hornady new 22 arc - thoughts?

There may be a point where the velocity increase of the 62, gives a better trajectory and comparable down range performance to the 75?

This of course is all in a new cartridge that has a higher head height, and more capacity.

I love learning about all these new cartridges.

I still only varmint/predator hunt with an AR-15 in boring old 223 REM/5.56 NATO.

Works great for me.
 
Originally Posted By: arlaunchTheir podcast says the new ELD-VT bullets are light for length. I don't remember how they are making 75 grain length bullets made of lead, coming in at 62 grains.

Sounds like the BC is in the mid to high 3's

They are claiming some very high velocities. Either way, if the bullet shoots good, it will sure buck the wind on the longer varmint shots.

I don't remember anybody saying Hornady's new cartridges are not accurate. Even with cheap barrels.

Maybe this one will be different?

Twist rate and freebore..... 6ARC is a perfect example, I've seen post after post of guys trying to get the 6ARC to shoot light 55-58gr bullets with the standard fast twist and long throat and I'm yet to see one that shoots. 87gr and up it shoots great. The 224V falls into this exact same setup that's designed with a fast twist and long throat to shoot heavy for caliber bullets. I haven't seen a 224V yet that could shoot the 50-55s with any type of impressive results.

I HIGHLY doubt the 22ARC will come with a slow twist barrel and minimal freebore. If a person wants a complete factory gun and ammo that shoots fast in an AR the 22Nosler or 204 is the king, call me skeptical until I see real world reports from end users, not Hornady....
 
Originally Posted By: arlaunchThere may be a point where the velocity increase of the 62, gives a better trajectory and comparable down range performance to the 75?
Thats possible but at the same time that’s why they say the 22arc beats the much faster 22-250. The 395 bc of the 62 vt compared to the low bc of the 55 grain bullet.
 
I just looked at some reamer prints, The 22 ARC is basically the same as the 22 LBC designed by Ritch we have been shooting since 2011. The only true difference is the ARC has about 0.030 more freebore. That means I can now buy factory usable 22 LBC brass and standard dies vs. making the stuff out of regular Grendel cases. The 243 LBC cases can now be just a matter of necking them up. Of course the LBC's are all designed around a 0.125 bolt face depth vs. the deeper Grendel design.

Greg
 
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I find it interesting it's just going to be the 6.5 Grendel necked down and not shortened like the ARC. Is it really considered a 22 ARC? Shouldn't it be the 22 Grendel?
 
What sounds sexier to new shooters? A revamp of an established cartridge or a new catchy sound bite? New and exciting names like Valkyrie and PRC and Creedmoor. Hornady understands marketing for sure.

The LBC came into existence in the 6.5 because of the Alexander copyright deal and that's when the 7.62 bolts started getting used. That case is now LBC'd from 20 to 30 caliber and everything in-between with the shallower bolt. Just like the DTI has successfully just changed the neck diameters we more realistic guys don't care what the head stamp reads. We just want tiny groups and fur on tge stretching board.

We here benefit as the new dies and cases come out we can load easier and don't have to massage the brass from one form to another. Ever here of the 30 ARX or the 308 ARROW? It's just a necked up Grendel but one company had a run of ARROW brass made. I bought some to look at but my 30 ARX is fed Grendel formed brass. It is cheaper than the ARROW because find Lapua lasts considerably longer than cases made by Hornady.

Marketing is the deal. Just like bright shiny lures sell faster than muckeldy dunn offerings at the store. Fisherman buy them. Bass don't care.

Greg
 
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Originally Posted By: Kino MOriginally Posted By: arlaunchTheir podcast says the new ELD-VT bullets are light for length. I don't remember how they are making 75 grain length bullets made of lead, coming in at 62 grains.

Sounds like the BC is in the mid to high 3's

They are claiming some very high velocities. Either way, if the bullet shoots good, it will sure buck the wind on the longer varmint shots.

