The very first .224 Valkyrie from Dtech is born!

dtech

dtech

New member
Not all that long ago, I heard the name ".224 Valkyrie" uttered for the first time. I did a little digging and decided it was something I needed to pursue.

I called the guy that grinds my reamers and visited with him for a while. Then Sierra. They informed me that to stabilize the new 90 grain SMK, I would need a 1:6.5 twist. They said in warm weather and good velocity it would be "on the edge" with a 1:7, but on a cold day you would probably not be happy. They also said that you wouldn't have a prayer with the 95 grain SMK.

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So off to Shilen! The fastest twist they had in their line-up was a 1:7, so I asked that they make me a 1:6.5 twist with their "Ratchet Rifling". Well, they came through for me, and a big wooden crate of the new 6.5 twist barres showed up. In fact, they showed up a week after the Valkyrie reamers and headspace gauges.

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This morning we put the first 6.5 twist barrel in the lathe and cut the first Valkyrie out of our shop!

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After all was said and done, we chambered all of the blanks Shilen sent us and ended with two spares. The phone rang and a PM member from Nebraska called and got the PM select-match upgrade for $50.00 off and took one of the last two blanks. I guess it's time to put in another order to Shilen.

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I'm the Nebraska guy. Mike was ever so helpful in directing me in finalizing the build specs. With the barrels already in hand, delivery should occur relatively soon and then it's off to the range! Report to follow!! I am stoked!
 
Originally Posted By: Dtwee It's really great when barrel blanks, barrels and dies are kept in stock.

Ya, 20 years ago I used to just order barrel assemblies, and assemble uppers. That didn’t last long. I just wasn’t happy with the consistency of the barrels I was receiving. I would borescope them, shoot and clean them, all in an effort to assure myself it was going to be a good barrel.

I decided to try clambering my own barrels. WOW! What a learning curve! First I tried chambering them the way my father had when I was young. That method left me polishing out marks in the chamber left from minor chip buil-up. I decided to try a high-pressure flush method. Man! What a difference! So for the last 15 years I’ve been hand-chambering Shilen blanks, and would NEVER go back.

When you get a barrel, or upper from Dtech, every one of them is hand chambered, by me, in my own shop. It would be more profitable to buy them as assemblies, but I like to sleep at night!
 
I havr gotten 2 uppers from Mike, and re ommended him to friends. My buddy got a .224 Valkyrie last spring, and boy that thing can shoot. 4.5 inch groups at 800 yards. To us this is very impressive.
 


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