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Hiding a 120mm Ammo Can


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I got a 120mm ammo can for Christmas. It is 12" * 6" * 32". The cache will be like a 4 stage multi, through a large nature preserve near my house. I was thinking something more creative that just buried in rocks or logs. I also want to make sure no one steals it, so I need some kind of chain. How should I hide it?

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I found one a few months ago that was hidden in some really big rocks. It was too hard to find once I got to GZ, but the COs had eluded that the cache was a micro and had a hide-a-key stuck to the lid of the ammo can. It was really good for a laugh and made the cache memorable. The log was in the hide-a-key cache.

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I got a 120mm ammo can for Christmas. It is 12" * 6" * 32". The cache will be like a 4 stage multi, through a large nature preserve near my house. I was thinking something more creative that just buried in rocks or logs. I also want to make sure no one steals it, so I need some kind of chain. How should I hide it?

 

Get with the manager of the nature preserve and see if you could build a bench. Then build and install the bench at GZ and incorporate the container into structure. Finders can sit down to fill out the log.

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There was a hide we found once where the cache owner hollowed out a huge log. It was split down the middle and then hollowed. When laying on its side it appeared to be half buried in the ground. Just flip it over to find the cache. One finder reported to have sat on the log to decode the hint!

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Put it at the end of a long hike with no other way too it. That way you won't get random muggles coming across it and thinking they will just carry it out with them.

 

There was an ammo can that size that was hidden as part of a series called "The Bigger, the Better". It began with a nano at the beginning of a trail, then a micro, small, regular and ended with the giant ammo can. It was hidden in a very large fallen tree off a rarely used trail. It just wasn't in a place that someone would likely stumble upon. Unfortunately, the area started to be logged heavily (the harvesting of wood type of logging) so the entire series was archived. That was really unfortunate because the location for the regular ammo can was one of the prettiest spots in the middle of the woods in my area that I've encountered.

 

Obviously, the type of environment where you live will dictate where you can hide it but if it's someplace that someone that isn't looking for a cache might stumble upon the cache might stay hidden from non-geocachers for a long time even without a chain.

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I am a fan of physical camo, as opposed to paint. It has been my experience that our eyes are naturally drawn to straight lines, and with just paint on it, the edges of an ammo can are still straight edges. The bigger the can, the longer the straight edge is. If you get some Liquid Nails Roof Repair, (find it in the caulk section of your local hardware store), and smear this all over your can, like peanut butter on bread, then apply chunks of bark, then fill in the gaps between the bark with ground moss, chopped up Excellsior and spanish moss, you'll end up with a box that blends in to a natural environment better.

 

This one is posing in my front yard prior to placement.

64b708c4-8c00-4037-bfb6-4e437c1f1469.jpg

Edited by Clan Riffster
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I would suggest something similar to the Riffster's idea.

BUT, I would use a chunk of burlap painted to match the surrounding area where you plan to make your hide. Glue a few chunks of bark and moss (or something else from the local environment) to that...no need to cover it completely. Then toss your 'rug' over the cache.

Hides the straight lines of the container.

The open weave of the burlap will provide less of a place for critters to set up house.

The camo will not be broken off the box by repeated or rough handling.

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The two I have found were both just off in the woods a good bit and required a bushwhack off trail where no muggle would venture. This may not be possible in your nature preserve. Clan Riffster's camo looks excellent.

tt

 

It's been my experience that no matter how far of the beaten path you think you are, someone will venture there. I've encountered footprints in the snow in the most out of the way spots.

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I would suggest something similar to the Riffster's idea.

BUT, I would use a chunk of burlap .

I also fancy burlap. From my youth, making a Ghillie suit out of strips of burlap, I learned of it's potential. Back then, I had to blend Rit dye to get the earth tones I wanted. Now days, you can buy burlap with a camo pattern already imprinted on it. If you use the same Liquid Nails Roof Repair adhesive, then apply 1" x 3" strips, starting near the bottom and overlapping them like roof shingles as you work your way toward the top, you end up with a finished product that blends well in many environments.

 

244d37eb-6355-4e10-8ec7-f5c2b75fe394.jpg

Edited by Clan Riffster
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I would suggest something similar to the Riffster's idea.

