January 29th, 2023Sunday gunDay: Beyond.223 Rem — Other AR Cartridges There are many cartridge options for AR-15s. The most popular and well-known alternative chamberings for AR-15s include:20 Practical — This is simply a.223 Rem necked down down to.204 caliber. Requires a new barrel Same bolt, same magazines. The best bang for your buck.
Federal introduced the.224 Valkyrie — This is a necked version of the 6.8 SPC. The.224 Valkyrie was introduced by Federal just a few seasons ago. If used with a suitable barrel, it has better ballistics that the.223 Remington.
6mm ARC — A relatively new cartridge that is ideal for deer hunting, self-defense, and tactical competitions. A good selection of bullets and factory-loaded ammo.
6.5 Grendel — Accurate, proven across the course, a new barrel and bolt are required for the 6.5 Grendel. The 6.5 Grendel is used for hunting and competitive shooting.
.300 BLACKOUT — Moderately costly, the.300 BLACKOUT requires a barrel change. This round is used for hunting and home defense. WARNING: This round can be chambered with some bullets in a.223 Remington barrel with disastrous consequences.
.458 SOCOM — Very expensive, requires new bolt and barrel. Although the.458 SOCOM round was originally intended for close quarters battle (CQB), it is now used for hunting. The 20 Practical is a great round for varminting. Our featured 20 Practical AR Rifle Report is available. The 20 Practical cartridge is very effective against small varmints and has been tested in AR-platform rifles made by Robert Whitley.20 Practical — High Velocity, Affordable AlternativeThe 20 Practical cartridge is simply a.223 Remington trimmed down to.204 caliber. This compact cartridge can fire 32-grainers at more than 4200 fps and produce impressive results on PDogs. The 20 Practical is an excellent choice for an AR-based rifle that kills varmints.20 Practical Ultimate Varminter
AccurateShooter.com designed a 20 Practical AR15 Ultimate Variminter as a proof-of-concept ten years ago. It was equipped with a custom 20-caliber AR15 upper from Robert Whitley, AR-X Enterprises LLC. The accuracy of that project rifle was exceptional. Every 5-shot group was less than a dime. The gun was sold, but Robert Whitley still makes custom 20 Practical AR15 uppers. The 20 Practical cartridge is simply a.223 Rem necked to 20 caliber. You can also use standard.223 brass and load standard.223 Rem Dies. You can swap in a smaller expander or smaller neck bushings. Hornady’s 6mm ARC — A popular new SAAMI cartridge. Hornady introduced it in June 2020. It is a SAAMI cartridge that is optimized for AR-platform rifles*. The 6mm ARC is essentially a 6.5 Grendel trimmed down to 6mm and the shoulder moved back about.030?. The pushed-back shoulder reduces case capacity (and velocity), but Hornady did it to create a shorter chamber so people couldn’t just neck-down Lapua 6mm AR wildcat brass.
Brownells has all the products you need to make the 6mm ARC a reality. Brownells also stocks Hornady-made 6mm AR factory-loaded ammo, but most of it is out-of stock. MidwayUSA currently stocks Hornady ELD Match 6mmARC ammo at 108gr. For general information, see 6mm ARC Info Page. What is the 6mm ARC Cartridge?
The 6mm ARC cartridge, a modern SAAMI-spec cartridge, is based on the 6.5 Grendel cartridge necked down for 6mm rounds and the shoulder moved back 0.30. Yes, it can be used in AR15-platform rifles. You will need a new barrel and bolt as well as mags. The barrel is the only thing that needs to be changed if your AR is already chambered in the 6.5 Grendel. All other components – bolt, magazines, gas system, etc. – are compatible with 6mm AR. ? Official SAAMI Cartridge (not wildcat).
? Fits standard AR15-platform rifles
? Fits short/mini action bolt rifles
? Efficient short, fat case design
? 30-degree case shoulder
Faxon and Ballistic Advantage already produce barrels. More manufacturers are expected to follow. All the necessary components for 6.5 Grendel rifles are already available. Aero Precision already sells complete 6mm ARC uppers. If you want to convert a 5.56×45 mm (.223 Rem) AR15 upper to shoot 6mm ARC you will need a 6mm barrel, a Type II 6.5 Grendel bolt carrier and new magazines. Although some people suggest that standard AR mags can work, we recommend using magazines designed for 6.5 Grendel. Brownells stocks all the hardware you will need. 6-6.5 Grendel shooters have a reputation for using high pressures. The new 6mm AR cartridge has a moderate Maximum Average Pressure (MAP), rating of 52,000psi according the official SAAMI specifications. It is best to keep semi-auto rifle pressures moderate for a variety reasons. You shouldn’t try to match the velocity of a bolt-action gun. The 6.5 Grendel round is a larger-diameter, 7.264-caliber (6.5mm), bullet that runs at high velocities. This bullet provides plenty of energy for smaller game and deer. The 6.5 Grendel Cartridge is used to hunt deer up 300 yards.
