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Ammo Can Ideas


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I recently came into another pile of ammo cans, 12 to be exact, of varying sizes (I was going to post a pic of the pile, but have not covered the lot numbers yet).  Does anyone have any interesting ideas they would be willing to share?  I want to hide a bunch of these, but I do not want to just throw a can under a tree somewhere.  

 

I have a couple hides out now that I am going to replace the containers on because I suspect one was lost in recent storms and the other is harder to find and had a string of DNF due to its size and surroundings.  

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Honestly, most of the ammo cans I've found have been just thrown under a tree (or bush, or UPS, or whatever) somewhere. But there have been a few exceptions.

 

One was an underwater cache, filled with enough concrete to make it sink and tethered to something on the shore. That works if the seal is good, unless someone traps a plastic bag in the seal (which causes water to wick into the container no matter how good the seal is).

 

Some have been padlocked, and getting the combination to the padlock was a puzzle of some sort.


Some have been stages of a multi-stage cache, with some sort of physical puzzle in the ammo can, which took you to the next stage.

 

Some have been "find the real log and sign it" type puzzles. These need to be very clear up front that you need to find and sign the real log, or you'll get people signing "replacement" logs. Specifying that the real log is some color other than white helps, since most people who carry extra log sheets print them on white paper. This category include puzzle-box caches, where the ammo can protects a puzzle box, and the real log is inside the puzzle box.

 

Some have been hidden in places where you wouldn't expect a container that large to survive. Many didn't survive. Those that did were well-camouflaged, or placed where someone could keep an eye on them 24-7, or both.

 

But most were just thrown under a tree (or bush, or UPS, or whatever).

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Hollowing out stumps is popular (I used a chainsaw to make one for a friend), a nail in the lopped-top as a swiveling cover a nice touch.

Lugging it in in a back pack , similar to a heavy rock I painted black to cover a space in a rock wall was a bit much.

Ours are all simply covered by whatever's local, as most we've seen.

Lately I've been filling many of mine with what they used to have in them.  :)

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A few of mine have an eyelet at the latch.  This allows the box to hang, or to attach a combination lock.  Hang it from a tree branch, or from a rope over a branch, and it stays out of the mud and is real obvious where it is to be re-hidden.  But many cachers can't figure it out with so much mechanical stuff going on. B)

 

 

IMAG2603 (Copy).jpg

 

IMAG2604 (Copy).jpg

 

 

Edited by kunarion
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I have one that when opened, there is another magnetically locked lid inside with a pirate map on it, complete with an "X".

Text on the map tells you you have to find the nearby "Key" to unlock the inside lid. The "key" is a gold coin (magnetic) that when placed on the "X" on the map it allows one to open the locked inner lid. The gold coin is attached magnetically to the box.

The lock is simply a deadbolt that is blocked from moving with a pin that lifts out of the way when the "key" is placed over it (the "X")

The gold coin is 2 plastic novelty gold coins each hollowed out a bit on one side then glued together with a strong rare earth magnet inside.

My ammo box happens to have a convenient dent in the bottom that holds the coin well.

You could have some other method of hiding the "key"

It was hidden in 2012 and has 36 fav. points.

I have to do some maintenance now (as of 2 days ago) but it has lasted surprisingly long!

 

Blackbeard's Treasure

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17 minutes ago, Jayeffel said:

How would I clean ammo boxes before painting them? Mostly to get around the original printing which may bother some people. 

 

We paint the cans so folks don't think they really are holding ammo.  We've seen some placed as-is.  Not too bright, imo.

I just lightly sand it most times (at the wording), but any decent spray paint covers all without. 

I like krylon fusion best.  The paint already on ammo cans seem to work well with it.

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19 minutes ago, Jayeffel said:

How would I clean ammo boxes before painting them? Mostly to get around the original printing which may bother some people. 

I just use 3 different "camo" coloured krylon spray paints (black, and 2 different woodland greens" and kind of hand camo them. I've just sprayed right over the original and have never had any problems.

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Thanks, I just got some to use sometime and did not have time see what may have been there besides paint. I thought of suspending an ammo box over a space with a light wire ( barely visible if possible) holding it between trees, then figured some wise guy would merely break the wire and ruin it. 

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10 minutes ago, Uncle Alaska said:

 

OR use the official (or home-made) stencil and paint directly on the sides. For me, this has worked well for long term placement.

 

I bought a set of stencils online a few years ago, and they've been fine.  I recently painted an ammo box with automotive undercoating, a spray can from another project with plenty of undercoating left that I needed to use up.  It took three weeks for the coating to cure (to stop smelling like tar).  I haven't decided if I'll add some camo to it.  But it should hold up pretty well.

 

IMAG2613.jpg

 

Edited by kunarion
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Cans will go into a dishwasher, which is good prep for painting. 

Often military markings can be removed with lacquer thinner.  I wouldn't buy it for this purpose if you don't have it.  Instead, I suggest a can of flat black paint. Cover the markings, do some casual diagonal stripes.  I now have a homemade stencil for painting cans.  You can buy a complete alphabet stencil set for little money; try the craft section of many big box stores. Look for one with ALL CAPS and all lower case, as you need two Cs.

It is a bit home grown in appearance,  GEOCache ...  that's all mine says, but I think that's all it needs to.  Stash note inside, taped into the lid.

