.218 Bee vs .22 Hornet: Cartridge Clash

The .22 Hornet’s origin story begins in 1885 with the introduction of the .22 Win. Center Fire, a mild-mannered blackpowder round that was originally chambered in the Winchester 1885 single-shot. In the 1920s, Capt. Grosvenor Wotkyns and Col. Townsend Whelen began experimenting with the .22 WCF case, which featured a .350-inch rim and long, sloping, five-degree shoulder. They swapped the original .228-inch bullet for a .223 and then a .224-inch pill, ditched the blackpowder propellant for smokeless, and, in 1930, the .22 Hornet was born.

It was an immediate success. The early Winchester loads propelled a 45-grain bullet at 2,500 fps with little recoil or blast. Winchester offered its Model 54 in .22 Hornet in 1933, and three years later the new Model 70 was also chambered for the Hornet. A hot cartridge in its day, the .22 Hornet became a darling of handloaders who stuffed bullets from 34 to 55 grains in the Hornet case.

The .218 Bee was introduced in 1938 in the Winchester Model 65 lever action. Based on a necked-down .25-20 Win., it was capable of pushing a .224-inch 45-grain bullet at 2,860 fps. Even though the Hornet had gotten a boost in velocity to 2,650 fps, the Bee was still considerably faster.

However, it was also late to the party. By the time the .218 arrived, the .220 Swift, introduced in 1935, was already pushing .224 bullets over 4,000 fps. The Bee wasn’t even Winchester’s fastest lever-action .22 centerfire. That honor went to the .219 Zipper.

Hits and Misses

Hornady and Winchester’s 45-grain jacketed hollowpoint .218 Bee ammo offerings manage 2,750 and 2,760 fps, respectively, and HSM offers a 35-grain V-Max that reaches 2,940, which is impressive for this little cartridge. It’s worth noting that since early Bees were lever actions, most of the factory loads use flatnose bullets.

The .22 Hornet approaches Bee numbers in factory ammunition. The 45- and 46-grain loads from Remington and Winchester both attain 2,690 fps according to their manufacturers. The Nosler and Federal 35-grain offerings reach 3,000 fps, and the Hornady 35-grain V-Max achieves 3,100 fps.

It’s worth noting, though, that the .218 Bee offers a larger case. This means handloaders will be able to achieve more with the .218 than they can with the Hornet.

There aren’t a lot of .218 Bee rifles floating around, and none in production. In addition to the Model 65 it was also offered in Winchester’s bolt-action 43, a handful of Sako L46s, and a few Kimber of Oregon 82s. Used rifles can command pretty high prices on auction sites.

There are more .22 Hornet rifles. Winchester, Ruger, Remington, Sako, Savage, CZ, Anschutz and other companies have offered .22 Hornet guns over the years. In Africa I once hunted duiker with a Holland & Holland Rook rifle and a Savage 25 Varminter, both in .22 Hornet. Ruger, Savage and Anschutz still offer .22 Hornets.

The Hornet holds the edge in ammo as well. Winchester, Hornady and HSM produce .218 Bee, but since this cartridge isn’t as in demand as other, hotter .22s, runs of .218 ammunition are limited. There are a lot more .22 Hornet loads available. Remington, Nosler, Federal, Hornady, Sellier & Bellot and others offer factory ammo. You’ve got a chance of finding .22 Hornet ammo on a store shelf, but .218 ammo is considerably scarcer.

Ammo for the .22 Hornet runs as low as $0.65 for target loads and as low as $0.91 a shot for premium hunting fodder. Ammo for the .218 Bee, on the other hand, ranges from $1.36 to $2 per shot.

Both rifles are great for small game, varmints and predators the size of coyotes at close to medium range. And both are an absolute blast to shoot.

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