belts on magnum calibers

[SpeedAKL]

Why do people complain about belted cartridges, i.e. what is it about the belt that is a disadvantage? I don't own a rifle firing a belted cartridge, so this is solely out of curiosity.

 

[Maverick223]

A belted magnum was originally designed to headspace off of the belt, the area in front of the belt supposedly will weaken after too many reloading cycles. The belt was originally used as a safety feature for the high pressure cartridges, nearly all of which are based upon the .375H&H Mag.

 

[dakotasin]

what is it about the belt that is a disadvantage?

gives people something to complain about... gives people who are afraid of performance an excuse to not have one...

seriously, i haven't found a problem w/ belts. i load belted the same way i load non-belted (headspace off the shoulder), and i can't see a problem w/ belts.

and while the 375 h&h certainly is a parent case, i think more cases are based off the 404 jeff - not that it matters a whole lot....

 

[freakshow10mm]

The critical area of a chamber is the area in which the headspace is taken. In a belted magnum it is from the head to the belt, and the portion of the chamber forward of the belt is generally cut sloppily because it isn't used to control headspace. This effects bullet alignment into the bore, thus accuracy.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Well, if the chamber IS cut right, then it's not an issue, but point taken. In any event, I believe the primary disadvantage is the dreaded "belt bulge" which occurs after several reloadings of the same brass, just in front of the belt, which can prevent chambering, and thus "unnaturally" shortens brass life.

 

[natman]

The belt is needed for headspace purposes on the 458 WM, the 375 and 300 H&H because of the sloping shoulder, but serves no purpose on magnums such as the 338 WM, 300 WM, etc, except to proclaim "Magnum". Doesn't do anything good for feeding either.

 

[Uncle Mike]

The critical area of a chamber is the area in which the headspace is taken. In a belted magnum it is from the head to the belt, and the portion of the chamber forward of the belt is generally cut sloppily because it isn't used to control headspace. This effects bullet alignment into the bore, thus accuracy.

Yep... not so bad now days ... but still...

 

[R.W.Dale]

The belt is little more than a rim that feeds in bolt actions. For bottle necked cartridges with a pronounced shoulder it's strictly an aesthetic feature. The belt was originally used to control headspace on those H&H cartridges with their long tapering shoulder which didn't provide sufficient headspace control.

So basically all the foibles of rimmed cartridges apply to belted as well as freakshow alludes to