Does anybody have experience converting 9x19 to 9×18?

[JohnhenrySTL]

I havn't shot my favorite CZ 82 in about 3 years. I have read of people trimming, re-sizing and then fire forming 9x19 to Makarov ammo. I acquired about a thousand 9mms.

My concerns I feel are obvious. These 9mms were never intended or designed to become something else. I am going off paper and beyond the safety of tested data.

Does anyone have any experience with this process? And or very strong concerns either way?

Thanks all!

 

[joneb]

I have trimmed R-P and W-W 9x19 to 9x18 to load for a East German PM with good results. Some 9x19 is quite heavy I avoid it. If you plan on mixing head stamps you will regret it. keep in mind the trimmed 9x19 case may have less volume than a 9x18 case.

 

[rcmodel]

Keep in mind too, you will be contaminating the range, and your stash, with too short cases marked 9mm.

It's infuriating when you run across them in range pick-up 9mm brass!!!!!

Rc

 

[FMJBT]

I've done a bunch of them. No problems.

Just make sure you mark them to tell the difference. I color the heads and place a stripe inside the extractor groove.

Just try not to leave them for someone else to find.

Pm me if you need any help.

 

[JohnhenrySTL]

My brass will scatter only on my farm.

 

[FMJBT]

Great. Just mark them however you choose to separate from your normal 9mm brass. Get some bullets from Missouri and you're set.


I've tried multiple ways to trim

Using my forster trimmer with pistol base
Lee deluxe quick trim
Lee cutter and lock stud

My preferred method is in the above order.

 

[Dudedog]

I have done it with no issues. I usually load about .2 gr lighter on the first firing.
Time consuming to do. (at least for me). You can buy reloadable Privi for about $15 a box of 50. But if you have lots of 9mm Luger brass that's free and time to spare go for it.

 

[gojuice101]

I also shoot 9x18 and have converted much of my 9x19 brass to 9x18. They work fine. I don't even bother with fire-forming. I just trim it down, resize it and load it.

It is important to mark it though, because it can get mixed up in regular 9mm brass pretty easily. I actually shaved the caliber markings off the headstamps on my converted brass. That way I can't mix it up, and there is no marking to wear off over time.

 

[Ifishsum]

The fire forming will happen automatically the first time you shoot 'em. I fiirst use a universal decapper to punch out the primers without sizing them (or use a 9mak sizing die to decap as it won't really be sizing much anyway). Then I use the expander to get them to the larger 9x18 diameter and then trim/chamfer/debur. Depending on your expander and the bullets used, you may have to expand again before loading - I load cast and trimming removes all of the belling from the first expansion so I must do it again to prevent shaving.

Mark your cases somehow, it is enough work trimming them down that I want to collect and reload them as many times as I can to recoup the effort spent in the first place.

There is some data out there but not a lot, especially for cast - I sorta cross-referenced what I did find with .380ACP data, figuring it should be pretty safe and started a bit lower yet. Most of my starting loads were too low, lots of soot and even some sparks out the ejection port due to the brass not expanding to seal the chamber well enough.

 

[hAkron]

Mark your brass in an obvious way. I put a big red X on the case head. I redo it each time I tumble my converted mak brass. It makes it obvious to me that it's Mak brass, and it makes it obvious that 'something' is up to anybody who should happen to find it.

Also, when I sort pistol brass I do the 9mm and related stuff by case length. It makes it easier to pick out the .380 and factory mak stuff.

 

[mgmorden]

Keep in mind too, you will be contaminating the range, and your stash, with too short cases marked 9mm.

It's infuriating when you run across them in range pick-up 9mm brass!!!!!

Lol - indeed. Thankfully they're rare-ish. I tend to case gauge all my rounds after loading these days though, and a 9mm Mak case (converted or not) will drop well below the top of the gauge letting you know it's not right.

I tend to just save all the Mak brass I come across. I haven't even gotten a set of dies yet but EVENTUALLY I'll load a bunch up for my CZ-82 .

Also another poster mentioned marking the brass. I've made it a practice of mine (because so many people mark it) that if I have any pickup brass that is marked, I scrutinize it very closely to see if there's anything "different" about it.

 

[carbine85]

I haven't converted any but my brother does for all his plinking ammo. He never buys brass. He never seems to have any problems.

