REVIEW: Harbor Freight Ammo Cans! Any Good? 

I love buying and using surplus Ammo cans. To ensure a tight seal, I take an empty Ammo can and light a candle inside, lock it down and let it burn the air out. When you go to open it, if the can is hard to open and sucks air in on opening - indicating an airtight seal - it’s a keeper.

Sorry, but this is how my mind works; Wouldn’t the 2 heavy ammo cans on top of the lid actually improve the tension on the seal, possibly giving you a false positive? I think the test could be slightly improved by placing the can sideways and the heavy cans as weight also on the side. Thanks, keep up the good work. Lately I’ve been pretty impressed w/ Harbor Freight.

Many years ago I worked at a company where one of the things we made were defibrillators. One in particular was meant for EMTs and we decided to pattern it after the 50 Cal ammo can. It was the right size, fit neatly in the trucks, lots of EMT were ex VietNam medics at the time so were of course familiar with the design. We used a VERY high strength plastic instead of steel. It was lighter and stronger believe it or not. Our immersion test was to put it in a 55 gal drum full of water, weight it down with cinder-blocks, and wait 1 week. No leaks! For impact, we took it up to the third floor roof and threw it as high in the air as possible (about another 30 feet) and let crash onto concrete. Repeat 10 times (We figured a use case would be a fireman throwing it up to a third floor window where it was supposed to be caught, but missed and it would fall to the ground). Minor dents in the corners, no crack, breaks, or warping. Opened, closed, and worked just fine. The actual .50 cans we used as controls actually bent and warped. This is one time plastic was superior to steel. We only made that model for a couple of years, but I bet there are still some in service. They would not win any beauty contests, and they were heavy, (batteries have gotten much better since then). They were pure functional kind like the A-10 warthog. If you ever see a gray plastic ammo can on an EMT vehicle, it is probably one of our defibs.

This was much more fun than just laying a few paper towels inside...love these cans and thanks for the extra effort.

Thanks for the review on these. Good to know they are water resistant. I got one a few months ago to pt some basic tools in, to keep in the back of my car in case I need some tools while on the road.

Hi, I'm not a gun person so had not thought of ammo cans until I watched your uses for ammo cans and now this HF ammo can review - so will be adding some to my emergency kits. Thanks

Great video, i’ve been using the harbor freight ammo cans for about eight years and have never had a problem👍

Easier way to test water tightness would be to fill the can 3/4 full of water. Seal it, dry it and turn it upside down on a table top for a while, see if it leaks. The 1/4 of air you leave in keeps it from being vacuum locked. If there is a gap, it will show.

I remember back in the late 90's surplus ammo cans were cheap. Then when the endless wars started in the early 00's, surplus cans that used to be $5-10 were being sold for $30. It took a while for the big box stores to cash in on the demand, but soon everywhere from Home Depot to Costco to Harbor Freight began stocking new manufactured ones that seem to be every bit as good as the surplus cans.

Great vid Sir! I have several of the harbor freight cans and all of them seal like the old G.I. cans when I was active duty. Thanks!

I just bought one and am very happy wit it.

I like the test and the fact that you put the camera inside...you earned a new sub

Great that they did well as my brother purchased 4 of them on sale. He's not going to submerge them or anything, but it's good to know they can keep the inside contents dry.

Wow! Thanks for the informative video. I just bought an Ammo can from HF. I got it for some coins. I didn't even know it had a gasket. Also, the surplus stores here in Bako (Bakersfield) are charging more than $16+. You made a great video. I would have never thought about submerging the Ammo can. Now, I will have to look and make sure I have that gasket. I think I do because there is a bounce up when the can is opened. I may have to get one more. It depends on how many coins I have. Thanks for your video. I learned a lot! Also, I agree, many things HF sells are not the greatest, but other factors like price and that they can accomplish the task makes them sometimes worthwhile for the investment. I haven't got all my coins into the can, but they are really nice looking in the can, but the most important benefit will be ease in portability. Thanks again. I'm out!

I just bought one from Harbor Freight earlier today, had no intentions of it getting wet but it's good to know it can handle it.

Thanks for this video, I saw these at Harbor Freight but thought they'd be a bad design. Now I'm gonna go pick some up.

Thanks for the test and review. I just ordered 10 of them.

Excellent review. Based on your efforts I am on my way today to buy 2 Harber Freight ammo cans

A good silicone lubricant will protect the seals on the ammo cans.

I actually got an ammo can as a fancy box to hold a coworker's presents for Secret Santa. Was hell to wrap with the handles and corners and everything, but it was worth the little laugh I got when everyone thought I just got her a box of ammo. Actual gift was some shotgun shell shaped lip balm, some comfy sock/slipper things, a beanie with tassels, and a buck knife. Nowhere near as good as my friend getting our Asian store manager a bag of rice and Sun Tzu's The Art of War, though. Fucking legend.

Great review! You answered my questions about this box! THANK YOU!!

