Did Ackley ever do an improved .25-20 ?

Since I just added a .218 Bee to my small collection of shootable single-shots, perhaps some of my experiences may help.  As you know, the .218 Bee was originally introduced by Winchester in 1938 and offered in their Model 65 lever action (dooming an otherwise good cartridge).

Today, the .218 Bee has had some renewed interest as a relatively quiet cartridge for medium range varminting, and a cartridge easily loaded down to .22 WMR or even .22 Long Rifle ballistics.  The cartridge also suffers far less from stretching brass and other issues associated with the .22 Hornet (a sister cartridge in its possible use).  For some time Ruger chambered its No. 1 in .218 Bee, Taurus chambered its "Raging" pistol in it, Charles Daly is selling the "Little Sharps" in it, and various custom rifle makers like Meacham, Ballard, CPA, and even Cooper still offer rifles in this cartridge.

The arrival of new powders (like "Lil Gun") and a new 30 to 45 grain jacketed, plastic-tipped or hollow-pointed, bullets have also provided a whole lot more zip and terminal effect when used on assorted small varmints. (For example, Hogdon Powder's loading info shows a 40 grain Sierra Blitz King at over 3100 fps out of a 24 inch barrel).

Historically, it seems that barrels for the Bee were always .224 inch in bore diameter (unlike the Hornet which started out at .223 inch).  Twist rates for both cartridges, however, seem to have started out the same at 1 turn in 16 inches.  While one turn in 16 inches stabilized the original blunt 45/46 grain bullets of the factory loads, its a little slow for any of the newer, longer plastic-tipped bullets or for anything approaching or exceeding 50 grains in weight (at least with jacketed bullets).  If you're planning on shooting only lead, 1 in 16 might still work, otherwise I would suggest 1 in 14 inches.

The down side of the Bee is finding brass (only occasionally manufactured) and the high price and scarcity of factory ammo (unlike the 32-20).

i just finished building a 218 bee on a small martini action .as was stated i also found out it does not like newer bullets .i shot it at 50 yards the other day and it put 5 shots into .390 with factory win .h.p. with 52 and 53  grain match bullets it shot terrible .it has a 1-14 twist .i just loaded some 45 gr. h.p. but did not get to shoot it yet .

jerry

ps
i will try and send pic

How about the 219 Donaldson Wasp instead of the 218 Bee.

It has a reputation for accuracy with 1/4" or better groups at 100 yds.   That's pretty good for varmits and fine for target shooting.

One of the best "old timey" wildcats around.

Merle

Depends on what you want to do with it.  Have had several Bee's and more than a couple of 32-20's.  The 32-20 will use a heavier bullet giving more foot pounds of energy for hunting, but really isn't suitable for much of anything bigger than a coyote.   The Bee tends to be more accurate., but neither the Bee or the 32-20 is what you would call a super bench rest type design.   
Brass for the Bee is more pricey but tends to last better than the Hornet.
The Bee is explosive on small varmints but could do better on coyotes beyond 100 yards.
Really, all three, the .218 Bee, the 25-20 and the 32-20 are all neat, fun to play with cartridges.  Most rifles for them are small and easy to carry.  Put a few rounds in your pocket and you are good for a full days worth of walking varmint hunting,  All three handle lead bullets to an acceptable level and with a little shopping around you can find a usable jacketed bullet that you can load up for the hotter loads..
None of the three will win you a bench match but any of the three are a lot of fun to play with.

Hornady makes a bullet specifically for the .218 Bee lever guns that I use in my rebarreled 92 Winchester.  The number is 2229.  I believe I got my last batch from Midway.  Bob

I too think you'd be very happy with the Bee. I have a Win 65 and a couple of Ruger single shots in this chambering, and it is without doubt one the most fun (to load and shoot), economical (you can easily make brass fron 25-20) and accurate combinations in small capacity 22 centerfires.
My Winchester is really just a novelty - I don't shoot it much and even though mine was D&T for a side mount, it will never approach the accuracy of the Rugers. Lil'gun, W680 (or it's bulk equivalent) and 4227 all shoot very well in my guns.