Put her together yesterday and will be breaking the barrel in /zeroing Saturday. Also going to try some load development with Nosler 80 grain pills and reloaded 15. Should be fun.
The latest 224 caliber round.
- Thread starter dsdmmat
- Start date
Prudii
.357 mag
Looking forward to the range report.
I decided to go with a Grendel build instead of .224.
I decided to go with a Grendel build instead of .224.
Not much of a range report but I will put down my experiences from yesterday.
So I took the rifle to my gunsmith yesterday to break in at his place. Got everything set up and started the process, fire one round, put sweets in it for 5 minutes and repeat. Right off the bat we noticed S there was no copper building up in the criterion barrel from Craddock precision.
I got the scope dialed in at 25 yards for the break in period. Right away we noticed the brass had two gouges in the neck and went about trying to figure out where they came from, we ruled out the feeding process by hand loading the round into the chamber. We further ruled out the chamber first by inspection with a bore scope and then removing the gas block so it would not auto eject. The gouges were being made by the barrel extension lugs. The sharp corners were shaving brass off the neck. We broke out the diamond files and broke the top corners on the offending lugs and the gouging stopped.
The 75 grain loads were not locking the bolt back so we opened the gas port 5 thousands inch which solved that issue. The 75s were all going in one hole at 25 so we went out to 100 for the rest of the break in. The average velocity was 2976, ES was 28 and the SD was 11.4 however, the groups at 100 were horrible they would not come below 2 inches. I loaded some 80 grain Nosler Custom over 25.2 - 26 grains of RL15 and finally settled on 25.5 for the best load. That load gives me an average velocity of 2815 with an ES of 31 and a SD of 13.8 it also groups at 1/2 inch @ 100 yards.
The brass life is 4 reloads (5 shots) that is when the primer pockets loosen up to the point the brass is best put in the scrap bin.
A few things about the rifle, it has a 24 inch Craddock precision barrel rifle +2 gas system, toolcraft inc. 6.8 BCG, JARD non adjustable trigger assembly, Nikon one piece 20 MOA scope mount, Leupold VX3 6.5-20x40 scope, frefloated 15 inch rail from Sherluk Defense, Magpul PRS stock on the NYGF upper and lower from @Bullet Guy. I am waiting on the anti rotation hammer and trigger pins but the stock ones worked for testing purposes. I have an adjustable Gas block on order from brownells. I plan on opening up the gas port a few more thousands and controlling the gas volume with it. This will allow me to test a lot of powders while controlling the function of the Loading system. The trigger was crisp and has no take up. Over all the build has got more money into it that I would normally put into an AR15 but, it is the number 007.
I only had the 75 grain load to test as far as factory loads go. So I cannot comment on the precision loads coming from the factory. IMHO the TMJ bullet in the 75 grain load is horrible. I will pull all of them and load my own in the new brass. The powder they are using is some mixture of ball propellant and weighs 28.6 grains, I may pull the TMJs and replace them with 75 grain Hornady match bullets (called a Mexican Match load) to see how they shoot. I may be able to salvage the powder if it shows promise.
Overall opinion of the Valkyrie I cannot say for sure, with handloads it shows a lot of promise. If you do not hand load and are not the type of guy to spend a buck plus a round on match grade 223 caliber ammo do not entertain getting into the Valkyrie. Once all my parts get in I will stretch the Valkyrie to 500 yards ( all I have access to at the moment).
With everything being said and done I will be building a Valkyrie on a savage target action with a 30 inch barrel. I will probably go with a Bartlein gain twist barrel starting at 1-13 and finishing at 1-6, the gain twist barrel allows the bullet to engage the rifling at a more gentle pace and excellerate the spin down the barrel.
So I took the rifle to my gunsmith yesterday to break in at his place. Got everything set up and started the process, fire one round, put sweets in it for 5 minutes and repeat. Right off the bat we noticed S there was no copper building up in the criterion barrel from Craddock precision.
I got the scope dialed in at 25 yards for the break in period. Right away we noticed the brass had two gouges in the neck and went about trying to figure out where they came from, we ruled out the feeding process by hand loading the round into the chamber. We further ruled out the chamber first by inspection with a bore scope and then removing the gas block so it would not auto eject. The gouges were being made by the barrel extension lugs. The sharp corners were shaving brass off the neck. We broke out the diamond files and broke the top corners on the offending lugs and the gouging stopped.
