The Lee 9x18 lenght gauge, trimmer

[claudester]

I'm getting ready to load the 9x18 for the first time. Bought the lee 95 gr. mold and the bullets came out nice. Have the powders. Converted 250 9mm Brass to the 9x18 using the Lee trimmer and that's where I'm confused. After trimming, the brass comes out to .700. All the manuals I have state .713 as max and trim to .710 except for the Lee manual which just has .708 as the trim length. I called Lee yesterday to ask about their specs and why the short .700 cut and the tech person just said they get all specs from SAAMI.
Well, I downloaded the spec sheet from Saami and their max case length is .725 and min. .713. Nothing about .708. What is the right length? I read a few threads on other forums that the .700 is to short. I cross referenced other calibers from the Lee book and Saami and all others jive but that one. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

[rintinglen]

SAAMI specs are SAAMI specs. Lee makes their stuff to match Lee's specs. The twain often differ. My two cents is that it probably makes no difference, provided that your over length is on the money. I made do with 38 super brass in my 9mm Largo, despite the fact that some hardy sole at the NRA pronounced it a "no-go" for lacking .01 inches in length, by turning the heads down and sizing the brass in a 9 MM Luger sizer. It actually worked better than the 9 MM Largo Starline Brass I was able to get. Your gun will let you know. I have a lot of Lee stuff, but I gave up on their trmmers years ago.

[loadmak]

I'm on my second 9x18 case length gauge. My first one trimmed to .700. I just trimmed 100 or so this week with a new one, and they come out around .705. I trimmed nearly 2000 9x19s down, and they come out +/- a thousandth or two. I've even had some go a bit less than .700 and they worked fine for me. I keep my OAL between .970-975.

If I had a little more $$$ I'd buy a case trimmer that looks like a mini lathe with a hand crank on the end. Then you could set it at whatever you like and it would be consistent. I trim with the cutter chucked in my cordless drill, and hold the shell in my hand (in the shellholder). This is where my variability comes from, but l haven't seen any negative impact doing it this way. I'm curious how other folks trim theirs.

With my new case length gauge, I figured out that I could chuck it backwards in my drill, and file a smidge off the diameter of the gauge. This means I can trim 9x19s without flaring them first - which I did for the first two thousand . ;)

I hope that helps. Holler back if more questions come up.

[claudester]

Thanks much for the replies. Would you say they are safe to shoot at the .700 length?
I'm going ahead and try some today.

Will post the results.

[Freightman]

I have made 1000's of 9x18 brass from fired 9x19 brass and the LEE trim set up with not a problem, shoot and have fun.
I even use 223 brass to make 7.62x25 brass and there trim gauge no problems.

[Cannoneer]

I've made almost a thousand rounds of 9x18 from 9 luger brass using the Lee trim pilot and cutter set up. I chuck the shell holder in my drill and anchor the pilot and cutter in a vise, put a drop of Break Free on the mouth of the shell and turn the drill on and, just like that, I've got a Makarov shell that needs to be deburred.

The work great in my Bulgarian MAK and any other pistol so chambered.:guntootsmiley:[smilie=w:

[loadmak]

Thanks much for the replies. Would you say they are safe to shoot at the .700 length?
I'm going ahead and try some today.

Will post the results.

Not only have I loaded them, I've fired nearly all I've ever trimmed at least once. I think they're perfectly safe.

[jmires]

i was worried about the .700 outcome using the lee trimmer so i took a piece of .010 shim stock and trimmed it down to fit between the cutter and the mandrel. i now get a result of .711-.714. shot many of them with no problem.

[Ia.redneck]

There's a market niche for someone, Lee trimmer shims. Most of mine trim short also.

[loadmak]

My first time loading the 9x18 I bought Starline brass, and I'm pretty sure they came new at .700

[Centaur 1]

The shims are a good idea to lengthen the trimmed cases. I've also had to grind a few thousandths off the end of the tip to shorten case length. When I bought my first cutter the store didn't have the cutter with the wooden ball. After using it for a short while my fingers would start cramping so I had to come up with something. What I used was an old golf ball. The cutter is 1/2" diameter so I drilled a hole in the golf ball with a 31/64" drill bit and pressed the cutter into the ball. If you don't have the wooden ball cutter give the golf ball a try.

[claudester]

I fired 5 rounds each my loads, Hornady XTP 95 gr., 100 gr. cast RN and PPU 95 gr. FMJ factory and after messing with the rear site a little I was a happy camper. Very accurate gun. I was shooting from 24' and got most every thing in a 4" circle. I measured the shot cases and they came out to be .663 to .667 which is really getting short but resized a couple and they sure do stretch back. Today I'm going to load my own cast bullets and see what happens. I used that Lee Makarov 95gr. mold but all the bullets come out 106.2 to 107.4. They sure are pretty though.