I don't remember anybody saying Hornady's new cartridges are not accurate. Even with cheap barrels.

Maybe this one will be different?

Twist rate and freebore..... 6ARC is a perfect example, I've seen post after post of guys trying to get the 6ARC to shoot light 55-58gr bullets with the standard fast twist and long throat and I'm yet to see one that shoots. 87gr and up it shoots great. The 224V falls into this exact same setup that's designed with a fast twist and long throat to shoot heavy for caliber bullets. I haven't seen a 224V yet that could shoot the 50-55s with any type of impressive results.

I HIGHLY doubt the 22ARC will come with a slow twist barrel and minimal freebore. If a person wants a complete factory gun and ammo that shoots fast in an AR the 22Nosler or 204 is the king, call me skeptical until I see real world reports from end users, not Hornady....

I"m curious if the barrel manufactures will standardize the free bore better than they have on the 6 ARC. In the 6, its not uncommon to have a short throat. Ive seen many people talk about running factory Hornady Black through a seating die because the factory load was into their lands. I know my Proof barrel shoots 87's great... but the bullet was about .005" into the lands at Hornadys suggested C.O.A.L.
 
Originally Posted By: Kino MOriginally Posted By: arlaunchTheir podcast says the new ELD-VT bullets are light for length. I don't remember how they are making 75 grain length bullets made of lead, coming in at 62 grains.

Sounds like the BC is in the mid to high 3's

They are claiming some very high velocities. Either way, if the bullet shoots good, it will sure buck the wind on the longer varmint shots.

I don't remember anybody saying Hornady's new cartridges are not accurate. Even with cheap barrels.

Maybe this one will be different?

Twist rate and freebore..... 6ARC is a perfect example, I've seen post after post of guys trying to get the 6ARC to shoot light 55-58gr bullets with the standard fast twist and long throat and I'm yet to see one that shoots. 87gr and up it shoots great. The 224V falls into this exact same setup that's designed with a fast twist and long throat to shoot heavy for caliber bullets. I haven't seen a 224V yet that could shoot the 50-55s with any type of impressive results.

I HIGHLY doubt the 22ARC will come with a slow twist barrel and minimal freebore. If a person wants a complete factory gun and ammo that shoots fast in an AR the 22Nosler or 204 is the king, call me skeptical until I see real world reports from end users, not Hornady....

I"m curious if the barrel manufactures will standardize the free bore better than they have on the 6 ARC. In the 6, its not uncommon to have a short throat. Ive seen many people talk about running factory Hornady Black through a seating die because the factory load was into their lands. I know my Proof barrel shoots 87's great... but the bullet was about .005" into the lands at Hornadys suggested C.O.A.L.
Hornady screwed the pooch on the first couple of lots of their factory ammo because of that. A lot of non reloaders had to send ammo back because it wouldn't chamber.
 
It's a solution looking for a problem IMO. It doesn't offer that much more than .223, only about 300FPS or so. Seems like everybody tries to chase the .22-250, yet .22-250 keeps chugging along as the new cartridges fall by the wayside. Of course, Hornady fanboys will swoon and repeat everything Seth says as if they are quoting scripture. And in true Hornady fashion, they drop the new caliber with 3 loadings advertised and zero support. The new bullet line has me intrigued though.
 
I'm sure it is a neat little cartridge that will perform well. However......I was a little put off when the release video was filmed on a set that looked like Hornady puked all over it. Once they started talking about it being comparable to and "more versatile than the 22-250" I couldn't stomach anymore of their marketing BS 🙄 They need to just put the 6 Hagar into full production!
 
