If other progressive hand loaders are like me, they prefer to adjust their Dillon to a particular load and then leave it alone. In my case, after I set my Dillon Auto Powder Measure, I cover the adjustment nut with painter’s tape and write the powder name and grains on it. This way, the adjustment nut is secured in place, and I have no question as to what the drop setting is if I need a reminder. With any luck, my bullet seater depth will stay just as dormant.
Because I like to “set it and leave it,” I tend to explore loadings which allow me to adjust everything from the powder measure to the seater depth and leave it be… even for multiple loadings within that same caliber. Some folks may find this a little unbelievable, but with proper research – backed up with careful live-fire testing – loading a variety of rounds without modifying the tool head can be done.
This is most easily exemplified through Hornady’s pairing of its XTP and HAP bullet lines. Hornady’s high-end eXtreme Terminal (XTP) Performance bullets share the same head profile and overall length as their more economical sibling, the Hornady Action Performance (HAP) round. In fact, the HAP is essentially the same bullet as the XTP, minus the XTP’s more expensive enhancements that aid it in terminal expansion. HAP bullets consequently share the same load data as XTP bullets of the same weight.
Hence, a hand loader can craft a handful of high-end (read: expensive) hunting or defensive rounds that highlight the XTP’s exceptional terminal ballistics. Once that ideal low-volume round is perfected, a progressive reloading machine can then be used to bulk load a same-weight HAP round that will perform identically to the high-performance chambering… at least on paper and steel!
With the HAP costing a fraction of the XTP’s price, the HAP rounds become economical enough that they can be produced and practiced with en masse. In fact, HAP bullets are so cost-effective, they are a common loading for “practical” competition shooters around the world, many of whom shoot tens of thousands of HAPs each year.
This means that the shooter can inexpensively test his round’s reliability and accuracy in a manner that will build the confidence necessary for any “one shot, one hit” situation that may arise with the actual high-dollar round. This shot might be with a .357 lever-action during hunting season, or it might be with a 9mm handgun in a worst-case defensive situation at home. Either way, volume practice develops the skills necessary to take the individual shot in a stressful situation. As they say in the military: when the pressure is on, we fall back on our training. This XTP/HAP combo, and others like it, provide perfect opportunities to run the sorts of cost-effective drills that conscientious shooters strive to achieve while balancing their training budgets against their game day budgets.
Swapping out near-identical bullets is an easy example, though. A more advanced take on varying loads without varying the tool head can be done by using similar bullets, but of different weights.
By researching powder data sheets, the hand loader will find that the top-level grain weights for 124/125 grain FMJ bullets in 9mm often cross over with bottom-level grain weights for 115gr FMJ bullets. This means that somebody like a competition shooter can carefully develop a 124gr FMJ load for United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) competitions to meet that sport’s minimum power factor floor of 125. Once that load is established, the hand loader can then create a potentially “sub-minor” load for Steel Challenge Shooting Association (SCSA) competitions by simply substituting in a 115gr FMJ bullet with the same nose profile, all while using the same powder drop weight. As long as the two bullets share a similar face, they will seat at the proper OAL without needing to adjust the seating die.
It’s worth re-emphasizing here: the “primary load” is gradually worked up to max or near-max powder weight with the heavier bullet until it has been carefully established as safe. Only after the heavier bullet load is developed should the lighter bullet be substituted in – at what is verified through a reloading manual as within the round’s starting level of powder weight. In this manner, the two loads can be developed using safe hand loading practices.
While proper research and testing is always required, this “next bullet weight down” rule of thumb generally works for most handgun calibers. The lighter bullet will be softer in recoil… and more timid in terms of terminal performance. All this needs to be taken into consideration by the shooter, but given the right circumstances, it can produce satisfying results even beyond the USPSA vs. SCSA example offered above.
For instance, an experienced shooter can provide examples of technique using the full-power loading while conducting his own training, and then he can substitute in a softer round for a more recoil-sensitive beginner to try with the same gun. Alternately, a high-level competition shooter may want to practice a difficult technique – such as the dreaded off-side barricade hard lean – using a lighter, more controllable round until he feels confident enough to move up to his full-power loading.
All of this can only be accomplished by the handloader. An important factor within this equation is quality equipment, especially when single settings are being trusted to load multiple types of rounds. Similarly, highly effective measuring tools and check gauges should be used to verify that the equipment is remaining set as intended. As the old carpenter’s rule says, “measure twice and cut once.”
