Originally Posted by Idaho_Shooter
Originally Posted by MartinStrummer
If anything ever turned me off about any cartridge, it's "belted magnum". Dang few cartridges need a "belt". It's a "selling point" for magnum cartridges. (If it ain't got a belted case, it ain't a "magnum"!)
I look at it a bit differently.

I know how the belt got there and why it was put there, oh so many years ago. Originally, that belt did serve for positive headspace.

It is just part of the lore and history that the 375 H&H case was later altered in so many ways and developed into 6.5 Rem, 350 Rem, 338, 358, 7 RM, 264 Win, 257 - 340 Wea, 8mm Rem, the STWs, etc, etc.

While I know full well, the belt serves no useful purpose on several my favorite cartridges, it also does no harm. The belt on the 7 STW or the 264 is akin to a familiar roadside attraction from one's childhood. It is familiar and interesting to look upon.

As stated above, the belted magnums mostly came from the venerable .375 H&H Magnum case. The belt was necessary due to that cartridge's use in double rifles. It was convenient, so ammunition designers used it.

I'm all for creating new cartridges using existing case designs. It makes it easier to find cases for various cartridges during shortages or if a cartridge is out of current favor.

I had a .264 Win Mag in the late '80s and early '90s. I could pretty much never find brass for it, but there was always plenty of 7mm Rem Mag brass available to neck down. I don't think I ever had any .264 WM headstamped brass, now that I think about it.

It's why I don't have a problem using not so popular cartridges that are based on extremely common cases. .25-06 Rem, .260 Rem, .280 Rem, and .358 Norma. Factory ammo and sometimes brass for all of them is far from common, especially during shortages, but cases that I can neck up or down for them are always around.

So I look at the belts on magnums as being a result of practical mid-20th century cartridge design.