Federal markets its Gold Medal 80.5-grain Berger for competition, long-range and target shooting. It carries Berger's BT Target bullet, an open-tip match bullet with a boat tail, rated at a G1 BC of .441, and leaves the muzzle at 2,925 fps. It sits between the light and heavy match loads in the .224 Valkyrie, and that middle ground is the reason to buy it.

Compared with Hornady's BLACK 75-grain BTHP, the Berger holds up better in the wind. At 500 yards, a steady 10 mph wind blowing across the range pushes the Berger about 20 inches sideways and the BLACK about 22. Compared with Hornady's 88-grain ELD Match, the Berger starts faster and drops less: zeroed at 100 yards, it falls about 50 inches at 500 and the ELD Match about 57. The ELD Match drifts less, though, at about 18 inches in the same wind at 500 yards. It also kicks about 8 percent harder in the same rifle.

Buy the Berger if you want one match load that splits the difference: less wind drift than the BLACK, and less drop and recoil than the ELD Match. Pick the BLACK if light recoil matters most; it kicks about 10 percent less. Pick the ELD Match, or Federal's 90-grain Sierra MatchKing, if you shoot mostly at 500 yards in wind. For hunting, Barnes' VOR-TX 77-grain LRX is an all-copper bullet that Barnes markets for medium game and varmints; it leaves the muzzle 25 fps slower.