var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; .224 Valkyrie (Load Development) reloading data with 60 loads. 0000048231 00000 n The average length of these cases was 1.5906 inches, with an extreme spread of only .0095 inch, and an SD of .0016 inch. Varget hits the sweet spot for the best performance in this cartridge.. The .224 Valkyrie was created to provide optimal long-range performance, and matching factory-load ballistics with handloads is relatively easy. With the 224 Valkyrie, Hornady proves that lightning really can strike twice or even three times in the same place! The author was able to meter each throw to within 0.1 of a grain. Uniform components are very important for accurate handloads, and Starline cases demonstrated their quality, both on the range and in their empirical measurements. /wp-content/uploads/2017/12/winchester-logo-redv2.png. 0000030982 00000 n Okay, how about some results? However, while Eugene Stoner got it right in 1959, the one thing that the AR-15 always lacked was range. 0000080640 00000 n In my testing, both rifles were usually accurate with 88- and 90-grain handloads, but each was somewhat sporadic. Because I was reloading for an autoloader, I chose to full-length size every case to ensure it would function reliably. I'll be testing anyway. Saving the day just in the nick of time was E.R. 0000035400 00000 n Powder: 26.6 grains Hodgdon CFE-223. The correct shellholder is the same as the 6.8 SPC. This certainly speeds up the process and allows for the use of progressive reloading presses. Established in 1947 by Bruce and Amy Hodgdon, today, sons JB and Bob have grown Hodgdon Powder Company into the largest US supplier of smokeless, blackpowder and blackpowder substitute propellants. Shaw booth at the NRA Great American Outdoor Show, a company known for its world-class, bolt-action rifle barrels. I was pleased to learn the company just released its AR-15 barrels, and in the lineup was an 18.5-inch, helical-fluted 224 Valkyrie option. Rifle #2 was only slightly less accurate, averaging .94 inch for all loads tested, and only five came in over an inchstill impressive performance. These features include a longer neck, a shoulder thats pushed back a bit, and rifle chambers with longer throats. "Shooting heavier bullets, in an AR-platform rifle, that maintain supersonic speeds beyond 1,300 yards has captured the interest of shooters and handloaders everywhere. While the standard twist for the Valkyrie is 7 inches, both test rifles have 6.5-inch twists to see if a little extra spin improves accuracy. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); Of all of the propellants I tried, several Alliant choices performed well, as did Hodgdon and IMR selections. All Rights Reserved. Available in different sizes and red dot ready, it'll fit your needs, whatever they are. This setup is inherently more stable than a bipod, as it allows the gun to slide smoothly under recoil, and the wedge let us adjust elevation simply by sliding it in or out from the buttstock. However, Lane easily duplicated the ballistics of factory-loaded ammunition. A critical marksmanship skill that is easy to overlook. Starline Brass is well known for its large selection of pistol cases, and now offers over 40 rifle cases. One case had an ES of 0.000 no variation. Just a few weeks later, I found myself at the E.R. My intent is to provide basic reloading information for a specific barrel length and type without providing information overload. Concluding our test-firing, we found a node at 23.4 grains that produced an adequate group measuring just outside of 1 MOA. They loaded smoothly and held up well over many reloads. 0000100893 00000 n While new load data will continue to be updated on Hodgdons Reloading Data Center, this new 224 Valkyriedata is available immediately at www.HodgdonReloading.com. A recent addition is the new .224 Valkyrie, developed by Federal as a low-recoil round for long-range shooting. I used RCBS dies, but sets are available from Hornady and Redding, as well. 0000042641 00000 n But the Nolser 55- and 60-grain Ballistic Tips also shot great. From affordable target practice to home defense, there isn't much that cannot be done with this rifle. The Valkyrie has spawned a crop of new, high-tech bullets, including (from left): Hornady 70-grain GMX, Hornady 75-grain ELD Match, Hornady 80-grain ELD Match, Hornady 88-grain ELD Match, Sierra 77-grain Tipped MatchKing, Sierra 80-grain MatchKing, Sierra 90-grain MatchKing, Nosler 64-grain Bonded Solid Base, and Nosler 77-grain Custom Competition. 