Rare Centerfire cartridges

[Bray]

How hard would it be to find something like a .218 bee, a .221 fireball, .17 remington, etc. I have never seen a rifle but know where to get all kinds of ammunition. Have always wanted to own one.

[KodiakJoe153]

Not sure I have a buddy that his dad and brother both have a fireball I'll ask and let you know. They both love them. Not sure on ammo, I know they both reload though.

[killinmammals]

.17 remington isn't rare, I've seen 221 at a fee places but the 218 I've never seen

[Multidigits]

Winchester sells the .218 Bee ammo in a 46 gr. HP -- pricey though a 50 round box is over $50 wholesale price.

.221 Fireball would be a handload deal only unless you can find some old stock.

[GunCat]

Remington and Nosler Custom (maybe others too) still makes and sell .221 Fireball ammo. You may not find it on every store's shelf but its out there.

You should start looking with Uncle Lee's in Greenville, KY. Some of the online reloading supply places have it in (http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe/browse?TabID=3&Categoryid=9368&categorystring=653***690***) stock too.

[westkybanded]

How hard would it be to find something like a .218 bee, a .221 fireball, .17 remington, etc. I have never seen a rifle but know where to get all kinds of ammunition. Have always wanted to own one.


I think you're actually looking for guns... Right? If not, hit people up when you run into them at the range and offer to BUY a round from them. I've got over 200 calibers in my collection.

218 Bee:
For the collection:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=86719582

For fun:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=87163637

.221 Fireball:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=87220338

.17 Remington:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=86990223

.17 Fireball:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=87206289

The guns are out there everywhere if you just look for em...

[Bray]

I have all kinds of ammo. I was just wondering how hard it would be to find a rifle. I have never seen one in a gun store. Has anybody ever bought one from gun broker?

[Auk1124]

If you have a Remchester, maybe a smith could do a re-barrel for you to one of those calibers. Or if you have a savage, you could swap out a barrel yourself. Those kinda-obscure calibers would be neat but reloading to shoot them is just about a given.

[Multidigits]

Charles Daly has a .218 Bee Sharps case colored replica rifle out still. CZ and Remington have a .221 Fireball still available. Lots of .17 Rem. rifles out there new and used.

[Hoosier5]

I use to own a couple .218 Bee Rifles, both Winchester Model 43 bolt actions. One was their plain stock version and the other their Model 43 "Special" with checkered stock. The .218 Bee is a fine little casrtridge but really not much better than the .22 Hornet unless you reload. The .218 Bee ammo is currently selling for about $63 per 50 shells, and only Winchester loads it. When I had my .218 Bee rifles (Back in the '60's) the price of ammo was $7.25 per 50 cartridges, and Remington, Peters & Winchester loaded it. The last rifle I saw chambered for it was Marlin's Model 1894, and I believe Kimber of Oregon chambered their model 82 bolt action for it in a single shot.

[trust me]

Marlin made the 1894 in 218 Bee until just a few years ago. I've seen a couple at gun shows but the owners were very attached to them, judging from the stickers. 17 Rem is still common, and the Fireball is available in used guns as well as the Custom Shop, I believe.

If you have scads of oddball ammo, you might be better served to sell it to folks desperate to find it, and use the proceeds to buy something a little easier to feed.

FWIW, I have made two purchases on Gunbroker and had a positive experience each time.

[Hoosier5]

I am certain that CZ chamberes their Model 527 in .221 Remington Fireball.

[steelslinger]

Remington still makes the .17rem in a 700bdl. Any Rem deal can order one for you. Dad and I own a .17rem (we split the price) bought new 2 years ago.