Welcome to at this time’s Photo of the Day! Right here we’ve got a 1939 Winchester Mannequin 65 in .218 Bee – one of the crucial fascinating 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 legit 200-yard efficiency.
Actuality proved extra sophisticated. The .218 Bee was temperamental about bullet choice and notoriously troublesome to reload precisely. The bottleneck design precipitated feeding points in lever actions, and the small case capability made it delicate to powder fees. Worst of all, it arrived simply as World Battle II shut down sporting ammunition manufacturing.
This 1939 Mannequin 65 exhibits typical pre-war high quality – 95% authentic blue, manufacturing facility peep sight setup with the higher tang drilled and tapped, and the brief “button” journal. The hooded entrance sight and bolt-mounted peep rear have been severe 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 to maintain lever actions related within the precision varmint market – first rate idea, incorrect platform, horrible timing.
Most of our POTDs make the most of photos from our associates at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms public sale in america. Take a while to browse their current auctions – who is aware of, perhaps you’ll discover a piece of historical past to take dwelling!
“Pre-World Battle 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.
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