Gunsmithing 224 Valkyrie rechamber from 1-9 twist Howa 223

[Perry41arms]

Good day all,

I know another 224 Valkyrie post.

I need some help from the gunsmiths here. I want to build a fun project.
I have a brand new Howa KRG Bravo 223 rem 1-9 twist stainless 24" bull barrel.
I want to convert it to a 224 Valkyrie and shoot the 70gr RDF. I know the cartridge was designed to have a 1-7 twist but I do not have the luxury of buying another barrel or shoot the expensive hornady/sierra bullets. I want this to be a plinking rifle out to 800 yards that is cheap to reload.

Now I want to know:
1) Is it possible ?
2) Will it stabilize?
3) willI be able to keep at least 23.75" of mu barrel

Unfortunately I am not living in the states so resources are scares in terms of barrels with the correct twist.

Thanks in advace

 

[ShooterwithNoName]

The 224Valkyrie chamber is based on 6.8spc which has a shorter distance to the shoulder than the 223. You would have to basically cut the entire chamber off your 223 barrel and start over with a new chamber and receiver threads.

I dont think the profile of that barrel will allow for that though. Plus that amount of work at a gunsmith will run you as much or maybe more than getting a replacement.

Unfortunately your only option is a rebarrel. There are some barrel makers out there making "Howage" barrels which use the Savage barrel nut system. This would be your best bet. Any decent gunsmith could pull your 223 barrel and just snug the new 224V barrel right up without incurring the cost of cutting the shoulder on a lathe to headspace it.

It would also allow you to do it yourself if you acquire an action wrench and barrel nut tool. Heres a case comparison below, you can see the problem is the 223 case is longer than the 6.8/224V case.

 

[jim46ok]

"It would also allow you to do it yourself if you acquire an action wrench and barrel nut tool."

He needs to compare cost of tools vs paying a Smith. Might be he would never use the tools again......

 

[mcfred]

My 2¢: If you think Hornady and Sierra .224 bullets are expensive you should not be trying to smith together a 224V to save money. Shoot your KRG .223Rem as-is for cheap plinking. Handloading the 70RDFs should get you to about 3100fps at "bolt action pressures." I can vouch vo the 1:9" twist stabilizing the 70RDFs too.

The least invasive/most cost-effective way to hotrod your .223Rem is to make it an .223AI for the cost of dies and a rechamber job. Same brass, same powder, same projectiles, same bolt, same barrel etc.

 

[Subwrx300]

Hornady 60gr vmax's are $.17 each which is among the cheapest options for a quality bullet. The Valkyrie will shoot those but I agree with @mcfred . The 224V is nice due to factory brass options (over the 223AI, but it would be much cheaper/faster to AI your existing 223 than get new brass, bullets, full rechamber and open bolt face to shoot a 224V.

Plus at a 1:9 twist it's not ideal to shoot much other than 55s, 60s and MAYBE 69gr bullets, none of which take advantage of the Valkyrie design for long/heavy bullets.

 

[Mordamer]

.223 AI is so your answer. Basically no difference in performance vs .224 Valkarie, easy to load for vs 224 Valkarie, good brass is available that will last longwr if you are a reloader. No bolt head modification required.

 

[_PPR_]

I didn't see anyone mention the fact that .223 and valkarie use different bolt faces.

 

[Subwrx300]

I didn't see anyone mention the fact that .223 and valkarie use different bolt faces.

Actually these two posts did, directly and semi directly along with my last post.

My 2¢: If you think Hornady and Sierra .224 bullets are expensive you should not be trying to smith together a 224V to save money. Shoot your KRG .223Rem as-is for cheap plinking. Handloading the 70RDFs should get you to about 3100fps at "bolt action pressures." I can vouch vo the 1:9" twist stabilizing the 70RDFs too.

The least invasive/most cost-effective way to hotrod your .223Rem is to make it an .223AI for the cost of dies and a rechamber job. Same brass, same powder, same projectiles, same bolt, same barrel etc.

.223 AI is so your answer. Basically no difference in performance vs .224 Valkarie, easy to load for vs 224 Valkarie, good brass is available that will last longwr if you are a reloader. No bolt head modification required.

