Belted casings
- Thread starter Mumptia
- Start date
The belt originally served to headspace cartridges that were rimless and had insufficient shoulder on which to provide a positive reference point, such as the 375 H&H.
Became associated with the word "Magnum", and manufacturers were reluctant to remove it on derivations of the 375 H&H (a marketing gimmick), even when it was unneeded, and even when in fact a bit of a nuisance for feeding reasons. Has nothing to do with strengthening the casehead - the rimless 308 Win operates at higher pressure than the belted 375 H&H. Weatherby actually added a belt to the rimless 416 Rigby case for use in the upper end of their cartridge line - again marketing.
Still serves a purpose on cartridges such as the 458 Win Mag, but is rarely seen on new offerings of smaller calibre.
Became associated with the word "Magnum", and manufacturers were reluctant to remove it on derivations of the 375 H&H (a marketing gimmick), even when it was unneeded, and even when in fact a bit of a nuisance for feeding reasons. Has nothing to do with strengthening the casehead - the rimless 308 Win operates at higher pressure than the belted 375 H&H. Weatherby actually added a belt to the rimless 416 Rigby case for use in the upper end of their cartridge line - again marketing.
Still serves a purpose on cartridges such as the 458 Win Mag, but is rarely seen on new offerings of smaller calibre.
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Case and point - the .35 Whelen has a TINY shoulder, but no belt and headspaces fine in modern guns.
At the time the H&H rounds were developped and pioneered the use of the belted case, machining tolerances weren't what they are today and the very sloped shoulder of the H&H family of magnum rounds was too difficult to headspace reliably and repeatedly in mass-produced barrels. As a result, the belted case was thought up. Much like a rimmed case, the belted round headspaces on the belt as though it were a case rim. Even the .300 H&H is belted for the same reason - the neck has a long slope and in the 1890's a belt was a more reliable way to headspace such a round. An added benefit was that headspacing on a belt alowed these long-sloped cases that tended to feed more reliably in dangerous game rifles.
Anything developped after WW1, when huge leaps were made in mass-production machining, that still got a belt was for marketing reasons.
That being said, having one of the older belted magnum chamberings goes a long way toward the "cool factor"
The H&H rounds, in particular, are still VERY popular with custom builders toady, even if they are less so on factory produced guns.
At the time the H&H rounds were developped and pioneered the use of the belted case, machining tolerances weren't what they are today and the very sloped shoulder of the H&H family of magnum rounds was too difficult to headspace reliably and repeatedly in mass-produced barrels. As a result, the belted case was thought up. Much like a rimmed case, the belted round headspaces on the belt as though it were a case rim. Even the .300 H&H is belted for the same reason - the neck has a long slope and in the 1890's a belt was a more reliable way to headspace such a round. An added benefit was that headspacing on a belt alowed these long-sloped cases that tended to feed more reliably in dangerous game rifles.
Anything developped after WW1, when huge leaps were made in mass-production machining, that still got a belt was for marketing reasons.
That being said, having one of the older belted magnum chamberings goes a long way toward the "cool factor"
The H&H rounds, in particular, are still VERY popular with custom builders toady, even if they are less so on factory produced guns.
