Watch: Smooshing Ammunition in a Hydraulic Press

Have you ever wanted to see ammunition placed into a hydraulic press and flattened into pancake form? I didn’t know that I did until I saw it done.

It starts with a shotgun shell, lying sideways. Then another, standing up.

Cool.

Then, a pistol round–probably a 9mm–lying on its side. You can see the fine powder spilling out even after it disappears from sight.

Here’s what it looks like afterward:

Next, a pair of the pistol rounds side by side. The sight of lead oozing from the cases as if it were a thick liquid made me laugh out loud with glee. Not sure why I liked that so much.

Enjoy, my friends.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.