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Old September 27, 2018, 08:06 PM   #1
Mobuck
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So, I bought a 224 Valk upper

Gave in to the PSA advertisement and bought a 20" 1/7 complete upper. Not looking for 1000 yards, just a flatter long range trajectory than a .223(think semi-auto 22/250).
Expect I'll put a 4-12x40 with holdover ticks on this one and use a lower with either my new LaRue or a unitized trigger(if I can remember where I stashed it).
Open to suggestions on ammo that will hammer 350-400 yard coyotes w/o concerns about hide damage-I just want to kill them. Looks like the only load for that use is the 60 Nosler BT. Since I don't expect to shoot more than 100 or so rounds per year, not planning to handload unless nothing else works.
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Old September 27, 2018, 08:16 PM   #2
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I'd like to hear more about your results on the range.

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Old September 27, 2018, 08:39 PM   #3
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Still in the box. Maybe get it zeroed Saturday with the 75 grain FMJ that arrived Tuesday.
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Old September 27, 2018, 10:22 PM   #4
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Be wary of Federal ammo, there were a few lots of junk Federal .224.
And I was recently advised by an AR builder who builds Valks, like any other rifle, try different brands and weights as you'll find your gun has a favorite it'll shoot better than the others.
Want ALOT more info...contact Kelly Sanders at Sanders Armory...he's got piles of .224 Valkyrie data. Twist rates, # of grooves in rifling, bullet weights, all kinds of stuff.
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Old September 27, 2018, 11:14 PM   #5
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Let's hope it shoots tight little groups.
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Old September 28, 2018, 01:34 AM   #6
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These things are everywhere... I might do it too
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Old September 29, 2018, 07:37 AM   #7
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After doing LOT more looking, it seems there's only one candidate for my needs-the Federal 60 grain Nosler BT. Hope it shoots well enough--if I can find some at an affordable price. If not, this dog is going to be for sale.
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Old September 29, 2018, 07:54 AM   #8
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I did a chamber cast to check the cut of the 20" valk barreled upper that I bought from PSA--the one I have is the "long cut" that Harrison has described in detail. My barrel is a 1:7 twist--which in my experience will handle anything 90 grains and under just fine. However, the "long freebore" (LFB) cuts are going to be necessarily sensitive to the jump to lands of the particular bullet used; some, by virtue of their design, are going to perform better than others when there is a minimal distance from base of ogive in the seated bullet to where the ogive positively engages the lands/grooves. I'm currently working on "normal loads"--ones which conform to standard magazine and SAAMI dimensions--though I haven't so far been able to get the 1300 yds supersonic hype associated with the cartridge with these "normal" loads. At the start of all this I just assumed I was going to have to hotrod the cartridge with heavier bullets to get there--and I did; but it's basically a wildcat at that point. Right now I'd advise stick with Hornady dies and brass if you reload. Many of the reload formulas out there use bulky stick powders like RL 15 and RL17--but I've had nothing but headaches getting them up to maximum charge weights--they often go into compressed loads which make cartridge consistencies difficult--I even experienced back-pressure on the seating stem which damaged the bullets which in the .224 high SD bullets generally have long flimsy thin copper noses which are easily deformed--another factor possibly affecting accuracy when cycled in an AR.
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Old September 29, 2018, 08:03 AM   #9
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Quote:
After doing LOT more looking, it seems there's only one candidate for my needs-the Federal 60 grain Nosler BT. Hope it shoots well enough--if I can find some at an affordable price. If not, this dog is going to be for sale.
The smaller valk bullets often need to be seated shorter than the max COL of 2.26 (in reality, that can be pushed to 2.28/2.29 in most conventional magazines if your jump to lands can accommodate it). I haven't tried all the bullets out there; but given the general SAAMI specs--limitations of case capacity vs bullet's design and ability to be seated close to the lands--it appears the "sweet spot" for optimal performance is in the 80 to 90 grain area--though there have been accurate results with smaller bullets driven very fast. I wouldn't judge it on one small bullet--you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. Or it could work great. Be sure to try Hornady's offerings if your restricted to factory ammo only. I took my PSA apart and canibalized the parts for another built--I just may reassemble a new upper with the PSA barrel just for the heck of it to see what it can do with the newer factory ammo that has come out.
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Old September 29, 2018, 04:09 PM   #10
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Thanks stagpanther.
I got the scope mounted and bore sighted but got rained out before I could test fire.
I may have been better served with a 22 Nosler as those seem to cater to the varmint load crowd vs the wannabe long rangers.
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Old September 29, 2018, 04:28 PM   #11
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Quote:
Thanks stagpanther.
I got the scope mounted and bore sighted but got rained out before I could test fire.
I may have been better served with a 22 Nosler as those seem to cater to the varmint load crowd vs the wannabe long rangers.
I'm not sure why--but if the volume of manufacturers jumping on board is any indicator--it seems that traction favors the valk over the 22 nosler. Should be able to get velocities well over 3000 fps with the smaller bullets--but from my perspective that sorta overlaps what the existing .224 calibers can do. 72 to 75 gr bullets in the valk will still be screamers.
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Old September 29, 2018, 07:47 PM   #12
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I wouldn't mind using a 75-77 grain HPBT @3000 fps but anything slower compromises the flat trajectory I'm seeking for 300-400 yards.
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Old September 29, 2018, 09:37 PM   #13
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I wouldn't mind using a 75-77 grain HPBT @3000 fps but anything slower compromises the flat trajectory I'm seeking for 300-400 yards.
Definitely should be able to get 3000 fps or better in the 70 to 75 gr factory ammo (take a look at Midway USA or any other retailer)--I assume you're looking for a large effective point blank range for picking off coyotes etc.?
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Old September 29, 2018, 11:21 PM   #14
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I've been tempted to get one of the PSA uppers myself but from what little I know it doesn't sound like factory ammo is quite there yet.

