Here's one I'll bet you haven't seen. Today I shot a recently acquired BSA Martini Cadet chambered in - I thought - .218 Bee (look it up). This is a falling-block single shot centerfire rifle with Aussie markings; the barrel is not original and has no markings. It's fitted with a Unertl target scope.
The .218 Bee cartridges went in looking like the one on the right (below) but came out looking like the one on the left. I suspect this rifle is chambered in the even more obscure .218 Mashburn Bee (look it up...). Mashburn Bee cases are apparently fire-formed from .218 Bee or 7.62 Nagant brass and then loaded with a bit more powder. The cartridges fitted and ejected nicely, and there was no splitting, buckling or bulging of the cases. I see no reason not to keep shooting this with .218 Bee, though I don't expect to reload the brass. Anybody know anything about .218 Mashburn Bee or related variants?
The .218 Bee cartridges went in looking like the one on the right (below) but came out looking like the one on the left. I suspect this rifle is chambered in the even more obscure .218 Mashburn Bee (look it up...). Mashburn Bee cases are apparently fire-formed from .218 Bee or 7.62 Nagant brass and then loaded with a bit more powder. The cartridges fitted and ejected nicely, and there was no splitting, buckling or bulging of the cases. I see no reason not to keep shooting this with .218 Bee, though I don't expect to reload the brass. Anybody know anything about .218 Mashburn Bee or related variants?