🧬 .218 Bee and .22 Hornet: The Forgotten Rimfire Giants of Small-Caliber Precision

In an age where 6mm Creedmoor and .22 ARC dominate conversations, it’s easy to forget the pioneers of precision small-bore centerfires. The .22 Hornet and .218 Bee are two of those legends cartridges born not from marketing departments, but from meticulous experimenters who cared about one thing: pure accuracy with minimal recoil.

Even 90 years later, these rounds still define the intersection of engineering simplicity and ballistic efficiency. Both whisper through the air like rimfires, hit with centerfire authority, and respond to reloading adjustments like surgical instruments. Let’s go beyond the surface into metallurgy, pressure behavior, barrel harmonics, and where each round still rules the varmint fields.

🧬 The Genetic Lineage of Two Icons

.22 Hornet: From Black Powder to Benchrest

The Hornet was the result of Springfield Armory’s post–WWI experiments. Men like Townsend Whelen, G.L. Wotkyns, and Capt. H.M. Whelen were chasing the holy grail a rimfire-sized cartridge that could fire jacketed bullets at centerfire speeds.

What they did was revolutionary:

• Parent Case: .22 WCF (a black powder case from 1885)

• Transformation: Modern smokeless powder, small rifle primer, and jacketed .224 bullets

• Effect: Doubled rimfire velocity with centerfire reliability

Winchester saw the opportunity and commercialized it in 1930. It became the go-to for foxes, bobcats, and even whitetail in a pinch. Its mild recoil and accuracy made it a gentleman’s precision cartridge small enough for varmints, serious enough for pros.

By the 1950s, the Hornet was “obsolete” then rediscovered by reloaders who realized its true potential was in the handloading room, not the factory box.

.218 Bee: A Hot-Rod Born from the Lever Gun

In 1937, Winchester engineers wanted something that would beat the Hornet while fitting in the same class of light varmint rifles. They necked down the .25-20 Winchester (a descendant of the .32-20) and gave it a name that perfectly matched its flight the Bee.

It was an improvement in every measurable way:

• 15–20% more powder capacity

• 300–400 fps higher velocity

• Flatter trajectory and 25% more energy at 300 yards

But Winchester made one fatal design choice: they released it primarily in the Model 65 lever-action, with a tubular magazine. That meant flat-nose bullets only, crippling its ballistic potential. In the right platform bolt guns like the Winchester 43, Sako L46, or Anschütz 1730 the Bee could hold 0.5 MOA all day.

Had Winchester launched it in a bolt-action rifle from day one, it might have replaced the Hornet entirely.

⚙️ Technical Comparison – Beyond the Numbers

Hornet: Efficiency king 3,000 fps from 13 grains of powder.

Bee: Velocity king 3,200 fps from 15 grains of powder, but more temperamental to load.

🎯 Ballistics in the Field (Redleg Precision Reality)

In Redleg’s testing across multiple platforms including a custom Ruger No 1 Bee (1:12 twist, 24”) and a Browning 1885 Bee Hornet (1:14 twist, 22”) we observed:

The Bee consistently retained ~30% more downrange energy. But the Hornet grouped tighter in moderate wind likely due to reduced barrel whip and lower recoil pulse.

🧩 Barrel Harmonics & Action Dynamics

Both cartridges are inherently accurate but for different mechanical reasons:

• Hornet: Its low-pressure curve produces gentle bolt thrust. The light recoil allows smaller actions with less harmonic disruption. A trued action with snug lug fit (like Redleg’s lapped setups) extracts frightening consistency.

• Bee: Slightly higher thrust increases barrel oscillation, demanding rigid bedding (pillar or epoxy sleeve systems). A properly bedded Bee with trued lugs shoots like a miniature .222.

Both .22 Hornet and .218 Bee benefit from competition-style pillar bedding and lug lapping, techniques Redleg uses to eliminate action stress and bolt misalignment.

🔩 Reloading Masterclass

.22 Hornet

Brass: Winchester & Hornady seem to hold tighter primer pockets.

Powder: Hodgdon Lil’Gun remains king high energy density and clean burn. Primer: Small pistol primers produce smoother pressure curves (~1,500 psi less average).

Seating: Optimal jump = 0.015–0.020".

Neck Tension: .0015–.002" (light tension minimizes bullet deformation).

Redleg Load Example (Safe Starting Point)

.218 Bee

Brass: Starline, Hornady, or reformed .25-20. Anneal every reloading cycle because it's hard to get brass.

Powder: Lil’Gun, H110, or IMR-4227 each meters differently but produce similar velocities.

Primer: CCI 400 or Rem 7½ for uniform ignition.

Seating: 0.010" jump works best in long-throated vintage chambers.

Pressure Warning: Many pre-1950 actions (Win 65/92) can’t handle >40,000 psi. Stay conservative.

Redleg Load Example (Safe Starting Point)

🧪 Advanced Case Prep for Consistency

Both cartridges reward benchrest-level prep:

• Uniform primer pockets to 0.1285"

• Neck-turn for uniform 0.0015" wall variance

• H20 Cap and sort within 0.5 gr

• Trim every firing; both stretch inconsistently due to thin web

Hornet brass often shows case head expansion after five firings anneal often.

Bee brass lasts longer but requires more forming time.

🧠 Modern Rifles & Chambering Realities

• Hornet: Still chambered in modern CZs, Anschütz, and custom single-shots. Ruger’s discontinuation of the 77/22H only increased demand for customs.

• Bee: Essentially extinct in new production, but custom smiths (like Redleg) can chamber it easily from .25-20 brass with a modern throat. A Bee in a blueprinted action with a 1:12 twist barrel is devastating on varmints to 350 yards.

For those wanting the performance without the hunt for brass, the .22 K-Hornet is the modern answer same action footprint, 10% more capacity, longer brass life, and matches the Bee’s velocity in modern rifles.

🧬 Improved & Wildcat Variants

Each evolution pushed the limits of pressure and powder burn but the Hornet and Bee remain the most efficient small-caliber centerfires ever built.

🏁 The Redleg Verdict .22 Hornet and .218 Bee

🧩 Final Thought from the Bench

At Redleg Precision, we see both .22 Hornet and .218 Bee as time capsules of craftsmanship. They remind us that you don’t need a carbon-fiber chassis or 3,000 fps from a magnum to achieve precision. You need concentricity, consistency, and control the same things that define every rifle we chamber and every load we tune.

The Hornet whispers precision. The Bee hums with purpose. Both sting exactly where you aim.

🧠 Precision is timeless. The tools just evolve.

🔗 Continue Exploring Precision with Redleg

Whether you’re chasing prairie dogs across Minnesota fields or tuning your next competition rifle, Redleg Precision is your trusted partner in custom rifles, gunsmithing, and advanced reloading education.

Learn more about our Custom Rifle Builds, explore our Gunsmithing Services, or download our Reloading Sheets.

At Redleg, we don’t just build rifles we build accuracy, confidence, and community across Southwest Minnesota and beyond.

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info@redlegguns.com

507-677-6007