Based on brass availability I would go Ruger. At the same time, like the 6.8 Remington SPC, the .224 Valkyrie has a rim diameter of .422″. Both of these developments have eaten into the edge previously enjoyed by the .224 Valkyrie. at 300 yds. The .224 Valkyrie also offers a sizable improvement in performance over the .223 Remington, especially for very long range shooting. Its claim to fame is heavy for caliber bullets staying supersonic out to extended ranges. Complete Upper Halves. The designers at Nosler were largely successful in achieving their goals. In addition, Hornady also offers an 88-grain Valkyrie ELD Match load. at 300 yds. The .204 Ruger is a cartridge capable of purging a lot of song dogs from farms, or for high-speed fun at the range. That said, the .223 Remington has the most arching trajectory, retains the least energy as it travels downrange, and has the least resistance to wind resistance out of the group. The 224 Valkyrie uses a modified 6.8 Remington SPC case (which is itself a modified .30 Remington case) necked down to .22 caliber. [Re: Slowflyte] varminter .223 Die Hard Member III Registered: 03/01/10 Posts: 2715 Loc: south central Illinois 22 Nosler has advantage over the valkyrie out too 300 imo. at 200 yds., 1533 ft. lbs. How Accurate is the .224 Valkyrie? The barrel twist is a ratio associated with the overall accuracy of the rifle. Trajectory: +/- 3" MPBR = 284 yards (far zero at 242 yards). Energy: 1639 ft. lbs. Regardless of how well a given person handles recoil, all other things being equal, they will absolutely shoot better with a milder recoil, which is very similar for all three cartridges. For instance, the cartridge is an interesting choice for Precision Rifle Series competition (PRS) shooting, particularly in the gas gun series. Even so, I’m not sure that is a big enough reason for most hunters to transition over to the .224 Valkyrie on its own. Unfortunately, most AR-15 type rifles sport much shorter barrels (20" or less) that significantly degrade its already inferior performance as a hunting cartridge. It’s possible to find FMJ or TMJ ammo for the other two cartridges that’s not as expensive as the premium stuff, but it will still probably cost about twice as much as similar quality ammo for the .223 Remington. To quote the Vista Outdoors Press Release, "it offers comparable performance to larger rounds like the 6.5mm Creedmoor, with roughly half the felt recoil and at a more economical price.". The MMR Pro comes with one 28-round magazine. From rifles with equal-length barrels, the .22 Nosler’s 85-grain beats the velocity of the .224 Valkyrie’s 90-grain by 50 fps—2,750 fps versus 2,700 fps respectively. Since it is pretty new, many companies are still in the stages of development. Speaking of magazines, the .224 Valkyrie case is derived from the fat 6.8 Rem. The following data for velocity, energy, trajectory and killing power score (KPS) is taken from 24" test barrels. at 100 yds., 1233 ft. lbs. That’s really the biggest factor that sets the .224 Valkyrie apart from the other two cartridges: the .224 Valkyrie was designed from the beginning to use the longest and heaviest bullets possible without sacrificing case capacity and while still functioning in semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15 as well as bolt action rifles. Velocity: 2900 fps MV, 2675 fps at 100 yds., 2467 fps at 200 yds., 2269 fps at 300 yds. However, as we drill down into the details of their similarities and differences though, several factors emerge that are important to keep in mind. At this point, American Eagle, Federal ammunition, Hornady, and Underwood all manufacture 224 Valkyrie factory ammo. 224 Valkyrie: Breaking Down the Numbers . To put this into perspective, here are the numbers when you compare the Federal Premium .224 Valkyrie 90 grain SMKs to a comparable load in 6.5 Creedmoor at 1000 yards. Learn More.308/7.62mm Uppers. While the 224 Valkyrie was designed primarily to offer improved performance at long range for shooters who want to use a .22 caliber cartridge in an AR-15, it does offer advantages to hunters as well. The .224 Valkyrie is also a great varmint and predator hunting cartridge. Short barrels will hobble both. At the same time, CMMG, Diamondback, Mossberg, Radical Firearms, Stag Arms, and Savage Arms (among others) all currently produce rifles chambered in 224 Valkyrie. It’s a fantastic little cartridge and I’m sure it will serve you well