 

[Travis224]

While not a 224V, I rechambered a 223 to 22PPC. It works great. It was a Tikka 223 varmint t first so look hard at your profile.

 

[Rant Durden]

I'm waiting for 224 valkyrie AI.

 

[Travis224]

Right now I'm shooting a 6mm Valkyrie, I'm running a 65 vmaxes at 3000fps, and 58s at 3250. This is with h322 and not super bad pressure signs.

 

[mcfred]

I don't get it. I run 69-70gr projectiles at 3090fps in my 24" .223 rem bolt gun. Not even trying to push them hard. 10 firings and I haven't FL sized them yet... How do you only get 3000 from a 65gr .243"?

 

[Travis224]

It's a 16" barrel. Lol.

 

[ShooterwithNoName]

"It would also allow you to do it yourself if you acquire an action wrench and barrel nut tool."

He needs to compare cost of tools vs paying a Smith. Might be he would never use the tools again......

Really jim46ok? Well let's see here:

Savage barrel nut wrench: $26.99
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1006552646/wheeler-engineering-barrel-nut-wrench-savage-10-110

Barrel vise clamp blocks: $19.99
https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Barrel-Vise-Pads-Channel/dp/B00ILWMOM6

So, theres all the tools you need to actually break the barrel nut loose, remove it, unthread the old barrel. It's also all you need to install the new one. Yea you will need a headspace gauge, which you should have anyway, and a $25 bench vise from Lowe's, HD, etc.

So all in, vice, vice jaws, go & no-go gauges and the barrel bit wrench your all in for about $120 or so. Plus it gives you the ability to adjust headspace, switch barrels, switch cartridges, etc.

So please tell me how that is so much more money than me sending a blank or short chambered barrel to a Smith to have it turned, headspaced and checked? Or even the cost to have a Smith replace a Rem-Age style barrel? Just to pay for it all over again when I need to rebarrel?

Maybe where you live where theres a ton of Smith's around? Maybe you've got a buddy that can do it for you for cheap? Not all of us have that luxury. Or just throw our hands up in the air and say: "I'll have someone else do it for me" because I am either not confident enough, or can afford to just pay someone else to do it for me.

Purchasing the tools to do things like this isnt for everyone. But it does make things easier and helps you learn how these, and all rifles work. It also allows you to maintain a measure of safety being able to fix your own headspace problems. Or maybe you can tell me another more expensive way to get the same result?

Maybe you should actually look into what's required to swap one of these barrels? Might be you wont post about things that you dont know what your talking about...

 

[fdkay]

I haven't read all the responses, but as was said before, the answer is .223 AI. The most telling reason for this is that you would have to have the bolt face opened up.
This is an additional cost and poses its own hazards.
As has been stated, you would either need to whack off the entire shank and start chambering there, or you could cutoff about 1/3 inch of the shank, but then you are trying to pick up the threads to rethread (it could be done with a die).

.223 Ai is easy, you can fire some factory .223 match ammo while sighting in and presto, fireformed brass.
Velocities are very similar.
Your other option would be to chamber in .22 Nosler, uses the same bolt face as the .223 but the case is essentially a rebated rim 6.8 necked down to .224.
The chamber issue still remains.

 

[tsu45]

Is there any benefit to the Valkyrie if you’re shooting 70gr projectiles? I thought they had similar case capacities, with benefit being the shorter/fatter Valkyrie case allowed you to load longer bullets within AR15 magazine length restrictions.

 

[fdkay]

Is there any benefit to the Valkyrie if you’re shooting 70gr projectiles? I thought they had similar case capacities, with benefit being the shorter/fatter Valkyrie case allowed you to load longer bullets within AR15 magazine length restrictions.

You will get quite a bit of additional velocity shooting the 70's with the valkyrie vs standard .223/5.56.
.223 AI won't feed in a semi-auto

 

[ShooterwithNoName]

That's the ticket^^^ 223AI will be the easiest way for you to get more velocity out of your factory barrel. Plus it's not that much work for a Smith to ream your 223 out to Ackley specs. Just fire regular 223 in the 223AI chamber and your brass is fire formed. You'll get the best results single loading rounds over your magazines overall length with either.