223 vs 224 Valkyrie 18” barrel

[steve101610]

Looking at putting together another upper for nighttime coyote hunting and can’t decide if I should do a 223 wylde or 224 Valkyrie. I already have all the supplies to reload for both calibers. It will be 18” and both would get loaded with 60gr vmax but if I go with the Valkyrie I might use up some of my 80.5 Berger’s. Is the Valkyrie going to gain enough velocity to justify it?

 

[AZgeek]

I get on average 2904 fps out of my AR15 Valkyrie with a 20" barrel using the Berger 80.5's. Accuracy is quite good. If you go with a bolt gun and a longer barrel, it should prove to be a really nice varmit rig IMHO.

 

[357Max]

Looking at putting together another upper for nighttime coyote hunting and can’t decide if I should do a 223 wylde or 224 Valkyrie. I already have all the supplies to reload for both calibers. It will be 18” and both would get loaded with 60gr vmax but if I go with the Valkyrie I might use up some of my 80.5 Berger’s. Is the Valkyrie going to gain enough velocity to justify it?

Valkyrie advantage is bigger with longer bullets. I've got both in 18" barrels. The Valk with 80.5's is 170fps faster. With 77 RDF's it's a 200 fps advantage.
I don't have a load comparison for the 60 Vmax, but I suspect they'll be closer since the shorter bullet gives a capacity bump in the Wylde.
In the 18" Valk with Starline brass & XBR & the 60 Vmax loaded 2.190 oal, it was going 3231

 

[jimgrunloh]

18" is too short to maximize the Valkyrie. 22" with rifle length +2 would provide a significant advantage over 223. if your stuck on 18" you might as well go 223.

 

[cypriss32]

the fact you can shoot 75gr and 80gr ELDM mag fed is enough for me to pick a Valk over a 223.

I have a 20” Larue barrel I’m contemplating cutting down to 18” for fun. I have a craddock 24” now and it’s a shooter with factory 88gr eldm

 

[Phil McGrath]

What’s wrong with .223ack?

 

[Rider47]

I have a 20" Krieger barreled AR in 224V. Disadvantages of the 224V include: 1) can be quite tricky to find a load that works - precision-wise, 2) I found that to shoot well the longer bullets require a seating depth with a COAL longer than what is functional in an AR mag (2.340" vs. 2.270" - I have cut out the front of my 224V mags), and 3) case life for several brands can be short due to primer pocket enlargement. I also had trouble shooting ELD-M bullets as the tips would break off during feeding. While I have (eventually) come to love my 224V, if you will mostly be shooting 55 to 77 gr. bullets, I would recommend you stay with the proven .223Wylde (I have 2 of these.). If you are willing to mess with the loading and tuning issues associated with the 224V for an incremental velocity gain, or you need to shoot heavier (>77gr.) bullets, the 224V is an option, albeit one I would not really recommend.

 

[Longshot231]

I have a RRA AR-15 upper in .223 Wylde with a 20 inch barrel. It shoots the Federal GMM factory load with the 77 grain SMK like a laser out to 700 yards. The muzzle velocity is averaging 2630 FPS. If I am good at getting the wind correct, I can hit clay pigeons at that distance.

I can't stress the point enough that the wind is the only thing that will mess me up at 700 yards on the clay pigeons. Any further than that, the groups will open up considerably. At 1000 yards, I can hit an IPSC size target but really have to get a good estimate on the wind.

I also have a RRA AR-15 upper in .224 V with a 20 inch barrel. It really likes the Federal GMM with the 80.5 grain Berger bullets at 2827 FPS. The performance to 700 yards is not much different compared to the RRA in .223 Wylde.

From 700 to 1000 yards is where the .224 V really out performs the .223. Again the wind is critical with both bullets but I'm hitting the 12" steel plates more consistently with the .224 V than with the .223.

I also have a bolt action rifle with a 26" barrel 1:6.5 twist. Back when the the .224 V first hit the market, I could get factory loaded Hornady with their 88 grain ELD cheaper than Federal GMM in .223! So I still have over 6000 rounds left That round won't work in the AR-15 as the feed ramp will break off the tips.

In the bolt action, I don't have that problem. It performs better than both AR-15s in either chambering. However, it's a very heavy rifle at 26 pounds!

I plead guilty to being crazy for having that heavy of a rifle but it's really fun to watch the trace of the bullet and see the impact at 1000 yards with little to no recoil.

If you don't expect to shoot anything past 700 yards, I would recommend the .223 with 77 SMK. The factory loads are easier to get as well as reloading components. As far as coyotes are concerned, that bullet might not be a good choice. My only experience with killing coyotes is with another AR-15 and 55 grain Hornady V-max out to 200 yards. It's very lethal but not good for very long distances. It's also accounted for numerous groundhogs with explosive effects.

On the other hand, I think I could easily take a head shot with my RRA using the .223 77 SMK to about 500 yards. That will still put its lights out but won't get much expansion in the heart/lung area.

 

[cypriss32]

What barrel are you guys shooting? I have a bartlien from Craddock and have no issues with it. It shoots factory 88gr ammo extremely well.

 

[Longshot231]

What barrel are you guys shooting? I have a bartlien from Craddock and have no issues with it. It shoots factory 88gr ammo extremely well.

My bolt action rifle has a Kreiger 26" barrel with a 1:6.5" twist.

Rock River Arms uses Wilson barrels.

 

[cypriss32]

I don’t have issues with Larue or Craddock with tipped bullets

 

[redneckbmxer24]

18" is too short to maximize the Valkyrie. 22" with rifle length +2 would provide a significant advantage over 223. if your stuck on 18" you might as well go 223.

You bumped this thread to post this? There’s so much mythical bullshit with this cartridge it’s hilarious.

Please explain to the class how barrel length makes any difference when comparing them when the case capacities are virtually identical…

223 will also benefit from a longer barrel. Pretty much every center fire chambering will.

Valks advantage is the ability to load high BC bullets at mag lengths and for that reason alone it kicks the 223’s ass no matter that barrel length.