.224 Valkyrie

We got a chance this week to really wring out the new 224 Valkyrie loading from Hornady, the 88-grain special announced at the NRA show back in April. Valkyrie has been a strange animal over the last year. It has the potential to change how we think of small frame AR’s, and what they are capable of. But it has not been without controversy.

One persons “ultimate” very well may not be another’s, but I think this build should spark more than a little interest. The greatest drawback to trying to do an ultimate build is that ultimate will probably cost more than many are willing to spend at one time on an AR, but that’s the beauty of an AR platform, all the upgrades can be done one at a time due to the modularity of AR parts.

Ever since we learned about the new 224 Valkyrie round from Federal and its alleged performance, the questions have been fast and furious. But how does this perform out of a 16 or 18-inch barrel?

RCBS just released a die set for the 224 Valkyrie, which is a huge step forward for this fledgling cartridge. And I got my grubby paws on them, just in time for prairie dog season in the Potato State.

It is not often we see a caliber that actually changes the way we think about shooting. Wildcats abound, often with marginal improvement over a factory round at best. There are exceptions, though most calibers fail to catch hold. Even those backed by major players. Several new calibers have been tried in AR-15’s over the past few years, none strong enough to give the rifle new legs. Today, hopefully, that changes.

Stag Arms is a company we know for high-quality products, especially if you are left-handed. The leader and often only choice for the devil handed, everything they make is available in either left or right pattern. Well, good news friends. They have jumped on the Valkyrie train. At SHOT 2018 we stopped by and checked out the new Stag 15 Valkryie.