0000017843 00000 n 0000099588 00000 n I assume I was responsible for the one dropped shot.) Federal's .224 Valkyrie was designed to fit, feed, and fire in the popular AR-15 platform. Graciously, the company supplied me with one for testing and I left with it that day. : 3,285 3,533 Press. The 55-grain BT clocked 3,209 fps with 26.3 grains of IMR-8208XBR and averaged .54 inch. The results are shown below. Most critically, case length (base to mouth) is short enough to allow loading super-sleek, high-BC bullets with long, fine-entry ogives. Varget hits the sweet spot for the best performance in this cartridge.. I am able to "real world" test at every range from 100-1000 yards so velocity is not important to me. These features allow long, skinny bullets to be seated out further, so they will not intrude into precious powder space. But IMR-8208XBR did very well with varmint-weight bullets. Uniform case necks are important, and the Starline cases did well in this measurement too. We took a cartridge that offers less wind drift, drop and recoil and added the accuracy and consistency that made Hornady famous! 0000008830 00000 n I've had the pleasure of working with the 300 BLK CFE powder before and even had the opportunity to do a before-and-after comparison with a Lyman Products Borecam, and it was amazing how it actually keeps its promise.Load development was relatively simple, as both of these powders have a narrow range between max and min charges. Starline and Hornady are also offering .224 Valkyrie, so I obtained 50 pieces of Starline brass and several boxes of Hornady ELD-Match ammo. Almost 100fps faster to. You are using an out of date browser. Starline Brass and the author accept no responsibility for use of the data in this article. Introduced by Federal in 2017 and approved by SAAMI in 2018, the new 224 Valkyriehas been quickly adopted by long-range shooters. Jul 13, 2012 1,535 581 33 . 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There was no additional work needed to use the AR barrel, and gunsmith John Gallagher performed the needed modifications to the CZ 527. Sights on both rifles were Burris 4.5-14x40 A.O. Introduced in 1965 with the .444 Marlin cartridge, the Model 444 was the most powerful lever action of its day. At this point, Chris and I scratched our heads and sent the 88-grain loads downrange to see just how far the rabbit hole went. The .224 valkyrie should be a better choice with heavier bullets since it is shorter and will allow longer OAL with the longer bullets. I measured the neck thickness at five points around the neck with an RCBS ball micrometer and averaged the results for each case for its measurement. The resulting average neck thickness of all 50 cases was .0139 inch, with an extreme spread of .0014 inch. I used primers common to reloaders of similar sized cases, i.e., Federal No. 0000000016 00000 n With the 90gr SMK, the .224 Valkyrie offers ballistics similar to the 6.5 Creedmoor but with significantly less felt recoil. At Hodgdon, weve been researching this cartridge since before its introduction and are excited to release load data for the Valkyrie featuring powders like Hodgdon CFE 223, IMR 8208 XBRand Hodgdon Varget. 0000047766 00000 n But they are still a place to start. 0000097375 00000 n Login with username, password and session length. 0000002321 00000 n 22 PPC does better on performance. Here's the specifics for this load: (this is a MAX load) Case: New Starline 224 Valkyrie Cases. I shot three, five-shot groups with each load in each rifle from my indoor shooting building. Joseph VonBenedikt is with Joel Hodgdon to talk about the improved accuracy and long-range potential of the already reliable Core-Lokt ammo line. Values in green indicate MAXIMUM loads use CAUTION. Running the numbers through Hornady's mobile app, we were pleased to find that this loading would only experience 9.1 inches of drop between 200 and 300 yards. Velocities on these were smoking, reaching 3,074 fps out of our relatively short 18.5-inch barrel. With Sierra's remarkable new 95-grain MatchKing, this gives the little . Buy CFE 223 copper fouling eraser directly from Hodgdon. Joseph Von Benedikt shows his custom 500 and how well it shoots. 0000016556 00000 n Beth Shimanski of Savage introduces their all new straight-pull rifle. With Sierras remarkable new 95-grain MatchKing, this gives the little Valkyrie long-range performance that can rival some much larger cartridge types. All Rights Reserved. 