.218 Bee

.218 Bee
Left, compared to .223 Remington
TypeRifle
Place of originUS
Production history
DesignerWinchester
Designed1937
ManufacturerWinchester
Produced1937–present
Variants.218 Mashburn Bee[1]
Specifications
Parent case.32-20 Winchester
Case typeRimmed, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.224 in (5.7 mm)
Neck diameter.242 in (6.1 mm)
Shoulder diameter.329 in (8.4 mm)
Base diameter.349 in (8.9 mm)
Rim diameter.408 in (10.4 mm)
Rim thickness.065 in (1.7 mm)
Case length1.345 in (34.2 mm)
Primer typeSmall rifle
Maximum CUP40,000[2] CUP
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
35 gr (2 g) VMax 3,205 ft/s (977 m/s) 799 ft⋅lbf (1,083 J)
40 gr (3 g) BT 3,130 ft/s (950 m/s) 870 ft⋅lbf (1,180 J)
46 gr (3 g) JFP 2,708 ft/s (825 m/s) 749 ft⋅lbf (1,016 J)
50 gr (3 g) BT 2,654 ft/s (809 m/s) 782 ft⋅lbf (1,060 J)
Source(s): Hodgdon [3]

The .218 Bee / 5.7x34mmR is a .22 caliber centerfire rifle cartridge designed for varmint hunting by Winchester in 1937. The cartridge was originally chambered in the Winchester Model 65 lever-action rifles, which may have ultimately led to its lack of popularity. The cartridge is named for the bore diameter of the barrel in which the cartridge is chambered rather than the usual practice in the United States of having the cartridge's nomenclature reflect in some way the bullet diameter.

  1. ^ Landis, Charles S. Twenty-Two Caliber Varmint Rifles (1947) Small Arms Technical Publishing Company p.60
  2. ^ Saami pressures. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2023, from https://leverguns.com/articles/saami_pressures.htm
  3. ^ "Hodgdon Online Reloading Data". Archived from the original on 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2007-08-02.