Ammo Can Markings?

[djhobby]

I've seen hundreds of ammo cans now, and most of them have some symbols painted in yellow on the top. Does anyone know what they mean or a resource for finding out what they stand for?

[+Allanon]

What it means is that whomever "prep'ed" the can prior to putting it out, didn't do a very good job.

 

They should either be painted over so those marks are gone or the user should get some acetone (or finger nail polish remover) and get rid of them.

 

If you really want to know, I'm sure a military person will be along to answer your question.

[djhobby]

I didn't post this topic to discuss should those markings have been removed. Thanks for your input though

[+WRASTRO]

I've seen hundreds of ammo cans now, and most of them have some symbols painted in yellow on the top. Does anyone know what they mean or a resource for finding out what they stand for?

Hundreds? I might need to be envious.

[+frinklabs]

Army-Interpreting-Ammo-Markings-and-Color-Codes

[+WRASTRO]

I didn't post this topic to discuss should those markings have been removed. Thanks for your input though

Nice.

 

I assume you mean the markings on the side of most ammo cans. They identify the size and type of the ammo they are designed to hold. Seems fairly obvious to me. But then I was never in the military so I could be wrong.

[Keystone]

I didn't post this topic to discuss should those markings have been removed. Thanks for your input though

He gave the ONLY correct answer that's relevant to geocaching. Had he not, I would have posted the same answer, with a link to the section of the listing guidelines where it says to remove these markings.

 

If you just want to chat about ammo cans from a military perspective, I'd be happy to move your thread to the Off Topic forum.

[djhobby]

I didn't post this topic to discuss should those markings have been removed. Thanks for your input though

He gave the ONLY correct answer that's relevant to geocaching. Had he not, I would have posted the same answer, with a link to the section of the listing guidelines where it says to remove these markings.

 

If you just want to chat about ammo cans from a military perspective, I'd be happy to move your thread to the Off Topic forum.

 

Well I figured these geometric shapes ON TOP of the metal cans must correspond to something that maybe I could use in a puzzle cache. Is that off topic?

 

Thanks Prof Frink for an on topic response. I looked at that document earlier but it doesn't show the markings that I was talking about. Maybe all the cans I've see in Indiana have came from the same place and the rest of the world has never seen them.

[+WRASTRO]

I have never seen any markings on the top of an ammo can. Do you have any photos you can share?

[djhobby]

I have never seen any markings on the top of an ammo can. Do you have any photos you can share?

 

I don't have any great pictures, but I did take this one today as a reminder. I'm talking about those yellow marks.

 

[+WRASTRO]

Sorry, but your photo shows nothing that could help us in this discussion. From what little I can see in the photo I can't identify anything that might help answer your question. Could it be this is a local thing?

[+Team Cotati]

I didn't post this topic to discuss should those markings have been removed. Thanks for your input though

 

Perfect. Thank you.

 

http://www.olive-drab.com/od_firearms_ammo_cans.php

 

If you need to know more, you're on your own.

Edited November 12, 2009 by Team Cotati

[djhobby]

Sorry, but your photo shows nothing that could help us in this discussion. From what little I can see in the photo I can't identify anything that might help answer your question. Could it be this is a local thing?

 

Yeah I figured this photo wouldn't help you. I was hoping someone who knew something about these marks might chime in.

[Mr.Yuck]

Sorry, but your photo shows nothing that could help us in this discussion. From what little I can see in the photo I can't identify anything that might help answer your question. Could it be this is a local thing?

 

I can't really see anything there either, to be honest. I can't even tell if that's just a picture of the lid. Got a better pic? Frink's link, which is actually a whole Army Correspondance course, will tell you about the various markings on the side of an ammo box, but I'm sure that's not what you're looking for. I'll bet someone will come along and shed some light.

[+StarBrand]

....

Well I figured these geometric shapes ON TOP of the metal cans must correspond to something that maybe I could use in a puzzle cache. Is that off topic?

...

Now just how do you expect to use them in a puzzle cache if you are suppose to cover them up before placing the cache??

[+Walts Hunting]

I didn't post this topic to discuss should those markings have been removed. Thanks for your input though

 

So you actually think that the responses to a post have to be related to the original post. Must be new around here.

[djhobby]

....

Well I figured these geometric shapes ON TOP of the metal cans must correspond to something that maybe I could use in a puzzle cache. Is that off topic?

...

Now just how do you expect to use them in a puzzle cache if you are suppose to cover them up before placing the cache??

 

 

Well... I was going to place a series of cans, tell the finder to take some paint stripper with them, find the cans and remove MY paint to reveal the original secret military codes, decipher those codes into coordinates and then make the find on the actual cache, and then return to all of the previous cans and paint over the symbols with the supplied paint so the next finder can do it all over again.

