243- 22 CHEETA
TRYING TO FIND THE STEP DOWN DIES FOR THIS LOAD .I HAVE THE REGULAR DIES IN RCBS BUT NEED THE STEP DOWN DIES TO MAKE MORE SHELLS. I ONLY HAVE A 100 THAT I CAN KEEP REUSING BUT I WAS TOLD I NEED THE STEP DOWN DIES . DONT REALLY NO WHAT THERE TELLING ME . MAYBE SOME ONE CAN HELP ME FIND WHAT I NEED I WAS TOLD I COULD USE 308 BRASS ALSO
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What you need are called case forming dies. Here is a link to the RCBS web-site, where they are listed.
http://www.huntingtons.com/DiesCaseForm.HTML
Hope you got deep pockets, the dies you need to form 22 CHEETA from.308 brass, are going to set you back $339.00
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The below is just for background and information for the board. The 308 BR brass is no longer manufactured.
This is a description of the 22 Cheetah cartridge from COTW:
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
22 Cheetah Reloading Data
Bullet (grs.) Powder / (grs.) MV ME Source
50 SP IMR 4064 / 46.0 4285 2040 n/a
52 HP IMR 4064 / 44.0 4135 1970 n/a
55 SP IMR 4350 / 49.0 4090 1990 n/a
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You can most certainly buy case forming dies for this cartridge but you do NOT have to. You can make cases by using .243 Win. brass and your re-sizing die with the de-cap stem and expander ball removed to reduce the size of the neck.
If for some reason you have to or want to use .308 Win. brass, you can use the following dies to form the neck down: 7-08, .260 Rem., .243 Win. then just use your re-sizing die for the .22 neck size. I also use Imperial Sizing Wax during these sizing steps. Borrow these dies or just find some used die sets, it can't possibly add up to the ridiculous prices case forming dies cost from RCBS. You will have to O.D. neck turn and possibly inside ream the necks as well, which does involve to cost of a precision neck turning cutter and reamer. I don't see any reason whatsoever for using .308 for this project. It is a waste of time and effort for no gain at all and possibly less quality in the end result.
This is intentionally lacking in detail. If you don't understand the above process, then you need to find someone who does and convince them to assist you. This is a very important process in reloading and potentially dangerous if done incorrectly. Get some good assistance.
Good luck!0
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