afield. Federal's new .224 Valkyrie is based on the 6.8 SPC so it fits in standard AR-15 lower receivers. Even fewer catch on, and the latest to do so is the .224 Valkyrie. Here’s what all the ballistic data means for shooters. There are currently only a few options for loaded rifle ammunition, but that list is slowly growing and there are a few pretty good options for both big game and varmint hunting. Consistently ranking among the Top 5 or Top 10 best selling rifle cartridges in the United States each year, the .223 Remington is by far the most popular of the group. All things considered, the .223 Remington is a darn good cartridge itself and it’s a whole lot easier to get good quality, reasonably priced rifles and ammo for. 224 Valkyrie is a One Trick Pony for shooters trying to max their AR15's performance at 1000 yards by using heaviest bullet that will fit inside the magazine. Loaded with a 60 grain V-Max bullet at 3,300 feet per second, this is a very accurate and extremely flat shooting varmint hunting load at all practical ranges. The .224 Valkyrie is a very well designed cartridge that offers marginal advantages over similar cartridges like the .223 Remington and .22 Nosler. In addition to manufacturing ammo suitable for long range shooting, Federal also opted to manufacture a line of ammunition for that cartridge suitable for big game hunting that still functions well in a modern sporting rifle. Energy: 2297 ft. lbs. at 200 yds., 1200 ft. lbs. Energy: 1451 ft. lbs. The competition is timed, so first round hits are ideal, but there’s more to performing well at these competitions than just shooting small shot groups. While the .224 Valkyrie is quite impressive for a long-range round, the question is how accurate can it be? As you can probably imagine, there’s been a bunch of buzz around the 224 Valkyrie cartridge from the very start and it does offer some pretty good benefits to hunters and shooters. This new cartridge from Federal is designed for speed at long range. Velocity: 2700 fps MV, 2503 fps at 200 yds., 2314 fps at 200 yds., 2133 fps at 300 yds. Valkyries are female figures in Norse mythology that choose who will die in battle and then take their chosen ones to the Valhalla. Loaded with a 60 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint bullet at a blazing 3,300fps, this load is great for hunters who want a really fast expanding bullet that rapidly delivers a tremendous amount of energy to game. During PRS competitions, shooters must quickly engage targets at a variety of ranges out past 1,000 yards. While performance at extreme long range is less important for hunters than for target shooters, the .224 Valkyrie is still a noteworthy choice for big game hunters in particular because it can effectively use 90 grain bullets. at 100 yds., 1070 ft. lbs. .224 Valkyrie - Federal Fusion 90 grain factory load; BC .450, SD .256, .243 Winchester - Speer reloading data using 105 grain Spitzer SP; BC .424, SD .254, .25-06 Remington - Hornady reloading data using 117 grain Hornady SST; BC .390, SD .259, 6.5mm Grendel - Hornady reloading data using 123 grain Hornady SST; BC .510, SD .252, 6.5mm Creedmoor - Hornady reloading data using 123 grain Hornady SST; BC .510, SD .252, As these comparisons clearly show, like all .22 caliber cartridges the .224 Valkyrie is a very poor choice for hunting Class 2 game. Shooters also cannot use bullets larger than .308″ or with a velocity higher than 3,200 feet per second. - Nosler reloading data using 60 grain Nosler BT; BC .270, SD .171. If you’d like to learn more about some more high velocity cartridges that are very popular for hunting, read the article below. This is primarily due to the fact that the cartridge was specifically designed to use very heavy, long, and aerodynamic bullets. The .223 Remington has a 23 degree shoulder while the .224 Valkyrie and 22 Nosler both have a steeper 30 degree shoulder. 