Welcome to immediately’s Photo of the Day! Right here we now have a 1939 Winchester Mannequin 65 in .218 Bee – one of the attention-grabbing cartridge experiments of the pre-war period that by no means fairly lived as much as its potential. Winchester launched the .218 Bee in 1938 as a high-velocity varmint spherical, necking down the previous .25-20 case to just accept a .224 bullet. The concept was giving farmers and ranchers a flat-shooting cartridge for pest management that would attain out additional than rimfires. On paper, it made sense – velocities round 2,800 fps with a 46-grain bullet gave professional 200-yard efficiency.
Actuality proved extra difficult. The .218 Bee was temperamental about bullet choice and notoriously tough to reload precisely. The bottleneck design precipitated feeding points in lever actions, and the small case capability made it delicate to powder prices. Worst of all, it arrived simply as World Struggle II shut down sporting ammunition manufacturing.
This 1939 Mannequin 65 reveals typical pre-war high quality – 95% unique blue, manufacturing facility peep sight setup with the higher tang drilled and tapped, and the quick “button” journal. The hooded entrance sight and bolt-mounted peep rear have been critical varmint searching options. The .218 Bee limped alongside till 1963 when Winchester discontinued it. By then, the .222 Remington and .223 had confirmed that bolt actions have been the way forward for varmint capturing. Winchester’s try and preserve lever actions related within the precision varmint market – respectable idea, fallacious platform, horrible timing.
Most of our POTDs make the most of photographs from our associates at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms public sale in the USA. Take a while to browse their current auctions – who is aware of, perhaps you’ll discover a piece of historical past to take house!
“Pre-World Struggle II Winchester Mannequin 65 Rifle in .218 Bee.” Rock Island Public sale, www.rockislandauction.com/element/4095/1057/preworld-war-ii-winchester-model-65-rifle-in-218-bee. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
Author | TheFirearmBlog
Author | AllOutdoor.com Instagram | sfsgunsmith Outdated soul, licensed gunsmith, revealed writer, avid firearm historical past learner, and appreciator of previous and distinctive weapons.
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