 

[skeet028]

Converting Brass

It's really no big deal. When I convert any brass to something shorter I always stamp each case on an ink pad. Not expensive to buy(the ink costs more)..I then mark it in my loading records book so I will know what it is.. I now have 7 ink pads..When I need another color. I mix 2 inks to get a new one. Pistol ammo is all different colors..Use the same colors for rifle..I mean it IS pretty obvious. Oh BTW I use the color RED for all my last loads for that brass.. Then discard in the recycle bucket.. Since I have 30-40 M 9mm brass I only load the Makarov 4 times. Now I have to find a use for all those 1000s of 40 S&W brass..Don't load it..

 

[Lj1941]

9x19 To 9x18

I have done several hundred. No problems. I mark the HS with a Sharpy. I try not to worry about somebody mistaking them for 9x19. They should know as soon as they pick them up that something isn't right.

 

[joem1945]

Starline Brass makes the 9X18. Why go through all that work?

 

[jcwit]

Starline Brass makes the 9X18. Why go through all that work?

Because most of us have hundreds if not thousands of range pick-ups in 9 X 19, so trimming down some for use as 9 X 18 gives us free cases to use.

With your logic, one can buy cartridges already loaded, why go thru all the work of reloading?

 

[gojuice101]

Starline Brass makes the 9X18. Why go through all that work?

Its really not a lot of work. Takes like 5 seconds to cut it down and then its just loading as normal. Easier and cheaper to find and buy 9mm brass than starline makarov brass.

 

[jdgreen]

I've done many hundreds of these with a Lee 3-jaw chuck in a cordless drill and the Lee cutter with ball grip and the 9x18 case length gauge. Since the diameter of the 9x19 is smaller than the 9x18, you either have to expand the case mouth first or trim down the width of the cutter a little so it fits down in the 9x19 case.

I always mark mine with a sharpie. I put a red X on the headstamp. I tumble my 380, 9x18 and 9x19 all together. I stand them up on the table and sort them by height.

 

[Rule3]

The advantage of buying correctly headstamped brass is mainly to avoid mixing it up with regular 9mm. It's a pain when a 380 sneaks in. The to have 9x18 sneak in also? Sure you can color and decorate them then clean them and the ink comes off. $9 per hundred is not a big expense I do not shoot mine enough to warrant loading it. I bought a case of cheap import stuff a while back,

 

[joneb]

Sure you can color and decorate them then clean them and the ink comes off.

After I load 9x18 with trimmed 9x19 and all the rounds are in the box (head stamp up) I draw five lines with a sharpie, it takes 3 seconds.

 

[Sport45]

The headstamp wouldn't bother me if I picked them up. My first sort when the .355-.357 caliber brass comes out of the tumbler is by length. The short 9mm would get tossed in the scrap brass bucket along with the 380 cases. (Since I don't have any use for either.)

I've got quite a few 7.7jap cases that have .30-06 headstamps and that doesn't cause me any concern either. The short necks are a dead giveaway.

 

[dwhite]

Someone told me they have a board with a bunch of holes drilled in it that the 9mm cases fit snuggly in. The board is the correct thickness for the 9X18 cases.

They then use a belt sander to "trim" them to the top of the board.

Pretty quick.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[jcwit]

I must have good eyes. I can easily separate 9 X 19, 9 X 18, and .380 by sight alone.

 

[Potatohead]

Because most of us have hundreds if not thousands of range pick-ups in 9 X 19, so trimming down some for use as 9 X 18 gives us free cases to use.

With your logic, one can buy cartridges already loaded, why go thru all the work of reloading?

+1..

 

[Rule3]

Because most of us have hundreds if not thousands of range pick-ups in 9 X 19, so trimming down some for use as 9 X 18 gives us free cases to use.

With your logic, one can buy cartridges already loaded, why go thru all the work of reloading?

Not really. kinda flawed logic. Loaded ammo costs just a tad more than empty brass.

I do agree that sure, you can make them for free. I just see a chance of them getting mixed up.

I mark all my brass anyway so I pick up only my brass as I know where it's been.

Even using a shell sorter the milled down 9mm will fall through the 9mm bucket. I have a plate for the 380.

Gee these 223 Rems (300 BO)I found sure seem a little short