Thursday presented a great opportunity to run the 80 grain Sierra MatchKing 224 Valkyrie load from Washougal River Cartridge to 1000 yards. Muzzle velocity for this round is about 2850+ fps from a 24″ barrel. Combine that with a G1 BC of 0.461 and the round is supersonic past 1100 yards. In a 20″ barrel at 2780 fps the bullet is still supersonic past 1050 yards. Numbers are fine but we have to get ready to shoot. The 224 Valkyrie wasn’t the only rifle we brought, of course. I’m getting the 6.5 Creedmoor ready first:
Turns out you really do need that extra 20 MOA in the scope mount to hit the target at 1000 yards. The ADM mount pictured above doesn’t have it and I ran out of elevation getting on target. Needed to hold the bottom of the reticle on the center of the target to get on paper. My wife likes my homeless guy hairstyle, I cannot understand why. Must be the bald spot.
My 224 Valkyrie with our 24″ Bison Armory heavy barrel was up next. The Bobro mount has 20 MOA of elevation built in, and the Leupold Mark 6 scope is up to the task:
We brought a pair of .260 Rem bolt guns too. They weigh in around 22 pounds each, and that substantial mass makes it easy to stay on target. Here’s your humble Bison Armory proprietor putting rounds down range with the Valk:
I am perpetually grateful to have Douglas Ridge and their 1000 yard range available on Thursdays. I’m also grateful that the 80 SMK shoots superbly at 1000 yards. I shot these two 6-shot groups, about 10 minutes apart under changing conditions. I didn’t adjust my scope, but you can see how a small change in the wind can put your rounds in a different spot on paper:
I am not the best shot and I’m easily able to hold 5 shots into one minute of angle and 6 shots close to that. Shooting at longer ranges is providing that extra challenge that 100 yards doesn’t have. The conditions I’m shooting in are challenging and these are just 5 mph winds. One of these days I’m going to show up with significant winds and getting the right windage will be challenging and a lot of fun. The low recoil makes working on your follow through a snap:
This ammunition is match quality, and you can get it on the Bison Armory web store, along with our 1:6.5 twist 224 Valkyrie barrels at www.bisonarmory.com/store
Also, the Valkyrie is really superior when you pair it with heavier bullets. You’ll have a hard time reaching the target with mag-length loaded 90 grain bullets in the .223, but the Valkyrie has no trouble. So what’s not to understand?
Loaded to magazine length 2.295″ OAL or shorter? I shoot the 80 SMK that fast in a 223 but it’s loaded very long for the 600 yard stage of XTC matches. The Valkyrie has the additional case capacity to reach that velocity at AR-15 magazine length, that’s the difference. I could push it harder as well, but these are modest loads, not particularly hot. I could push the 80 SMK over 3000 fps in the 224 Valkyrie, but why? That would be a very hot load.
Note also that the loads I’m shooting in this post are made with Starline brass, which has over a full grain less capacity than Federal brass, so 3000 fps with Federal is definitely possible with the 80 SMK. Loaded out long, you can go even faster.
I dont understand the Valkyrie… I shoot the 80smk @ 2890 in a 20 inch tube in 223/5.56.
My Best load with the 95 SMK is 26.9 grains of Win 760 with an OAL of 2.280″ and a light crimp with a Lee Factory Crimp die. Using Starline brass and Winchester small rifle primers. Shooting dime size groups with this at 100 yards and it’s reaching 1000 yards without flinching. Muzzle velocity is just below 2600 fps in a 24″ barrel.
You and me both, but… I have 2 CFE 223 loads that show promise with the 88ELD. When I was looking through the scope I was unimpressed. When I got them back home they were actually better than I’ve gotten with some of the factory 88’s, by just a hair. Now I need some more investigation. I just picked up 100 of the 95 SMK.
This is already a fun project. 🙂
I actually started with the 80 SMK and 80 ELD because I wanted to work with bullets that were suited to 1:7 twist. They work so well with all twists that we’ve kept up our development. Accuracy wise I’ve gotten better performance from the 80 SMK. In 1:6.5 twist barrels, the 95 SMK has been my best performer. I still need to put more work into the 80 ELD. Right now the factory ammo is outshooting my hand loads.
I haven’t even finished fleshing out the first batch of 88 ELD for follow up yet and you’re already working on 80 grain which is also on my list to try.
Well done!