Santa Claus, who doesn't appear to care for feral hogs any more than we do, gave me a brand new SDS Cheetah, with a 12 round drum in addition to the stock, 5 round magazine. Here's the details:

Have you been looking for an AK style semi-automatic shotgun? You definitely want to consider this Cheetah 12 gauge. This shotgun is packed with features including a fiber optic front sight and ships complete with one 5 round magazine. The Cheetah 12 is the next evolution in 12 Gauge Semi-Automatic Kalashnikov styled shotguns. Three gun ready with improved ergonomics for easier handling, faster shooting and less training time. This is the shotgun you have been waiting for!

The Cheetah shotgun is also designed to readily accept all Mil-Spec AR-15 collapsible stock buffer tube and stock set up's. All that is required is the Buffer Tube and your choice of Mil Spec Stock. No buffer or spring is needed... This makes for a really cool, great looking, and highly functional shotgun.
Hammer forged bolt for increased strength and long life.
Chrome lined 19” barrel, 3” chamber.
Left side charging handle.
Bolt hold open button.
Adjustable rear sight with a fiber optic front sight.
Any aftermarket AK pistol grip will fit.
The fixed stock can be removed and an AR buffer tube attached so that an AR collapsible stock can be added easily.
Reversible rear sling loop initially set up for right-hand shooters and can be switched to the left side.
AR15 style ambidextrous selectors, one is longer than the other and they can be switched to either side to suit the shooter.
Removable FCG cartridge.
Barrel threaded for Saiga style compensators.
Front forearm can be replaced with Saiga rails and aftermarket forearms.
Replacement parts available.
Four position gas system. Off, Low, Medium and High.
The back portion of the dust covered is secured additionally by the use of a redesigned recoil spring guide which has two small spears that insert into two small holes in the rear of the dust cover.
Comes with one-year manufacturer warranty for defects and workmanship.
Any Saiga 12 style magazine or drum is compatible, though some minor fitting may be required.

I'll get some pictures up later today, but if you'd like to see one, just do a search for "SDS Cheetah," and you'll get lots of pics and some video reviews of the shotgun. As soon as it warms up a bit, I'll get out and put it through its paces and let everyone know my impressions. Initial take is that it is build like a Soviet tank. No nonsense; no attempt to make it purty; all emphasis on functionality.

Took the new beast to the washing machine and took a couple of pics; doesn't look like it's going to warm up anytime real soon today!

Cool gun for hogs, congrats!

The weather has finally moderated so I'm going out tomorrow and run some ammo through the new Cheetah to see how it handles the different types. Here's the line-up I have set to go:





I don't know if you can read the specs on those DDuplexs rounds, but they pack some pretty heavy numbers.
For the two solids: 440 grains @ 1460fps @ 2070 fp; 495 grains @ 1410fps @ 2180fp; and for the expanding ones: 435 grains @ 1460fps @ 2050fp with 265% expansion increase; and 495 grains @ 1400fps @ 2130fp with 385% expansion increase. The company doesn't reveal what medium they used for their "expansion increase" numbers, so have the salt shaker ready!

I was able to get out and shoot a bunch of ammo through the new Cheetah. Besides the ones pictured, I also ran some really low brass Estate Target and some White Box low brass stuff. On balance, the new shottie ran quite well. From the Promag round drum, it didn't handle the low brass rounds very well. The most common failure was a failure to eject. This is not too surprising, since the shotgun was designed with hunting or self defense in mind, and the design engineers probably thought heavy loads would be normal fodder for it. It appeared that if the advertised MV on the boxes was less than 1200fps, failures began. The "stick" magazine that came with the shotgun, a 5 rounder, didn't fail even on the low brass rounds. Makes me think that some tweaking of the drum mag might be in order. And, speaking of the drum magazine, it is an absolute beast to try to load! The spring is very strong, and by the time I get to the 10th (of 12) rounds, my thumbs and fingers are waving the white flag: NO MAS!! And as near as I can find out, there are no "loading assist tools" for this magazine.
Bottom line, thus far, is that I'm extremely pleased with my new purchase. It has patterned well with 7 1/2, 6, 4, and buck shot, and each of the four slugs I've tried has shot to point of aim at 40 yards. Of course, it has open sights and my eyesight isn't real good any more, but certainly seems adequate for my needs. I've gotten about 150 rounds through it so far, and will continue to pump some more through it to get it broken in thoroughly.

i have one but havent had a chance to take it out yet. Hoping to in the near future i have the sgm mags and they are a pretty tight fit hope they loosen up over time.

grayparatrooper, as long as the mag release latch snaps positively into place with little effort, you should be OK. On the drum mag, I had to remove a small amount of material (used a fingernail file!) to get it to snap right in. And, I'm sure you know, it's much easier to seat the mags with the bolt latched open. You can "overpower it" but it's tough to hammer those puppies in with the bolt in battery.

I've now got almost 600 rounds through the CHeetah, and it runs perfectly with anything I feed it as long as the MV on the box is quoted as 1200 fps or higher. Lower MV's are still problematical, but not nearly as frequent now that the shottie is broken in. Since it's a Hog Hammer, MV's under 1200fps don't interest me anyway, and my self defense rounds are well above that threshold. It takes anything I feed it, from high brass bird shot to buck shot to slugs of all and any kind. It is a good price performer, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to someone looking for a semi-auto 12 gauge shottie for beating up feral hogs or as a home defense weapon for the two legged hogs that might make the mistake of coming to visit.