I'll try to address these issues 1 at a time. While the belt is useless,when reloading you can headspace on shoulder-not belt. Most rifles except browning have 24" barrels in 7mm rem mag-not 26". The 7mm rem mag is NOT overrated-if you and bullet do your jobs,the 7mm rem mag will certainly do any REASONABLE job asked of it. The 7mm rem mag is THE most popular rifle magnum cartridge for a reason-it works! I've built lightweight hunting style rifles that turned out EXCEPTIONAL accuracy-so much so that even I was suprized.