.22 Cheetah

joken

Curious about this round. I'm looking at a BR rifle in this caliber. Any opinions appreciated. Reloading supplies available cost. Hassle to reload etc. Thanks, Ken

ern98

The 22 cheetah is basicly one of the 308win cases necked down to 22 caliber. Originally they were made from the .308win bench rest cases with the small primers. Personally I'd neck 243win cases down but I'm lazy. After getting together a supply of converted cases the major difference between a wildcat and a standard case is the cost of the die set, hopefully dies would come with it. If they don't then usually wildcat dies run 4 or 5 time the cost of standard sets. The problem with this wildcat IMO is that it is way overbore and the increase in velosity above that of say the 22/250 or 220swift isn't much compared to extra powder burned. I'd also wonder about barrel condition and would want a close inspection of the throat and bore to determine how much life it is likely to have left. Still, if the rifle/bore is in good shape and you like the deal then hey why not. New toys are always fun.....

nononsense

joken,

There are two versions of the .22 CHeetah so you need to know which one you have as it makes a difference. They use two different shoulder angles: Mark I with a 40 degree shoulder and Mark II with a 28 degree shoulder.

This can be a great cartridge but it depends on the twist rate of the barrel and how you choose to load for it. It has a huge capacity for the smaller bore diameter so rapid fire in the varmint fields is not a good idea. Powder selection is important to the care of the barrel.

22 CHeetah

Historical Notes:

The 22 CHeetah was developed by Jim Carmichel, shooting editor of Outdoor Life magazine and Fred Huntington of RCBS fame. It appears to have originated in the late 1970's. The cartridge is essentially a full length Remington 308 BR case, with a smaller primer pocket, necked down to 22 caliber, but with the shoulder moved forward. What you end up with is a variation of the 308 Winchester necked down to 22, but using a special match case. This is not exactly new because there are in existence several slightly different versions made by necking the 243 Winchester case down, and these date back to the early 1960's. However, the 22 CHeetah is an original with regard to the 308 BR case and its smaller rifle primer pocket.

General Comments:

The major difference between the 22 CHeetah and its predecessors are the use of the lighter, more uniform BR case, blown out 40 degree shoulder angle and short neck. In other words, the case has been designed to benchrest specifications. It also has a greater powder capacity than any of the older versions. There are actually two case types, the MKI with a 40 degree shoulder angle and the MKII with the original 28 degree shoulder. The 22 CHeetah is somewhat more powerful than the 220 Swift, but ballistics were measured from a 27 inch barrel. The cartridge has proven to be superbly accurate and a very effective 300 yard varmint cartridge.

Source: Cartridges of the World

Best.