems".
Only problem with mine is that I don't get to shoot it enough.

Supposedly the Hornet is hard to reload, has short case life, delicate case mouth, ad-naseum. I've had no problems with mine hence my comment about "supposed problems".

[Hobie]

I went to look for reloading components yesterday, and found bullets but no brass. 100 bullets make a small package when you compare them to others. I did find one box of factory ammo on the shelf at Sportsman's Warehouse for $73.99, and that box of ammo is still sitting there. I'll try a couple other places in the next day or two to see if anything is available.

There is brass on-line, somewhere. It is one of those seasonal production items. But, it has good case life. You can form it from .25-20 or .32-20. Check this out.

[6pt-sika]

Just out of curiosity(sp), what are the hornets "problems".
Only problem with mine is that I don't get to shoot it enough.

Supposedly the Hornet is hard to reload, has short case life, delicate case mouth, ad-naseum. I've had no problems with mine hence my comment about "supposed problems".

From quite a few years of fooling with Hornets I can attest to their ability !

The ONLY time I ever had problems with any of those I have owned was when I tried to load them to hot and the groups went to heck !

IF you load it within the paramaters that it was made it does an excellent job ! And if you're not hamm handed when you go to resize the cases and seat the bullets !

The last Hornet I owned was a circa 1938 Winchester Model 70 and without a doubt this was the best shooting Hornat I've ever owned BAR NONE ! It seemed to really really like the Nosler 40 grain Ballistis Tip and Accurate Arms 1680 .

Before that in the other Winchesters and Kimbers I owned that were chambered for the Hornet I used mostly the discontinued Winchester 680 powder and it did a very decent job .

But that Model 70 with the Nosler 40BT and 1680 powder was the best I ever worked with by a pretty decent margin !

[O.S.O.K.]

The .218 Bee is a necked down 25-20 right? Improvement over the Hornet - by quite a bit IIRC.

[AkRay]

The guy I bought it from was under the impression that these rifles were fairly easy to get, and that I might even be able to find a new one over at Sportsman's Warehouse. I asked him how long they'd had it and he thought it had been about 5 years since they bought it new. I didn't think he was right but I didn't say anything. He was selling the rifle for his wife and she seemed a little reluctant to let it go. I assured her that I would give it a good home though. From what I've been reading here and other places, I wonder if she's going to be upset with her husband when she discovers she won't be able to easily replace this rifle? When it was time to carry things out to the car, my 16 yr old volunteered to carry this levergun. He seems kind of taken with it too.

[Woodsloafer]

For those of you looking for one, here is a pretty good deal on one NIB:

http://www.gunsamerica.com/994507941/Gu ... 18_Bee.htm

[mescalero1]

Sixgun,
Three rotations? Is that in the horizontal or the vertical plane?