0000003136 00000 n Give a Gift 0000022446 00000 n SAFETY DATA SHEET GET RELOADING DATA Access from your Country was disabled by the administrator. Using bullets from Nosler Varmageddon, Speer Gold Dot, Nosler Custom Competition, Hornady ELD-Match, Berger VLD Target. The .224 Valkyrie is indeed a high-tech, purpose-designed cartridge, and the handloads I tested in Starline cases delivered excellent performance with a wide range of components. Shooting heavier bullets, in an AR-platform rifle, that maintain supersonic speeds beyond 1,300 yards has captured the interest of shooters and handloaders everywhere, says Ron Reiber, Hodgdon product manager and ballistician. These are all shown in Table 2. Because Valkyrie ammo is primarily intended for autoloading rifles, Hornady lightly stakes the primer in place. Interesting data, thanks for taking the time to post. (Above) Case-neck thickness was checked with a ball micrometer and found little variance. All RifleShooter subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. The Valkyrie and the Creedmoor have several similar features of case design that make them both great cartridges. At more than 3,000 fps, this is sure to send a prairie dog flying off a mound. Kimber's Hunter Pro Desolve Blak takes the firm's more affordable mountain rifle to new heights. This is available to consumers in 100-round bags. .224 Valkyrie vs 6.8 SPC Some writers have described the Valkyrie as a "scaled down Creedmoor." However, the Valkyrie case is derived from a slightly shortened 6.8 SPC case, necked-down to .22 caliber. (Above) Test handloads were prepared with RCBS dies. This removes the lube and rounds out any dings that can occur in bulk-packed brass. A World Record Attempt and everyone is out at the range shooting and practicing. I just thought it might be helpful to some even though everyone has a different setup. Thats still minute of prairie dog right where most shots are taken. I have no clue what length the Valkyrie chamber will accept a 95 SMK at but the 2.260 length is based on what a thick-walled aluminum GI mag will accept. 0000011356 00000 n Bullets from other manufacturers may not produce . Introduced by Federal in 2017 and approved by SAAMI in 2018, the new 224 Valkyriehas been quickly adopted by long-range shooters. The development of the name of this cartridge is no less interesting that the design of the case itself. Those loads have factory-rated muzzle velocities of 3,300 fps, 3,000 fps, 2,700 fps, and 2,700 fps respectively. Round two, here we go. Although our original barrel was defective, we still felt that a 10+ MOA load need some sort of change, and we were hell-bent on making the 88-grain rounds fly. Min Charge Max Charge Optimal Charge Bullet Make Bullet Type I had plenty of component cases to load. The dead in Valhalla were considered heroes and were fed lavish feasts by the Valkyries; Oden feasted there with his heroes, day after day. The maximum length of the Valkyrie case is listed by SAAMI as 1.600 inches. The new round, the .224 Valkyrie has had a few starts and fits in its birthing, but it finally seems to be flying high, like its namesake. This data is available for 80 different loads featuring 50- to 90-grain bullet options (from Hornady, Nosler, Federal, Swift and Sierra) and powders from Hodgdon, IMR and Winchester. CFE-223: Subscribe: 2662: Remarks: COAL (inches): 2.140; 5-shot 100-yard group (inches): 1.75 77: Nosler Custom Competition: Hodgdon: 205, CCI-41, and Winchester Small Rifle. Reloder 15 and Power Pro 2000-MR propellants provided optimal load densities compatible with the .224 Valkyries case capacity. At 26.9 grains of CFE223, the author found his best load with the 60-grain V-Max. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Loads for 20 bullet types and 22 powders* are listed. I tried a slew of powders, but heres the bottom lineHodgdons CFE 223 was the hands down winner in both rifles. Thanks . Hornady takes the 224 Valkyrie to new heights! The rim diameter of both rounds is .442 inch. This allows you to load the longest, heaviest .224-caliber bullets and still feed reliably from an AR15-type magazine. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. Who knew wild turkey's were so stupid!? 223 REMINGTON 223 WSSM 224 VALKYRIE 5.56 NATO 10.5 BARREL 5.56 NATO 14.5 BARREL 5.56 NATO 16.5 BARREL 5.56 NATO 20 BARREL 224 WEATHERBY MAGNUM 22-250 REMINGTON (NEW) 22 HORNET.243. CFE 223 26.0 did a solid 1 moa, the upper charge at 26.6 did 2 moa. In addition to this, powder capacity is sacrificed to accommodate the long bullet, which reduces velocity. 0000100071 00000 n The new Sako Finnlight II sports an innovative stock and Cerakote metal paired with the terrific 85 action. Our takeaway for the Valkyrie handloading project is that this is a very viable and interesting round for handloaders. 224 valkyrie 80 eldm load data w/ cfe 223 Thread starterbgavin Start dateOct 17, 2019 Forums Reloading Depot JavaScript is disabled. Joseph Von Benedikt is with Rafe Nielsen of Browning to take a look at a new X-Bolt series rifle. Lighter and tougher and more precise than ever, it's the perfect back country hunting rifle. There is still some fine tuning to do but I am moving on to different bullets and 8208 powder for my next tests. