Timing. No sense trying to force the bolt open before it needs to.

Isn't the bullet down range by that time anyway?

Yes, but the bore isn’t evacuated and the case may still be obturated.

Why not manufacture gas tubes in half-inch increments and fine-tune the gas port location for any given cartridge, load, and barrel length?

Seriously, everything that is marketed in the gun world is finely-sliced shades of "better," but there's a point of diminishing returns.

"Plus 1" gas systems can be handled by gas port size and any difference is lost in the noise.

But to each his own.... Your fine tuning may weigh more heavily in your equation; simplicity of parts weighs more heavily in mine. I suppose if I ever had problems with reliable function or beat-up brass I'd start looking around for novel solutions.

Doing more research I compared the 22 ARC and 22 Valkyrie Apples to Apples. Hornady Load Data for both, both with 24" Barrels. Picking the powder giving the highest velocity with bullets from 62-90, CFE223 came out ahead on almost every bullet weight for both the 22 ARC as well as the 224 Valkyrie.  Another powder might nudge slightly ahead with a certain bullet weight. A strong second place would go to AA2520. Staball 6.5 did pretty well with 80 - 90 grain bullets. This was good news, as I have lots of Hornady 80 grain A-Max Bullets for my F-Class 223 Remington Bolt Gun. I also have a good supply of Staball 6.5 for my 6.5CM Nosler M48 Handgun. I do have a pound or two of CFE223. Probably from working up loads with my 22 Nosler M48 Handgun.

The 22 ARC came out ahead with every bullet weight. BUT not by a great margin. This was with 51,100 - 51,500 PSI Loads for the 22 ARC, and 53,500 - 54,000 PSI loads for the 224 Valkyrie.

22 ARC Advantages:
The 22 ARC comes up to speed at lower pressure than the 224 Valkyrie. A good thing in an AR15. Lower Pressure should improve brass life. Talking to people who have worked with the 224 Valkyrie, this round can be a challenge to get to shoot groups that you are happy with. That Close to the same velocity might go out the window if you have to tone the 224 Valkyrie down a couple hundred feet per second to get it to shoot well. The 224 Valkyrie may need toned down to improve brass life also. Listening to pod casts on the 22 ARC, it is reported to be way easier to get to shoot well. I got the impression that the 51,000 PSI 22 ARC loads were not real hard on brass either. A good thing for us reloaders.

So far I have not read or heard anything about the Gas System on a 22 ARC. I have ZERO interest in short barrels. My idea of a short barrel on a 22 ARC would be a 20". I might go longer to get it to run faster and shoot flatter. With a 20" Barrel, Rifle Length Gas would be my choice. With 22" on up, Plus 1" of Plus 2" might be a better option for a soft shooting build. I have a 24" 204 Ruger that would probably work better with a Plus 2". That might not have been an option when I got this barrel.

We may need to research the 22 Grendel to see what works best. There are a lot more 22 Grendel's up and running at this time, that 22 ARC's.

Bob R

The issue with the 224Valkyrie and precision wasn’t velocity related. From my understanding in talking with ppl that were part of the Beta testing, when federal initially tested the round, a particular reamer was used for preproduction testing. Before the commercial launch, the ammo was tweaked, which needed a different reamer for optimum performance. Many barrel producers did not use a new reamer since they were already manufacturing barrels with the initial reamer.

The 90gr FGMM was hyped to be the magic round due to the high BC. It does work good in a barrel with a proper chamber and a 1:7 twist or faster. Factory ammo makes hits from an AR out past 850yds very repeatable. The FGMM 80.5 that launched months later is even better!! For the case volume, and likely true with the 22ARC, the 80-85.5gr bullet weights will be optimum due to BC vs velocity. The FGMM 80.5’s are clocking 2920 from a 24” barrel. My 80 eld handloads are 2940 or 2985fps depending on which load I run. 2985 trashes brass, but was super precise. The 2940 load is where I settled as it had less signs of pressure.






Just passing along info.

I’m a fan of the 6arc (have multiple AR’s and bolt guns) and I’ll get a few 22arc’s as well to test alongside my 224 valkyries.