 

The cache PAGE would have the symbols (if there are such things, maybe I'm imagining them because no one else has ever seen them) that correspond to what I was hoping was a set of numbers (like a certain squiggly square equals a 30 caliber, a set of triangle equal 50 etc...) that could be interpreted as coordinates.

 

It's harder to get a straight answer in this forum than to solve a 5 star puzzle cache!

[+WRASTRO]

....

Well I figured these geometric shapes ON TOP of the metal cans must correspond to something that maybe I could use in a puzzle cache. Is that off topic?

...

Now just how do you expect to use them in a puzzle cache if you are suppose to cover them up before placing the cache??

 

 

Well... I was going to place a series of cans, tell the finder to take some paint stripper with them, find the cans and remove MY paint to reveal the original secret military codes, decipher those codes into coordinates and then make the find on the actual cache, and then return to all of the previous cans and paint over the symbols with the supplied paint so the next finder can do it all over again.

 

The cache PAGE would have the symbols (if there are such things, maybe I'm imagining them because no one else has ever seen them) that correspond to what I was hoping was a set of numbers (like a certain squiggly square equals a 30 caliber, a set of triangle equal 50 etc...) that could be interpreted as coordinates.

 

It's harder to get a straight answer in this forum than to solve a 5 star puzzle cache!

Actually getting a straight answer is really easy. Ask a question that can be answered with the information you provide. Sounds crazy, I know, but it works.

 

If you want someone to try to identify markings on a container you should probably plan to actually show the markings rather than post snarky notes.

[djhobby]

I didn't post this topic to discuss should those markings have been removed. Thanks for your input though

 

So you actually think that the responses to a post have to be related to the original post. Must be new around here.

 

Not new, but you make a great point. I was just trying to point out the absurd while trying to get an answer. I think you've hit upon a problem with most online forums.

[+WRASTRO]

I didn't post this topic to discuss should those markings have been removed. Thanks for your input though

 

So you actually think that the responses to a post have to be related to the original post. Must be new around here.

 

Not new, but you make a great point. I was just trying to point out the absurd while trying to get an answer. I think you've hit upon a problem with most online forums.

Yep. People post questions that are impossible to answer and then get snarky when the folks trying to help can't manage to answer the question. This really is a great example of one of the problems with many online forums. Glad you understand.

[+flask]

something like this?

 

 

no, i've never seen anything like it. all in your imagination.

Edited November 12, 2009 by flask

[djhobby]

If you had never saw the marks before and had no idea what I was talking about, why chime in?

 

To me, this seems to be the equivalent of reading a forum about rocket science and someone asks a technical question which I have no idea about, but I'll still chime in and say

 

Let me rephrase the question.

 

Has anyone ever seen some strange geometric shapes on the lids of .30 caliber ammo cans that were probably sold in South Central Indiana? On the cans that I buy in this area, there are usually some strange marks on the lid that I and my fellow local cachers paint over before we hide our awesome caches. We paint over them just in case the marks are military markings, even though the whole online geocaching community thinks they don't exist, despite poorly taken photographs to the contrary. If you have seen these markings on some non hidden ammo cans and know what they mean, would you be so kind and let me know. I had an idea of hiding a puzzle cache incorporating these symbols into a hide. I thought my fellow cachers might get some enjoyment out of it, but probably not as much as reading this forum, so never mind.

[djhobby]

something like this?

 

Yes, just like that, but without the numbers and text. Just symbols similar to those on the lid. The cans in my area must be the shorthand equivalent of that.

[+flask]

 

 

Yes, just like that, but without the numbers and text. Just symbols similar to those on the lid. The cans in my area must be the shorthand equivalent of that.

 

i'm not saying that i actually saw it, or that it exists, but if it did it would have been a very large container with plenty of room for text.

[+CTYankee9]

something like this?

 

Yes, just like that, but without the numbers and text. Just symbols similar to those on the lid. The cans in my area must be the shorthand equivalent of that.

 

1 {Rectangle} = 1 tracer

4 {Circle} = 4 Ball ammunition ie regular bullet

{linked circles} = those rounds in a linked form

 

So those symbols equate to linked ammunition in a standard 4/1 ball/tracer.

 

{Circled Cross} = NATO Marked

{Clover} the ammunition is interchangeable with other weapons

 

On the Op's original picture that {V cut rectangle} meant the ammo was stored in bandoliers.

Edited November 12, 2009 by CTYankee9

[+WRASTRO]

If you had never saw the marks before and had no idea what I was talking about, why chime in?

