ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? Introduced in 1965 with the .444 Marlin cartridge, the Model 444 was the most powerful lever action of its day. Then chamfer the inside of the case mouth, and theyre ready to load. Who knew wild turkey's were so stupid!? They loaded smoothly and held up well over many reloads. var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
The 75-, 77-, 80-, and 90-grain match bullets shot pretty well, too, and would hold up better over longer ranges. The recent introduction of the Federal Premium 224 Valkyrie, reviewed here by Shooting Illustrated's Ammo editor, aimed at solving this shortcoming, so we decided to see what kind of capabilities could be had with this new round.A number of cartridges have been designed with the idea of getting more effective range from an AR-15-sized cartridge. Values in green indicate MAXIMUM loads use CAUTION. Hodgdon Powder Company announced the launch of load data for the new 224 Valkyrie cartridge, now available on Hodgdon's Reloading Data Center at www.HodgdonReloading.com. We began zeroing and immediately realized something was off. 4 . 0000096939 00000 n
But the Nolser 55- and 60-grain Ballistic Tips also shot great. 0000097813 00000 n
The author was able to meter each throw to within 0.1 of a grain. : 41,900 53,400 Hodgdon 50 gr by Jeremy Rowland, Reloading Podcast My oldest daughter has been to several matches with me, and has even competed in several, using her .243. 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. 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. The Sierra 77-grain Tipped MatchKing over 27.0 grains of CFE 223 registered 2,933 fps and averaged a tidy .77 inch. The faster that bullet is moving, the more ground that will cover during this drop. "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. CFE 223 yields top velocities in many cartridges such as the 204 Ruger, 223 Remington/5.56mm NATO, 22-250 Remington and the 308 Winchester/7.62mm NATO, plus many, many more. Berger also offers several suitable, high-BC target bullets. Starline Brass and the author accept no responsibility for use of the data in this article. Hornady developed a new 88-grain ELD Match bullet specifically to meet the Valkyries performance requirements. No such luck. The .224 Valkyrie enters a crowded field of established cartridges (from left): .223 Remington, 22 Nosler, .224 Valkyrie, 6.8 Remington SPC, 6.5 Grendel, and 22-250 Remington. If looking to acquire an automated powder-charge dispensing unit to speed up precision reloading, don't judge the RCBS ChargeMaster Lite powder scale and dispenser by its name; the Little Green machine packs a heavy-weight punch with speed and accuracy. I am beginning to work up a load for my valkyrie bolt gun. Thats still minute of prairie dog right where most shots are taken. Oden sent Valkyries to the battlefields to choose one half of the slain who were worthy to go in his afterlife to a magnificent palace in Asgard called Valhalla (hall of the slain). Just an armorers wrench and a torque wrench were needed to make the swap. Looks nearly identical to the .223 Ackley Improved. Abbreviations: TSX-BT, Triple Shock-X Boat Tail; GMX, Gilding Metal eXpanding; ELD-M, Extremely Low Drag RDF, Reduced Drag Factro; CC, Custom Competition; BT, Boat Tail; TMK, Tipped MatchKing; SS, Semi Spitzer. These features allow long, skinny bullets to be seated out further, so they will not intrude into precious powder space. I have been an early, yet trepidant, fan of the .224 Valkyrie, and have tested several rifles with many handloads. We took a cartridge that offers less wind drift, drop and recoil and added the accuracy and consistency that made Hornady famous! 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. 2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. of Israeli Defense Forces, joins David Fortier for an exclusive interview for Shotgun News. I have tested three .224 Valkyrie rifles, and have been impressed with velocities of heavy-bullet loads, although accuracy can vary a lot. The new .224 Valkyrie was introduced late last year as a Hot Rod cartridge that will work in AR15s. I tried a slew of powders, but heres the bottom lineHodgdons CFE 223 was the hands down winner in both rifles. With an Accu-Fit stock and left hand adjustable bolt, this rifle is a perfect choice for anyone! 0000017843 00000 n
If I find anything better than I already posted I will add it. If you are the site owner (or you manage this site), please whitelist your IP or if you think this block is an error please open a support ticket and make sure to include the block details (displayed in the box below), so we can assist you in troubleshooting the issue. "Shooting heavier . Firing was done off of a Caldwell DFT Lead Sled rest from a shooting building at an elevation of 950 feet MSL.4. . 0000034850 00000 n
This is where ballistic coefficient is king. The extremely uniform primer pockets of the Starline cases made priming a breezeno crushed pellets, or goosey-loosey pockets here. Subscriber Services. (Ret.) This substance is a mild lubricant that should be removed from the inside of the case necks before loading. Guys on the facebook page "Valkyrie Ascending Reloading" have convinced me to switch from . The 60-grain BT preferred 26.0 grains of the same powder, averaging .94 inch at 3,089 fps. And, since the Valkyries maximum overall cartridge length is 2.26 inches, it fits comfortably in the ubiquitous AR-15 platforma major plus. I prepped a bunch of new Starline cases, and prepared 28 different handloads, 14 for each rifle, using a wide variety of powders and bullets. 0000002321 00000 n