Superjlarge thanks for your history on the 224 Valkyrie. From your targets, it looks like you have the bugs out of yours.

I have been reloading for a very long time. I am reasonably sure that I could get a 224V running well enough to be happy with it without much trouble. To start with I would not be working with a cheap on sale barrel. That is a huge step in the right direction to have a tack driver. If the had not read about the 22 ARC, I would be putting my efforts and research into the 224V at this time. I was starting research on the 224V when I learned about the 22 ARC.

I am working with two AR's at the moment, both of them shoot very well.
One is a 5.56 with a 20" Krieger Barrel. It has a Stern Defense Two Stage Trigger with a 2.5 pound second stage. I have a Leupold MK IV, M1, 16X scope on it.
The other has a White Oak 204 Ruger Barrel. It has a Jewel Trigger, and a 20X Super Sniper scope.
Quality Barrel, a Good Trigger, and enough Glass to see well enough to shoot small groups makes a huge difference in building a rifle that shoots.

I was working with a buddies 223 a week or so ago. He could not get it to shoot. I figured out his problem pretty quickly. Operator issue, and not an equipment issue.  He was new to AR's, and had sighted his scope in at probably 20 yards. When he went to 100 yards he could not get it on paper. He was not using enough paper. He was not used to working with a rifle with a scope height of 2.6 or so inches. He was shooting around 16 Inches High. Easy problem to fix. He had been spending money on some quality ammunition for it.  His rifle was of pretty fair quality also. My advice to him was to put a Trigger in it. I had about forgot how hard it is to shoot small groups with a stock trigger.

22 ARC vs 224V
With loads that do not trash brass. I believe that the 22 ARC will have enough gain in velocity to be a better choice.

We need someone to get a 22 ARC up and running to see if Brass can be made from Starline 6 ARC of 6.5 Grendel Brass without it being an ordeal. It would be nice also to have one up and running to see exactly what it will do, without marketing hype in the mix. I have the reloading information showing what velocity Hornady has listed (24" Test Barrel). I also have reloaded for a very long time, and realize that most reloading manual "loads" seldom end up chronographing what they are listed as running in my gun.  Some real world numbers using powders that we can all get our hands on would be nice.

Bob R

The 22ARC is a 22grendel, with factory ammo. You’ll be able to make brass from 6.5grendel without issue. Making brass from 6arc brass will require more steps due to the shorter base to shoulder datum.

Powder/data for 22grendel builds and loads would be good reading material and translate over for the 22ARC. While you’ll be able to hit over 3050fps with 80’s in a 22ARC, hitting 2950fps with lower pressures will be enough for most, as it won’t go transonic till beyond 1200yds

I received my barrels from Odin Works today. Sometime in 2024 I'll build them up.

Hope you keep us posted along with your build and progress.

224V was a heartache for me. Love the round, but to get anything of noteworthy performance you absolutely trash brass.

Are these available? Not seeing anything on their web site.

I believe it was a pre-order special Odin Works had for awile.

I got to see some Hornady 75 ELD-M 22 ARC Ammunition this morning.  (Back Room, not priced)
I also got to see a few box's of the 62 ELD-VT Bullets.
Looks like we may be seeing some 22 ARC ammunition and ELD-VT Bullets on the shelves in the near future.

I did not get to talk to the store owned, so I am not sure if it is supposed to be on the shelf just yet or not.

Looking like I may be getting closer to ordering a barrel.

Bob R

When the 22 ARC was first announced, Odin Works was making a list of those who were interested in buying a barrel once they became available. I immediately put my name on the list and waited for the phone call from Odin.

I did the same, even got an e-mail... no phone call as of yet.

After quite a bit of research comparing what I currently have in a .224 Chambering, a 20" 1/7.7 Krieger Barreled AR15. I have determined that a 20" 1/7 twist 22 ARC is enough of a performance increase to be worth while.

Today I picked up 3 box's of Hornady 75 ELD-M "Black Box" 22 ARC ammunition.  Priced at $31 a box. Not all that bad. Lets hope that Midway gets it in stock shortly.