 

To me, this seems to be the equivalent of reading a forum about rocket science and someone asks a technical question which I have no idea about, but I'll still chime in and say

 

Let me rephrase the question.

 

Has anyone ever seen some strange geometric shapes on the lids of .30 caliber ammo cans that were probably sold in South Central Indiana? On the cans that I buy in this area, there are usually some strange marks on the lid that I and my fellow local cachers paint over before we hide our awesome caches. We paint over them just in case the marks are military markings, even though the whole online geocaching community thinks they don't exist, despite poorly taken photographs to the contrary. If you have seen these markings on some non hidden ammo cans and know what they mean, would you be so kind and let me know. I had an idea of hiding a puzzle cache incorporating these symbols into a hide. I thought my fellow cachers might get some enjoyment out of it, but probably not as much as reading this forum, so never mind.

Oops. Sorry again for trying to figure out what in the heck you are trying to ask. So I guess my answer needs to be that I have never seen the types of marking on an ammo can similar to what you appear to be attempting to not describe. If you can't manage to ask your question in a way that people can understand why should you expect to get any sort of responses beyond questions trying to clarify what you are asking?

 

Markings on the sides of ammo cans are common and consistent. Markings on the tops of ammo cans are not common. I have seen examples of many ammo cans currently used and retired by the US military so I feel somewhat confident in my response.

 

If you are asking about uncommon markings on ammo cans that may be unique to your area I can't help you. So sorry if this answer offends you.

[+Minimike2]

The markings on top are an arcane language understood only by highly trained and experienced EOD people.

 

In effect it says, "STAND BACK, IT"S GOING TO BLOW!"

[+aka Momster]

This is from a SoCal 30mm ammo can, but it appears to have the same markings as your photo. The second mark seems to match the M13 marking from flask's information. Side markings on the can were destroyed.

 

 

While not exactly what you are asking about, here are the lid markings from two 50mm cans.

 

 

 

[Mr.Yuck]

This is from a SoCal 30mm ammo can, but it appears to have the same markings as your photo. The second mark seems to match the M13 marking from flask's information. Side markings on the can were destroyed.

 

 

While not exactly what you are asking about, here are the lid markings from two 50mm cans.

 

 

 

 

Interesting. So these are on the top, not the side? I never noticed these symbols in 22 years in the Army, or as a Geocacher. But I was in a geek line of work even in the Army. Good thing there was an Ordnance man in the house (CTYankee).

[+CTYankee9]

This is from a SoCal 30mm ammo can, but it appears to have the same markings as your photo. The second mark seems to match the M13 marking from flask's information. Side markings on the can were destroyed.

 

 

While not exactly what you are asking about, here are the lid markings from two 50mm cans.

 

 

 

 

Interesting. So these are on the top, not the side? I never noticed these symbols in 22 years in the Army, or as a Geocacher. But I was in a geek line of work even in the Army. Good thing there was an Ordnance man in the house (CTYankee).

 

The top one is also amunution stored in bandolier form/linked.

The middle one is just another symbol for bandolier form

And the bottom is heavy weapon amunition {ie a .50 cal M2 machine gun}.

 

Not ordinance but an MP for 15 years and it was mostly in Germany back in the NATO days. You get much higher than those markings and I won't be able to help.

 

To the OP, I think I see what your asking through the odd comments . Yes you could probably use the markings to form a puzzle, but as has been said those markings should be removed from the cans so as not to cause alarm to the public. A possible way to do it is remove the original markings, paint/cammo your can as needed and then paint on the marking you need in a non-standard OD/yellow color. Or have the marking that is needed painted onto the inside of the lid for the finder.

 

Each of the symbols relates to an actual word or abbreviated meaning, so I guess it could be done. I am not a puzzle kinda of cacher, so not sure how and no they are not only on the cans found from your home area, but are on all cans that have been marked for NATO use.

[+kraushad]

something like this?

 

Yes, just like that, but without the numbers and text. Just symbols similar to those on the lid. The cans in my area must be the shorthand equivalent of that.

 

1 {Rectangle} = 1 tracer

4 {Circle} = 4 Ball ammunition ie regular bullet

{linked circles} = those rounds in a linked form

 

So those symbols equate to linked ammunition in a standard 4/1 ball/tracer.

 

{Circled Cross} = NATO Marked

{Clover} the ammunition is interchangeable with other weapons

 

On the Op's original picture that {V cut rectangle} meant the ammo was stored in bandoliers.

 

(Said in my best Jeff Spicoli impression)

 

Dude. AAAWESOME!

[+Team Cotati]

I didn't post this topic to discuss should those markings have been removed. Thanks for your input though

 

So you actually think that the responses to a post have to be related to the original post. Must be new around here.

