new VLD ARP 224 valk

[stagpanther]

New barrel (aka tractor axle) from ARP came in today, as usual looks like a beauty. While having the same length as the "gen1 long freebore" this one has (presumably) the shortened freebore to better align bullets into the lands by virtue of a shorter "jump." I'm not absolutely positive--I think the gen 1 might be a 5R rifling whereas this one appears to be one cut with the 3 groove hybrid rifling.



A nice touch--which gave me a bit of a chuckle--is the engraved name on the barrel "224 valkyrie VLD ARP"; I assume in recognition of improved performance of vld and other sharp ogive bullet designs--maybe reduced drag in the bore of 3 rifling as well (?).



Bit of a frankengun job as I recycled used parts but the trigger is a new LaRue. Soon as I check headspace compliance, measure the lands engagement and whip up some test cartridges--I'll see how she shoots.

[ed308]

Nice. Looking to seeing how it shoots. Was the long free bore barrels fluted? Can't find mine. Still packed away in a box somewhere in my garage.

That's my understanding of the 3R as well for the reduced drag.

[TrueBlue711]

Looks good. Looking forward to hearing the range report. What did that barrel run you anyways? I may look into them if you get good results and I throw in the towel on my CMMG barrel.

[ed308]

$259 plus $20 shipping.

https://www.ar15performance.com/inc/sdetail/38016/55634

[stagpanther]

Nice. Looking to seeing how it shoots. Was the long free bore barrels fluted? Can't find mine. Still packed away in a box somewhere in my garage.

Mine isn't. Despite the fluting--my assembled gun weighs just ounces less than the longbore profile build. It's still a heavy chevy if you put long range optics on and contemplate hiking anywhere distant with it.

[stagpanther]

managed to put a few rounds through her today--but I made so major goof-ups that prevented me from getting good results.

First off--I slapped on my Nikon black scope from my other build--thinking that since it was already zeroed for 200 yds I could start out there on this build.

Nope--and as a consequence I wasted 10 shots getting on paper. I also forgot to tighten the screws that hold the Midwest Industries rail on--so I had a truly "free-floating" rail

Once I got zeroed in, I produced an OK group at about 1 MOA--but all the shots were in a virtually straight up and down string--I was having problems keeping the rifle level through the shot. I'll have to fix that (me).

However, the gun itself shoots smooth as butter--I swear it has less felt recoil than my other build even though the lowers are almost identical. I did notice that the same load I used in my other valk build averaged around 20 to 40 fps faster in this gun than in the previous "gen 1" ARP barrel.

I'll do a real ladder test soon--these were just preliminary get the shots down the barrel.

[stagpanther]

Put a few more of my "sweetheart" load that worked well in my long freebore valk down the new barrel--I'm just not getting the hang of shooting this particular load in this particular gun--I think I'll have to start all over again since it's reasonable to assume what worked in one may not work in the other. The results were OK--but I expect sub .5 MOA. Not that I'm looking for a scapegoat--well, maybe just a little, but I'm not especially crazy about the LarRue trigger over the Jards that I'm used to. Maybe that will take some time.

[constructor]

Same loads as in charge or charge and OAL? The freebore is .047" shorter, will make a big difference in jump and where the sweet spot is.

The long freeebore barrels were not fluted...reason I fluted this batch is so there will be no confusion between long and short versions. Same reason the "VLD" is engraved on the barrel. Both barrels are 6.5 twist 3R rifling.

[constructor]

Work up to these loads-
80gr ELD -25.1gr H4895 or 25.1gr XBR 8208 2.29 OAL +-.005
88gr ELD-24.1gr H4895 or 24.6gr 8208 2.29 OAL +-.005
Others are getting close to 3000fps out of the 80s so they have less drop and drift than the 88s, 90s and 95s do.
Looks like the elds like around .030" jump

Here is another load someone posted-
"I got a 22 inch barrel from AR15 performance chambered with the correct Sammi spec reamer and tested it today. Factory federal 90 gr SMK bullets gave a .75 inch group off the bipod at 100 yrds with a velocity of 2764 fps std dev. 11.9 FPS. My handload of 25.0 gr of Rl-15 and 88 gr ELM bullets in outside neck turned starling brass produced two 0.5 inch groups at 2810/ 2820fps and std dev. Of 12.7 fps. Temp was 105 degrees and elevation was 3000 ft. These results are very good as compared to what I was getting with a Craddock / Bartlein barrel."

[stagpanther]

Same loads as in charge or charge and OAL? The freebore is .047" shorter, will make a big difference in jump and where the sweet spot is.

No--the loads were adjusted for a shorter freebore and the charge weights backed off slightly--though the 90 vld I had to back way off to 2.285 otherwise they would jam on feeding. Thanks for the load suggestions--I'll try some of them.

[stagpanther]

Decided to "go off the reservation" and try an unpublished load; here is my first go with the 88 eldx with H380 in the new barrel--bullets seated to 2.29. It's the first load in this barrel which seems to show promise for me.

[ed308]

So, with the SAAMI barrel. Nice group. Wonder how that load would shoot in the long freebore barrel? If it shoots that good, I'll build with my Valk barrel.

[stagpanther]

So, with the SAAMI barrel. Nice group. Wonder how that load would shoot in the long freebore barrel? If it shoots that good, I'll build with my Valk barrel.

