Look and what do you see? Yes, the ammo can, but what is on it? It is a sticky note of course. I put that note on the can in 1996. And while it is not like I open it every day or even every couple of months, it is still firmly attached almost like the day I did it. I can’t say if a new note would stick as well, but I guess what impresses me is that I do periodically get into the can. I would never have guessed that an impromptu label stuck on an ammo can would still be holding on strong.
The can started off in my life in 1990. Obviously it is surplus. I am thinking that I paid $5 for it at a local farm store. But, it got used as a dry box for rafting. I had multiple trips like a five day Willamette River float and a five day John Day float where it held my wallet, camera, book and playing cards and anything else I didn’t want wet.
As my Boy Scouting days wound down, it found a new use as a place to put my limited shooting and hunting stuff. There were things like lens cleaning cloths, I had an old 22lr scope in there that kept falling off my rifle and a special dowel that was the diameter of a 9mm. I had purchased a 40 S&W and some reloaded ammo that the bullet got stuck on my second shot. Talk about disappointed, I had to hammer that bullet out and it should have been a warning of things to come with that pistol.
1996 was my senior year in college. I had no money and so I stuck that sticky note on the can as a label. It is not like I really needed a label, I only had one ammo can and that was it. But, when I purchased some more ammo cans, the label inspired me. I put other sticky notes on my new cans to denote their contents. They did not last as long, not because they fell off but that I used my thermal label maker to replace the sticky notes when I re-organized the contents.
Originally, I was thinking that I would put an inventory on each note so that I knew what I had in each can. But then, common sense got the better of me and I figured that if I just filled them up, that would be good enough. It was going to be too much hassle trying to keep track each time I took something out and put something in. Then, I reorganized again and changed the purpose of the cans. Good idea that I didn’t invest too much in the sticky notes.
A word on ammo cans if you please. Ammo cans are fantastic pieces of equipment. They are waterproof and nearly indestructible. Accessories are made to organize them for small part storage. The are stackable, in fact they are meant to be stacked and stable. My only knock on ammo cans is that they are heavy, hence nearly indestructible.
The can I am showing in the picture is 30 caliber can making it significantly smaller than the more typical 50 caliber can. If I had no cans and wanted to get in the ammo can storage game, I would opt for the 50 caliber rather than the 30 caliber can. It is much more flexible in what it can hold. This is why I only have one 30 caliber can and why it keeps getting refined in what I put in it. The third most common size is 20mm and these things are big.
The aftermarket has figured out that ammo cans are useful as well. Now there is all manner of plastic cans made, particularly by a company called MTM. I use some of their products for different applications, mostly in reloading. But, there is also new, replica ammo cans made theoretically to military specification. I don’t have any but funny enough, they are always cheaper than a surplus can.
I am not the only one that thinks ammo cans are really cool. Check out this GMRS radio that is completely housed in an ammo can. This is the frequency that you pay $25 for a license. This guy makes what appears to be the ultimate tactical speaker out of ammo cans. You can even find instructions on how to make your own blue tooth ammo can speakers.
End Your Programming Routine: I know that this post was all about the label and how impressed I was with the longevity of it. I couldn’t help but throw in on some of the interesting applications of ammo cans. It goes to show that when there is a surplus of something, some people will figure out how to do something useful and possibly enterprising with them. The point is, a sticky note makes a low cost and durable label if you need one in a pinch. I am showing the time tested results.
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