Jump to content

Stealing ammo boxes


BlockFam

Recommended Posts

We have had a cache hidden for almost a year. It WAS an ammo box. About a month ago people who visited the cache started to say the container was too small for the log book.

 

When we went out to investigate we found that in fact our ammo box was replaced by a small plastic container. The person who did this even logged the fact in our log book (without signing their name and certainly without entering their "find" on-line).

 

I guess it was nice of the person to supply a new container since they could have easly just taken the ammo box and left the contents there to be found.

 

What I am wondering is if this is common? Are people going around stealing ammo boxes? Is it possible that the person thought trading the container itself was the same as trading items INSIDE the container? Is it possible that this is OK and I am the last to know?

Link to comment

I can't believe someone would go through all the trouble of finding a cache just to replace the ammo can with a rubber made container.

What is the world coming to?

Ammo cans are rising in price, probably due to some sort of new game being distributed on line. I think it is called Geocaching........ :)

Maybe if we stopped using ammo cans for caches then they wouldn't be so valuable, the price would go down and ammo can caches wouldn't be stolen. Then we could buy more ammo cans to put out as geocaches........... :)

A vicious cycle. Hide them further out in the boonies. The more gas it takes to get to the geocache or the more walking, the longer the cache will remain.

Otherwise, if all of us start stealing all the rubbermade containers, :D then the price of rubber will go up. The effect would be that all of the rubbermade caches would start disappearing to be replaced by ammo cans. :D

Link to comment

I've heard of them being stolen, but I think in most cases it's a non geocacher who discovers it and takes it. I read of one area where they are systematically being stolen. I'm guessing it's a non geocacher who discovered geocaching as a ready source of the boxes. I really doubt there are many geocachers who would take the container and ruin their own sport (I say many because I'm sure there are rare exceptions).

 

I think if you don't mention the container on the cache page, that might help. People are less likely to take the trouble to target a cache if they aren't sure its an ammo box.

Link to comment

Just curious here, but what are ammo cans going for in the rest of the country?

 

Here in Fargo, ND, we can easily get them for less than $10. I was at Ganger Mountain yesterday and they had them for $6. Mac's (discount hardware store) regularly has them for $6-8. But I suppose if I had 20 caches using them, it would add up...

Link to comment

Just curious here, but what are ammo cans going for in the rest of the country?

 

Here in Fargo, ND, we can easily get them for less than $10. I was at Ganger Mountain yesterday and they had them for $6. Mac's (discount hardware store) regularly has them for $6-8. But I suppose if I had 20 caches using them, it would add up...

 

In Burlington, NC at an Army/Navy surplus I get the 30 cal cans for $2.50 and the 50 cal cans for $4.00. Check out some surplus stores, seems like the best place to find them cheap.

Link to comment

Just curious here, but what are ammo cans going for in the rest of the country?

 

Here in Fargo, ND, we can easily get them for less than $10. I was at Ganger Mountain yesterday and they had them for $6. Mac's (discount hardware store) regularly has them for $6-8. But I suppose if I had 20 caches using them, it would add up...

 

In Burlington, NC at an Army/Navy surplus I get the 30 cal cans for $2.50 and the 50 cal cans for $4.00. Check out some surplus stores, seems like the best place to find them cheap.

 

I hit upon a GREAT deal not too long ago on Cabela's website. They had 50 cal. ammo cans for $2.50 each. I told a friend and he purchased 25 of them. Well, must be they only had 27, cause they sent him 2 extra at no charge and the item was removed from the inventory. Now everytime he comes down my way, he brings me ammo cans. I have 7 of them under my bed right now. And NO, you can not have the coordinates! :)

Link to comment

I would say that a non-cacher found your hide. Dumped the "junk" and stolea away with your container. Probably some cacher placed the plastic container for you. I have had caches that cachers made repairs to for me. Lets hope that is what happened.

 

I had that happen to a cache of mine. Someone stole the ammo can but left all the contents. Another cacher came along and put the contents inside of a plastic container.

Link to comment

At a cache near here, someone stole the ammo can and left the contents in the hidey-hole inside of a freezer bag. Have to give them a tip of the hat, they left the contents, and used a good quality bag also. Still, the contents got wet, and a nice cache faced being archived because the original owner was no longer active.

