F4 Defense is proud to announce the release of the F4-15 Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR) chambered in 224 Valkyrie. Some very bold statements were made last year concerning the performance of the Valkyrie; a cartridge based on a .30 Rem/6.8 SPC case necked down to accommodate a .224 projectile.
We rarely jump on “new fad” calibers, but we had to test and evaluate whether this cartridge could live up to the hype surrounding it. We can confidently say it’s a damn good cartridge. It’s not quite a .22 Grendel, but the fact that you can buy off the shelf ammunition is critical to those that don’t hand load.
After testing various twist rates and barrel lengths, optimized for the 90gr Sierra Match Kings and now with the long anticipated Hornady 88 Grain ELD Match ammunition; F4 Defense settled on a 20” 1×7 twist because it just plain works. The “need” for a tighter twist is simply not correct and we’ve proven it, it’s not surprising that you see manufacturers now jumping off the tight twist and going with a 7. A tighter twist than necessary lessens barrel life and can also restrict you from using a wide range of projectiles. Our F4 EBR consistently shot sub ½ MOA with pre-production Federal Gold Medal Match so we’re confident that Federal can work out the kinks and produce ammo at the same quality as the earlier lots. We know what it’s capable of and it’s truly impressive!
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Tags: F4 Defense
What’s the barrel life with this (and all the of the other new) calibers, especially when fired in high-volume military conditions? These kinda things seem to get a lot of great public reviews on accuracy, terminal ballistics, etc, but no one says much about 10,000+ rounds, or 120 degree heat, or -20 cold.
I realize that serious testing requires serious money and expertise, but just how far down the road do any of these cartridge developers expect to get in trying to be be The Next Big Thing, without some serious US military buy-in?
Or have they just pretty much abandoned the idea of military adoption, and instead are just indulging in some (expensive) wildcatting projects, for a market of niche shooters?