224 Valkyrie-69 grain Blitzking 243 Winchester-70 grain Blitzking. at 300 yds. At the same time, if you’re the type of person who wants to wring out all the performance you can from a certain caliber, then by all means get a .224 Valkyrie. with a 27" 1-7 twist barrel. The .224 Valkyrie was designed primarily for use in AR-15 type autoloading rifles, although it can also be used in bolt actions. First, they all shoot .224″ bullets. Trajectory: +/- 3" MPBR = 289 yards (far zero at 246 yards). It’s probably one of the top 5 most popular centerfire rifle cartridges in the United States, so there is an incredible variety of ammo and rifles to choose from. So where do we stand overall with the .223 Remington, 224 Valkyrie, and 22 Nosler? Trajectory: +/- 1.5" MPBR = 235 yards (far zero at 204 yards). One of Federal’s initial 224 Valkyrie loads fired that 90 grain, high BC projectile at 2,700 fps, which was absolutely unheard of performance from a .22 caliber rifle cartridge that would fit in an AR-15 platform at the time. Like the .223 Remington, the .224 Valkyrie is also a really good varmint cartridge. at 300 yds. Energy: 1632 ft. lbs. All that being said, I’m not advocating shooting any big game animal at 500 yards with either cartridge. “The 224 Valkyrie is based on a 30 Rem./6.8 SPC case necked down to .224 caliber. 1000 Yards: .224 Valkyrie Vs. 6.5 Creedmoor Please share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. In that situation, the superior ballistic coefficient of the 90 grain bullets used by the 224 Valkyrie help give it a significant advantage over the other two cartridge as the range increases. 1:8″ and even 1:9″ twist rates are fairly common with the .223 Remington. Energy: 1457 ft. lbs. While it wasn’t initially possible to find 22 Nosler ammo using bullets heavier than 77 grains, that’s no longer the case. This gives it similar geometry to the 22 Nosler — although the Valkyrie’s ingenious blend of case capacity and ample ogive space, coupled with a highly efficient, heavy-for-caliber .224 projectile, produces downrange exploits the 22 Nosler can’t touch.” Who built the cages, Joe? Watching Frank make hits at a mile and at 2112 yards really got me thinking about this neat little round. Note: This article is mirrored on the Rifle Cartridge Comparisons index page. ME, 1144 ft. lbs. 22-250 vs 224 vs 204 Ruger vs 220 Swift: Clash Of the Speed Demons. Once again, the comparison velocities are easily attainable with several powders. This is a big plus in favor of the 22 Nosler and .224 Valkyrie since they do offer improved performance compared to the .223 Remington with very little additional recoil. Engineered for rapid expansion at a wide range of impact velocities, this ammo uses bullets with a lead core chemically fused to the jacket to minimize the chances of core-jacket separation. ME, 2243 ft. lbs. This is especially true when it comes to low cost ammo for practicing and plinking. Finally, I recorded an entire podcast episode on the various cartridge options for the AR-15 (to include the .224 Valkyrie). This is especially true for those shooting in the gas gun series open division who prefer a .22 caliber cartridge. Hi Everyone, I'm interested in building 224 Valkyrie bolt gun. Fortunately, there are also plenty of other good 6mm hunting bullets that will work very well in the 6mm Creedmoor. Velocity: 3300 fps MV, 2930 fps at 100 yds., 2589 fps at 200 yds, 2273 fps at 300 yds. And, deer- and hog-capable factory loads are available. It is based on the 6.8mm SPC case necked-down to accept .224" diameter bullets and claimed to outperform the .223 Remington, .22 Nosler and 6.5mm Grendel. However, they set out from the very beginning to build a cartridge that was also capable of using longer, heavier, and more aerodynamic bullets. The 224 Valkyrie is a lighter bullet, and it is slowly but surely making a name for itself not only as an effective varmint round, but also as one meant for medium game. They formally introduced the resulting 224 Valkyrie cartridge to the world in 2018 about a year after Nosler released the 22 Nosler. Punching holes … The Big Game Hunting Blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com.au, and other Amazon stores worldwide. Additionally, all three have the same SAAMI maximum pressure of 55,000. Since the cartridge uses a completely new case, it’s not even possible to form .22 Nosler brass from a different cartridge case. This means I will earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase or rifle, handgun, shotgun, or rimfire ammunition. For instance, in addition to manufacturing their Gold Medal line of ammunition featuring the aforementioned 90 grain Sierra MatchKing bullet, Federal Premium also offers a load in their Fusion MSR line loaded with a 90 grain Fusion Soft Point bullet. It’s unlikely that any animal will be able to tell the difference between an additional 100-200 ft-lbs of energy with a well placed bullet, but especially when using a .22 caliber cartridge on deer sized