BUT, I would use a chunk of burlap .

I also fancy burlap. From my youth, making a Ghillie suit out of strips of burlap, I learned of it's potential. Back then, I had to blend Rit dye to get the earth tones I wanted. Now days, you can buy burlap with a camo pattern already imprinted on it. If you use the same Liquid Nails Roof Repair adhesive, then apply 1" x 3" strips, starting near the bottom and overlapping them like roof shingles as you work your way toward the top, you end up with a finished product that blends well in many environments.

 

244d37eb-6355-4e10-8ec7-f5c2b75fe394.jpg

 

Now THAT'S nice! :antenna:

 

MUCH less likely to suffer damage from repeated handling.

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Now THAT'S nice! :antenna:

Thanx! That one is actually a large Lock & Lock, that's been sitting in a crack of a dead tree since August 15, 2007.

I placed it as a "temporary" replacement for an ammo can that was stolen. (with the swag & logbook left behind)

Because the environment is so harsh, (Florida wetlands), I didn't think it would last very long, but 3.5 years later it's still fine.

I do the same technique with ammo cans, though I don't think I have any pictures.

Edited by Clan Riffster
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Fill it nearly full of concrete and put it anywhere you want. They will not carry it off if it's that heavy. Seriously though if you can put it somewhere on private property or close to a business and do put concrete in it. I have one bigger than that just setting in a bunch of Cedar trees that is the #2 favorite cache in the whole state of Missouri. It's never been bothered.It is Jolly Green Giant GC!MDCE

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Fill it nearly full of concrete and put it anywhere you want. They will not carry it off if it's that heavy. Seriously though if you can put it somewhere on private property or close to a business and do put concrete in it. I have one bigger than that just setting in a bunch of Cedar trees that is the #2 favorite cache in the whole state of Missouri. It's never been bothered.It is Jolly Green Giant GC!MDCE

 

Haha

Now THAT'S a good idea.

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Mine's in the desert, so I used some stuff called PL Premium Construction Adhesive, (IMO, better than liquid nails) and covered the ammo can with the adhesive, then covered the adhesive with gravel and dirt from the area that it's hidden. Worked pretty well.

 

I also chained the thing to the tree it's next to. I used a bike chain for that, and it's held for over a year now, thankfully.

 

I'm trying to include a pic below:

 

1f8ca7e6-4298-47b5-8618-03786deba9fb.jpg

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A completely different idea for what to do with a large ammo can:

 

Paint it fluorescent orange and hang it from a tree, so that it dangles about three feet off the ground.

 

The key, of course, is choosing the right tree. But there's something really fun about a geocache that's (accurately) rated 1 for difficulty and 4 for terrain. Imagine being able to SEE the cache from 100 yards away, yet it takes an hour to get to it.

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I got a 120mm ammo can for Christmas. It is 12" * 6" * 32". The cache will be like a 4 stage multi, through a large nature preserve near my house. I was thinking something more creative that just buried in rocks or logs. I also want to make sure no one steals it, so I need some kind of chain. How should I hide it?

Here's what I did.

 

First I filled it with an 80# bag of concrete and let it sit for a couple days in the heat to set the concrete.

Then it was huffed down a trail. It was placed near the exposed root system of a tree. Nearby there was a "section" of a tree that covered the container.

 

I wish it were muggle proof but it's not. The normal geotrail ends up bringing muggles near the cache. I've had to maintain that one more than all my others.

But, with the 80# of concrete, it still hasn't grown legs.

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I think I am going to shy away from the concrete, I may as well just put out a smaller container then.

 

I was thinking of camoing one side, then painting something on the other side. Does anyone have some experience with painting ammo cans other than camo? I saw a 30 cal painted with a really cool scene of a bear over on the CCC thread a while ago, but I can't find it now. What kind of paint is good for that?

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I think I am going to shy away from the concrete, I may as well just put out a smaller container then.

 

I was thinking of camoing one side, then painting something on the other side. Does anyone have some experience with painting ammo cans other than camo? I saw a 30 cal painted with a really cool scene of a bear over on the CCC thread a while ago, but I can't find it now. What kind of paint is good for that?

I've used Rustoleum with good results.

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