“SAAMI’s approval of the cartridge is a crucial step in legitimizing it within the industry,” said Gun Tests Editor Todd Woodard. “Their work creates standards for the cartridge, increasing safety, interchangeability, reliability and quality for the dozens of firearm manufacturers currently building rifles chambered for 224 Valkyrie.”
Click here to see the New SAAMI Cartridge Cartridge/Chamber Designs and Revisions for 224 Valkyrie.
“We’re proud and excited about our new cartridge, and we deeply appreciate SAAMI’s support with this launch,” said Federal Premium Ammunition President Jason Vanderbrink.
Woodard said SAAMI was founded in 1926 at the request of the federal government and tasked with creating and publishing industry standards for safety, interchangeability, reliability and quality, as well as coordinating technical data.
“SAAMI’s Technical Committee, which consists of firearm and ammunition industry experts, reviewed the 224 Valkyrie submission over a period of about six months,” Woodard said. “The official cartridge name, maximum cartridge and minimum chamber dimensions, pressure limits, test equipment, and other characteristics are all considered and scrutinized during the process.”
SAAMI allows free access to technical data and drawings for the cartridge and chamber designs, which are posted in the Information and Specifications section of the organization’s website. Click here to see cartridge and chamber drawing documents contained within the ANSI/SAAMI Standards.
Federal Premium’s 224 Valkyrie is based on a 6.8 SPC case necked down to 22 caliber. It offers dramatically improved trajectories over all other MSR 15 cartridges, including the 22 Nosler, 223 Rem. and 6.5 Grendel—with roughly half the recoil of larger cartridges offering comparable ballistics, such as the 6.5 Creedmoor.
“Shooters can expect supersonic flight past 1,300 yards and long-range accuracy from this new cartridge,” Woodard said.
The 224 Valkyrie is initially available in four Federal Premium loads: 90-grain Gold Medal Sierra MatchKing, 60-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint, 90-grain Fusion MSR and 75-grain American Eagle TMJ.
