Taurus Tracker .218 BEE

[jcn59]

I've had this revolver a few years but whenever I get anywhere near max loads, the primer extrudes into the firing pin hole in the frame, & the cylinder locks up.  Generally, accuracy is best with 40 & 45 grain spitzers at about 1850 FPS, giving about 1" or less groups at 25 yards with a scoped gun on bags.  Using 11 grains of H4227 under a 45 grain Sierra (or any brand spitzer) or a 45 grain XLC Barnes gives the best accuracy, especially the Barnes.  When I get near 13 grains of H4227, I start to get cylinder lock-ups and declining accuracy.

I  tried H Lil Gun initially but got discouraged by the frequent lock-ups.  I tried some 33 grain bullets but they shot about 2" at 25 yards with occasional lock-ups.  I got them as fast as 2300 fps.  I think I could get them near 2000 FPS without lock-ups.  For reference, factory ammo chronos around 1475 fps in my 6" gun.  Did not have any cylinder lock-ups with factory ammo....at a buck a shot...

I like the idea of a .218 bee but it really doesn't put out much more than a .22 rimfire mag in a revolver.  What kind of velocity are people getting with their .17 HMR revolvers?  Or the .22 mag. autoloaders? 

I'd be interested in trying .218 Bee loads that work for other people & their revolvers.

[coyotejoe]

With a 45 grain bullet at 1800+ you are beating the .22 WMR by a good deal, from my 6" AMT automag ll I get around 1700 fps for the Federal 30 grain and for 40 grain bullets it is under 1400. You say you can't reach max load levels but the max load is decided by the gun, so you are there, or should I say "so there you are"? Your top loads are beating the factory load by 400 fps so maybe you need to just accept that as good enough.  I know it is disappointing to settle for less than you had hoped for but really the .218 Bee just isn't a revolver cartridge. I've also not had much luck with Hodgdons Lil-gun powder. In the .22 K Hornet and the .30 M1 Carbine I get extreme shot to shot variations in velocity with some primers looking normal and some showing cratering. I've become a bit nervous about the stuff

[Blackhawk44]

One thought, be sure you are using Small Rifle primers, not pistol.  The primer pocket was cut for them.  With the rifle type pressures, pistol primers will extrude quite commonly.  If you are already using rifle primers, change to Remington 7 1/2's, they have a heavier cup material.   

Just like the old .22 Remington Jet, be sure that loaded rounds are squeaky clean and free from any trace of case sizing lubricant.  Speaking of the Jet, even though the .22 Jet was advertised at 2200 fps (with a 40gr bullet) real world chronographs told us 1750-1800 fps.  This also proved to be about the max in functional handloads.  Since the Jet and Bee are somewhat similar in case capacity, I would tend to believe you are at or very near practical limits for a working load. 

You might get you hands on some Hornady 35 gr bullets.  That might perk things up.  BOL.

[jcn59]

I tried some mil-spec rifle primers but got erratic ignition in sub-freezing weather with the same problems.  I'll try some Rem. 7 1/2s.

The thing about the Tracker Bee is I often get sub-inch groups at 25 yards with 10.9 grains of H4227 with 40-45 grain spitzers at about 1775 FPS.  Speed it up and accuracy declines in proportion to velocity increases.

I can live with this.  I just wondered if anyone else found a better load for their revolver Bee.

I can get some speed out of the 33 grain bullets, but they lack the accuracy of the heavier spitzers at any velocity.

Thanks all for your input.

 

[sniper2u00]

I too tried LIL'Gun first in my Raging Bee(Had some to use up) but had the same pressure spikes you have had.I was shooting threw a friends Oehler Chronograph with 12.5gr. Lil'gun and a 40gr. sierra hornet. I had 2359fps. with a hard to work cly.  then 1891fps. with no pressure signs ? Then my friend said to try holding the gun straight up before firing then put it on the bags to fire so all the powder would be at the back of the case. It worked all shots after that were at about 1950fps. with no pressure signs  With the powder at the front of the case it created high pressure. I continued up to 13.0gr. Lil'gun / 40gr. hornet  with a 5 shot avg. of 2049fps. Then 13.5gr. Lil'gun /40gr. hornet with a 5 shot avg. of 2123fps. Every time holding the gun up to put the powder to the back of the case before firing!
H-4198@ 13.5gr./40gr. blitzking is at about 1800fps. with good groups but unburnt powder in left in the barrel. I am working on a load with IMR 4227 now but like you Have pressure signs at 13gr. No chronograph #'s for it yet.   Hope this helps some. 

[unspellable]

I have a six inch Taurus revolver in 17 HMR.  At six feet from the muzzle velocities generally run in the 1900 to 2000 fps range, depending on choice of ammo.

[Camba]

I have a 6.5" Tracker 218 Bee (actually this is my second one) and I have tried several loads and one thing to notice was that cleaning and drying the chambers would fire really great but as soon as it started to get dirty, the pressure goes up and locks up the cylinder.  This gun is very accurate but I am still looking for a good bullet-load combination.  I have shot a squirrel and the shot just passed through but the squirrel did not die instantly like when you hit it with a 22LR.  The bullet seems too hard and there's no expansion on something small as the squirrel.  In south america, I've killed a deer at 100 yards open sights with it (it run for about 35 yds before expiring and it went through the shoulder and I was not able to recover it.  I think I've used the 55 gr bullet at that time over 13.5gr of H4198 (about 1600fps).  The powders I've used for all my experiments are:

45gr bullet and rifle primers

1.  Bullseye (5.5gr max) 1710fps
2.  Blue Dot (8gr max) 1791fps
3.  Li'lGun (9.7gr max) 1922fps
4.  2400 (9gr max) 1714fps
5.  H110 (9gr max) 1530fps
6.  H4198 (14gr max) 1720fps

I started low using pistol primers but seems to work better on the pressure with rifle primers.
Other observation is that pointed bullets do not expand.  Perhaps the 218 Bee flat point bullets would perform better.

Note:  My load development was approached with small increment until arriving to those values.  Every gun is different so use your own safety judgment for your own loads.  Don't forget that this is a revolver and not a rifle; therefore, you should use published data from ammunition manufacturer.

Camba

[jcn59]

Thanks, guys,  that helps!

[Camba]

Jcn59,

Where you able to load and try some new loads?  Let me know how you do.

Camba

[Camba]

Last weekend I try to dust off my 218 Bee and loaded a couple of loads to see how it does:

1.  Load # 1:  Bullet = 55 gr SPEER bulk, Powder: 14.0gr of H4198, Primer: Magtech SRP; Group = 1.2" at 25 yds with a red dot.
2.  Load # 2:  Bullet = 45gr Rem JHP, Powder:  14.0gr of H4198, Primer: Magtech SRP; Group = 1.0" at 25 yds with red dot.

Load #1 seem to be maximum.  I will reduce them to 13.5 gr for next time.
Load #2 was nicer.  I tried at a small rock at 100 yds and it smoke it.  No holdover either.  It is a flat shooter.  That's nice from a 6.5" BBL revolver.  Velocity somewhere around 1750 to 1800 fps.

Camba