.224 Valkyrie

I saw that it was designed around a 90 gr projectifacation.
I started looking into it when it came out but there wasn't much out there for data, figured I'd put it on the back burner and see if it was still around on a few years.
Looks like an interesting cartridge
 
20" upper for me with a Faxon barrel. haven't shot it as much as id like to but easy to stuff the long heavies in there.

For fun maybe, but like said you could easily pick up a 223 or 308 for inside 600 yards and almost endless combinations of bullets/powders ect at “reasonable” prices


Looking at t.s.u.s.a. right now and theres cases in stock @ $129.90 per case of 200. 75 gr Fed.
Might grab 2 just to get it out of the way. empty em out when the time comes and I'll at least have brass for it.

Some of the other stuff I was bouncing around is out of stock.

Not that any rifles for anything are available anywhere right now, but I'm thinking .224 would offer a broader platform than the triple deuce or .22 hornet down the road. Although I'm still not opposed to either of the other 2, they're just limited to bolt guns (that I can see) and may have gone the way of the Hemi Cuda.

It is entirely possible to stuff a 90gr head in a .223, I remember those from summer league years back.
I could probably go .308, I'm sure it flies nice and straight with almost double the projo weight, but if I was looking at that, theres so many more options in that 6 to 7mm group its ridiculous.
 
Looking at t.s.u.s.a. right now and theres cases in stock @ $129.90 per case of 200. 75 gr Fed.
Might grab 2 just to get it out of the way. empty em out when the time comes and I'll at least have brass for it.

Some of the other stuff I was bouncing around is out of stock.

Not that any rifles for anything are available anywhere right now, but I'm thinking .224 would offer a broader platform than the triple deuce or .22 hornet down the road. Although I'm still not opposed to either of the other 2, they're just limited to bolt guns (that I can see) and may have gone the way of the Hemi Cuda.

It is entirely possible to stuff a 90gr head in a .223, I remember those from summer league years back.
I could probably go .308, I'm sure it flies nice and straight with almost double the projo weight, but if I was looking at that, theres so many more options in that 6 to 7mm group its ridiculous.
Theres a lot if fun stuff out there for sure,,,,especially if you can get to 600+ yards on a regular basis.
Im lucky to get to 600 yd 1-2 times a year.
 
I have a Savage MSR 15 with a 1-8 Vortex scope mounted on it. I'll say that I'm not a hunter, competitive shooter or a YouTube reviewer.

I have about 200 rounds of the Federal ammo (can't remember bullet weight) through it and I have had zero problems. That .224 round definitely gets down range quickly. Can you have fun plinking with your AR15, AR10 or 6.5.....yes! Add the .224 for some more fun.
 
I have no experience with 224 Valkyre.
I have searched around the internet and Wikipedia for the case capacity (measured in gr of water) of many of these other rounds one can shoot with an AR rifle.

I have concluded that none of them have more case capacity than the old 7.62x39.
So why don't these people creating new rounds, just use the 7.62x39 case modified for whatever caliber they want?
.224? 6.8mm? etc.
More case capacity should mean higher velocity - with all the advantages that brings.

Many years ago it took alot of experimenting to get my 20 inch barrel 7.62x39 AR working properly.
I did two things:
1. First I ground away the bottom locking lug to make a nice feed ramp. I had read BushMaster used to do this. However it did not yield good reliability.
2. Next I bought different brands of magazines, and found the only company that understands how to make a 30 round Magazine in 7.62x39 - that was C Products Defence.
Worked great. I had test fired many mags worth - one after the other until I couldn't hold the free-floating metal handguard anymore due to its heating up.
Always wondered if Item#1 was necessary or not.

My Lee reloading dies came with both 308 and 311 expanding thingie because many 7.62x39 barrels work fine with 308 bullets.
I think the US made barrels are tighter than foreign made and work OK with 308 bullets.
I am trying to buy some Hornady 110gr .308 GMX bullets - but they are hard to find online at this time.

Why start with a 224 bullet hoping it will expand to .30 or .40 ?
Start with a 30 caliber and hope it expands even larger?

I can't see any advantages to 224 valkyre that the high case capacity 7.62x39 brass - somehow changed to shoot 224 (and a barrel to match it) - will not do even better. Unfortunately the creators of new AR calibers just do not think of this.

That is my opinion - of course others have their own.
 
I have no experience with 224 Valkyre.
I have searched around the internet and Wikipedia for the case capacity (measured in gr of water) of many of these other rounds one can shoot with an AR rifle.

1-I have concluded that none of them have more case capacity than the old 7.62x39.
So why don't these people creating new rounds, just use the 7.62x39 case modified for whatever caliber they want?
.224? 6.8mm? etc.
More case capacity should mean higher velocity - with all the advantages that brings.

2- Many years ago it took alot of experimenting to get my 20 inch barrel 7.62x39 AR working properly.
I did two things:
1. First I ground away the bottom locking lug to make a nice feed ramp. I had read BushMaster used to do this. However it did not yield good reliability.
2. Next I bought different brands of magazines, and found the only company that understands how to make a 30 round Magazine in 7.62x39 - that was C Products Defence.
Worked great. I had test fired many mags worth - one after the other until I couldn't hold the free-floating metal handguard anymore due to its heating up.
Always wondered if Item#1 was necessary or not.

My Lee reloading dies came with both 308 and 311 expanding thingie because many 7.62x39 barrels work fine with 308 bullets.
I think the US made barrels are tighter than foreign made and work OK with 308 bullets.
I am trying to buy some Hornady 110gr .308 GMX bullets - but they are hard to find online at this time.

