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  #1  
Old 04-13-2020, 01:39 AM
Travis224 Travis224 is offline
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Default .20/224 valkyrie

Has this been done? Long story short, I built a .224 Valkyrie on a bolt gun, and also had a 6mm Valkyrie reamer made BEFORE the Valkyrie was SAAMI approved. Since I jumped on it so soon, I didn't realize it was as small as it is, I was hoping it was a larger variation of the 6.8spc, not smaller. So here I sit with 1k Valkyrie brass and wanting to get as much out of it as possible velocity wise. Anyone neck it down and have any info on performance? I'm just looking for a varminter using 40grn bullets.
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Old 04-13-2020, 02:20 AM
20VarTarg 20VarTarg is offline
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Sounds pretty darn interesting to me. I'm in love with the 20 calibers and I really think they are capable of just about anything. Yesterday I watched my cousin shoot his 20 vartarg @ 3990 FPS with a 32 grain Blitzking. I wouldn't recommend anyone to try this and I won't give out the load data. It was at the high node and there was some pressure signs. He shot a 5 shot group into .210" @ 200 yards. That is not a typo........it was at 200 yds. He made me sign the target as a witness. He then asked me to shoot a 5 shot group at 200 yards with his rifle and the same load. I had never shot his rifle before. And I put all 5 rounds into .640". So yea, we really like the 20's. With that case shooting a 40 grain projectile I don't see why you couldn't push it up into the 4200FPS mark pretty easy. It's been a long time since I've played with the Valkyrie but case capacity is far greater in it then the Vartarg.
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Old 04-13-2020, 03:26 AM
Travis224 Travis224 is offline
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Default 20/224v

With capacity being a little more than .223rem, it ought to be a screamer!
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Old 04-13-2020, 10:13 AM
Roverhound Roverhound is offline
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Has anyone played with the 20 Nosler? I've seen dies for it and believe it's just a necked down 22 Nosler case.
If I ever see a barrel chambered in it I may have to put together another upper for my 22 Nosler.
I'm getting around 3900 fps with 40gr VMax in my 1-12 twist 24" barrel upper. Accuracy has been 1/3 MOA with this load.
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  #5  
Old 04-13-2020, 02:20 PM
moorepower moorepower is offline
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How does the capacity compare to the .204R? I am getting a bit above 3800 with 8208 and a 40Vmax. I would think you can step that up a bit. I think a 20br is at around 4050 with a 40 grain bullet.
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  #6  
Old 04-13-2020, 03:05 PM
B23 B23 is offline
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The Valkyrie case holds slightly more than the 204 Ruger and the 22 Nosler case holds a few grains more than the Valkyrie.

The true 20 Nosler per the SAAMI submitted print, isn't the same as a 22 Nosler necked down to 20 caliber. The shoulder is pushed a forward, lengthening the body of the case in the 20 Nosler compared to their 22 Nosler. My guess is so you can't chamber a 20 Nosler in a 22 Nosler. The did the same thing, for the same reasons, in the WSM and RUM cases.

The true 20 Nosler is kind of a Unicorn for now because, unless it has happened recently, Nosler hasn't made any 20 Nosler brass yet. It's kind of a weird deal with the 20 Nosler, you can get a 20 Nosler reamer that is made to SAAMI spec and Nosler even has 20 Nosler load data, but they've yet to sell any 20 Nosler brass.
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  #7  
Old 04-13-2020, 08:26 PM
Oso Polaris Oso Polaris is offline
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The Valkyrie and Nosler cartridges both have some issues.

The Valkyrie is hard on its brass and usually lives for 3 reloads before blowing the primer pocket. This might not be so bad with lighter varmint bullets (less back pressure then trying to push a big heavy bullet at max velocities).

Like the Beowolf, the Nosler case uses a rebated rim (key design failure). It appears this was someone's brain child in marketing and sales... wanted a proprietary named cartridge as opposed to simply using the 6.8 SPC case. My gunsmith refuses to chamber these anymore after several came back with ruptures / rim separation.

You might just consider moving to another cartridge if you are going to go through the expense of new barrel and cost of gunsmith and possibly price of designing a custom reamer... sounds like a Grendel Variant is in your future.
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  #8  
Old 04-16-2020, 12:16 AM
barretcreek barretcreek is offline
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All very interesting comments. Glad I didn't waste my time and $$ building a 6.8 based wildcat back when White Oak was leading the charge. Couldn't figure out if there was enough to be gained over .223 but would it be close to a .225 Winchester or even a BR. I'll stick with one of those.
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  #9  
Old 04-19-2020, 09:56 AM
Roverhound Roverhound is offline
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I've loaded over 2k rounds of 22 Nosler and never had a rupture or separation. On factory loads I have seen some ejector marks on the rim but that's about it.
I have gotten up to 5 reloads on case until the primer pockets loosen slightly. I'll use these as hunting rounds since I am not as concerned with recovering cases.
On the accuracy nodes I am finding with my 2 different uppers, I am not showing any pressure signs so I'll expect my brass to last a bit longer on these.
Interesting enough, I haven't had to trim any cases.
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  #10  
Old 04-19-2020, 02:38 PM
Bill K Bill K is offline
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[quote=Oso Polaris;289562]The Valkyrie and Nosler cartridges both have some issues.

The Valkyrie is hard on its brass and usually lives for 3 reloads before blowing the primer pocket. This might not be so bad with lighter varmint bullets (less back pressure then trying to push a big heavy bullet at max velocities).

Interesting comment. I have a 224 Valkyrie in a bolt rifle and a AR and have had no issues reloading the brass several times, with no primer pockets enlarging, etc.
But then again I don't load to full bore maximum loads, near that, but stop when I get my best accuracy.
The Valkyrie, in a bolt rifle, makes a very nice, sweet shooting weapon. Bill K
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