Savage, one of the world's largest makers of sporting rifles, has released a new product chambered for the .224 Valkyrie round, the company has announced.
The Westfield, Massachusetts-based company, part of Vista Outdoor Operations LLC, a closely held corporation that also owns such brands as CamelBak and Bushnell, on Thursday introduced the Savage MSR 15 Valkyrie chambered for Federal Premium Ammunition'' 224 Valkyrie.
"Together, rifle and cartridge take the popular MSR 15 platform to unheard of heights in long-range precision and ballistic performance," according to a press release.
With only half the recoil of larger cartridges needed to achieve similar results, the 224 Valkyrie -- recently unveiled by Federal Premium -- produces flat trajectories, supersonic velocities up to 1,300 yards downrange and match-grade accuracy, according to the release.
John Snow, a writer for Outdoor Life, recently tested the new rounds on a successful deer hunt in Texas. "The round will also be hell on wheels for coyotes, prairie dogs and other predators and vermin," he wrote in an article on the website.
Retailing for about $1,500, the rifle features an MSR 15 Recon platform built around the new 224 Valkyrie, which offers the best performance of any MSR 15 cartridge; Elite Series Cerakote upper and lower; two-stage trigger; Hogue pistol grip; UBR Gen 2 buttstock; forward assist; muzzle brake with 1/2x28, Class 3 barrel thread; adjustable gas block; 18-inch barrel with 5R rifling; and a mid-length gas system, according to the statement.
Savage plans to show off the rifle at next month's SHOT Show, the world's largest gun show, set to take place Jan. 23 through Jan. 26 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. This year's speakers at the event include Allen West, the former U.S. lawmaker and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, who plans to deliver the keynote address at a management seminar.
Military.com plans to send a three-person reporting team to SHOT, including range day. Let us know what kind of new kit and products we should be testing and looking out for.
-- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.