[9.3X62AL]

At risk of starting another HEADSPACE dust-up, I'll phrase this carefully. While the 9mm Makarov and a lot of other rimless autopistol rounds are alleged to obtain their headspace on the case mouth/at the chamber step, the extractors are at least guest star status in this role. I've run cases from .700" to .710" in my East German Mak, and I can tell no performance or accuracy difference to 25 yards.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I convert and load 9x18 for the SIL with no problems.
I've been following this thread and wasn't going to comment,
because I can't recall what length the brass ended up after
trimming with the 9mm Luger
(actually I use only military brass 9mm Nato) with the Lee 9x18 trimer.
(I use the Lee 3-jaw universal chuck in a cordless drill to hold the
case head and the "ball" cutter by Lee, then I can just pull out the
ball cutter and use a de-burr tool while the cast is still connected to the drill,
I can do at least 100 an hour...I do inspect each one as I remove
the case from the chuck.)

Well, I got a bag of fired brass from the SIL today.
my Mil. converts fired once all measures 0.700"...all the same.
He had some WIN 9x18 ammo he bought, those cases once fired
measured from 0.702" to 0.705" with one measuring 0.707"

All fired in a KBI makarov clone, with no problems.

I am in agreement with 9.3X62AL on this,
al least with my SIL's pistol.

While the 9mm Makarov and a lot of other rimless autopistol rounds are alleged to obtain their headspace on the case mouth/at the chamber step, the extractors are at least guest star status in this role

[daddyseal]

I'm getting ready to load the 9x18 for the first time. Bought the lee 95 gr. mold and the bullets came out nice. Have the powders. Converted 250 9mm Brass to the 9x18 using the Lee trimmer and that's where I'm confused. After trimming, the brass comes out to .700. All the manuals I have state .713 as max and trim to .710 except for the Lee manual which just has .708 as the trim length. I called Lee yesterday to ask about their specs and why the short .700 cut and the tech person just said they get all specs from SAAMI.
Well, I downloaded the spec sheet from Saami and their max case length is .725 and min. .713. Nothing about .708. What is the right length? I read a few threads on other forums that the .700 is to short. I cross referenced other calibers from the Lee book and Saami and all others jive but that one. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
I convert 9x19 to 9x18 mak. all the time.
The Lee trimmer and case length gauge always gave me cases too short, because the length gauge is .013 too short. I got around that temporarily by packing brass shaving into the cavity where the gauge screws into the trimmer. That worked OK, until the gauge tightened and compressed the shavings after about 10 more trims...then I'd pack more into it, and eventually the lengths came out "better".

I had the drill chuck attachment, and the cases would seldom stay in the open case holder and would wobble out, making me start over...which made it very laborious to work with.

I now have a Lyman trimmer with power adapter. The cases are trimmed to exactly the .713 that I want Extremely quickly and effortlessly. I could Never go back to the "Neanderthal" Lee method~!!

[ipijohn]

I have trimmed several 100 of my Luger 9 X 19's to 9 X 18 using the lee case trimmer and a cordless drill. They all have come out to .705 to .708 and shoot very accurately in my CZ 82's with Lee 95 grain round nose boolets.

[JIMinPHX]

I'm not even sure that I'd trust SAAMI spec's on an eastern European cartridge like the 9-Mak. I think that It might be best to measure your chamber & headspace, then decide for yourself what size is best for your gun.

[fcvan]

I am curious what the chamber measures. I remember reading a Gun World article by Dean Grennel on the issue. He was loading for. 45acp where max length was .898, trim length was .895, and his chamber was .905 He trimmed down some .45mag to .905 and groups shrank accordingly.

As far as trimming with Lee, I would trim once fired and then resize. Measure after sizing and see how much they grew. They might be close enough. Chamber a sized case (barrel removed) and seehow they look. Frank

[RobsTV]

I convert 9x19 to 9x18 mak. all the time.
The Lee trimmer and case length gauge always gave me cases too short, because the length gauge is .013 too short. I got around that temporarily by packing brass shaving into the cavity where the gauge screws into the trimmer. That worked OK, until the gauge tightened and compressed the shavings after about 10 more trims...then I'd pack more into it, and eventually the lengths came out "better".


I used a strand of Chore Boy, which everyone should have on hand anyway. Has held up well for 500+ cases.