After a quick swap, we headed back to the range and duplicated our test parameters. The 22-250 has plenty of powder capacity, but its standard 14-inch twist pretty much rules out heavy bullets. To this day, it is still my go-to service rifle loading for reduced course matches. 0000097257 00000 n
Love the quick shipping from . To see what your rifle can really do, pick up one of these uppers, dust off your reloading press and see what yourgun needs to reach its full potential. The correct shellholder is the same as the 6.8 SPC. With a G7 BC of .274, it trumps even the 6.5 mm 123-grain ELD MATCH rounds in wind-beating capability, which only has a G7 BC of .255. Loading every possible safe charge in three-grain increments only meant either 7 or 11 different loads for each powder/bullet combination.Our first range day brought us some cold and damp weather typical of a Northeastern winter. })(); To comment on a post, click Post Title or "Comment" Link. The .224 Valkyrie operates at its best with sleek, high-ballistic-coefficient (BC) bullets weighing up to 90 grains to achieve optimal, long-range ballistic performance. I will also not post information on how the planets were aligned with the Sun or the color of my briefs at the time of shooting. The company distributes gunpowder under the Hodgdon, IMR, Winchester and Goex brands. This data is available for 80 different loads, featuring 50- to 90-grain bullet options (from Hornady, Nosler, Federal, Swift and Sierra . It's a bighorn tl3 with 26 inch rock creek barrel. 0000087166 00000 n
Joseph VonBenedikt is with Joel Hodgdon to talk about the improved accuracy and long-range potential of the already reliable Core-Lokt ammo line. I shot three, five-shot groups with each load in each rifle from my indoor shooting building. Interesting data. Saving the day just in the nick of time was E.R. 22 PPC does better on performance. Kimber's Hunter Pro Desolve Blak takes the firm's more affordable mountain rifle to new heights. 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. 0000101036 00000 n
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However, a standard 6.8 SPC mag is recommended and will function without any issue. 0000022266 00000 n
I selected 50 new, unfired Starline .224 Valkyrie cases, and measured their lengths with a digital caliber to 0.0005 inch, weights with an RCBS Charge Master 1500 electronic scale to 0.1 grain, and neck-wall thickness with a Hornady digital caliper to .0005 inch. So far both bullets perform well. Hornady takes the 224 Valkyrie to new heights! Most critically, case length (base to mouth) is short enough to allow loading super-sleek, high-BC bullets with long, fine-entry ogives. January 29 . 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. A critical marksmanship skill that is easy to overlook. Buy CFE 223 copper fouling eraser directly from Hodgdon. But they are still a place to start. For when the 22-250 just aint enough.err, wait. Along with 308. The different brands of brass weighed almost exactly the same, so I didnt need to adjust charge weights to accommodate capacity differences. Overall, these are very respectable results for sportier-weight rifles. This was our thinking behind choosing the 88-grain ELD MATCH projectile. Weather was good, optic was solid and previously tested on other firearms, shooters were both NRA-certified instructors, but still the gun wouldnt perform.Now Ive had plenty of guns that simply could not achieve any reasonable accuracy with factory ammo, so it didnt stop us from carrying on, and we continued.We went through our loads with the 60-grain V-MAX loaded with CFE 223 and they were just a hair better than our average factory group, acceptable but certainly not handload-level accurate. While new load data will continue to be updated, there is currently data for 80 different loads with bullet weights ranging from 50 to 90 grains from Federal, Hornady, Nosler, Sierra and Swift, and powders from Hodgdon, IMR and Winchester. The 55-grain BT clocked 3,209 fps with 26.3 grains of IMR-8208XBR and averaged .54 inch. Beth Shimanski of Savage introduces their all new straight-pull rifle. Their availability will certainly contribute to the successful Flight of the Valkyrie. In my testing, both rifles were usually accurate with 88- and 90-grain handloads, but each was somewhat sporadic. 0000031529 00000 n
(Above) The new Starline .224 Valkyrie cases were checked for length with a digital caliper, and were right at the trim length, ready for loading. 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. This bullet/powder combination reached a speed of 2,523 fps, which is OK for our needs. Even stuffed with a maximum charge of Hodgdon Varget, there is still more than enough room to seat long Hornady 88-grain ELD MATCH bullets into the 224 Valkyrie case. The new round's maximum case length is 1.600 inches, as compared to the 6.8's case length of 1.686 inches.