The 75 grain loads were not locking the bolt back so we opened the gas port 5 thousands inch which solved that issue. The 75s were all going in one hole at 25 so we went out to 100 for the rest of the break in. The average velocity was 2976, ES was 28 and the SD was 11.4 however, the groups at 100 were horrible they would not come below 2 inches. I loaded some 80 grain Nosler Custom over 25.2 - 26 grains of RL15 and finally settled on 25.5 for the best load. That load gives me an average velocity of 2815 with an ES of 31 and a SD of 13.8 it also groups at 1/2 inch @ 100 yards.
The brass life is 4 reloads (5 shots) that is when the primer pockets loosen up to the point the brass is best put in the scrap bin.
A few things about the rifle, it has a 24 inch Craddock precision barrel rifle +2 gas system, toolcraft inc. 6.8 BCG, JARD non adjustable trigger assembly, Nikon one piece 20 MOA scope mount, Leupold VX3 6.5-20x40 scope, frefloated 15 inch rail from Sherluk Defense, Magpul PRS stock on the NYGF upper and lower from @Bullet Guy. I am waiting on the anti rotation hammer and trigger pins but the stock ones worked for testing purposes. I have an adjustable Gas block on order from brownells. I plan on opening up the gas port a few more thousands and controlling the gas volume with it. This will allow me to test a lot of powders while controlling the function of the Loading system. The trigger was crisp and has no take up. Over all the build has got more money into it that I would normally put into an AR15 but, it is the number 007.
I only had the 75 grain load to test as far as factory loads go. So I cannot comment on the precision loads coming from the factory. IMHO the TMJ bullet in the 75 grain load is horrible. I will pull all of them and load my own in the new brass. The powder they are using is some mixture of ball propellant and weighs 28.6 grains, I may pull the TMJs and replace them with 75 grain Hornady match bullets (called a Mexican Match load) to see how they shoot. I may be able to salvage the powder if it shows promise.
Overall opinion of the Valkyrie I cannot say for sure, with handloads it shows a lot of promise. If you do not hand load and are not the type of guy to spend a buck plus a round on match grade 223 caliber ammo do not entertain getting into the Valkyrie. Once all my parts get in I will stretch the Valkyrie to 500 yards ( all I have access to at the moment).
With everything being said and done I will be building a Valkyrie on a savage target action with a 30 inch barrel. I will probably go with a Bartlein gain twist barrel starting at 1-13 and finishing at 1-6, the gain twist barrel allows the bullet to engage the rifling at a more gentle pace and excellerate the spin down the barrel.
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Sierra came out with load data.
Load Data | Sierra Bullets
Load Data | Sierra Bullets
Took the Valkyrie out yesterday to play with it a little more out to 400 yards. Now that she is working perfectly I was able to sight it in at 100-400 yards. The 80 grain load only drops 27 inches at 400 which is pretty good. The 223s 69 grain load drops 34 inches at the same distance. I am happy with the load as well as the accuracy coming from the gun.
Ordered a 224 Valkyrie reamer and Go gauge next a barrel and 6.8 PTG bolt
Soon my Valkyrie is going to have a sister. I just ordered a barrel, reamer and go gauge to convert a doner Remington 700 over. I am putting a Krieger 28 inch 1-6.5 twist heavy Varmit profile barrel on it. With the extra length in the barrel over my AR, I should be able to run my 80 grain noslers at 3000 FPS. Since the barrel was in stock I should be sending lead down range in about 20 days.
I decided not to go with the PTG bolt because it would take 12 weeks and I wouldn't be able to shoot it this summer. The .223 Remington bolt face is going to be hogged out to .420 for the 6.8 SPC/ 224 Valkyrie case and have a Sako extractor installed. Next thing to do is figure out what rifle I am going to rob the scope from.
I decided not to go with the PTG bolt because it would take 12 weeks and I wouldn't be able to shoot it this summer. The .223 Remington bolt face is going to be hogged out to .420 for the 6.8 SPC/ 224 Valkyrie case and have a Sako extractor installed. Next thing to do is figure out what rifle I am going to rob the scope from.
ProgSpear
.338 Win Mag
LOL! That brings up the discussion of a) what scope to rob, b) what QD mount to use so you can swap it back and forth with the least amount of pain, c) what scope gets thrown onto the new red headed stepchild, and d) fuckit, buy a new Schmidt and Bender for the new rifle 'cause it ain't MY money...