Correct me if mistaken, but isn't the 3300 fps factory load with a 24" AR? For another option, why not hit an AR barrel with a 223AI reamer, results should be close. Hornady makes it sound as if can only shoot the "long" 62 gr bullet in in the 22ARC barrels. Service rifle shooter's usual 600 bullets are most often 80SMK or the 80.5 & 82 Bergers. Personally, I'm shooting the 69 TMKs with good results, stomping on em pretty hard to get just under 3100. In 223AI 3200 may be doable. Compare that to the 62 gr launched @ 3200 out of a 20" out at 300 yd for velocity & wind drift.
 
Originally Posted By: Bob AzadiGotta love Hornady marketing! This new .22 is a solution in search of a problem. The same thing .224 Valkyrie promised, and trying to recreate the "magic" of .22-250. Based on what I have seen and read, it's a .223 + 300fps. That puts it too close to the .223 and does not even warrant a second look in my book. And I say this as a huge 6mm ARC fan.
The new ELD-VT bullets have me intrigued however. I will try some out and see how they compare to the VMAX and Varmageddons that I'm using now.

might only be a couple hundred fps faster, but that .395 g1 smokes the current 223 offerings in the same weight class.

that bullet at 3300 is supersonic out past 1k vs the 62gr fmj hornady black 223 that falls off somewhere a little past 700. heck the 62 vt is holding velocity at 1k what the 62gr fmj is at about 630 yds or so.

so that only couple hundred fps and the BC really spank the current 223 offerings when you start to look at them down range

so at least on paper it looks s*xy as [beeep]
smile.gif

All of it is academic. I hit prairie dogs out to 350+ with 62gr flatbase Varmageddons with consistency out of my .223. I love how Seth kept comparing their new wonderbullet in their fancy new round with other calibers shooting much more mundane bullets. I bet if we shoot the same bullets out of the .22ARC, .223, .224 Valkyrie and 22-250, the results will be a lot closer than Hornady wants to admit.
 
This discussion is all fine and dandy but the biggest concern, at least for me, is brass availability. Does anyone know how to make this brass in the event Hornady does not provide brass for sale and forces people to shoot THEIR ammo? I would hate to invest in a whole new rifle only to find out I have to buy ammo at $1.51 per round. And really, Hornady brass isn't that good anyways.

I know people will come in with other options, which I have reviewed, and am not seeing anything that excites me other than the 22 ARC. The 1.51 inch case length is intriguing since that gives a lot of room to adjust bullet seating depth, being more versatile for different powders and bullets. And the reamer specs indicate this ia VERY close to the 22 Grendel, but then I would need to get custom dies. It is good to see Hornady take a risk and try to normalize and provide support for such a wildcat cartridge.

I honestly like the specs on the 22 ARC given my understanding and purpose: Night hunting.
 
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This discussion is all fine and dandy but the biggest concern, at least for me, is brass availability. Does anyone know how to make this brass in the event Hornady does not provide brass for sale and forces people to shoot THEIR ammo? I would hate to invest in a whole new rifle only to find out I have to buy ammo at $1.51 per round. And really, Hornady brass isn't that good anyways.
It's just the 6.5 Grendel necked down. With Lapua making Grendel brass, it's a no brainer to use anything but.

Starline makes it as well, good for 2nd place.
 
To me, it seems that the 22ARC fills a niche for the AR crowd. From what is being reported, it feeds better than the 22Nosler, and is capable of utilizing the heaviest high BC .224 bullets. It seems like a win all the way around. Will it topple the 22-250 from its throne? Most likely not, but it does add some horse power to the AR stable of cartridges suitable for longer range varmint hunting... Just one man's opinion though.
 
It's just the 6.5 Grendel necked down. With Lapua making Grendel brass, it's a no brainer to use anything but.

Starline makes it as well, good for 2nd place.
Thank you for that info. Curious, how would one neck down from 6.5? I am not familiar with that process.

That being said, would purchasing Lapua brass, which is quite pricey in past experience, be a good idea when running through a gas gun? In my opinion, the 22 ARC is more of a gas gun cartridge. I hate it when I lose my 22-250 Lapua brass and that is a bolt gun.
 
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