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. At Hodgdon, we've been researching this cartridge since before its introduction and are excited to release load data for the Valkyrie featuring powders like Hodgdon CFE 223, IMR 8208 XBR and Hodgdon Varget. 0000022062 00000 n Introduced by Federal in 2017 and approved by SAAMI in 2018, the new 224 Valkyrie has been quickly adopted by long-range shooters. Their availability will certainly contribute to the successful Flight of the Valkyrie. Is this the kind of information anyone here is interested in? What seating depth is actually doingactual node or just pass/fail? I know some sort by brass and projectiles to get as consistent as possible, I am just not one of those people. The .224 Valkyrie (5.641 mm) [5] cartridge is a .22 caliber (5.6 mm) rimless bottlenecked intermediate rifle cartridge, developed by Federal Premium Ammunition to rival the performance of the .22 Nosler, while still being compatible with modern sporting rifles (MSRs). >V (`f` Guys on the facebook page "Valkyrie Ascending Reloading" have convinced me to switch from . 0000001896 00000 n Significantly, after firing and resizing, the Starline cases lengthened only a smidgenanother bonus. Interesting data. Powder: CFE 223 (Hodgdon) Primer: FED 205m Case: FED Trim Length: 1.590" C.O.L. Starline suggests doing this by either resizing (with regular case lube on the outside of the case) or running the case neck over the expander ball. I have been an early, yet trepidant, fan of the .224 Valkyrie, and have tested several rifles with many handloads. Up until recently, the only means to send a heavy .224-inch bullet was to either single-load or run it out of a bolt gun. I repeatedly experienced lube dents in most of the first batch of cases I resized. The other is a 22-inch tube that is threaded and profiled to replace the factory barrel of my CZ-USA Model 527 bolt-action rifle thats chambered for the 7.62x39mm. 0000009486 00000 n DISCLAIMER: All reloading data in this article is for informational purposes only. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); While theyre not geared to the long-range crowd, they are light enough to be toted over hill and dale by varmint hunters, and theyd sure be a prairie dog or coyotes worst nightmare. _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-6323545-2']); With that knowledge, we decided to go with the bookends and build a heavy-for-caliber target round and a light-for-caliber varmint round.For our project, we selected the Hornady 60-grain V-Max, as I have had amazing luck with this bullet in a standard 5.56 NATO cartridge. For this review, I borrowed two additional rifles that are prototypes from a major American manufacturer. With velocities north of 3,000 fps, this was a natural choice, as copper fouling is guaranteed at those speeds. 0000043396 00000 n Franchi Momentum Elite Bolt-Action Rifle in Varmint Configurations, Savage Model 110 Timberline 6.5 Creedmoor Rifle: Full Review. Established in 1947 by Bruce and Amy Hodgdon, today, sons JB and Bob have grown Hodgdon Powder Company into the largest US supplier of smokeless, blackpowder and blackpowder substitute propellants. This data is available for 80 different loads, featuring 50- to 90-grain bullet options (from Hornady, Nosler, Federal, Swift and Sierra) and powders from Hodgdon, IMR and Winchester. The .224-inch diameter bullet has always been readily available in a variety of configurations for a variety of tasks and is a favorite because of its low recoil,so many manufacturers were focused on making an AR-15-sized round to accommodate heavier bullets in this caliber. The idea was simple: Neck down a 6.8 SPC to accommodate the smaller diameter bullet, and you will have room for enough powder to push these babies up to 1,200 yards and beyond. I switched back to applying just a dab of Reddings Imperial case wax to the lower body, and the rate of dented shoulders dropped to just an occasional occurrence. | To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. XcPNH) :X?X$?K l21\b8'k>. Basically a 6.8 SPC necked down to .22, the Valkyrie has a shorter case than the .223 Remington (and 5.5645 NATO). However, one thing is for sure: The AR-15 platform is incredibly versatile, and rounds like the 224 Valkyrie only enhance its potential. The rifles differ slightly in throating. 4 . .224 Valkyrie Load Data for 52gr to 95gr Bullets from Sierra If you own an AR, you've probably heard of the hot, new .224 Valkyrie cartridge. Both have 22-inch barrrels, and 6.5-inch twists.2. Valkyrie means chooser of the slain, so we may assume that the connotation is that the .224 Valkyrie cartridge is going to go forth to a battlefield, and choose the dead with its accuracy and long-range power. 0000022266 00000 n Luckily, this was just a few days before SHOT Show 2019, where I would be immersed in a wealth of gun knowledge and industry information. 0000099731 00000 n