The .224 Valkyrie makes your AR-15 more viable as a hunting and long-range precision rifle.
But what’s the point of shooting .224 Valkyrie if you’re not going to support it with the best .224 Valkyrie barrel? Using a cheap barrel is like putting premium gasoline in a lawnmower. Why would you do that?
You wouldn’t, because you’re smart. You’re here to find out about the best .224 Valkyrie barrels. So you can get the most from this specialty round. Right?
Our Best Choice
Rainier Arms Match .224 Valkyrie SPR Profile 18” Barrel
SPOILER—we checked out all the best .224 Valkyrie barrels. We found that the Rainier Arms Match .224 Valkyrie SPR Profile 18” Barrel is the overall best .224 Valkyrie barrel. It’s a really precise barrel that’s more affordable than most comparable barrels. So it makes it easy to get precise hits. And it goes easy on your wallet.
Looking for more options? That’s cool. We’ve got those too. Keep reading to learn about all the other best .224 Valkyrie barrels.
Top 224 Valkyrie Barrels on the Market Today
The Best 224 Valkyrie Barrels Reviews: Gas-Powered Precision
The overall best .224 Valkyrie barrel is up for inspection first. The other best .224 Valkyrie barrels will be fired in order of price.
Got a normal sized budget? Read the first reviews.
Does your barrel go further than a .224 Valkyrie round? Read the reviews near the end.
Let’s see how all these barrels work.
1. Rainier Arms Match .224 Valkyrie SPR Profile 18” Barrel - Overall Best 224 Valkyrie Barrel
I’ve said this before. But Rainier Arms is one of the most underrated firearm component manufacturers out there. They make excellent rifle parts that are usually quite affordable.
The Rainier Arms Match .224 Valkyrie SPR Profile 18” Barrel is one of the excellent and affordable parts that Rainier Arms produces.
It’s a stainless steel barrel, which is the most precise construction that you can get. And it wears evenly to retain the same point of impact throughout its life.
However, the barrel extension is finished with titanium nitride to ensure the installation is smooth and that the barrel to receiver fit is firm and precise. That way you get as much precision as you can get from your .224 Valkyrie rifle.
The Rainier Arms proprietary contour a good middle ground between ultimate precision and lightweight construction.
The barrel profile is straight. There are no hard shoulders or corners that cause uneven barrel flex or unpredictable point of impact shift as your barrel heats up. However, this barrel still weighs just 2 pounds 9.2 ounces.
Bottom line, this barrel is precise and resists heat buildup well. But it’s not as heavy as a full profile barrel.
And, even though this barrel is exceptionally precise, it’s still one of the most affordable barrels on the market. Surprisingly, there are actually not that many barrels that are less expensive than this one.
Ultimately, this barrel is an excellent option for anyone, whether your priority is precision or price.
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2. CMMG, Inc. .224 Valkyrie Sub-Assembly Barrel - Budget 224 Valkyrie Barrel
The CMMG, Inc. .224 Valkyrie Sub-Assembly Barrel is an excellent option for anyone who needs a super affordable long-range precision barrel.
This barrel only comes in 20 and 24 inches. Either length will give you exceptional velocity at extremely long ranges.
That’s excellent if you use your .224 Valkyrie rifle for hunting, because you get the best terminal performance. But it’s also good for long range target shooting, since higher velocities help minimize wind drift.
Then, this barrel is built with a medium taper. That’s good and bad.
It’s good because it produces solid precision, since the barrel profile is consistent from the chamber to the muzzle, without any hard shoulders or anything.
And the medium profile is fairly lightweight. This barrel only weighs 2.9 pounds. That’s super reasonable for a precision barrel.
Unfortunately, the medium profile is less precise than a bull barrel. So you may prefer a heavier barrel if you’re building a benchrest rifle.
Lastly, this CMMG barrel is salt bath nitrided. The finish looks good. And it’s exceptionally corrosion resistant. This barrel will hold up for a long time, even if you often shoot in harsh environments.
It might not be the right barrel for a benchrest precision rifle. However, it’s a perfect option for anyone who’s building a high precision rifle for a reasonable price.
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3. Nemo Arms AR-15 Barrel .224 Valkyrie - Value 224 Valkyrie Barrel
The Nemo Arms AR-15 Barrel lands somewhere near the intersection of lightweight, high-precision, and affordability.
Here’s how this works:
First, this barrel uses a hybrid profile. It’s almost a bull barrel all the way out to the gas port. Then, this barrel has a medium profile from the gas port to the muzzle.
So it’s extra thick near the chamber, where most of the heat buildup is. And, since it has a rifle-length gas system, most of the barrel has nearly a full profile.
It’s a super rigid barrel. And it’s a 20 inch barrel, which gives you plenty of muzzle velocity for hunting and long range shooting.
But the swing weight is as low as it can be. And the overall weight is only 3 pounds, which is just a handful of ounces heavier than a medium profile barrel.
Additionally, this is a stainless steel barrel, which is a high-precision construction that wears evenly throughout its lifespan. You get a super precise barrel from beginning to end.
