I know there are lots of belted "magnum ctgs' and almost all of them do not need the belt for anything - but high powered advertising. Only the straight cases needed them, ie: .458 Win mag. and .458 Lott for headspacing.
I may not be as old as you, but have been playing in this "reloading" game since 1966 at 16 yrs old.
Another reason I don't like the belts & the sloppy machining it allows in the body of reamers that the American gun makers get away with. Mind you, this is mostly in the 7mm Mag and .300 Win. Mag. ctgs. I don't know personally about sloppy Weatherby chambers.
Turning off that stupid belt is no problem & only takes seconds, once per case.