Need info on .224 Valkyrie build

[charliebrown1999]

My first choice would be a bolt gun in .224 Valkyrie, however, I have been advised against it. So, Aero Precision is having a great sale and I am about to order a enchanced receiver, free float hand guard, complete BCG, and charging handle. Wilson has their 22" SS fluted threaded 1 in 6.5 rate of twist .224 Valkyrie bbl for $325. I will most probably have to buy Wilson's SLR sentry 8 adjustable gas block because the Wilson barrel gas block seat is .920 in length and because the gas block set screw spacing will match the dimples in the barrel's gas block seat area. I will also buy a Magpul BEV and anchor my old vise to my work bench. I will use my new Springfield Saint complete lower. I have never done this before but have worked on cars and motorcycles in the past. Although I am 77 and in declining health, I think I can torque the barrel onto the receiver and screw the hand guard on. I need advise on gas block and tube. I have heard the word "headspace or headspacing". I do not have the tools and even if I purchasing the right tools it does not seem possible to adjust headspace one the barrel is threaded onto the receiver. I need help here, please. The sale is good until 9/4/18.

After much research I am abandoning my idea of building a ar15 224 Valkyrie. The chamber issue is difficult to resolve. Thanks to all of you for your input.

 

[davsco]

i built my lower a few years back, zero issues. built (assembled...) a 224 valk a few months ago, upper and lower. actually surprisingly easy to do, with just a torque wrench and a vise. but after working perfectly for a few hundred rounds, it stopped cycling. i replaced the adj gas block with a fixed, replaced the gas tube, and the gas ring on the bolt, and it's worked fine since. i haven't gone back one-by-one with the tube, block and ring to figure out which one (or perhaps combination) was the culprit. but overall very easy to put it all together, and i'm ready for my next one (prob an ar-10 format).

re headspacing, i bought a jp bolt (the whole bolt carrier group) and a rainier ultramatch barrel they said was headspaced using jp bolts, so i felt comfortable i was gtg. maybe buy your bolt from wilson and have them check headspace with the barrel you're getting. or send them the bolt you buy elsewhere to check, not sure if they do that or not.

you prob want to double check the dimensions of the gas block you're looking at vs the inner diameter and/or length of the forearm you're using just to make sure you have adequate clearance. i got the +2 gas system and my block is actually just outside the forearm with the tube well inside the i.d. of the forearm.

 

[charliebrown1999]

Thank you so much. Your information is very appreciated as I have no experience building AR's. I will order the BCG from Wilson as you recommend. Apparently you did not use a Magpul BEV . I am not nearly as skilled or experienced as you and I hope the Magpul BEV will be the best tool for me. What do you think???

 

[flyer]

I like the Aero Quantum Mlok handguards because they are cheap and I've never used the top rail on a free float handguard. They do have less gas system clearance but I haven't run in to a problem yet.

Recently I've seen some very good deals on Aero Precision parts at:

https://www.schuylerarmsco.com/

Check out their labor day sale.

The ARP super bolt is the best you can get for 6.8 SPC case size, my preferred BCG has been an ARP bolt in a Toolcraft Ion-bond or Ni-Bo carrier (the best prices I've found are at WC Armory).

I think ARP is going to be making a new batch of .224 barrels with a new SAAMI spec chamber reamer.

Evidently PTG screwed up a whole bunch of .224 reamers with a throat that's way too long. I expect Wilson Combat is making their barrels right but look for range reports on anything you buy because the bad chamber is a handicap.

6.8 SPC bolts have always had only one spec so any decent barrel manufacturer should be setting their chambers to headspace properly on a quality bolt.

I wouldn't worry about it but if you are, ARP will confirm headspace if you buy a bolt and barrel from them.

One last touch I've been doing recently is adding a plastic ejection port door and latchless charging handle from Strike Industries. The port door is a little dress up but it can be installed and removed without taking off the handguard. The latchless charging handle is ambidextrous and has no latch slot or pivot pins to fail and no latch to slow you down. It uses a retainer clip to hold the charging handle forward when you're not using it and when you're using it, just pull. I like it and it's a cheap upgrade.

 

[flyer]

Oh, PRI has a sale going on. Their 6.8 SPC magazines are the best (I just bought 4).

