Hornady Expands A-Tip Lineup: .224 & .284
- Thread starter AMG04
- Start date
B23
Gold $$ Contributor
They have a few more than that even. Hornady lists BC's for some of the new A-Tips they're coming out with but not all of them.
https://www.hornady.com/bullets/a-tip-match#!/
https://www.hornady.com/bullets/a-tip-match#!/
Good, .284 and .338 were big holes in that lineup.
I wonder why with the .224?
Why would anyone spend that money to reload a .224 Valkyrie? I don't know if there is any other .224 chambering where people would spend that money instead of step up to a larger caliber to win on B.C. and velocity instead.
I bet the .224 will be a very slow seller.
I wonder why with the .224?
Why would anyone spend that money to reload a .224 Valkyrie? I don't know if there is any other .224 chambering where people would spend that money instead of step up to a larger caliber to win on B.C. and velocity instead.
I bet the .224 will be a very slow seller.
B23
Gold $$ Contributor
For me, the problem with those really heavy 22 cal bullets is they need a very fast twist barrel, which isn't necessarily bad in itself, but when you screw a 7tw on something that is capable of launching them 3500fps the bullets start coming apart because of the insane amount of RPM generated. Generally, 360,000 RPM does bad things to bullets.
A 75 or 80gr A-Tip would have been more to my liking.
A 75 or 80gr A-Tip would have been more to my liking.
XTR
F-TR obssessed shooting junkie
If the BC is better than the Berger 90VLD there is a market in F-TR. The Berger is almost on par with the 200gr 308s, if they improve even a little over the Berger then they have an F-TR winner. Take a look at the responses to the new High BC Berger 85.5 bullet. There is a market there if someone can make a bullet to fit.
I've shot and won with the 90VLDs in F-TR, it is truly more fun shooting a 223 than a 308.
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
I doubt there's a single example where a more expensive bullet can be proven to have some value proportional to its price. That is because value is a factor that is completely relative to different users. Some people are willing to pay a lot more for a bullet that might only offer a modest chance to gain a point or two more in a match, but which can nonetheless possibly make the difference between winning and not winning. Clearly, not everyone is willing to pay half again as much for a bullet or other component that on paper provides only a very marginal increase in performance.
I'll add a little to Wade's post above regarding high BC .224 bullets for use in F-TR, which was spot on, IMO. In my hands, Hornady's 88 ELDM has already surpassed the BC of the Berger 90 VLD in side-by-side comparisons by a significant amount. However, the 88 requires a much longer freebore chamber to load optimally, typically meaning a new reamer and barrel, and like the 90 VLD, some users have had jacket failure issues with the 88. Although I had no trouble working up good loads with either bullet, I found the 88s perhaps a just a tick easier in terms of load development.
BC, required chamber specs, ease of loading, and inherent precision are all factors that can be weighed to decide whether some bullet is really "worth" the cost. Not everyone places equal importance on each factor. I'd be willing to pay a lot for a .224 bullet that would allow performance even closer to being on par with 200 gr .308 bullets (i.e. even better than the 90 VLD, which I currently regard as the "gold standard" of heavy .224 bullets), that had no issues with jacket failures when pushed hard, that was relatively easy to tune, etc. I've won a lot of F-TR matches shooting a .223 with 90 VLDs over the years, but it's becoming more and more difficult with the widespread use of 30 cal bullets like Berger's 200.20X. Personally, I'm happy to wait patiently until Hornady sees fit to fill in the 90 gr .224 BC value in their A-Tip bullet table, then decide whether they're worth giving a test run.
I'll add a little to Wade's post above regarding high BC .224 bullets for use in F-TR, which was spot on, IMO. In my hands, Hornady's 88 ELDM has already surpassed the BC of the Berger 90 VLD in side-by-side comparisons by a significant amount. However, the 88 requires a much longer freebore chamber to load optimally, typically meaning a new reamer and barrel, and like the 90 VLD, some users have had jacket failure issues with the 88. Although I had no trouble working up good loads with either bullet, I found the 88s perhaps a just a tick easier in terms of load development.
BC, required chamber specs, ease of loading, and inherent precision are all factors that can be weighed to decide whether some bullet is really "worth" the cost. Not everyone places equal importance on each factor. I'd be willing to pay a lot for a .224 bullet that would allow performance even closer to being on par with 200 gr .308 bullets (i.e. even better than the 90 VLD, which I currently regard as the "gold standard" of heavy .224 bullets), that had no issues with jacket failures when pushed hard, that was relatively easy to tune, etc. I've won a lot of F-TR matches shooting a .223 with 90 VLDs over the years, but it's becoming more and more difficult with the widespread use of 30 cal bullets like Berger's 200.20X. Personally, I'm happy to wait patiently until Hornady sees fit to fill in the 90 gr .224 BC value in their A-Tip bullet table, then decide whether they're worth giving a test run.
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XTR
F-TR obssessed shooting junkie
Any bullet to be competitive and thereby successfully marketed to F class has to be able to provide ½ MOA or better precision or it "won't hunt". I can think of at least three examples in 308 that have better BCs than the Berger 200s (H or 20x), one that is less expensive, and by and large none are being used in competition because they can't be consistently tuned to the precision needed to be competitive.
DaveTooley
Gold $$ Contributor
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
I've shot some of the .224" ELDM bullets. The accuracy/precision was excellent, as was the [external] dimensional consistency of the bullets, at least in the Lot#s I purchased. However, I caused some bullets to shed jackets when pushing them medium/hard, as I understand many others have also done with the ELDMs. If the .224" 90 gr A-Tips have the same jackets as their ELDM counterparts, then Hornady may well have passed up a good opportunity to produce the highest BC .224 bullet available that is also reliable. Of all the problems one might encounter with a new bullet during load development and competition, jacket failure has to be one of the worst. I sincerely hope that Hornady has improved the jacket thickness/integrity with the .224" 90 gr A-Tip.
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I haven’t found the .224 90 gr A-tips yet. Does anyone have any info if, when or where to find them?
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You can pre-order them at Midway USA. I ordered 200 to try them out.
Save your money and buy Berger.
Have you shot both in a side by side test ?
Yes, at 200 yds.
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