I also placed an order with Saturn for a 20", 1/7 Twist, .750 Rifle Length Gas, Barrel with 5/8-24 Muzzle Thread. The barrel comes with a 6.5 Grendel Fitted Bolt. I was told that the barrel was in stock and should ship shortly.

My plan is to simply re-barrel my existing 204 Ruger AR.

My build:
Rock River Matched Upper & Lower
Jewel Trigger
Geissele Automatics MK4 x 13.5 Handguard
Seekins Adjustable Gas Block.
MagPul MOE Fixed Stock
MagPul Grip
Leupold MK AR 30mm Cantilever Scope Base
SWFA 20X Super Sniper Scope
Anti Cant Device (Mounts on Top of Scope)
Badger Picatinny Rail Conversion for a Harris Bipod
New Saturn 20" Barrel in 22 ARC.

I will simply swap barrels, and reuse my Gas Fixture and Gas Tube on the 22 ARC Barrel.
I will also swap my 5.56 Bolt for the 22 ARC/6 ARC/6.5 Grendel Bolt.
I will then put it all back together with a new 22 ARC Marked Dust Cover.
Sight in, and Adjust the Gas, and I should have it up and running.

Bob R

I'm really wanting to build one of these once parts and components become more available. I like the idea of longer heavier varmint bullets, but what would an ARC do with something like a regular 55gr vmax? I'm assuming much higher velocity and flatter shooting, but maybe that's not what it's designed for?

A Friend built a 22 Grendel wildcat before Hornady released the 22 ARC.   He is using his 22 Grendel for varmint hunting and uses a lot of lighter weight bullets in 52-55 grain category.   I can’t remember for sure but I think he is using a 1:8 twist.   His 20” 22 Grendel isn’t quite as fast as a 22-250 but closer to 22-250 than 223 velocity.

I’m more interested in 22 ARC than 6 mm ARC since I have several 6.5 Grendel AR-15’s and load for 223 so I have everything I need to load 22 ARC except reloading dies.   An 18” 22 ARC would still be a good performing varmint rifle.

18" is most likely what I'll be going with. My main goal is flat trajectories for night hunting when judging distance gets harder. I'm thinking a super fast 55gr with minimal drop out to 300 or beyond would be awesome for holding POA/POI. Hopefully it would still have enough ass behind it to put a coyote down at those longer ranges.

It will work great for that and Hornady has a light bullet varmint load with a new bullet. Lot of people used 22 nosler for varmint stuff. There's no rule about it's use do what you want.

When you get it can you post the weight? They don't list it on their web site. ETA: I'm guessing 45-48 oz, i.e. typ DMR profile?

@BobR1

Probably could get almost the same velocities out of the 62gr ELD-VT since it’s meant to sit out of the case rather than in it.

Velocity kills. I've killed alot of dogs, and in a 16" 5.56, 50gr varmint grenades or TNTs going 3300 will drop a coyote faster than a 64gr sierra TMK all other things being equal (im my experience). Don't ask for the terminal diagnosis, I'm just saying in my experience of many-o-dog what happens.

64TGK 77 TMKs leave nice exit holes, and the dogs die, but they were more likely to run than if hit from a lighter bullet going alot faster.

At the 200 yard bait pile behind my house I use a 204 Ruger shooting a 32gr VMAX 3900fps. Never had a dog walk an inch after a boiler room shot from the 204.

Very tempted to get an 18 or 16in barrel with my spare suppressor.

Anyone have hands on a BA or Faxon barrel yet for testing?

Faxon seems to be heavily invested with Hornady on this one.

With no ammo or brass available... looks like I'll wait about two years before I jump into this one. Looks like ammo is well over $30 a box... screw that noise.

Ah understandable.

Grendel brass can be resized, and I've even had the last few batches of Hornady not require turning, just trim and form.

At the moment it is a handloaders cartridge. I'm hoping though that the Faxons will have a leg up ans shoot well, save me from buying another proof barrel.. damn I wish those weren't so good.

The more practical factory loadings might make me rebarrel my 224V to 22 ARC.