 

[davsco]

Thank you so much. Your information is very appreciated as I have no experience building AR's. I will order the BCG from Wilson as you recommend. Apparently you did not use a Magpul BEV . I am not nearly as skilled or experienced as you and I hope the Magpul BEV will be the best tool for me. What do you think???

not skilled or experienced here! just my first complete build. i just used my vise and assortment of scrap wood as blocks, no BEV or the like. i actually did order a BEV but they were out of stock so i tried to make do without it. maybe it was just dumb luck i didn't muck anything up, others can chime in.

again vs just ordering barrel and bcg from wilson, see if they will actually check headspacing for you. everything i've read says it's generally not an issue, but if you can get it checked without $ or hassle, why not.

 

[charliebrown1999]

I like the Aero Quantum Mlok handguards because they are cheap and I've never used the top rail on a free float handguard. They do have less gas system clearance but I haven't run in to a problem yet.

Recently I've seen some very good deals on Aero Precision parts at:

https://www.schuylerarmsco.com/

Check out their labor day sale.

The ARP super bolt is the best you can get for 6.8 SPC case size, my preferred BCG has been an ARP bolt in a Toolcraft Ion-bond or Ni-Bo carrier (the best prices I've found are at WC Armory).

I think ARP is going to be making a new batch of .224 barrels with a new SAAMI spec chamber reamer.

Evidently PTG screwed up a whole bunch of .224 reamers with a throat that's way too long. I expect Wilson Combat is making their barrels right but look for range reports on anything you buy because the bad chamber is a handicap.

6.8 SPC bolts have always had only one spec so any decent barrel manufacturer should be setting their chambers to headspace properly on a quality bolt.

I wouldn't worry about it but if you are, ARP will confirm headspace if you buy a bolt and barrel from them.

One last touch I've been doing recently is adding a plastic ejection port door and latchless charging handle from Strike Industries. The port door is a little dress up but it can be installed and removed without taking off the handguard. The latchless charging handle is ambidextrous and has no latch slot or pivot pins to fail and no latch to slow you down. It uses a retainer clip to hold the charging handle forward when you're not using it and when you're using it, just pull. I like it and it's a cheap upgrade.

Wow, you have given me a wealth of knowledge. I am surprised to hear about the screw ups with PTG as most guys think they are top notch. I am now worried about the Wilson barrels and may wait for ARP new batch. I will check the Strike Industries website for the latchless handle and plastic port door.

 

[flyer]

On a flat top I use a PRI block that grabs the rail. I got it for doing LR308s but it grabs close the the bore axis at a strong point.

The Magpul BEV looks nice, I would love to try one but I already have other tools that do the job.

 

[flyer]

I'm not saying Wilson Combat barrels have the bad chamber, I don't know because I haven't been shopping for .224, just see how people have been doing with that barrel and 90+ grain box ammo. If reports are good, that is probably a good way to go.

I just ordered a 22" 6.5 Creedmoor Ultimate Hunter barrel from Wilson Combat. It will be my first barrel from them but I've been hearing great things about their 6.8 SPC barrels for years.

If I was shopping for .224, they would be on my short list but I would go looking for reviews and accuracy results.

The barrel is the heart of the rifle so I always do my due diligence and spend a few hours scouring the web to see how many good reviews there are compared to bad and what kind of accuracy people are getting.

I like to see more than a few 1/2 MOA groups and not too many over 1 MOA if it's a barrel I want to shoot to 1,000 yards.

 

[charliebrown1999]

OK, I get it. I will do the research first.

 

[Constructor]

If you can load a 90gr SMK out to 2.29 without stuffing the bullet in the lands the chamber is bad ...a long freebore chamber. The 90s should touch the lands around 2.276OAL if the chamber is perfect but, there is a .015" tolerance built in to the SAAMI spec. As of last month only 2 companies were producing barrels with the correct SAAMI spec chamber. The 224 Valkyrie facebook page and 224 valkyrieforum explains all of it in detail more than any other forum at the moment. The only barrels that have been verified as SAAMI spec chambers are CMT and AR Performance

 

[charliebrown1999]

Thank you so much for your detailed information. I was NOT aware of your findings and it is very much appreciated.