After mentioning below on the"how many firearms do you reload for" post below, i've got several emials asking what is an RDS cartridge??? I whote up a little post about the RDS cartridges on another forum, and i thought i'd modify it a bit and post it here as well, to answer those qestions.
While digging through a long forgotten tool box today, i came across some "rare" cartridges that were chambered in Valmet 412 bbl. sets. These were called the "RDS" line of cartridges named after the designer, by Fred Hunington of RCBS. I only call them "rare", because not all that many of them were chambered, compared to the number of 412's that were sold world wide.
L to R .416 RDS .375 RDS .338 RDS and 30-06 spg. for comparison
The RDS cases are made from *RCBS basic brass, shortened to 2.800" and necked to .338, .375, and .416 with a 25ยบ shoulder and aprox one caliber necks.... The .375 was by far the most sold, with at least two hunters from California takeing them to Africa, harvesting all kinds of different animials with them.
The goal of this line of cartridges, was to get decent velocities with modern "rimmed" brass, in break open modern combo's or double rifles, while keeping pressures to where the gun/cart. could be "depended on" to work in any weather. This worked out very well, and no attempt was made to push these to their MAX.... In something like a Ruger #1, these cartridges could be real screamers as the case capacity "is" there....
Cases, and dies were sold with the bbl. sets, and also factory loaded ammo was offered for sale with 285 grain "bonded core" hand swaged copper jacket bullets.
Accuracy was very good with all three of these cartridges, usually with the first 3 shots grouping very close and the 4th and 5th opening up a bit as the bbl. heated.
How do i know all of this info is accurate? Well, because i'm the one who designed them, and i also sold them through my shop in Alaska long ago....
I want to mention that, this is NOT some kind of an advertisement... I no longer have a gunshop, and i don't have any of the above forsale... I just thought maybe some of you would find all of this interesting info, in case in the future you ran across a Valmet 412 with one of the bbl. sets...
Drilling Man
* RCBS basic cases were mfg by B.E.L.L. for RCBS
About Those "RDS" Cartridges I Mentioned
