224 Valkyrie vs 22-250?

NDAR15MAN

NDAR15MAN

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Thinking about buying a 224 Valkyrie or a 22-250. Use it for both night hunting and day hunting. Maybe a AR15 platform but could go with a bolt. I don’t see me shooting this gun over 100 times a year. What appeals to me is that it appears to me is that these 2 calibers are a point and pull night to 400 yards ? I would not feel comfortable anything over that with night vision. I have some AR15 223 cal that work good to 275 yards at night but I have missed a few coyotes because of miss judging the distance from 275 to 400 yards. I do mine to keep the hides. I am leaning towards the 224 Valkyrie because I could use it for deer hunting out west in a few states. Your thoughts. thanks. MD
 
I don't think you'll be able to get a 22-250 in an AR-15 platform, but would have to go AR-10 for that. The Val was designed more for heavy bullets and longer range. While the speed looks good for 50 and 55 gr. bullets according to Hodgdon's data, I suspect most of the Vals are long throated for those heavy bullets unless you get a custom barrel. JMO
 
9 Twist .22-250 Bolt action.
Mine shoots 40Gr Vmax to 80Gr bergers very good, 26" Varmint contour.
Built the rifle for 600 yard Fclass matchs. They shut the range down and i just used it for Coyotes and deer. The 53gr Nosler Varmageddon shot good enough out of it i like how flat it was out to 500 yards.

Ive got a 22" 224V and it shoots 75gr Bergers good but the lighter bullets dont have much more velocity than a 223. Ive got some 223 loads that are faster out of a 20" AR that shoot better than some 224V 22" loads with ligher bullets.

If you dont plan on shooting 75-80Gr+ out of the 224V its really not worth it.
The 75gr Berger load in the 224V is alot of fun to shoot but in all reality a 223 will get the job done for the lighter bullets.

I say .22-250 and dont look back. I use a 22" .22-250 Bolt Savage with 53gr Varmageddons (3825fps) for deer depredations. Anything less than 500 yards is a peice o cake if im shooting off the tripod. Havent had any run off yet in over 4 years of using them.
 
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Sounds like you guys did some good research on the difference. It does look like the 22-250 would be the better caliber. Thanks. Marty
 
Something to think about, what's going to be available for purchasing ammo.

Right now I can find all kinds of 224 Valkyrie ammo in a wide variety of bullet weights. 22-250 ammo on the other hand is much harder to come by. Naturally if you reload and you already have the brass, primers, powder/s, and bullets finding loaded ammo is a non issue.
 
Yes ammo is going to be key. I don’t reload. I think I would shoot it 30 times to get it sighted in and measure my drop at 300 400,500,600 yards. Then it would just be my primary coyote calling gun. At my age I only hunt 8 times a year so 3 boxes of ammo Will last me till I retire. Isn’t that something $180.00 for 3 boxes of ammo ! This country is going down the drain fast ! Maybe when I retire in 3 years ammo prices will be better. Plan on hunting every day if my body and money hold up.
I have notice more 224 Valkyrie ammo out there then 22-250 That’s for sure. Thanks. Marty

 
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Right this minute in todays market, I'd say got with the Valkyrie. I just left Academy and they had about 8-10 box's of 224V on the shelf, some 7mm08 and a few box's of 308 FMJ. Very slim pickens for loaded ammo. I love the 22-250 but if you don't reload, it may just be a wall hanger for a while.
 
theres ammo to be found, it just costs a bit more right now and youre talking small quantities, so i wouldnt worry too much.

id also vote the 22-250 bolt gun. i love mine. i built it custom from the ground up on a mauser 98 and clipped a varmint contour barrel to 22". 55gr varmint x rounds and shes point and shoot.

you talked about a multi purpose coyote and deer gun, ive built a pile of those as well, my favorite caliber for that is 243win. ammo is also out there, find some vmax for the coyotes and im quite partial to 95gr fusions for deer.
 
22 Nosler would be my choice. It's more light bullet friendly imo. At 3500 with 55's it's right on the heals of a 22-250 in an ar 15 platform.
The ultimate no bs killing machine is a .243
 
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the reason there is valkyrie ammo available is there is less demand for it. that means that at some point the manufacturers will not be producing it in any quantity. If ammo is sitting on the shelf right now, its a good bed that the caliber is not popular and will fade away soon.
 
I agree with the above, there’s ammo on the shelf cuz the bloom is off the 224V rose. If I want to shoot 70-80 grain bullets, the 243 gets the nod. Yes a bolt is fine, if one wants an AR platform, there’s the AR-10 in 243.

Whatever happened to that 223WSSM?
 
The 22-250 and .243 has withstood the test of time. They've been popular for a very long time. There are so many options now with carbon fiber barrels that the idea of a Heavy AR-10 doesn't need to be as much of an issue as long as they continue to be legal to build, purchase, and use (who knows with the current climate but that is an entirely different thread).

I shoot a 22-250 in both an AR-10 and a bolt gun. To me for coyotes only, it is a perfect combination of speed but not overly devastating to hides as long as you don't shoot varmint bullets in it. The .243 is a better all-around cartridge for bigger game, but all I do is kill coyotes.
 
"The reason there is Valkyrie ammo available is there is less demand for it. That means that at some point the manufacturers will not be producing it in any quantity. If ammo is sitting on the shelf right now, its a good bet that the caliber is not popular and will fade away soon.

Amen!
 
Originally Posted By: muskrat30

Whatever happened to that 223WSSM?

It's still out there, but I don't think any factories are producing rifles for it.

My son shoots one in a Browning. Works vey well on coyotes with 60gr Vmax at 3,700+fps.
 
Originally Posted By: muskrat30 Yes, we have a rifle in 8mm Lebel, so ‘it’s still out there’ too. Not gonna find one on the rack at Walmart though.

I've got one of those in the closet..LOL

Greg
 
Ok so most valkaries factory chamber have a long freebore because it was designed around the long 90gr bullet, the shoulder had to be pushed back as well. I've heard some say the 60gr load works well. If using an AR platform I like it with a custom barrel. DTI could make one with a slower twist and less Freebore. I did this with my 22 creedmoor. The issue with the beloved 22-250 is the taper in the case. I know a couple companies have done it in ar15/10 but there are magazine special needs and I would question their reliability. I can barely get them to function in AICs mags, and that is limited. Step in the 22 nosler; known pressure issues and limited brass manufacturers. In ours we are squeezing 3500 out of 18 in barrel (50gr) but half the brass is killed. Nosler holds slightly more powder than the valkarie. In the end: bolt gun 22-250 all the way, AR id go custom 224 valkarie, if custom AR not an option I'd roll with the 22 nosler.
 
I don't understand the complaining about 22 Nosler brass issues. The swipe is bolt timing related and Nosler does not have a soft brass issue. They will take many firings at max load pushing 55s 3500 out of a 22" barreled AR. They do not loose primer pockets either. It's hands down the best new coyote AR cartridge yet. The 6 arc is gonna be good if pieces ever become available but the 6x6.8 is better imo due to more case capacity. If you just want max throttle go with a .243 on the larger platform. When you start getting to shorter barrels move up in bore size to keep speed.
 
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