 

By the way, cache is doing fine, and if no one steals the plastic coffee container, another ammo can may be tried.

Link to comment

We had an ammo can last about a year beofre it was replaced with a bright purple softside lunch bag--complete with a local girl's name and school written in it. When a second ammo can in the same spot went missing about a year later--along with all the TBs in the cache and no pretty purple replacement bag--we just archived the cache.

Link to comment

We have had a cache hidden for almost a year. It WAS an ammo box. About a month ago people who visited the cache started to say the container was too small for the log book.

 

When we went out to investigate we found that in fact our ammo box was replaced by a small plastic container. The person who did this even logged the fact in our log book (without signing their name and certainly without entering their "find" on-line).

 

I guess it was nice of the person to supply a new container since they could have easly just taken the ammo box and left the contents there to be found.

 

What I am wondering is if this is common? Are people going around stealing ammo boxes? Is it possible that the person thought trading the container itself was the same as trading items INSIDE the container? Is it possible that this is OK and I am the last to know?

 

I guess I'd like to know their exact wording. It could have been that they couldn't find the can, assumed it was missing, and "replaced the ammocan with a new container."

 

It happens.

 

You might need to expand your search for the original container.

Link to comment

Just last week I checked on a 6 cache series of mine out in the sticks where you have to find 5 to get the coords to the final. 5 out of 6 containers were ammo cans and they were all gone, one of which was the final so its more than likely they were a cacher. The decon container was there. Sad to say but 2 of them held geocoins and now they are gone. Watching those 2 coins and hoping they show up and the person is stupid enough to log picking them up and dropping them. I also now have a die set and am going to stamp my initals in/on the ammo cans someplace.

Link to comment

I had a nicely painted ammo can that I won at an event - camo paint, the word GEOCACHE on the side, real nice... It only lasted a month. :) I can only assume it was a cacher that wanted it due to how nice it looked - I would think that only a cacher would care about that. Worse yet, I found a log that was a half round piece of a large tree trunk and was about 2 inches thick which worked awesome for hiding a rounded container I had under it. Someone actually stole that too! :D I think I got more upset about that log because I had to carry it all the way out to the cache and it was heavy.

Link to comment

I lost one ammo can about 2 years ago. A cacher wrote and told me that ammo cans were banned - so he did me a favor by replacing it with a clear plastic tupperware. The guy found about 20 caches before fading away. Left these weird environmental friendly reminders as logs. It happens.

 

I threw away the plastic and put out a new ammo. Still ok 2 years later.

Link to comment

I would rather think that it was a non-cacher that saw the ammo box, and decided to make it his. Cachers know how much an ammo box costs, and respects your property better than that.

 

Then again, some of them "collect" geocoins and TBs too...

 

Once you take something and hide it in the woods, it is no longer "your property," it is then considered abandoned property. It's really up for grabs. Of course, as geocachers, most of us have respect for why the containers were placed and what they are used for, but when muggles come upon these, they may decide they have a better use for them.

Link to comment

I would rather think that it was a non-cacher that saw the ammo box, and decided to make it his. Cachers know how much an ammo box costs, and respects your property better than that.

 

Then again, some of them "collect" geocoins and TBs too...

 

Once you take something and hide it in the woods, it is no longer "your property," it is then considered abandoned property. It's really up for grabs. Of course, as geocachers, most of us have respect for why the containers were placed and what they are used for, but when muggles come upon these, they may decide they have a better use for them.

I'm pretty sure it would be considered theft if I took someone's hunting blind, tent, or ice fishing shanty from a park. Especially if it's there with permission.

Link to comment

....What I am wondering is if this is common? Are people going around stealing ammo boxes? Is it possible that the person thought trading the container itself was the same as trading items INSIDE the container? Is it possible that this is OK and I am the last to know?

It's not common enough to be a universal blight on geocaching, however it is common enough to where you are not alone in it happening to you.

Link to comment

...Once you take something and hide it in the woods, it is no longer "your property," it is then considered abandoned property. It's really up for grabs. Of course, as geocachers, most of us have respect for why the containers were placed and what they are used for, but when muggles come upon these, they may decide they have a better use for them.