3- Why start with a 224 bullet hoping it will expand to .30 or .40 ?
Start with a 30 caliber and hope it expands even larger?

4- I can't see any advantages to 224 valkyre that the high case capacity 7.62x39 brass - somehow changed to shoot 224 (and a barrel to match it) - will not do even better. Unfortunately the creators of new AR calibers just do not think of this.

That is my opinion - of course others have their own.

I'm going to edit to add numbers, easier for me to keep track of-

1- There are some wildcats out there based off of the X39. I think there were issues feeding from a mag using the X39 case.
I think 6.8 was the old .......... nevermind, it was the old .30 Rem. Anyways, a lot of em are wildcats of wildcats and application specific. More Varmint rounds than mil-spec combat rounds.

2- I think now they call it M4 Feed Ramps, which may have taken care of the X39 feed issue?

3- Lost me on this one. Expanding meaning on impact? I think its designed more as a long range- small game (Yotes/Fox) or was marketed that way, but was mostly used in long range shoots using paper or steel. Not realy F class shooting but for P.R.S (or is it P.R.C?) because it was designed around 2 things (or 3) 1- For an a.r. 15 platform, 2- a 90 gr head (3rd would be a 6.5 twist barrel)
Thats just a guess. I currently shoot No Class, so theres that. Who knows what will be out next year when I finally get into it. .224 will probably be dust in the wind.


4- They do actually think about a lot of this. Mostly to throw stuff out and see what sticks. So the .224 is a necked down 6.8, which had good numbers at its time of inception. But as things progress, 6.8 got pushed off as newer stuff came out, like maybe 6.5 Grendell and then the 6.5 Creed. .224 promised these fantastic numbers out to 1000 yds, or at least Sonic out to 1000 yds. Not neccisarily effective for small game, but to put a hole in paper or hit steel, it serves a pupose. Same thing with the new 6 Arc. Its a necked down 6.5....... (Grendel maybe?) with a specific application of firing through an a.r. 15 pattern magazine vs an a.r. 10 mag. Something that can stretch out well past .223/5.56/X39 loads.
Its supposed to be a long range a.r. 15 platform caliber as oppsed to a long range a.r. 10 platform caliber.
Again, not an F-class caliber where they'll go 1000 yds plus, but perfect for PRC or PRS or whatever it is where it may be 800 yds out max (?)
I guess the reasoning is- If its stays sonic out to or past 1000 yds, than its super consistent at 800.
Then theres 25 Creed which supposedly fills a void between 6 Arc and 6.5 Creed or something along those lines.
Again, no idea.
I'd compare it to Nascar Marketing or U.S.P.S.A/ I.D.P.A rules- . You can't race it unless X amount of production units are made for that particular game.
 
Dan,

The M4 feedramps are the barrel's two feedramps continuing into the upper receiver.
A 30 cal bullet does not fit in these two feedramps, so I read that BushMaster (when the company existed) would turn those two feedramps into one larger feedramp. So instead of two skinny feedramps there is one feedramp.

But these feedramps also function as the place where the bolt rotates and locks into place. So, now there is one less place for the bolt to lockup.
I was a bit concerned that this might make the upper unsafe, but if BushMaster did this - it would probably be ok.

In this thread you will see pictures of someone who made these two feedramps a little bit wider looking.
They call it "polishing" but I think they enlarged them.

Here is a picture of the Bushmaster feedramps.
Looking at his picture, all 8 locking lug things in the barrel are still there.
I did not have this picture when I did mine - and I actually removed the bottom locking/lug system.
So, instead of 8, mine only has 7.
I am probably lucky that the rife doesn't explode :)

Yes, expanding means on impact.
Hornady sells TAP ammunition to Law Enforcement - many of them using GMX bullets.
HornadyLE.com shows the FBI test results.
The FBI testing procedure was meant for handgun ammunition, but some manufacturers also test their rifle ammunition.
The GMX bullet works great - passes all the tests (sometimes with a little bit too much penetration), retains almost all its mass.
GMX bullets do not expand unless moving over 2000 fps, but this one particular GMX bullet will expand at 1500 fps because it is for the 300 blackout which can't get to 2000 fps no matter how you load/reload it because it just doesn't have enough case capacity.


Howard

My feelings at the time was that the 7.62x39 was a waste - doesn't work - and I would take the risk of ruining it with my dremel and limited knowledge.
I think I fired around 100 rounds testing it - and it worked.

Even after making this nice feed ramp, it still did not work - until I purchased magazines made by C-Products Defense.
 
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Ah, gotcha. So its like ramping on the old 1911's.
Should be good to go, plenty of lug meat to keep that bolt in place.
Bullets out the barrel long before that bolt unlocks, shouldn't be an issue with clashing or galling on unlock/ lock

So now I get where you're goin.
I'm not discounting the X39. Its a valid cartridge and has its purpose.

I was looking at the .224 for its capabilities and effeciency out to 4/6/800 yds for a particular shooting game, in the smaller a.r. platform.
I could always use a bolt gun, but finding anything with a left handed bolt can be near impossible in short action, and its not as near modular as the a.r. platform. Dedicated build vs hot-swapping and upper or barrel/ bcg or even bolt.
 
Sorry for hijacking the thread to 7.62x39.
Just think all these new cartridges should have at least the case capacity of the 7.62x39
The 223 Valkyrie comes close.

 
Sorry for hijacking the thread to 7.62x39.
Just think all these new cartridges should have at least the case capacity of the 7.62x39
The 223 Valkyrie comes close.
Who cares about the 7.62x39 case? It's problematic in the AR platform and is inherently less accurate in design than other cases.
 
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