 

ku's post above, ammo can hanging by a strap.  I found one like this, can about eye level, laughed out loud on finding it  - and have copied it a couple of times.  People often struggle for this find, and tend to be amused when do see it. 

I've hid and found ammo cans suspended in a number of ways. Takes the right area, and you need to set this up such that your hanger doesn't saw through a tree limb, or fail under the weight of hanging can.  ku's image shows the sort broad flat strap this needs over a tree limb. 

 

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1 hour ago, Isonzo Karst said:

Often military markings can be removed with lacquer thinner.  I wouldn't buy it for this purpose if you don't have it.  Instead, I suggest a can of flat black paint. Cover the markings, do some casual diagonal stripes.

 

Many hardware stores will sell spray paint in "camouflage" colors.  One get get a small can of olive, brown/tan, and black then paint the can using all three to give it a "camo" look. 

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On 8/17/2018 at 3:11 AM, cerberus1 said:

Hollowing out stumps is popular (I used a chainsaw to make one for a friend), a nail in the lopped-top as a swiveling cover a nice touch.

Lugging it in in a back pack , similar to a heavy rock I painted black to cover a space in a rock wall was a bit much.

Ours are all simply covered by whatever's local, as most we've seen.

Lately I've been filling many of mine with what they used to have in them.  :)

In Australia, hollow stumps are everywhere. No need to hollow out one. They are often used a hiding places.

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On 8/16/2018 at 7:45 PM, Jayeffel said:

How would I clean ammo boxes before painting them? Mostly to get around the original printing which may bother some people. 

 

On others that I have painted, I just spray right over what is there.  The only think that the military cares about is having the lot number covered.  If your supplier is not military direct and you are buying them, I would not worry.  

 

I use the above mentioned camo paints from krylon.  I spray a base green over the lot #s, and I make my own stencils by printing on card stock and cutting it out.  When I spray the stencil I usually use a contrasting color to the green, but still a camo color.  Light tan on green is easily read, but does not stick out like white paint.  

 

On 8/17/2018 at 11:47 AM, Wet Pancake Touring Club said:

Search for "giant mousetrap cache". A giant mousetrap, with the ammo can (painted yellow to look like cheese) as the bait. WVTim has a YouTube video that talks about the construction details.

 

I have seen this, and had thoughts of doing something similar.  I do not think I could get that into an area that would be fun to find, easy enough to access and legal right now.  I am looking to buy a property that backs up to a nature area and if that happens I will leave it on my land but

 

 

10 hours ago, Bundyrumandcoke said:

What is it with all these little rectangular ammo cans. Get yourself a real one. 

 

https://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/large/8c8a9aa4-d7df-4ebc-b54b-5841eea90105.jpg

 

 

from one of the trails.

 

I have a couple.  I need to have a few easier to acquire cans last before I trust one of these to the wilderness.

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3 hours ago, Oxford Stone said:

I've always been tempted to have a magnetic nano, containing the log paper, inside an ammo box. Then make the hide everyone's favourite, an ivy-covered tree. And say truthfully, that you need to find a nano in an ICT. 

I've seen a variant of that, where the size was listed as "other" and the cache was described as "a blinker". (The early nano-caches were repurposed from blinking LED jewelry, so people called them "blinkers".) The cache was actually made from a salvaged radio-tower light, the kind that blinks so airplanes don't hit the radio tower. It was a small size container, not a nano.

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3 hours ago, StumblinMonk said:

The only think that the military cares about is having the lot number covered.

 

Speaking as an active duty officer as well as a recent ammo can purchaser, I'm not sure the military is that concerned about lot numbers.  I picked up a half pallet of ammo cans from a Defense Re-utilization and Marketing Office (DRMO) sale last year.  I don't recall a concerted effort to black out lot numbers, though I may be misremembering.  (I'd check, but the 20 cans I have left are with the rest of my household goods, somewhere between Virginia and Germany.)

 

Certainly, if you look at the videos that Government Liquidation (that is, DRMO) has posted on Youtube, you can see lot numbers clearly displayed.

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6 hours ago, hzoi said:

 

Speaking as an active duty officer as well as a recent ammo can purchaser, I'm not sure the military is that concerned about lot numbers.  I picked up a half pallet of ammo cans from a Defense Re-utilization and Marketing Office (DRMO) sale last year.  I don't recall a concerted effort to black out lot numbers, though I may be misremembering.  (I'd check, but the 20 cans I have left are with the rest of my household goods, somewhere between Virginia and Germany.)

 

Certainly, if you look at the videos that Government Liquidation (that is, DRMO) has posted on Youtube, you can see lot numbers clearly displayed.

 

Might be due to the fact that I get mine pre-DRMO....  The Ord-O just asks that we cover the lot #s.  not the first one I have heard it from either.

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On 8/16/2018 at 11:17 PM, kunarion said:

 

I bought a set of stencils online a few years ago, and they've been fine.  I recently painted an ammo box with automotive undercoating, a spray can from another project with plenty of undercoating left that I needed to use up.  It took three weeks for the coating to cure (to stop smelling like tar).  I haven't decided if I'll add some camo to it.  But it should hold up pretty well.

 

IMAG2613.jpg

 

 

That's a great idea.

 

I spray my cans first with a layer of Plastidip, a sprayable rubber coating, before painting. It's not perfect but it just about doubles the life of the paint job.

 

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