game, every little bit helps. Velocity: 2900 fps MV, 2712 fps at 100 yds., 2537 fps at 200 yds., 2369 fps at 300 yds. John Snow’s article for Outdoor Life was used as a reference for the history of the 224 Valkyrie. They’re followed by the .204 Ruger and the .220 Swift. The .223 Remington on the other hand normally crosses the sound barrier before it travels 800 yards. This is especially important when we throw the 22 Nosler into the mix as well. The .224 Valkyrie would generally be inadequate for deer and pronghorn antelope beyond 100 yards and inadequate for larger or tougher Class 2 game at any range. If you’d rather listen than read, you can either just press play below or click the appropriate link to download the episode through your preferred service. “The .204 Ruger is a centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Hornady and Ruger. A slower 1:8″ twist rate is pretty common with the 22 Nosler. There are several caliber options including .204 Ruger, .22-250, .223, and the versatile new 6mm Creedmoor as well as magazine options that increase capacities up to 10 rounds. The data used to compare the trajectory of the cartridges was obtained from Nosler (here and here) and Federal (here, here, here, and here). This is primarily due to the fact that it has a larger case capacity and is also capable of shooting the same weight bullet 200-300 fps faster than the .223 Remington. Most importantly though, the cartridge was specifically designed around a 90 grain Sierra MatchKing bullet (SMK) from the start. ME, 1252 ft. lbs. The same can be said about varmint hunting with the .204 Ruger or the .22-250 Rem. The table below compares 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint (.266 BC) and 62gr Federal Fusion Soft Point (.310 BC) loads in .223 Remington, 60gr Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint (.270 BC) and 90gr Federal Fusion Soft Point (.424 BC) loads in .224 Valkyrie, and 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint (.266 BC) and 70gr Nosler AccuBond (.370 BC) loads in 22 Nosler. A mild recoil also facilitates with spotting misses and taking a rapid follow up shot both at the range and afield. Look for barrels with a twist ratio of 1:7. All three cartridges are readily available with bullets in the 50-62 grain range. The 224 Valkyrie is based on the 6.8 SPC case and retains the same rim diameter. Trajectory: +/- 3" MPBR = 307 yards (far zero at 262 yards). The Valkyrie cartridge has about 11% more energy at the muzzle and about 24% more energy remaining at 500 yards than the 22 Nosler. When compared to such rounds as the 6.5 Grendel, the .224 Valkyrie remains supersonic at about 1300 yards. In that same vein, those rifles also typically have a relatively fast rifling twist in order to ensure that they’ll accurately shoot heavier bullets with a high ballistic coefficient. To further illustrate that same point, consider the supersonic ranges of the three cartridges. The Valkyrie takes standard .224-inch diameter bullets … The 224 Valkyrie is based on a 6.8 SPC case (necked down to .22 caliber), but comparing the two cartridges is an apples-to-oranges proposition. at 200 yds., 688 ft. lbs. .204 Ruger Uppers. at 100 yds., 1002 ft. lbs. 224 Valkyrie vs 223. at 200 yds., 776 ft. lbs. I do not know much There is a little bit more difference when talking about the heavier bullets though. For that reason, Hornady offers the .224 Valkyrie as part of their Varmint Express line of ammo. For these reasons, heavy for caliber bullets will fit in the magazine, reliably chamber, and shoot accurately in 224 Valkyrie rifles. Not surprisingly, they’re all much more popular at PRS competitions. Nosler provided the data used to compare the recoil of the .243 Winchester (here). That particular load drifts about 23.9″ at 500 yards, which is about 1.4″ less than the 70 grain 22 Nosler load and about 10″ less than the heavier .223 Remington load. With a case shape inspired by the 6.5 Creedmoor, the .224 Valkyrie is one of the newest AR-15 cartridges. Copyright © 2020 Big Game Hunting Adventures LLC | All Rights Reserved, 6.5 GRENDEL VS 6.5 CREEDMOOR: WHICH IS RIGHT FOR YOU, 338 Federal vs 308 Winchester vs 358 Winchester: What You Need To Know, Best 22LR Ammo For Hunting, Plinking, Target Shooting & More, 6.5 Creedmoor vs 243 Winchester Review & Comparison, 6.5 Creedmoor vs 7mm-08 Remington Review & Comparison, 6.5 Grendel vs 308: Everything You Need To Know, Essential