The 224 Valkyrie is a cool cartridge that was plagued with problems. Poor brass life, finicky accuracy and factory ove-pressured rounds. Truthfully, I wanted it to succeed and who knows maybe in the future it will have a resurgence, but with the 22 arc being flat out better in every category it’s unlikely.
Other thing about the 224 Valkyrie is that the design was based around a 90gr bullet, as opposed to the 22-250 is better suited for the 40-60ish grain. In short. The 22-250 is a sprinter, the 224 is a marathon runner. Both are great, but the higher BCs of the 224 will eventually outrun the 22-250. It's a shame the 224 didn't do better than it did. It is definitely a gunsmith special. If you like to tinker, the 224 is your cartridge. If you want an off the shelf option, the 22arc the 22 creedmore, or even just the .223.
100%. The 224 Valkyrie was based around a good idea, but the execution wasn't quite right. I think it may have also been a little ahead of its time. Will be interesting to see if things work out better with this new offering from Hornady...
Are there that many people that do long range shooting? This high BC market is exploding. Seems like a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist to me. Are there that many guys with a 300 Win mag that are saying, “I’d love to shoot that, but I don’t have a .600 bc bullet”?
Eh, sort of. There are still nowhere near the number of serious competitive shooters as there are hunters. That said, those competitive shooters each individually shoot WAY more rounds per year than the average hunter.
@@Thebiggamehuntingblog That’s a very good point and makes a lot of sense. For most hunters, a box will last years, but we know how easy it is to burn through hundreds of rounds at a range. Thanks for posting.
I got a .300 win mag and shoot milk jugs at 1,000 and only load the 220 and 230 grain bullets and I switch the barrel to .308 and shoot the 175 and 200 grain bullets my MRAD. Vids on my channel….. Kind of thought about a smaller bullet, .223 cal bullet. I do load the .223 with the 77gr and 80 grain match, and I just don’t care about BC, I just care about hitting steel at a long distance.
I don't blame you one bit for feeling that way. The 22 ARC is certainly a pretty niche round at this instant that's probably very interesting to people who live and breathe for that stuff, but less so for others.
Today, when I buy my next new 22 caliber rifle, it will be a bolt action, 22" barrel, 22 Creedmoor. Now when I buy my next new carbine, and AR-15, it will be a 6 ARC w/an 18" barrel. Though when I buy a new 6 ARC rifle, it will be a 22" barrel, mini action, bolt action. But my next new big game (typically deer sized) 6mm, it will be a bolt action, 22" barrel, 6mm Creedmoor. These 22's are with 1:7" twist barrels, 6mm's a 1:8" twist. Now if I were to come across a beautiful used bolt action 223 Rem or 22-250 Rem, I'd buy it. As with a beautiful used bolt action 243 Win, I'd buy it. My very first high powered deer rifle at 9 years old in 1979 was a bolt action Ruger model 77, 22" barrel w/a 1:10" twist, 243 Win and it delivered very nicely. I killed a trophy pronghorn at a long range with it when I was ten. And then the AR-10, 18-20" barrel, any fitting caliber will work, my favorite for big game a 358 Win 20" barrel. Though if I were to pursue a 358 Win rifle it would be a bolt action 22" barrel, the Ruger model 77 w/a 22" barrel is a favorite for sure. Though some lever action 358 Winchesters are quite appealing, like the Savage model 99s and the Browning model BLRs. Any of these 358s I'd snatch up in a heartbeat (being in good condition). But concerning the 22 ARC, for me it's nothin' to sneeze at, in either gas or bolt action. If I were choosing a new (22 caliber) AR-15, it would be the 22 ARC for sure. P.S. My next sought after rifle is a Hawken muzzleloader for big game.
as usual if you already have a varmint rifle in 223 or 22.250 do you really gain much to justify. can understand if getting a new rifle and a gas gun works better for some like coyotes.
It’s hard to see what this has over the .224 Valkyrie whereas .224 Valkyrie can support higher pressures in AR-15 due to its smaller base and rim diameter. But, there is Hornady’s marketing campaign. And 22 ARC, 6mm ARC, and 6.5 Grendel can be loaded to higher pressures for bolt guns. So there is that. And the 22 nosler uses the standard AR-15 bolt face.
Don't think there's much chance with this 22 ARC. Long range small cailber rounds are cool, but the target shooting fanbase may never be big enough to feed so much calibers... Idea of an AR-15 varmint round is good but perhaps invalid... AR is semi auto to dump mags, while varmint as well as other hunting are more like one shot one kill. Hence hunters may prefer a bolt action 22-250 for easier obtain, cheaper precise build. The problem in modern cartridge industry may not just be finding solutions for non-existing problems but also attempting to invent wheels in 21th centry...
Problem::::: In California we can not use the ELD-VT round. We can only use non lead rounds. I know move out of California. But there are other States moving to non lead as well.
