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Ammo can substitute.


Clarkbowman

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I bought three of these (or a similar model) back in 2002 when I first started to hide caches. I hid my first cache in one of them. Within the first five finds, someone could not figure out how to open the latch, and bent the cover off the hinges. With that sort of permanent damage occurring so quickly, I never hid another one and I use the other containers for storing cache swag and cache repair/hiding supplies.

 

There *is* no substitute for an ammo box.

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I'm sure some one has seen these already, but with ammo cans getting harder to get in my area I came across the alert orange version of this add at Wal-Mart at a cost less then $8.00

catalog_18.jpg

 

Thank you for the heads-up on those. I'll check them out the next time that visit Wally. :blink:

Edited by Team Cotati
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As stated, those are not a good replacement for an ammo can. Critters chew them, parts break due to the weather and cachers, and they are prone to leaking are several of the issues that I've seen. At $8 they are more expensive than an ammo can, well about the same as those at Gander Mtn. but the 30cal were around $4 and the 50s were about $6 at several of the local miltary surplus.

 

I've seen them used succesfully in duck boats and truck boxes as sealed storage but the natural world of a geocache is a bit too much for these.

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I don't know how you can beat a regular steel ammo can. I had one that was under water for weeks and I had to dig out of a sand bar. The inside and all its contents were perfectly dry.

 

Today I found one that was hidden in a marshy area that had also been flooded. The last time it had been found was October 2006. It was partially submerged in mud. When I opened it, the inside was perfectly dry. As others have said, and I agree, AMMO CANS RULE!!

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I like lock-locks
I found a lock-n-lock a few days ago. All four tabs were broken off and lying on the ground, and the sides had large pieces missing. I replaced it with the ammo can I had brought for that purpose.

 

Yes, it had been there for maybe five years, and if you only plan to leave your cache in place for a couple of years, then a lock-n-lock may be pretty good. But for something that's going to last, the only plastic I would trust outdoors is polycarbonate. So far I haven't seen a complete container made of polycarb which is satisfactory as a cache. Surfas Restaurant Supply carries the Cambro line of polycarbonate food containers, but the ones which are all polycarb (including the lid) are not designed to seal tightly.

 

Edward

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I'll add to my previous post that I would accept PVC or ABS also. I haven't seen any sufficiently atractive containers of PVC, though I haven't looked much. I gather there is some concern about ABS and cunlight, but in the time scale of decades. The Waterproof Store's collection of hard cases are mostly ABS and include some good looking ones. As Rick618 pointed out, they do cost more. Also, the waterproof locker which I used for one cache did not, to me, have a very secure latch -- it is certainly securely waterproof as long as the catch is properly in place, but I think that an animal could knock it loose -- much better chance than with an ammo can anyway.

 

I also ran across the SealMate polycarbonate containers. I haven't examined one in person and cannot vouch for them. The latches look possibly insubstantial. Also, I could not find a retailer -- the web site above claims retail but I did not find a way -- so I suspect they are out of business.

 

Edward

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I don't know how you can beat a regular steel ammo can. I had one that was under water for weeks and I had to dig out of a sand bar. The inside and all its contents were perfectly dry.

 

The two containers that I have "out in the middle of nowhere" are ammo cans...for obvious reasons. However, nothing is perfect. I have come across a leaky ammo can. But that was one out of many.

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I don't know how you can beat a regular steel ammo can. I had one that was under water for weeks and I had to dig out of a sand bar. The inside and all its contents were perfectly dry.

 

The two containers that I have "out in the middle of nowhere" are ammo cans...for obvious reasons. However, nothing is perfect. I have come across a leaky ammo can. But that was one out of many.

 

I have also came across a couple of leaky ammo cans, But it looks like, from several post that this box has its own issues. I have one that I bought when I seen them, so I will give it a run. Here ammo cans run about the same price as this box so I figured to give it a try. I will give a update here in a few months to see how it is doing.

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Walmart's now offering a gasketed, latching dry box made of polycarbonate for about six bucks. I've used a few for my own caches, and I see that other cachers are giving them a try, too. Latches are not quite as robust as I'd like, but otherwise seems pretty good.

 

I have one of those in the wild, too (the small one, they make a larger one, too). People seem to like them, and it keeps the water out. It not a high traffic cache, so, I'll have to wait to see how it hold up over time after repeated use.

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I have several ammo cans and Lock-n-Lock containers hidden. I've never had to replace an ammo can and have only had to replace one Lock-n-Lock so far.

 

I do like the Lock-n-Locks for fitting in those odd-shaped places and I often use them when setting up Poker Run events -- granted, the containers for the events are only out for a day.

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$8 is cheaper than an ammo can?! Where are you buying ammo cans?!

 

Around here, we pay $6 for a 7.62mm-size ammo can, $8 for a .50-cal.

 

I use the 7.62s for most caches, but it's sometimes nice to have a small, lightweight alternative.

 

.50 cal ammo cans were on sale a bit ago for $2.99 at fleet farm here. :shrug:

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I'm sure some one has seen these already, but with ammo cans getting harder to get in my area I came across the alert orange version of this add at Wal-Mart at a cost less then $8.00

Bought a white one from a (famous boating/fishing supply) and used it on my boat to keep first aid/emergency kit.

Took a rogue wave, swamped the boat. Pumped out boat. Pulled kit out and had to empty the gallon of sea water out of it to get to my soaked flares, wet band-aids, rusted spare nuts and screws, etc.

It is now replaced with a lock-n-lock (it is a small boat).

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Found a long list of dry boxes. I have no recommendation for or against this merchant, just found the list useful. They list Otterbox, Pelican, Underwater Kinetics, and S3. Elsewhere I saw a much larger line of S3 boxes. All of these seem to be made of ABS, which is looking like the plastic of choice for the outdoors. I'd still prefer polycarbonate or PVC in theory, but ABS should work very well -- hold up to both sunlight and physical trauma and resist warping which would compromise the seal.

 

I can't evaluate the latches from looking at them online, so that remains my biggest concern. Well, that and the cost of course. Knowing that these are made for water sports gives me some ideas of where to look in local stores.

 

The prices on all the boxes seem comparable, in the range of $25 for something the size of an ammo can, $20 or a little under for a somewhat smaller box, and $10-$12 for a wallet+ size box. All this is very rough.

 

If comparing online prices, keep in mind that these, being much lighter than ammo cans, will be a lot cheaper to ship, though certainly the total cost will still be more.

 

Edward

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If comparing online prices, keep in mind that these, being much lighter than ammo cans, will be a lot cheaper to ship, though certainly the total cost will still be more.

 

Edward

 

Good advice.

 

Also, look into other shipping options...I just got 18 ammo cans shipped Parcel Post for $28.72.

 

That brought my total per-can cost to $3.60 (much better than the local price of $9.99 I mentioned above).

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