224 Valkyrie

[2506lover]

Can anyone shed any light on a new cartridge? I found a piece of brass at the range with a headstamp that reads 224 Valkyrie and was produced by Federal (FC). It has a .
419 diameter rim which is about .003 smaller than a 6.8 Rem. SPC. My guess is it is used in an AR platform rifle

 

[Bully]

Might be a Grendel case necked down to .223.

 

[2506lover]

Might be a Grendel case necked down to .223.

No, it's not a 6.5 Grendal. A Grendal has a head diameter of .440 and this has a head diameter of .420 making it a 6.8 Rem. SPC. I received a reply from another individual who stated many details which only a Federal Cartridge employee might know. He even stated it was loaded with a 90 gr. bullet and would be introduced at the 2018 Shot Show.

 

[Texas10]

Sure sounds like a 224AR
http://www.6mmar.com/224_AR.html
But because the 224AR is using Grendel brass, I suspect this will be a new cartridge standardized by Rem and based on the 6.8 Rem. SPC. Time will tell, but the internet is pretty quiet about this. Must be a closely guarded secret
Hmmmm.... who will be the first to chamber it in a bolt action platform?

 

[Bully]

Sounds like a hoot either way.

 

[Fast14riot]

419-420 is common head diameter for 6.8. Sounds similar to the 22nosler without the rebated rim. 22x6.8 is a hot little round!

 

[GLZ]

PTG has headspace gauges. Dave could probably shed some light

 

[deadduck357]

Update - http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/10/04/larue-surg-224-valkyrie-big-3-east/

 

[17VLD]

That's a nice looking case,with a nice velocity and bc for the 90.
All kinds of varmints are gonna be in big trouble.
Matt

 

[Phil]

Interesting...................

 

[Sniper338]

The round itself has been out for a while. Heard of it years ago. Factory ammo is new to me though.

 

[fredo]

I know Mike Milli's ".22DTI" wildcat has been around since at least 2011.
The DTI line DTECH wildcats are all 6.8SPC based, with mild shoulder improvements...

IMHO, the 6.8SPC makes an ideal parent case size for AR-15s.

 

[ASbobcat]

Can anyone shed any light on a new cartridge? I found a piece of brass at the range with a headstamp that reads 224 Valkyrie and was produced by Federal (FC). It has a .
419 diameter rim which is about .003 smaller than a 6.8 Rem. SPC. My guess is it is used in an AR platform rifle

Many years ago ago a gunsmith in Keller, TX at Bear Creek Firearms built a round called the 568DMR (5.56/6.8 Designated Marksman Rifle). It was based on 6.8SPC case with a 40deg shoulder bumped back specifically designed to load 90 Berger VLD's to mag length. Performance was listed as 2900fps with excellent accuracy from a 20in bbl using RL15. Twist was 1:6.7. He had dies made for it and was selling packages with bbl/bolt, dies and brass.
He had orders from a few local law enforcement tactical units. There was a lot of chatter about it on Sniper's Hide forum, and then it just vanished.

From the pictures in the above link, looks like a 30deg shoulder and a much longer neck than the 568DMR. Both rounds appear to be limited to use in magazines with maximum internal length (PRI?). The Sierra has a much shorter ogive than Bergers, but one could probably trim the neck back to accommodate the longer bullet.

My guess is the lower MV is due to commercial liability caution coupled with notoriously soft Federal brass. Probably not going to get many reloads unless Lapua starts making brass and that could be a long time.

 

[Brians356]

The 6.8 SPC itself pushes a 90-gr bullet to 3050 (from 24-in barrel) according to Hodgdon (CFE BLK). With the much tighter .22 bore, not easy to get the same velocity. For a loose comparison, the 280 Rem can push a 120-gr to 3300, but 25-06 can only manage about 3050.
-

 

[Marksman]

Sounds kind of interesting. I was thinking about getting a 22 Nosler barrel, but this sounds fun too. The only issue I see is that this chamber must have a long leade for those 90gr bullets and I'm not sure how it would be with something in the 40-50gr varmint weight bullets.

 

[Brians356]

Sounds kind of interesting. I was thinking about getting a 22 Nosler barrel, but this sounds fun too. The only issue I see is that this chamber must have a long leade for those 90gr bullets and I'm not sure how it would be with something in the 40-50gr varmint weight bullets.

If you want to shoot light bullets, go with 22 Nosler. You could have a custom 224 Valkyrie reamer made, I suppose.
-

 

[Michael C]

In a space gun XTC that would be a great round. Maybe shoot 80s at 200/300 to keep the cost down.

 

[Phil]

The Valkyrie sounds fun throated for the 75 amax........

 

[ASbobcat]

The 6.8 SPC itself pushes a 90-gr bullet to 3050 (from 24-in barrel) according to Hodgdon (CFE BLK). With the much tighter .22 bore, not easy to get the same velocity. For a loose comparison, the 280 Rem can push a 120-gr to 3300, but 25-06 can only manage about 3050.
-

Adjusted for the increased bbl length (4in), the DMR would be very close to 3050fps. The BIG difference is in BC. A 90gr .277 will have a BC of apprx .37 compared to a 90SMK with a BC of .563 (factory pointed).
Run these numbers through a ballistic calculator and the difference in energy/drop/drift beyond 300yds is HUGE.
If one thinks in terms of tactical terminal effects rather than target accuracy, the potential for tumbling is probably higher in the long/skinny .224 bullet (think 5.45x39).

The DMR's 40deg shoulder was predicated on the 90gr Berger, which is .09in longer than the SMK. Loading the SMK, with the same BC as the Berger would negate the need for the sharper shoulder, potentially improving feeding.

 

[nonnieselman]

I had a 20" 5.56x42 (.224" bullet in a 6.8 Case necked down and trimmed, throated for the 75 Amax at mag length) 8 twist barrel on an AR15 that would do 3125fps with 75gr Amax (@2.895" COAL) and it shot good out to 800 yards with CFE223 powder.

The idea has been around for awhile along with i think 6 different configurations using the 6.8 case and different case lengths.
The 5.56x42 barrel from AR15 Performance shot everything great from 40gr vmax @ 4000fps AA2230 to 55gr NBT @ 3600fps N530 to the 75gr Amax @ 3125fps CFE223. It really liked the hotter charges, backing them down the groups opened up pretty fast.


Having factory ammo for the Valkyrie should be nice! Wonder if they will offer a lighter bullet option for varmints? And is the twist 1:6.5 or 1:7 for the 90s?