Federal launched the .224 Valkyrie in 2017 to give the AR-15 a thousand-yard cartridge, and on the numbers it did exactly that. Nine factory loads have existed. Three of them are varmint loads, which is the best ratio of any modern cartridge on this site.
It is also the cartridge on this site whose future is least certain, and this page says so rather than selling you a rifle.
The loads
| Brand | Load | Grain | Bullet | Application | Test barrel | Muzzle | 300 yd | 500 yd | Muzzle energy | 500 yd energy | Drop at 500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hornady | V-Match | 62 | ELD-VT | Varmint | 24” | 3,300 | 2,561 | 2,132 | 1,499 | 625 | -33.7” |
| Federal | Varmint & Predator † | 60 | Hornady V-MAX | Varmint | — | 3,300 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Federal | Varmint & Predator ‡ | 60 | Nosler Ballistic Tip | Varmint | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Federal | American Eagle † | 75 | TMJ | Range | — | 3,000 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Federal | Barnes Triple-Shock X † | 78 | Barnes TSX | Hunting | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Federal | Gold Medal Berger † | 80.5 | Berger Hybrid | Match | — | 2,925 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hornady | Match | 88 | ELD Match | Match | 24” | 2,675 | 2,205 | 1,920 | 1,398 | 720 | -47.4” |
| Federal | Fusion MSR † | 90 | Fusion boat-tail | Hunting | — | 2,700 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Federal | Gold Medal Sierra MatchKing † | 90 | Sierra MatchKing OTM | Match | — | 2,700 | — | — | — | — | — |
What that means for coyotes
The Hornady 62 grain V-Match is the load with complete published data and the best of them on paper — 3,300 feet per second, still doing 2,132 at 500 yards, and a bullet designed to come apart on a small animal.
Federal’s 60 grain Varmint & Predator load is the traditional answer and leaves at the same 3,300 feet per second. I have not been able to source its downrange figures, which is a statement about Federal’s website rather than about the load.
The heavy end of this table is not for you. The 90 grain Gold Medal and the 80.5 grain Berger are target bullets built to hold together to 1,000 yards; the Fusion MSR and the Barnes TSX are deer bullets. All four will kill a coyote and none is trying to leave you a hide.
The awkward question
Is the .224 Valkyrie dying? Federal has quietly narrowed the line since launch — the 60 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip that used to head the varmint offering is no longer on Federal’s own cartridge page — and rifle makers have moved their marketing to the 22 ARC and the 22 Creedmoor.
I am not going to tell you it is dead, because nine loads is more than several cartridges people buy happily. But if you are choosing a rifle today rather than feeding one you already own, understand that you are buying into a cartridge whose ammunition support is contracting rather than growing, and compare it against the 22 ARC, which does the same job on a shorter case and is being actively developed.
If you already have one: it still shoots exactly as well as it did in 2017, and the loads above still exist. Discontinued loads stay on this table for exactly that reason — you have half a box on the shelf and you want to know what it was doing at 300 yards.
The full chart
| Load | Grain | Bullet | Application | Muzzle | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 | Muzzle energy | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 | Zero | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hornady V-Match | 62 | ELD-VT | Varmint | 3,300 | 3,039 | 2,793 | 2,561 | 2,341 | 2,132 | 1,499 | 1,271 | 1,074 | 903 | 754 | 625 | -1.5 | 1.1 | 0 | -5.6 | -16.5 | -33.7 |
| Federal Varmint & Predator † | 60 | Hornady V-MAX | Varmint | 3,300 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Federal Varmint & Predator ‡ | 60 | Nosler Ballistic Tip | Varmint | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Federal American Eagle † | 75 | TMJ | Range | 3,000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Federal Barnes Triple-Shock X † | 78 | Barnes TSX | Hunting | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Federal Gold Medal Berger † | 80.5 | Berger Hybrid | Match | 2,925 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hornady Match | 88 | ELD Match | Match | 2,675 | 2,513 | 2,356 | 2,205 | 2,060 | 1,920 | 1,398 | 1,234 | 1,085 | 950 | 829 | 720 | -1.5 | 2.0 | 0 | -8.3 | -23.7 | -47.4 |
| Federal Fusion MSR † | 90 | Fusion boat-tail | Hunting | 2,700 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Federal Gold Medal Sierra MatchKing † | 90 | Sierra MatchKing OTM | Match | 2,700 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Notes on the data
Every figure is the manufacturer’s published one, and where nothing is published the cell is empty rather than calculated. Sources: Federal .224 Valkyrie and Hornady’s product pages for 62 gr ELD-VT and 88 gr ELD Match.
† Six Federal loads carry a muzzle velocity and nothing else. Federal’s individual product pages have been restructured and the URLs that carried their ballistics tables now 404, so only the figures printed on the current cartridge page could be verified. That is a gap in this table and it is Federal’s to close; the rows stay, marked, rather than being dropped.
‡ The 60 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip is no longer listed by Federal and is shown here as discontinued. It is on this table on purpose — see above.
Only the two Hornady loads are directly comparable end to end, at a 200 yard zero and a 24 inch test barrel.
Know more than I do? Tell me, particularly if you have Federal’s published downrange figures for any of the six.