The two-year-old MSR 15 cartridge pushes the envelope with extreme distances, and the options have already expanded.
In the fall of 2017, Federal announced its introduction of the 224 Valkyrie cartridge to the world. The cartridge became sanctioned when the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) voted to approve the Federal Premium 224 Valkyrie as an official new cartridge during their committee meeting at the 2018 SHOT Show in Las Vegas.
The new-fangled cartridge was initially available in four of Federal's proven product lines, Gold Medal Sierra MatchKing, Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint, Fusion MSR and American Eagle TMJ. This variety offered serious options for competitors, long-range target shooters and hunters pursuing varmints up to deer-sized game.
In the cartridge's sophomore year, hunters and shooters will see three more loads from Federal, 80.5-grain Gold Medal Berger Hybrid, 60-grain Hornady V-Max and 78-grain Barnes Triple-Shock X (TSX). This brings the total number of 224 Valkyrie loads that Federal offers to over a half dozen.
Federal Premium's 224 Valkyrie takes the long-range precision and ballistic performance of the MSR 15 platform to unheard of heights. The results recorded by Federal Premium engineers during the cartridge's extensive development and testing process speak for themselves. The 224 Valkyrie provides extremely flat trajectories, supersonic velocities at as far as 1,300 yards downrange, and match-grade accuracy.
Here's a detailed look of what the world's largest ammunition manufacturer now has to offer for the popular, long-range 224 Valkyrie in 2019.
Current Lineup
80.5-grain Gold Medal Berger Hybrid—This competition-style load features an advanced Hybrid OTM boat-tail bullet with an extremely high ballistic coefficient to provide the flattest trajectories, least wind drift and drop, and world-class long-range accuracy. It uses Gold Medal match primers, Federal brass and specially formulated propellant, and they adhere to Federal Premium's strictest specifications for accuracy, pressure and velocity.
60-grain Hornady V-Max—Destroy everything from prairie dogs to coyotes with the precision of Federal Varmint & Predator. The new loads bring the accuracy and explosive expansion of the proven Hornady V-Max bullet, loaded with Federal's extremely reliable brass, primer and propellant.
78-grain Barnes TSX—This proven all-copper hollow point groups tightly at long range and delivers consistent, lethal expansion. Barnes TSX monolithic design retains more than 99 percent of its weight on impact to penetrate deep, and its grooved shank minimizes barrel fouling and improves accuracy.
90-grain Gold Medal Sierra MatchKing—Extract the full long-range potential from 224 Valkyrie with the 90-grain Sierra MatchKing. The bullet design has been shot to win more competitive shooting matches than any other, thanks to a uniform jacket that ensures consistent, long-range accuracy, and a sleek boat-tail that maximizes ballistic coefficient.
60-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint—The 224 Valkyrie is built to defeat wind drift and drop, and the 60-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint maximizes these built-in ballistics with a sleek, thin-jacket, polymer-tipped bullet. Its explosive expansion provides a violent energy release on impact for quick kills on varmints and predators.
90-grain Fusion MSR—Virtually every component in Fusion MSR is optimized for peak ballistic performance in modern sporting rifles. New 90-grain 224 Valkyrie extends range even further, offering devastating accuracy and terminal performance on medium game—with half the recoil of cartridges with similar ballistics.
75-grain American Eagle TMJ—Train like never before with 224 Valkyrie and American Eagle rifle. The loads feature Federal brass, clean-burning powder, consistent primers and accurate 75-grain TMJ bullets. They're the ultimate range ammunition for the ultimate MSR 15 cartridge.
Built to Go the Distance
Loaded with a selection of high-performance projectiles, the 224 Valkyrie is the new first choice of long-range target shooters and hunters looking to extend the reach of their favorite MSR 15. Plus, even though the new 224 Valkyrie was designed for gas-driven MSR 15 actions, it's also extremely effective from bolt guns. All of this is great news for shooters who've longed for practical, economical and exceptionally reliable 1,000-plus-yard performance.
The 224 Valkyrie is based on a 30 Rem./6.8 SPC case necked down to .224 caliber. This gives it similar geometry to the 22 Nosler—although the Valkyrie's ingenious blend of case capacity and ample ogive space, coupled with a highly efficient, heavy-for-caliber .224 projectile, produces downrange exploits the 22 Nosler can't touch.
It offers up to 127.88 inches less drop and 68.76 inches less wind drift at 1,000 yards than the 223 Rem and other short-action calibers like the 22 Nosler and 6.5 Grendel. Plus, its ballistics are comparable to much larger, harder-kicking calibers like the 6.5 Creedmoor—with as little as half the felt recoil.
To say the 224 Valkyrie is fast, even at long ranges, is an understatement. Testing conducted by Federal Premium engineers confirms its high-speed capabilities. For example, the 224 Valkyrie 90-grain Gold Medal Sierra MatchKing produces leaves the muzzle at 2,700 feet per second; it maintains a blistering 1,950 fps pace at 500 yards and 1,268 fps when crossing the 1,000-yard line. In fact, it remains supersonic out to 1,300 yards. Velocities are based on 24-inch test barrels with a 1:7 twist.
"Along with its ballistic benefits, the 224 Valkyrie also lowers the financial barrier of entry into shooting 1,000 yards for fun and competition," said Federal Premium development engineer Jacob Burns. "Shooters can use the widely available and popular MSR 15 platform with high-performance yet economical ammunition that costs less than traditional long-range rounds like the 6.5 Creedmoor."
Federal's Ultimate Lightweight
Ultimately, Federal Premium's 224 Valkyrie will unleash a new era of 1,000-yard-plus accuracy and performance for gas-driven MSR 15s and short-action bolt guns, without the hefty recoil and price tag of larger caliber options. Thanks to the continuation of Federal Premium's 95-year commitment to excellence, shooters can expect best-in-class ballistics, supersonic flight past 1,300 yards (90-grain Gold Medal Sierra MatchKing) and extreme long-range accuracy from this exciting new cartridge.
It offers dramatically improved trajectories over all other MSR 15 cartridges, including the 22 Nosler, 223 Rem. and 6.5 Grendel—with roughly half the recoil of larger cartridges offering comparable ballistics, such as the 6.5 Creedmoor. And with the full array of high-performance projectiles available, it's poised to deliver on virtually every shooter's needs.
NEXT: 5 NEW FEDERAL AMMO RELEASES FOR 2019
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