Federal Cartridge announced their new .224 Valkyrie cartridge in a Press Release dated 13 December 2017. They evidently envision the .224 Valkyrie primarily as a Precision Rifle Series (PRS) competition cartridge and secondarily as a varmint and medium game cartridge.

It is designed for use in AR-15 type rifles and carbines, otherwise known as "modern sporting rifles" (MSR) by Federal and their corporate partner Savage Arms. Savage is providing autoloading MSR-15 rifles and also their bolt action Model 110 rifles in the caliber. (Both Federal and Savage are part of the Vista Outdoor conglomerate.)

The .224 Valkyrie is based on a 6.8mm Remington SPC case necked-down to accept .224" diameter bullets. This might seem like a step backwards, as the 6.8mm SPC was designed to increase the stopping power of the .22 caliber, 5.56mm NATO service cartridge (.223 Remington) by means of a heavier, larger diameter (.277") bullet.

However, because the 6.8mm SPC is based on a necked-down and otherwise modified.30 Remington case shortened to work in an AR-15 action, it has more powder capacity than the 5.56mm/.223 case and can drive a .22 caliber bullet to higher velocity. According to Federal, the .224 Valkyrie even outperforms the .22 Nosler, another souped-up .22 intended primarily for use in AR-15 rifles, by a small margin. (Nosler disputes this, claiming the exact opposite.)

In terms of ballistics, both the .224 Valkyrie and the .22 Nosler are inferior to the well established and very popular .22-250 Remington. Of course, the .22-250 won't fit in an AR-15 action, but for anyone using a conventional bolt, lever or single shot varmint rifle, the .22-250 is clearly a better choice, not only ballistically, but also in terms of availability and versatility.

For those wedded to the AR-15 action above all others, Federal is initially offering four factory loads for the .224 Valkyrie. These include:

• Federal Premium Gold Medal with 90 grain Sierra MatchKing bullet (BC .563); MV 2700 fps - This is the target load that, presumably, justifies the Valkyrie's existence as a PRS cartridge. 2018 MSRP $31.95/20 rounds.
• American Eagle with 75 grain FMJ bullet (BC .350); MV 3000 fps - This is intended as a training, practice and informal target load. Its Total Metal Jacket bullet is not suitable for hunting. 2018 MSRP $12.95/20 rounds.
• Federal Premium with 60 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint bullet (BC .270); MV 3300 fps - This is a varmint and small predator load. The Ballistic Tip varmint bullet features violent expansion to anchor varmints and minimize the possibility of ricochet. 2018 MSRP $26.95/20 rounds.
• Fusion MSR with 90 grain Fusion bullet (BC .450); MV 2700 fps - This load is intended for hunting medium game, for which it is just barely adequate within 100 yards. (See The .224 Valkyrie Compared as a Hunting Cartridge for more on this.) 2018 MSRP $28.95/20 rounds.

Note that these velocities are taken in 24" test barrels with a 1:7" (!) twist. Most AR-15 rifles are actually carbines with 16" to 20" barrels and therefore will not achieve these muzzle velocities. Remington technicians estimate a velocity loss of about 30 fps per inch of barrel reduction for cartridges with MVs in the 3000-3500 fps range.

Since I am not a PRS match shooting competitor, I will take Federal's word that the .224 Valkyrie is a good cartridge for this purpose. They claim it kicks less and shoots flatter than other popular PRS competition cartridges.

I am a varmint (Class 1 animals) and medium game (Class 2 animals) hunter, so I feel more qualified to comment on the .224's suitability for these purposes. I have owned dedicated varmint rifles for .22 caliber cartridges ranging from the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire to the .220 Swift centerfire. Ballistically, the .220 Swift outperforms them all, at the price of increased muzzle blast. None of the .22s kick much, but the very high velocity numbers do produce annoying muzzle blast, even in a rifle with a 24" barrel. (This is why the .17 Hornet has become my favorite centerfire varmint cartridge!)

Ballistically, the Valkyrie shoots flat and hits hard enough to be deadly on ground hogs and animals up to the size of coyotes to well beyond its maximum point blank range of 236 yards (+/- 1.5") with the Federal 60 grain Nosler BT factory load. To take full advantage of this MPBR, a .224 Valkyrie varmint rifle shooting the Federal 60 grain BT varmint load should be sighted-in to hit +1.37" at 100 yards. So zeroed, the bullet will hit -1.5" at the muzzle, cross the line of sight going up at 37 yards (near zero), cross the line of sight going down at 204 yards (far zero) and drop 1.5" below the line of sight at 236 yards.

For comparison, the MPBR (+/- 1.5") of the .223 Rem./55 grain SP at 3240 fps is 230 yards, the .17 Hornet/20 grain V-Max at 3650 fps is 242 yards, the .22-250/60 grain SP at 3400 fps is 245 yards and the .220 Swift/55 grain V-Max at 3690 fps is 258 yards. As you can see from these numbers, for the varmint hunter the .224 Valkyrie has a six yard MPBR advantage over a typical .223 load and a nine yard disadvantage compared to a typical .22-250 load.

For those who prefer an AR-15 type varmint rifle with a 24" heavy barrel, the .224 is about as good as it gets. For varmint shooters with more common bolt action and falling block rifles seeking the ultimate in a long range .22, the .224 Weatherby, .22-250 and .220 Swift, among others, offer superior performance, especially for reloaders.

So far, so good. However, I must disagree with my friends at Federal Cartridge when they recommend the .224 Valkyrie, or any other .22 centerfire cartridge, for use on Class 2 game. As mentioned previously, I have experience with the .220 Swift, which is the most powerful of all commercial American .22 cartridges. It definitely hits harder than the .224 Valkyrie with all bullet weights and at all ranges. Introduced by Winchester in 1935, the .220 has been in use for over 80 years, so we have a lot of experience regarding its actual performance and capability in the field.

When the .220 Swift was introduced, it was also touted as a combination varmint/deer cartridge. Sometimes, under favorable conditions and with perfect bullet placement, the Swift produced good results on medium game. However, it quickly proved to be an unreliable deer cartridge under typical field conditions, with an excessive percentage of wounded and lost animals.

When I was a child, some irresponsible kids would attempt to shoot deer, usually out of season, with various .22 rifles. If they executed a perfect brain shot, or managed to get several shots from an autoloader into the lungs, they would bring down a deer. Mostly, they only succeeded in wounding a deer that escaped to later die an agonizing death. Hopefully, most of these children grew up to be more responsible adults and, if they continued hunting, bought a proper deer rifle.

The fact is, no commercial .22 caliber cartridge is a good deer cartridge. This is true for the .220 Swift and even more so for the .22-250, .223 and all other centerfire .22s, including Federal's .224 Valkyrie. (See The .224 Valkyrie Compared as a Hunting Cartridge for more on this.) There is no magic bullet or load that makes any centerfire .22 the equal of, say, the .243 Winchester as a deer cartridge. If you intend to hunt medium game, consider .24 the absolute MINIMUM caliber.

Other than as a medium game cartridge, the .224 Valkyrie should do well for its intended purposes. If you are an AR-15 fan who wants a little more, ballistically, than is offered by the .223 Remington, the .224 Valkyrie might just be your cup of tea.