I suppose this sounds like an amateur question, and I suppose it is. I always read and hear about cartridges being rimmed and rimless, and belted and non-belted, etc. Can somebody explain this, and tell pros and cons, if any. Thanks, John

Headspacing is the reason!

Rimmed and belted cartridges were (initially) designed around straight walled or sloping cases where there was no shoulder or not enough shoulder to control headspacing. Rimmed cartridges have a "flange" (another name for rimmed) or rim larger than the case body at the very base and were originally designed to work in single shot, double rifles and revolvers. This rim effectively stops the case from sliding too far into the chamber. A good example is the 45/70, 444 Marlin, 44 Magnum, 357 Magnum, or 405 Winchester, etc...

The belted case (H&H Magnum, Winchester Magnum, Remington Magnum, et al.) was developed to work in magazine rifles were the cartridges were stacked one on top of the other, or staggered. The first of these was Holland and Holland's 375 rimless belted magnum. The sloping small shoulder of the case still required something for the cartridge to headspace, but the rimmed design was impractical for the Mauser 98 rifle which the 375 H&H was to be used in, so they added a "belt" above the groove at the base of the case. This belt allowed for positive headspacing.

Rimless cartridges are like the 30-06, 8x57, and their variants. Basically, the rim of the case is the same size as bottom of the case body. These cases typically are bottlenecked, or have a substantial shoulder that controls headspacing of the cartridge in the chamber.

A rebated rim case, like the 284 Winchester or 500 Jeffery have a rim that is smaller than the bottom of the case body. This was done to fit the bolt heads of a particular type rifle while giving enough case body to allow enough powder to get the desired performance.

Some have criticized both Winchester and Remington for bringing out a "belted" magnum that really does not require a belt due to a decent shoulder that would control the headspace issue. The Winchester line was developed by blowing and shortening the H&H Magnum case. The first of these was the straight walled 458 Win Mag, in which the belt is indeed needed. Instead of the R&D costs of developing an entirely new case, Winchester just started necking the 458 down to come up with the 338, 264, and 300 Magnums. Remington followed suit based on the popularity of these rounds with the 7mm Rem Mag, then shortening case even further to produce the 6.5 Rem Mag and 350 Rem Mag. Several years later, Remington blew out the original 375 H&H case and necked it down to 8mm to compete with Winchester's 338 Win Mag. Remington also necked up the same case to come up with the 416 Remington Mag.

So, basically, these cartridge designs are for proper functioning in the firearms they were first chambered in, or at least what the parent cartridge was first chambered in. Typically, bolt action rifles and stacked magazine rifles are chambered for rimless cartridges (with or without the belt) or even rebated rim cartriges. There are some exceptions like the SMLE bolt rifle or the Winchester 1895 lever action that are designed to accomodate rimmed or flanged cartridges.

Tube fed rifles, like the Marlin 336 or Winchester 94, doesn't really matter if they are fed rimmed or rimless cartridges (provided the rimless cartridges have enough shoulder to headspace on). Obviously you should only use the correct case for which your rifle is chambered, but the design of the rifle doesn't care.

Many of today's singleshot rifles will handle either rimmed, belted or rimless cases (as long as the shoulder is adequate for headspacing). The Ruger No.1, Browning 1885 or 78, Dakota 10, Mossberg, or the NEF Handi rifles will handle any of the cartridge types. Older designs like the Sharps 1874 or Remington rolling block require rimmed or flanged cartridges.

Double rifles are being made in rimmed, rimless, and belted cartridges, but most double rifles are built and purchased in rimmed or flanged designs.

One minor point. The first belted case was the 400/375 Belted Nitro Express, by H&H in 1905. This is a smaller case than the familar .375 H&H Rimless Belted Magnum of 1912.

Bye
Jack

Jack's right, I had a brain cramp!

Might also add that Roy Weatherby first commercialized the blown out and belted (and in some cases shortened) H&H case well before Winchester did with his Weatherby Magnum series of cartridges.

that was an awesome response, i learned a lot! thanks, John

that was an awesome response, i learned a lot! thanks, John
John,
To give an illustration, in the picture attached are (from left to right):
32-20 Winchester (which is rimmed or flanged)
7x57 (rimless)
300 H&H Magnum (rimless and belted)
338 Winchester Magnum (rimless and belted)
411 Hawk (rimless, based on the 30-06 case)
500 Jeffery (rebated rim)

You can see the "rim" or flange at the very bottom of the case of the 32-20.

On the 300 H&H and the 338 Win Mag, you can see the "belt" just above the groove at the bottom of the case.

On the 500 Jeffery, you see that the case body is actually wider than the "rim" of the case (rebated rim).

You guys forgot semi-rimmed, 38 Super comes to mind. Has some rim but only shows accuracy when headspaced on the case mouth.