 

Since I did not abandon it, it's not litter, and it's not abandoned on my part. Thus it's still my personal property. Reality is I have no way to club any SOB upside the head who goes out to steal my cache, else there would be some folks out there with throbbing temples and massive headaches. The other reality is that on public lands the laws regarding abandoned property can fit to the cache and that public land agency can determine that it's abandoned and treat it accordingly. That's their legal right. However it's only their right. Not the right of Joe Dirtbag. For him it's just stealing.

Link to comment

...Once you take something and hide it in the woods, it is no longer "your property," it is then considered abandoned property. It's really up for grabs. Of course, as geocachers, most of us have respect for why the containers were placed and what they are used for, but when muggles come upon these, they may decide they have a better use for them.

 

Since I did not abandon it, it's not litter, and it's not abandoned on my part. Thus it's still my personal property. Reality is I have no way to club any SOB upside the head who goes out to steal my cache, else there would be some folks out there with throbbing temples and massive headaches. The other reality is that on public lands the laws regarding abandoned property can fit to the cache and that public land agency can determine that it's abandoned and treat it accordingly. That's their legal right. However it's only their right. Not the right of Joe Dirtbag. For him it's just stealing.

I'd love to see you try and get this one prosecuted.

Link to comment

Near here, a geocacher stole an ammo can...it was chained and locked down to a large steel post.

The stuff inside the ammo can was gone too. :(

 

A couple of months later, we were caching about 30 miles away from where the ammo can was stolen from.

The cache we were searching for was in an ammo can....OUR ammo can :ph34r: . The culprit used their on-line name, and used our ammo can...He didn't even re-paint it !!!!

 

Needless to say, we took our ammo can back, and suggested archiving that cache.

 

This bad person quit geocaching soon afterwards.

 

....and we actually felt bad taking the ammo can back. :o

Link to comment

I would rather think that it was a non-cacher that saw the ammo box, and decided to make it his. Cachers know how much an ammo box costs, and respects your property better than that.

 

Then again, some of them "collect" geocoins and TBs too...

 

Once you take something and hide it in the woods, it is no longer "your property," it is then considered abandoned property. It's really up for grabs. Of course, as geocachers, most of us have respect for why the containers were placed and what they are used for, but when muggles come upon these, they may decide they have a better use for them.

So, if I park my car in a place other than my own home, is it also considered abandonded?

 

Abandonded means to leave something without intention of returning for it. Your legal interpretations may vary.

 

I think the point here is that there are certain conditions that make it "abandonded". Many years ago in CA, I had to wait 6 months to get the title for a motorcycle that was left my property. It wasn't a geat motorcycle, but it ran pretty good for the $35 I gave to the locksmith and the $40 title transfer fee.

Link to comment

On the flip side, my first and only (so far) hide was recently muggled. No trace of any of the contents were found anywhere nearby. The ammo can was left behind. I found it ironic since it was likely the most valuable item. Obviously, this was either a non-cacher (as I assumed) or a very dim (in addition to evil) cacher. The box is "secured" to a tree to keep if from sliding down hill, but is not locked. I just used a small carbiner clip to attach the ends of the chain.

 

Dave

Link to comment

Near here, a geocacher stole an ammo can...it was chained and locked down to a large steel post.

The stuff inside the ammo can was gone too. :(

 

A couple of months later, we were caching about 30 miles away from where the ammo can was stolen from.

The cache we were searching for was in an ammo can....OUR ammo can :ph34r: . The culprit used their on-line name, and used our ammo can...He didn't even re-paint it !!!!

 

Needless to say, we took our ammo can back, and suggested archiving that cache.

 

This bad person quit geocaching soon afterwards.

 

....and we actually felt bad taking the ammo can back. :o

Why feel bad? The [edited] stole the can from you, knowing full well it's purpose, and proceeded to use it as their own. You were only recovering something that had been taken from you and the geocaching community. Arm up, HIGH FIVE!!

 

[Edited by moderator for potty language. Don't use potty language.]

Edited by Keystone
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...