224 V to 1550 yards

[Lowlight]

We traveled to Blue Steel Ranch Last week to shoot our Valkyrie Rifles to beyond 1000 yards,



We shoot 1200, 1550, 1785 and 2020 yards in total on Tuesday

Here is the 1 Mile Target

The view back from the Targets

Brian Whalen Crunching Numbers

Recovered Bullet and hits from the steel

Best results were with a MHSA Build 224V Bolt Gun

My hit at 2020

It was around the 6th shot out of 9 taken at distance.

 

[yakstone]

Great place to shoot and Brian is a heck of an instructor.

 

[lash]

Wow! Great to see the .224 Valkyrie pushed out that far. How were impacts being seen or verified? Cameras? Impact lights?

It looks like you were using Hornady 88g factory loads. Was the MHSA bolt using factory or handloads?

 

[Lowlight]

We spotted them,

you can see it hit and the targets moved. We had gopros on the target, not lights or cameras they don't have them there.

The spot was light, but 90% of the time I could see the hits.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Damn, and I was surprised with the consistency of mine out to 1350. That's a lot of hits on the 1 mile plate. Impressive.

 

[lash]

Nice! And good to know.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Looks like it was a great low to no mirage day to do it also. Great shoot!

 

[Lowlight]

We had a bit of mirage at some point, as it did heat up quick that day.

We were above it though as we shot from the Rim of the canyon down into the middle so we were over the top of it.

The wind was weird, it was mainly behind us but would switch back and forth so we averaged 1.5 but used as much as 2.5 of wind.

 

[KML7201]

Impressive.

 

[DRAM40A1]

Frank
Are the 88s easier to stabilize than the 90 SMK? I jumped on the bandwagon too early and have a 22” Ballistic Advantage 7 twist barrel. I’m assuming your JP is 6.5.....

 

[Lowlight]

No,

7 Twist, we shot both the 90s and 88s and they worked the same, no issue.

You don't need a 6.5 twist, originally the 90s were a bit of an issue in the load, they fined tuned and adjust it and appear to be working well now

Using factory 88s I have no issues stability or accuracy wise, sub 1/2 MOA, the new 90s are good too.

I have posted numerous times, I am shooting 7 twist, Brian 7 twist, enough said.

You have to look at your reamer too, that has been an issue for some, bad chambers for the length.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

We had a bit of mirage at some point, as it did heat up quick that day.

We were above it though as we shot from the Rim of the canyon down into the middle so we were over the top of it.

The wind was weird, it was mainly behind us but would switch back and forth so we averaged 1.5 but used as much as 2.5 of wind.

I have noticed that type of effect also. I have a theory that when a tail wind is switching, you aren't just seeing the effect of wind. I think whatever optical effect is present is also moving back and forth exacerbating the problem. So you end up with wider swings than would be indicated by just doing the wind math alone.

What's your take on it?

 

[Lowlight]

We watched it in the boil and saw it mainly at 1550 as the temps rose.

Later in the afternoon we moved to 1 Mile and had better results than at the 1550 target, which was actually bigger.

The vertical spread at 1550 when the temps were rising and the wind was switching, was definitely noticeable but there is not much you can do about it but shoot and correct.

When things stabilized and the temp stopped rising, we had better results.

Unfortunately, we went to the 2020 target late and the window to spot hits was tiny compared to the other locations. We had trees and terrain in the way and we never saw Brian's misses (We found them after) he was just low and off the left. I changed up my hold and around shot 4 I saw a splash and then hit on shot 6. We were out of reloads 3 shots later.

Afterwards, a front came through, as it rained the entire ride back until Raton Pass, and at that point, the winds switched direction and increased.

 

[Mooncake]

I'm surprised to see hits out that far with such a small projectile. When 224v first came out I was excited -- then negative reports tempered that excitement quite a bit. Seeing hits at that distance makes me excited again.

 

[wtmyers]

Great video.

 

[DuneShoot]

Nice work! Love seeing semi's go the distance.

 

[TripleBull]

About a week ago, I decided to move the V onto the short list. Dang, this is impressive.

 

[pitdog85]

frank that pic of your plate at 1mile, that looks like a great way to hang target. Those corner pieces where the rebar goes into is that custom made or available for purchase somewhere?

 

[Lowlight]

frank that pic of your plate at 1mile, that looks like a great way to hang target. Those corner pieces where the rebar goes into is that custom made or available for purchase somewhere?

They sell them, several people make them...

The ones in the image are from Austin Angus of AA Targets

 

[pitdog85]

They sell them, several people make them...

The ones in the image are from Austin Angus of AA Targets

Thanks will get onto them.

 

[culater]

Hey Low light do you know how many loads is Brian getting out of his brass before he toss the brass out?

 

[Kickin45]

That’s awesome. What’s the length and twist of the barrel on that MHSA?

 

[Subwrx300]

Love it! Definitely good test of extreme range for the cartridge. Pumped to see this review as I hope it boosta some of the interest back into the cartridge since it seems that some momentum was lost because of all the BS around Chambers etc.

 

[sandwarrior]

Frank,

I'm really impressed with the pics of the recovered hits. The concentricity of what used to be the end of the bearing surface and the butt of the boat-tail show the bullet hit dead on! AAAND....pretty damn flattened out too! Meaning it's retaining a helluva lot of energy.

 

[GrandpaDeadLegs]

My fantasy self-given birthday gift this year was to take my 224 out to the Ranch next week - so thanks for letting me live it through you a little. More pics on Facebook or ??

 

[Lowlight]

I don't know how many reloading he is getting but he is not reporting problems with the brass, I think he posted he has 5 or 6 but I would have to clarify.

The MHSA RIfle is a 26" Barrel 1-7 twist

 

[Lowlight]

Here is the video to 1 Mile

 

[lash]

That is great stuff! Is that steel at 1 mile a 1/4” thick X 24” diameter target like it looks to me?

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Here is the video to 1 Mile

So, I'm guessing your velocity was somewhere around 2880fps? Effective winds about 3-4mph?

So, at a mile, your bullet is still a "4", so better than a standard load with a 69gr Sierra at 1k yards and closer. That is nothing to sneeze at. That is some good shooting also.

 

[Lowlight]

I believe 2880 is right for the handloads, 34 mils and we averaged 1.5 mils of wind.

The value changed, it was partly behind us but Also had enough of a value to matter.

About 5MPH average from 7 O’clock then the terrain to guide it

 

[Deleted member 113831]

I believe 2880 is right for the handloads, 34 mils and we averaged 1.5 mils of wind.

The value changed, it was partly behind us but Also had enough of a value to matter.

About 5MPH average from 7 O’clock then the terrain to guide it

That jives just about perfectly with what I ran in Strelok. I guessed 4,000ft for elevation, and didn't put in any slope.

 

[Hondo1]

What velocities are you seeing out of the bolt gun? Been tossing around the idea of a .224V bolt for a while now.

 

[Lowlight]

It was 2880 with the 88s but Brian just finalized a load at 3120fps with 80s

 

[Shadow knows]

Listening to podcasts and reading stuff like this has put me on the band wagon. Waiting on barrel to show up today. Thanks a lot Mke and Frank for getting me into another cal.

It was 2880 with the 88s but Brian just finalized a load at 3120fps with 80s

I got 3 boxes of 88 ammo to test. Frank when I end up in a gun 10 step program your name is coming up. Lol

 

[MSLTEK]

Awesome
What optic and mounts were used?

 

[MontanaMarine]

Nice! Thanks for sharing.