Mashburn Bee

[olywa]

I was looking at my dog-eared copy of P.O. Ackley Vol. 1 the other night and was really intrigued by his writeup on the Mashburn Bee. It looks like it sits somewhere between the K-Hornet and the 223 in powder capacity and gets a lot of performance from a pretty small powder charge. It is also a little lower pressure than the 223 and looks easy to fireform. Has anybody tried reaming out their 218 Bee to the Mashburn? If so , how did you like the results? It looks like it would be possible to get around 3000fps with a 50gr bullet out of a 14" barrel. Seems like it would make for a real nice soft-shooting setup.

[bandit]

 RE: Mashburn

Gary Reeder also has a forum. I know for a fact that he has experience w/ the Mashburn Bee. I didnt see any replies to this yet, so thought that I'd mention that. I hope Graybeard doesnt mind. It sounds like an interesting round.

[olywa]

Thanks Bandit, I'll check that out. I was leaning towards a K-Hornet but the Mashburn Bee looks well worth investigating. Seems like it would be a nice boost over the Hornet and still be pretty mild-mannered. The 223 has a little more bark than I'd like so the Bee may be the ticket. I hope someone who has tried this round will chime in.

[patw]

If you want to read more about it, Handloader Magazine had an article on it in their October 2002 issue, and you can order the back issue if you want.  I have been playing with a Mashburn bee for  a couple of months and got it for a starting point for loads.  They were shooting a bolt action and I am shooting it out of a Martini action.  One thing I noticed is that I could not get anywhere near the amounts of powder that was listed.  I played around a little bit and  have gotten a little over 2600 fps with 14.5 gr of 4198  and a 55 gr Sierra, and  I seem to remember that was about max for my rifle.  The article in Handloader states they got 2878fps with 17.5 gr of 4198 and a 55 gr ballistic tip.  It is about as pleasant to shoot as anything I have ever shot, not loud and next to no recoil.

[olywa]

Patw - Thanks for sharing your experiences. Ackley states that 17.3 gr. of 4198 pushes a 50 gr. bullet out the tube at 3300fps. There is no mention of barrel length or that the charge is compressed. I'm not sure what kind of velocity loss there would be in a 14" Contender barrel but I was hoping to hear that somebody was getting close to 3000fps with that load or something comparable. Sounds pretty mild-mannered from what you've experienced and that's enough to keep my interest piqued. Are you getting pretty good case life?

[patw]

I have only reloaded the cases three or four times but so far no problems. BTW, the loads I gave were out of an 18 inch bbl.
Regarding some of the max loads listed by Ackley or in Handloader magazine, if I fill a case to the top, the most 4198 I can get is 16.1 gr., so I have to admit I don't know how they get that much powder in.

[Johnly]

I have a 12" Bullberry 218 Mashburn Bee barrel as well as a couple K-Hornets. The 218 MB is nice, but the dies are expensive and the brass is much harder to find as compared to K-hornet dies and Hornet brass. I have a copy of the Handloader with the 218 article and can mail you a photocopy if you like.  I'm shooting Lil'gun in my 218 MB and I believe that it is the best velocity powder choice for this cartridge.

John in Oregon

[olywa]

Thanks John, no need to mail the article but I am interested in whether you think the Mashburn Bee is worth the extra effort in relation to the K-Hornet. Which one do you pick up to use more often?