This was just a single charge weight--haven't tested a whole ladder yet. Because the two barrels have different freebore lengths--and hence different cartridge OAL's-- I doubt this same load could be expected to perform similarly in the other barrel. On the other hand--the long 95MK load I did for the other barrel I think would be worth trying--it turned in a .3 MOA group for me at 100 and 200 yds. x-man has other good loads for the long free-bore barrel, though I haven't tried them yet.

[stagpanther]

I finally got my order of Hornady dies and brass in--they are the best valk components I've used so far. The brass did not show any signs of unusual expansion/flow at a moderately warm charge--and using the 90 gr vld's--my "acid test most likely to jam bullet" the 5 round magazine cycled, fired and locked back the bolt without a hick-up. I wasn't shooting for accuracy--but the group would have been sub-MOA save for one flier I pulled rather badly.

[djmurf]

I'm almost finished with my Valkyrie build, using the same barrel from ARP. Waiting on a scope mount, and still need to settle on some dies and get them ordered.

I'm really liking what I'm seeing from your loads, and hope to get similar results!

What dies have you been using? Have you been happy with them? I've been thinking about grabbing the Forster set with the full length sizer and their bench rest seater.

Looking forward to seeing more of your groups!

[stagpanther]

I'm almost finished with my Valkyrie build, using the same barrel from ARP. Waiting on a scope mount, and still need to settle on some dies and get them ordered.

I'm really liking what I'm seeing from your loads, and hope to get similar results!

What dies have you been using? Have you been happy with them? I've been thinking about grabbing the Forster set with the full length sizer and their bench rest seater.

Looking forward to seeing more of your groups!

Nice looking gun! Hope you get to test fire it soon--we need more data on loads. I've used RCBS dies mostly, but am not very happy with them, lots of "friggin" to get them to work well and seat a bullet without damaging the bullet and case. Managed to get two stuck cases in them.The Redding precision comp die is pretty good--but the hornady is the best for money so far and seems to work well with the sharper, secant ogives you might find in the heavier bullets. Get hornady brass too. The chamber on my ARP "short freebore" barrel is towards the tighter side of specs so watch carefully the sized cartridges--A bit too much of a load can easily bulge starline or federal brass and be hard to chamber reliably. For me--a Wilson case gauge is a must; I use it to check my sized cases as well as tote it along when testing loads to see when pressures start pushing expansion in the area of the case head.

[djmurf]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

Nice looking gun! Hope you get to test fire it soon--we need more data on loads. I've used RCBS dies mostly, but am not very happy with them, lots of "friggin" to get them to work well and seat a bullet without damaging the bullet and case. Managed to get two stuck cases in them.The Redding precision comp die is pretty good--but the hornady is the best for money so far and seems to work well with the sharper, secant ogives you might find in the heavier bullets. Get hornady brass too. The chamber on my ARP "short freebore" barrel is towards the tighter side of specs so watch carefully the sized cartridges--A bit too much of a load can easily bulge starline or federal brass and be hard to chamber reliably. For me--a Wilson case gauge is a must; I use it to check my sized cases as well as tote it along when testing loads to see when pressures start pushing expansion in the area of the case head.

Thanks for the tips! I may have to check out the Hornady dies, they're definitely not expensive! Are you happy with the sizing die too?

[stagpanther]

So far--the sizing die restores my expanded cases just fine--it seems to "default" to a small base size--even though it doesn't say so expressly.

[djmurf]

Dies are on the way. For that price, if the seater is consistent, it's worth it. Thanks!

[FrankenMauser]

This has been quite the saga.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm happy to be watching from the sidelines.

I do hope to see some heavy VLDs punching one-hole groups eventually. (Stop shooting in the wind! ..Yea, yea. I understand. I deal with intense [even severe], perpetual wind here, too.)

Keep at it. It's an interesting ride.

[stagpanther]

This has been quite the saga.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm happy to be watching from the sidelines.

I do hope to see some heavy VLDs punching one-hole groups eventually. (Stop shooting in the wind! ..Yea, yea. I understand. I deal with intense [even severe], perpetual wind here, too.)

Keep at it. It's an interesting ride.

I live on an island on the coast of the North Atlantic--calm days are virtually unheard of--though this summer we had a large amount of tropical jungle heat days--for the first time ever I look forward to winter with feet of snow and below zero temps!

Saga is a good way to put it--I don't think I've ever put as much effort (and money) into a single cartridge as this valk. Seems like more manufacturers are coming on to the market with valk offerings; so good load data should be growing.

[FrankenMauser]

Different topography, but similar result where I live.

I'm at the far eastern edge of a giant plain that runs across southern Idaho (400 miles), and my city is situated in a natural funnel that leads into the mountains. Unless you catch the occasional calm night air, a "calm" day is 'only' 25 mph winds. The wind just rips across the plain, and doesn't get any better when the funnel effect kicks in.

[stagpanther]

This load for H380 driving 90 gr VLD's seems to work pretty well. Interestingly, charges nearby +/- .4 grs tend to fly pretty wide compared to this.

This is a "conventional" load--meaning it will fit an unmodified regular 6.8 magazine and is seated to a COL of 2.28. It also cycles reliably without hanging up the vld's on feed--quite challenging for AR's in general.

[stagpanther]

I do hope to see some heavy VLDs punching one-hole groups eventually.

I hope Berger makes a 95 or 100 gr vld ar hybrid bullet eventually

[constructor]

Hornady dies size .004 under minimum chamber size...same as small base like RCBS small base. All Full length size dies(RCBS, Redding, Forster) size .002 under minimum chamber size. I've heard the new Bergers are lighter...not above 90.