Maybe there is some new stuff out that I haven't seen though. I haven't looked very hard lately.

I don't reload and don't plan on starting so good factory ammo along with the right barrel are the only options for me.

I'll be waiting to learn more here and elsewhere.
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Old September 30, 2018, 08:28 PM   #15
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Hey MoBuck--I bought a "bottom of the barrel" build kit from Tactical Solutions (sorry guys, but I call em as I see em)--includes everything but the stripped lower, BCG and buttstock for somewhere just a bit north of $100 to "rebuild" my PSA 20" 1:7 SS barrel. The upper required lapping/truing of both the barrel extension contact face and the interior bore which were both pretty noticeably out of true. It's definitely not up to the quality of even PSA's budget stuff--though I did stick a decent scope and trigger on/in it. I'll try to replicate some of the factory offerings and see what I can get.

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Old October 1, 2018, 07:28 AM   #16
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I have my PSA upper on a ??? lower with an A2 stock, a 3# trigger, and a 4-12x40 scope. I figured the A2 stock would give me a bit more stability off the bench. Don't know when test firing will happen as work is stacking up. Currently bidding on some factory 60 grain BT ammo for starters but I'm not pharting around with it very much. It either works or walks.
I'm in it at a price point low enough to not be overly painful if I resell.
Lots of local guys looking to turn their AR into a "long ranger".
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Old October 1, 2018, 07:41 AM   #17
stagpanther
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Quote:
I have my PSA upper on a ??? lower with an A2 stock, a 3# trigger, and a 4-12x40 scope. I figured the A2 stock would give me a bit more stability off the bench. Don't know when test firing will happen as work is stacking up. Currently bidding on some factory 60 grain BT ammo for starters but I'm not pharting around with it very much. It either works or walks.
I'm in it at a price point low enough to not be overly painful if I resell.
Lots of local guys looking to turn their AR into a "long ranger".
I still think you are setting yourself up for disappointment. The factory guys are still trying to figure out the best bullets and cartridge combinations. If your valk barrel has the same specs as I mine--20" SS 1:7--then it might have the "evolutionary" chamber cut. You might also consider swapping out barrels with one of Harrison's as he doesn't charge that much. I don't know if I have ever bought a rifle that shot perfectly out the box with the first box of factory ammo I tried.

I have a box of 80 gr matchings and a box of 73 gr Berger match grade HPBT which I'll try out in my PSA barrel. My trigger is set to 4.5 lbs or so--so you have an advantage there.
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Old October 1, 2018, 03:30 PM   #18
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Well Mobuck--I tried the 73 Berger bullets--they had a handicap right from the get-go; they had to be seated shorter than the 2.26 COL due to design of the bullet and how well they fed (at least in my rifle--which granted uses a pretty suspect upper which might contribute to some bullet damage on feed). Anyway, I was getting minute of solar system with signs of destabilization starting at 100yds--so that particular bullet I would cross of my list for this particular barrel. The 80 MK looks like a better fit (the larger eld's I know are even better--but I think you said you want something smaller?) and I might still be able to get close to 3000 fps if I push it a bit hot. You might want to message Harrison since he has far more experience with the smaller bullets getting to work with the "long cut" chamber than I do.
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Old October 1, 2018, 08:51 PM   #19
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It's going to be several days before I'm back into messing with the rifle. With my current workload, I don't have time to test handloads anyway. Will just have to hope it plays nice with available factory ammo. Thanks for the advice.
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Old October 1, 2018, 10:35 PM   #20
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Keep us posted on how it does with factory ammo. Most of the current barrels don't play nice factory ammo. If they did, I would've used my Valkyrie barrel for a build months ago. But I've order some Redding dies to load for my Valkyrie. Plus finally setup work bench and vise in my garage this weekend. So getting the itch to start tinkering with my toys again.
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Old October 1, 2018, 11:41 PM   #21
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I think I may have discovered yet another issue with the valk chamber cut--but I could be totally off base so I'm going to talk/message Harrison and see what he thinks. I'm the first to admit I'm not very good at technical analysis stuff--so I could be totally off base and imagining things.
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Old October 2, 2018, 06:26 AM   #22
Mobuck
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At this point, I have the assembled unit, some 75 grain FMJ, and may find time for a few shots by end of the week.
I looked at some reviews of the 22 Nosler last night(when I should have been sleeping BTW). It appears some shooters are more interested in the fact that they're shooting the newest, hottest XYZ round than about how accurate that round actually is.
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Old October 2, 2018, 06:49 AM   #23
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This roll-out of the valk reminds me a lot of the initial Grendel unveiling--that one too had different versions of chamber cuts and bolt faces exacerbated by the fact that a certain person initially refused to release his dimensions for common use without licensing. This gave birth to the lbc. I'm seeing similar "symptoms" with the valk rollout. Unfortunately. Lots of money spent by the public on stuff that won't meet the hype. I expect any day now for "type 1" and "type 2" valk chamber barrel nomenclature to start being used.

H's new barrel works the way it's supposed to.
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Old October 2, 2018, 10:29 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stagpanther View Post
H's new barrel works the way it's supposed to.
With factory ammo?
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Old October 2, 2018, 10:32 AM   #25
stagpanther
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Quote:
With factory ammo?
I have not tried his barrel with factory ammo since I'm mostly a handloader. A bigger question might be who's ammo--and what barrel cut was the testing of that ammo done with? It's all mystery meat at this point.
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