I plan on buying 4 more Vortex Golden eagles but, I have to wait until my next deployment. I have a few rifles I don't shoot very often so I can grab a scope of of one of those, just got to figure out which one I want to take.
ProgSpear
.338 Win Mag
Dang. I can't afford the Golden Eagles even spending your money. Of course, I don't shoot well enough to appreciate them either. But for education purposes (mine), do you prefer the ECR or SCR reticle? Not trying to derail the thread, just wondering...
I prefer the SCR, I like an uncluttered reticle and just to dial up a distance.
Got the reamer and go gauge, barrel is due on Friday.
Got the barrel today, bringing it to my gunsmith in the morning. Robbing a Golden Eagle from a 308 bolt gun seems to be appropriate. Looks like should be done in 2 weeks.
Exonautic
.308 Win
Will probably put a thermal on the 308 eventually.
Just ordered a case of the Federal 90gr SMKs to try out in both the AR and the 700. The AR didn't like the factory 75s at all so we shall see how it likes the 90s. I will be able to see how the round does in the 700 vs the AR.
Got the chamber cast tonight. The gun goes to get engraved Monday, scope mounted Tuesday and load testing commences Friday. Cannot wait.
Breakin and sighting in starts Friday!
Pushed some 95 grain SMKs at 2600 FPS today with 25 grains of RL17. The book said the load should be at 2450 but that extra 4 inches of barrel help out in the velocity area. The 26 grains was pushing 2700 but the groups opened way up. So I settled for 25 grains and 1/2 inch groups. I am sure it can do better. It will put two in the same hole then the next round 1/2 bullet diameter away, I am sure that is me. The factory 90 grain bullets are going 2657 FPS but group about an inch. I am going to try the factory 90s in my AR Valkyrie this weekend to see how they do in it. Still waiting on a 20 MOA rail and custom rings I ordered. So I just used a flat rail and some rings I had sitting around for the load testing. Still have to try 80 grain AMAX and the 75 GR HPBT Hornadys but for now it I am happy with it.
So I shot the Creedmoor and Valkyrie ARs today in a side by side comparison with federal factory ammo. The Valkyrie got 90 grain gold metal matchkings and the 6.5 creedmoor got federal American Eagle branf 140 OTM so theoretically the Valkyrie had premium ammo where the creedmoor had plinking stuff. Not that it mattered though. They both grouped pretty well with three close together and two that opened the group up. Both rifle shoot my hand loads a lot tighter than the factory stuff but I wanted to try and have an equal trial run for both rifles.
The 224 is a newer build but has more rounds down the tube than the 6.5 (200 vs 20). I was not shooting for score in these targets just group size, both rifles were single fed each round. I thing the are pretty even as far as accuracy goes. So that is pretty much a wash.
Least Recoil goes to the 224 hands down.
Both rifles are very shootable and shoot better with hand loads tailored for them.
The next trial will be the battle of the bolt guns with factory ammo and then I will shoot all four guns out to 400 yards with hand loads to see how well the hold their own. Should be a fun few range visits.
The 224 is a newer build but has more rounds down the tube than the 6.5 (200 vs 20). I was not shooting for score in these targets just group size, both rifles were single fed each round. I thing the are pretty even as far as accuracy goes. So that is pretty much a wash.
Least Recoil goes to the 224 hands down.
Both rifles are very shootable and shoot better with hand loads tailored for them.
The next trial will be the battle of the bolt guns with factory ammo and then I will shoot all four guns out to 400 yards with hand loads to see how well the hold their own. Should be a fun few range visits.
Eddie Gunks
.338 Win Mag
@dsdmmat shoot premium ammo in both so we get a feel for performance.
Like i need another caliber....
Like i need another caliber....
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yeah I would have but I didn't have any match ammo for the creedmoor.
Taking Lagertha (Remington 700, .224 Valkyrie) to the scoped rifle league shoot today. Going to see how she does. I just have the one load developed for it right now, 25 Grains of RL17 with a 95GR SMK. Shooting 100-400 yards tonight will be good to get her dialed in.
Prudii
.357 mag
Is 1 in 7 sufficient or should people looking to build an upper find a 1 in 6.5 or 1 in 6? This is with a 22" or 24" barrel.
Yes the 7 twist is sufficient for up to 90 grains, the 95 grain Sierras require 6.5. The early production barrels had a problem with the chambers being throated incorrectly. I went with 6.5 on my bolt gun because I plan to shoot 95 and 100 grain (when available).