Lastly, this Nemo Arms barrel is finished in black cerakote. Cerakote is a super durable finish that offers excellent corrosion resistance. It’s cool because you get a stainless steel barrel that’s black and resists corrosion better than a natural stainless steel finish.
Now, this obviously isn’t the least expensive barrel you can get. But the price is super reasonable considering how well-made and high-performance it is.
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4. Criterion Barrels AR-15 Hybrid Contour .224 Valkyrie Barrel - Versatile 224 Valkyrie Barrel
The Criterion hybrid contour barrels are one of my favorite AR-15 barrels, for any caliber. The Criterion Barrels AR-15 Hybrid Contour .224 Valkyrie Barrel is the .224 Valkyrie variant of Criterion’s hybrid barrels.
Clearly, the big deal is the hybrid contour. It looks a bit like a medium profile barrel.
However, it starts out a bit thicker at the chamber. And it gets narrower until the gas port. There’s a slight shoulder for the gas block journal, and then it continues to get narrower out to the muzzle.
This is a really cool design because this model resists heat buildup really well, because it’s so thick near the chamber. It’s also super rigid. And it’s surprisingly lightweight.
This barrel weighs just 2.55 pounds overall. And the swing weight is low. The end result is a lightweight barrel that’s easy to handle, and it delivers exceptional precision. Most shooters report sub-MOA groups, right out of the box.
Additionally, this is a stainless steel barrel with a salt bath nitride finish. So you get stainless steel precision with the best corrosion resistance.
One last thing: this Criterion barrel uses a 1 in 6.5 inch twist. It’s just slightly faster than the standard 1 in 7 twist rate. This offers exceptional stabilization for heavy rounds. So you’ll get the best performance possible from your pricey match and hunting ammunition.
This barrel might be a tad pricey. However, this is still an excellent barrel if you value precision but don’t want to lug around a rifle with a bull barrel.
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5. Faxon Firearms AR-15 224 Valkyrie Heavy Fluted Barrels - Lightweight Precision 224 Valkyrie Barrels
The Faxon Firearms AR-15 224 Valkyrie Heavy Fluted Barrels are designed for exceptional precision, without exceptional weight.
This is essentially a full profile barrel. But it’s got fluting to keep the weight down. The 20-inch model weighs just 2.85 pounds. It’s one of the lightest full profile barrels that you can get.
However, fluting also helps reduce barrel flex. The same thing that keeps the weight down also helps improve the precision.
Inside, this barrel uses 5R rifling. The rifling deforms the bullet less than traditional rifling. This means higher muzzle velocities. And higher velocity means better terminal performance and less wind drift.
You know what all that means: better precision and accurate hits.
The entire barrel is finished in black nitride, which gives you exceptional corrosion resistance. It also looks much better than a traditional mil-spec phosphate finish.
However, the receiver extension is nickel teflon finished. The nickel teflon finish helps ensure that rounds feed smoothly. And the finish produces a tighter receiver fit, which helps maximize your precision.
If you want a fluted barrel, you’ll have to pay a bit. But this Faxon Firearms model is definitely the way to go if you want the performance of a full-profile barrel from a barrel that weighs just a bit more than a medium profile barrel.
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6. JP Enterprises Supermatch Barrel - 224 Valkyrie Match Barrel
JP Enterprises has been one of the best competition-grade component manufacturers for decades. It’s simply not surprising that the JP Enterprises Supermatch Barrel is an excellent barrel if you’re building a competition rifle.
This is a stainless steel barrel. And it uses a hybrid medium contour that helps keep the weight down without sacrificing precision.
However, this barrel suffers from an issue that plagues government profile barrels: it’s pretty thick toward the muzzle end. That makes the swing weight a bit high. But it’s still totally manageable.
More on the precision front: this model is built with 5R rifling that maximizes velocity. The twist rate is 1 in 7, which delivers solid performance with just about all .224 Valkyrie bullet weights.
The specs are fairly standard, even though JP Enterprises produces extremely high-grade components.
But the big deal is that his bolt comes with a JP Enterprises enhanced bolt, which has been headspaced in the barrel. That way you know your bolt and barrel are going to work, right out of the box.
The included bolt might make the overall price a bit high. But there are very few barrels that perform better than a JP Enterprises barrel.
If you want an excellent match grade barrel with a matching bolt that’s going to glean the most precision possible from your .224 Valkyrie bullets, this JP Enterprises barrel is more than worth the price.
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Hitting the Long Shots
The .224 Valkyrie is designed specifically to maximize the effective range of the AR-15 platform. But you can’t take advantage of that additional capability without a decent barrel.
So putting the best 224 Valkyrie barrel on your .224 Valkyrie rifle should be high on your list of priorities when you’re sourcing your parts.
If you want an excellent barrel that won’t eat your entire AR-15 budget, get the Rainier Arms Match .224 Valkyrie SPR Profile 18” Barrel. It’s a great barrel that’s surprisingly affordable, considering how good it is. You can’t go wrong with this barrel.
.224 Valkyrie is a capable round. So don’t skimp on your .224 Valkyrie barrel. Get a good one. And shoot better.