The original 6.5 Grendel was a 6mm PPC necked to 6.5mm. Alexander Arms lost the “6.5 Grendel Trademark” and the 6.5 Grendel was made an official SAAMI cartridge. Because it is accurate, efficient and has a low recoil, it has been very popular among hunters and target shooters. The 6.5 Grendel is suitable for small to medium game and has been made available in lightweight hunting rifles such as the Howa 1500 Mini Action. .224 Valkyrie Cartridge – Impressive with Heavy.22-Cal BulletsThe.224 Valkyrie cartridge was introduced in 2019 as an AR15 Hot Rod cartridge. The Valkyrie is a 6.8 SPC necked down into.22 caliber. It has a shorter case that the.223 Remington (and 5.56×45 NATO). This allows you to load the heaviest.224-caliber bullets while still feeding reliably from an AR15 type magazine. The.224 Valkyrie is designed to be comparable to the.22 Nosler and still run well in ARs. It can be loaded with modern, high-BC ammunition for excellent long-range performance. We anticipate that some bolt-action PRS shooters will adopt the.224 Valkyrie. Why? Reloil is reduced. The.224 Valkyrie, which is 90gr SMK, offers ballistics similar as the 6.5 Creedmoor with significantly less felt recoil. It can also be used as an alternative to the.22-250 by varminters who use an AR platform.
Image from Social Regressive.224 Valkyrie Youtube video. Gavin Gear, UltimateReloader.com’s friend, found a very precise load using Berger 80.5gr Bullets. This video will show you how Sierra Bullets published loads data for the.224 Valkyrie. This data covers more than a dozen powder types, many more than the Hodgdon. Sierra’s.224 Valkyrie load information covers projectiles from 50 grains up to 95 grain. The little Valkyrie can give match cartridges 6mm a run for their money, offering similar ballistics and less recoil with bullets from 90 to 95 grains. For the #9290 22-cal 90 gr HPBT bullet, a barrel should be selected for the long.224 cal bullets. A 1:7?-twist barrel is recommended for cartridges such as the Valkyrie that can propel them over 2650fps muzzle velocity.
CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD Complete Sierra .224 Valkyrie LOAD DATA..224 Valkyrie vs. .22-250 Remington
The Social Regressive explains that the 224 Valkyrie is desirable and unique for two reasons. It is designed to fit within the AR-15 platform’s limitations. It can withstand huge bullets like the Federal 90-grain SMK. The.22-250 Rem is too heavy and too long to fit in the AR-15 platform. It needs an AR-10 bolt, magazine, and a magazine. The.224 Valkyrie is marketed as a low recoil round that can remain supersonic for up to 1300 yards (with 90gr Sierra MatchKings). Here, a Sniper’s Hide team shoots an AR-platform.224 Valkyrie from distances of up to 1550+ yards. The accuracy was not impressive, to be honest. This test shows that the.224 Valkyrie can launch long, heavy projectiles at high enough velocity to be superior to the standard.223 Rem. Frank Galli, aka “Lowlight”, teams up with Brian Whalen from Colorado Precision Rifle at Blue Steel Ranch in New Mexico. The.300 blackout is a risky business. People who want a defense round of.30 caliber will like the.300 blackout. This can be loaded at a variety of velocities. The.300 Blackout cartridge can be loaded at subsonic speeds, and shot with a suppressor to produce very low sound levels. Unfortunately, the.300 Blackout cartridge will not fit in a chamber that is.223 Rem. It is dangerous to shoot a.308-caliber bullet into a.223 Rem chamber. It is smaller than the standard AR-15 magazine, and can accommodate a larger 30-caliber bullet. This is the danger. Unskilled shooters can easily load a.300 Blackout cartridge with.223 Rem ammunition and not even notice. The case-head size of the.223 Rem (5.56x45mm) is the same as that of the.300 Blackout cartridge, so the rifle’s bolt assembly can chamber and fire the.300 BLK rounds. This forces a.308-diameter bullet down a bore of.223 Rem calibre. This is not good! These images were provided by Tactical Rifle Shooters on Facebook. It was clear that you shouldn’t attempt to run 300 Blackout with your.223/5.56mm. It won’t work. Problem is identical rifles, identical magazines, but different calibers. Accurate Shooter Forum. Cutaway shows the jammed bullet of.30-cal
Here are some tips for those who must have a.300 blackout. Different magazines can be used for.300 Blackout and.223 Remington.
2. Mark.223 Rem upper guards with the caliber and bright paint.
2. All uppers should be fitted with caliber-labeled covers for ejection ports.
4. All.300 BLK Rounds marked with a heavy black marker
Similar Posts:Tags: .223 Rem, .300 Blackout, 5.56×45, 6.5 Grendel, 6mm ARC, 7.62×49