 

Not new, but you make a great point. I was just trying to point out the absurd while trying to get an answer. I think you've hit upon a problem with most online forums.

 

Please refrain from making excuses for behaviors. You had it right the first time.

[+Castle Mischief]

For further reference, here are some pictures of an ammo can that I took for somebody to use as a container guide of sort.

 

 

[+sTeamTraen]

An ammo can which provoked a call to the bomb squad near me had "Fragmentation Grenades" written on it in big yellow letters. The cache owner had thoughtfully applied a 4" x ½" green (!) sticker saying "Contents Harmless", though.

[+okie-wan]

something like this?

 

Yes, just like that, but without the numbers and text. Just symbols similar to those on the lid. The cans in my area must be the shorthand equivalent of that.

 

1 {Rectangle} = 1 tracer

4 {Circle} = 4 Ball ammunition ie regular bullet

{linked circles} = those rounds in a linked form

 

So those symbols equate to linked ammunition in a standard 4/1 ball/tracer.

 

{Circled Cross} = NATO Marked

{Clover} the ammunition is interchangeable with other weapons

 

On the Op's original picture that {V cut rectangle} meant the ammo was stored in bandoliers.

 

(Said in my best Jeff Spicoli impression)

 

Dude. AAAWESOME!

This was the primary "diet" for the M-60 machine gun which was belt fed, hence the linked form. There was one tracer every 5th or 7th round. Can't remember, it was only 40 yrs. ago. The 7.62mm ball round is roughly equivilant to the .308 (civilian).

[glorkar]

If I understand right, the OP always intended on painted over/removing the markings. Instead, what he would do is use the symbols on the cache page on GC. He would force the solver to decipher the symbols to acquire the coordinates for the container. At least that's my interpretation of the situation. It sounds like a cool idea, and yet, it seems like the information is almost too difficult to find. Besides that, they do not reference to numbers, so it would have to be a "how many letters in the word that this symbol stands for" sort of thing. I think it would be interesting if the OP could figure out a way for it to work though.

[+Klatch]

This was the primary "diet" for the M-60 machine gun which was belt fed, hence the linked form. There was one tracer every 5th or 7th round. Can't remember, it was only 40 yrs. ago. The 7.62mm ball round is roughly equivilant to the .308 (civilian).

 

According to the markings, 1 tracer, 4 ball, hence 1 in 5, no?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

 

While not exactly what you are asking about, here are the lid markings from two 50mm cans.

 

...

 

 

I don't know about that one. It looks very similar to bathroom grafitti I've frequent seen in public restrooms.

[+flask]

 

While not exactly what you are asking about, here are the lid markings from two 50mm cans.

 

...

 

 

I don't know about that one. It looks very similar to bathroom grafitti I've frequent seen in public restrooms.

 

i was thinking crack pipe, or at the very least, kazoo.

[+Moose Mob]

Let's keep this on track please.

[+flask]

Let's keep this on track please.

 

what!

 

it looks just like the outline of a kazoo!

[+okie-wan]

This was the primary "diet" for the M-60 machine gun which was belt fed, hence the linked form. There was one tracer every 5th or 7th round. Can't remember, it was only 40 yrs. ago. The 7.62mm ball round is roughly equivilant to the .308 (civilian).

 

According to the markings, 1 tracer, 4 ball, hence 1 in 5, no?

Thanks Klatch, it makes sense.

[Mr.Yuck]

Let's keep this on track please.

 

what!

 

it looks just like the outline of a kazoo!

 

Actually, our resident former MP/Ordnance expert noted in Post #30 that the kazoo denotes heavy weapons ammunition such as a .50 cal machine gun.

 

This would make for a good puzzle. Not having much luck finding NATO ammunition symbols on Google.

[+CTYankee9]

Let's keep this on track please.

 

what!

 

it looks just like the outline of a kazoo!

 

Actually, our resident former MP/Ordnance expert noted in Post #30 that the kazoo denotes heavy weapons ammunition such as a .50 cal machine gun.

 

This would make for a good puzzle. Not having much luck finding NATO ammunition symbols on Google.

 

A couple spots that has some info, but not all encompassing.

 

Lots of pictures!

 

Links and have to know what you are looking for.

 

Again I am not a puzzle kinda guy, but I guess the information can be obtained if someone wanted to develope a puzzle.

[djhobby]

Yeah this probably would not make for a great puzzle like I originally hoped. Evidently ammo can markings are a little too obscure. For me a good puzzle usually means looking at something on the cache page, realizing that OHHH that's such and such that I've seen before, and then deciphering it with the help of some research. In this case, if my local finders recognize the markings, they probably wouldn't have much luck deciphering their meaning because of the limited resource material. Thanks for helping though.