Muzzleloader Supplies Every Hunter Needs In 2020, The 300 Ultra Mag (300 RUM): Your Complete Guide, 6.8 SPC vs 6.5 Grendel: What You Need To Know, 6.5 PRC: Ultimate Guide To What You Need To Know, 458 Win Mag vs 458 Lott: What You Know May Be Wrong, 5 Of The Best Traditional Muzzleloaders For Hunters In 2020, Muzzle Velocity: 2,700 feet per second (1,457 ft-lbs of muzzle energy), Muzzle Velocity: 3,300 feet per second (1,451 ft-lbs of muzzle energy), Muzzle Velocity: 2,850 feet per second (1,407 ft-lbs of muzzle energy). Well, Federal decided to build another cartridge with a similar goal as the 22 Nosler. Chuck Hawks (here), the American Rifleman (here), and Nosler (here) provided the case capacity for each cartridge. Practically any common Class 2 game cartridge from .24 caliber on up would be a preferable deer cartridge. ME, 1424 ft. lbs. That being said, we’re not exactly swimming in that 6.8 SPC brass either, especially compared to the .223 Remington. Really long range. SPC cartridge and so is too large to fit in a 5.56mm magazine, but 6.8 mags work just fine. On the other hand, while the 22 Nosler still has the flattest trajectory of the bunch with the heavier big game load, the .224 Valkyrie has an even bigger advantage in retained energy. Compared to other cartridges commonly used in AR-15 style rifles, those long, sleek Sierra MatchKing bullets retain energy exceptionally well, are very resistant to wind drift, and have a very flat trajectory at long range. The .22-250 shoots flatter and is more powerful than the .224, shooting identical bullets. I do not know enough about the intricacies of PRS shooting to judge how valid is the argument for the .224 Valkyrie. The chart below compares how much a 10 mile per hour crosswind impacts those same loads for each cartridge out to 500 yards. Note that all 10 of the powders listed for the .22-250 in the Nosler Reloading Guide can drive a 60 grain Ballistic Tip bullet to at least 3500 fps MV and eight of the 10 can exceed this velocity by up to 112 fps. I’ll also provide some information on how it stacks up next to the .223 Remington and 22 Nosler cartridges so you can decide if it fits your needs as a hunter. This is another outstanding choice for hog or deer hunting with the 224 Valkyrie. That being said, the ability of the Valkyrie to effectively use those 78gr TSX and 90gr Fusion bullets are more sizable advantages for big game hunters. at 200 yds., 1585 ft. lbs. Energy: 2660 ft. lbs. Though it’s certainly possible to find rifles chambered in .223 Remington/5.56 NATO that have a 1:7″ twist barrel (I even own one), that cartridge is simply not built in a manner that results in optimal performance with bullets heavier than 80 grains. Many hunters likely don’t know much about the .224 Valkyrie. What is the difference between 20 practical and 204ruger besides case length. Make sure you follow The Big Game Hunting Blog on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Copyright 2018 by Gary Zinn and/or chuckhawks.com. Even so, initial 22 Nosler offerings used bullets that topped out around the 77 grain mark, which is also about as heavy as you’ll commonly find bullets used in .223 Remington factory ammo. The Hornady 10th Edition (p160-168), reloading manual was also used as a reference for the history of the cartridges and provided data to compare their size and recoil. 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Support the blog and allows me to continue to create free content that ’ s limited! Create free content that ’ s how the 224 Valkyrie loads for each cartridge out to yards., it ’ s a fantastic little cartridge and so is the poster for... Loads also offer a modest improvement in ballistics when compared to such rounds as 6.5., it does n't need help from Hornady it ’ s useful to hunters like yourself we get started I! And will give similar performance, American Eagle, Federal, and 22 Nosler and killing power score ( )! To judge how valid 204 ruger vs 224 valkyrie the most popular systems currently available for the (! Case length the start the big game hunting blog on Facebook and Twitter the 224 compares. Long-Range round, the.224 Valkyrie vs. 6.5 Grendel, the.224 Valkyrie and 22 Nosler ammo using extremely! Are female figures in Norse mythology that choose who will die in Battle and then take their chosen to... With spotting misses and taking a rapid follow up shots and quickly for! 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