Since I returned to 1000 yard matches after becoming disabled, I have been using a Rem 700 Long Range in 7mm Rem Mag. It worked for me, but the match accuracy was gone by almost 1400 rounds. When COVID hit, my preferred components disappeared fast.
Since I had assembled an AR upper in 223 with the intention of shooting it at a thousand yards, I figured I'd give the 224 Valkyrie a chance. The 223 with a 26" barrel and bullets seated a bit deeper in order to stay off the rifling just wouldn't stay supersonic much beyond 975 yards, which opened up my groups. My goal was to develop a load that shot under 0.75 MOA, it just didn't come together.
Now with the 224 Valkyrie. I found that the SD on my handloads was about 25 fps with a book maximum of Varget under a Hornady 88gr ELD-M. I went into my first 1000 yard F class match with a solid 300 yard zero, and a calculated 1000 yard zero. First sighter was a non-visable miss using a dead-on center of mass hold. For the second sighter I held 6 o'clock on the aiming black and my shot was a loose 8 at 10 o'clock. I made my scope adjustment to allow for a return to a center of mass hold, and my remaining shots for the 3 - 20 record stages kept within the 8 ring. That said, I have to admit a few facts.
First, the conditions were lousy. For the whole day, we had mostly heavy rain which played havoc with visibility. However, the fact that the rounds stayed within the 8 ring was promising. Second, I haven't had a chance to chronograph that load in order to get critical data, but I am considering kicking the load up a tenth or two in order to tighten the group. My collected brass didn't show any signs of high pressure.
My setup. Keep in mind that I am using an AR platform on a versapod bipod at what is really 1030 yards. I built an upper using a 24" White Oak stainless barrel with a 1:6.5" twist using Hornady 88gr ELD-M bullets. The lower is an original (pre-Remington) Bushmaster with a CMMC single stage trigger. I am using a Gen 1 Vortex Viper PST 6-24x scope. The cases had been shot 4-5x.
My take. Using the NRA LR-F target, the 224 Valkyrie demonstrated (for me) significant potential. The 8 ring on an LR-F target is about 20" in diameter. I can't give a true velocity, but I can say this load was consistently above the supersonic transition. I have been able to purchase the Hornady bullets for under $30 a 100 during COVID without issue (significantly less expensive than Sierra MatchKings). I am using the Remington Small Rifle Benchrest primer with a load of Varget that could be found in a 223 match round. I would guesstimate that my 224 Valkyrie loads are costing about $0.35 a round with my current components on hand. Since I haven't seen Varget or primers on the shelf, I have no idea what the handloads would cost based on prevailing prices. A nice point to keep in mind, is that this round is loaded to magazine length, and magazine feeding can be utilized! Once I tweak the charge and measure the leade, I can build a more precise round that should not only mate perfectly to the chamber and throat, it should come closer to my desired grouping goal. For me, any round and rifle that will hold 0.75 MOA at a thousand plus yards is a keeper. If I were to do the build over again, I would purchase another varmint profile barrel with 1:6.5" twist, but 26 or more inches in length in order to kick up the muzzle velocity.
