- The earliest firearms cartridges were not pre-loaded metallic affairs--they were a series of parts that the shooter had to measure and load one at a time. The receptacle for the elements of these hand-made loads was called a cartridge pouch. Between the 1840s and 1860s, sundry arms manufacturers started working on self-contained ammunition, pre-loaded and in a metallic case--very much like modern ammunition. The cartridge belt, originally a leather belt with a series of leather loops sewn on its surface and sized to a particular cartridge size, became the natural successor to the cartridge pouch. With a cartridge belt, the shooter could have single reloads or full magazine and cylinder reloads available at any time.
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The United States Army continued to issue cartridge pouches, but the men in the front lines invented their own cartridge belt. It was a variant on the Army-issue saber belt, but with leather loops sewn on it sized for the Sharpe's .45-70 cartridge used by the cavalry. It was dubbed the "Fairweather Christian" belt.
In the American southwest, untreated brass cartridges that were wrapped in leather for days on end had a problem with the development of verdigris--a patina of copper sulfite that would develop on the surface of the cartridges as a reaction to the salts used in the curing process of the leather. As a result, some Fairweather Christian belts had canvas loops sewn on the leather belts, and soon the service saw the introduction of solid canvas "prairie" belts and Mills belts. - The most recognizable of 19th-century cartridge belts are certainly those of the cowboys. Ironically, despite the fact that the military was on the cutting edge of current weaponry, the service never officially adopted a cartridge belt--they continued issuing pouches, but the gun-toting civilian populace did start carrying a variety of cartridge belts. These belts ranged from the very simple to the exceedingly ornate, and they were as personal as the carrier.
- In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, cartridge belts have become tools of hunters. Most often found in rifle and shotgun sizes, they keep fresh ammunition available to the fingertips of the hunter. Some law enforcement agencies still use cartridge belts with formal dress uniforms, but as the semiautomatic pistol has come to replace the revolver, magazine pouches have come to replace the cartridge belt. The exception is, of course, in the realm of Cowboy Action Shooting and old west reenactment groups. These sports are keeping a niche open for the beautiful workmanship and variety of the "old west" cartridge belt.
- Cartridge belts can be found at any gun supply or hunting supply store. One very good source is Cabela's, which has several superstores across the country and a website with many different products in addition to cartridge belts.