Ive been using the H/F plastic ammo cans for years. I love them !

Good to know ,in the past I order cans on line from EBay, there's a harbor freight 20mins from my house will go there for my next ammo can thanks for sharing 😉👍

Awesome video. You made this video sooo much better than I thought it would be. Subscribed. 😁👍

The ammo cans at wally world and Harbor Freight are fine, BUT be SURE to check the mating of the can to the rubber seal on the lid. Sometimes they do not align at all, but most do. Do that simple check and look at the indentation on the rubber from the main can, and if it wanders off which would leak air and humidity, put that one back and check the next one. I always seal ammo meant for storage in kitchen vacuum seal bags first THEN plop into a GI can.

Funny how everyone cracks on Harbor Freight. Funny I work on Big Trucks and actually build trucks like Garbage trucks, Dump Trucks, Roll-off trucks and many others, yet my Harbour Freight Tools work just great. I see the other guys always on the Snap-on, MAC, and Matco trucks getting their tools fixed or replaced. Mine just keep on working and I've had mine for over 10 years. Say what you want but mine have always worked just fine and still do.

They are great cans at a very good price when on sale. I use a bunch of them. Buy with confidence.

They are excellent quality. I also got the same cans at Atwood's for $2 cheaper than the Harbor Freight ones. Both were made in Vietnam and have the year they were made on the front. I think they are exactly the same as Army surplus ones. I can't tell any difference in the quality and I would rather have brand new ones, although I have some that my dad had from the Korean war and they are still air and water tight.

I've had decent luck with mine. They seem to hold the 34lb weight limit just fine. I have one that has 45lb of stuff in it and the handles and lid hold it so far. I recommend buying them in store so you can check for a good rim impression on the gasket. i've seen some that were not entirely on the gasket.

I had already bought a couple of those Harbor Freight ammo cans and filled them with ammo. I just assumed they were airtight so when I saw your video I was a little anxious! Glad to see I didn't waste my money. I've been very impressed with the quality of things at Harbor Freight.

Thanks for doing this video every time I see there adds I see they some time's have the two on sale either the metal ammo can or the plastic ammo can.

A new mechanic was droning on about his wonderful Snapon tools and how great they looked. A crusty old timer just looked at him and said “hey, kid, do carpenters polish their hammers?” We lost it 🤣🤣

Informative video. I keep my Muzzle loader pistol and most accesories in a 50 cal ammo box !

thanks for the test. good work. i can corroborate your findings. these things are outstanding

I have had the spot welds on the Chinese knock offs come apart. I rewelded the hing back to the box but still prefer the USA surplus cans.

Harbor freight is great for stuff like this!!! Wrenches hammers gloves ect.... I got a angle electric drill that works great!!!!

Wow that looks legit. I didnt even bother looking at these when I went to harbor freights haha. HF tools are good for DIY. Ive changed brakes,oil and removed tires with harbor freight tools for years never had a problem

Thanks for doing this! Appreciate it

Generally have good luck with items I buy from Harbor Freight.

I have been buying these for the last few years, with no issues at all. A few times a year you can get a coupon for $9.99 each.

I got plastic because I was thinking to myself that the inside of the metal one could sweat but that was before I realized they make those moisture absorbing bead containers specifically for safes and ammo cans. I've learned a lot in the 6-8 months I've been into guns. My next can will be a steel one and I'll be replacing my current plastic one with a steel one. I will say the plastic one having the little storage on top on the lid is kind of handy.

I would have liked to see you weigh the HF can against the GI can. Also, maybe a comparison of the build quality versus a GI can

Picked one up and very well made

Army Surplus World has two (maybe three) in this size for $13.99 and $14.99 plus shipping. Harbor Freight cans are regularly priced at $14.99, but as others have said, they occasionally go on sale or you can use a Harbor Freight coupon. I bought one recently on sale for $11.99. I find them to be a good value. Walmart also sells a "brand name" .50 Cal can for $22 and an unbranded can for $12.74. Shop around.

I will buy a couple and line them with Spanish cedar to store my cigars in. Thanks for the video.

Excellent demonstration. There is another demonstration where military style ammo can is submerged 2 feet under water in a pool, for 20 minutes, and the contents remained dry. A plastic ammo can will not stay sealed.

You can also use the Bluguard VCI ammo bag inside the ammo can for extra protection.

When I worked at the ammo supply point at out national guard base, the state putout a contract to buy the used ones. The guy usually got it for like a $1 a can.

Thanks for doing this! Much appreciated…

Great video. Thanks for the info.

So I realize this was just a basic test and you proved your purpose... The test I’d like to do would be to find out what the Milspec tests would be for them and then test a surplus can sample and a Harbor Freight set. If the HF set passes the milspec then you’d know it is equal (enough) quality. But again, not saying your test wasn’t valuable and it was interesting to watch. Thanks!

I have the plastic $5.99 & the metal $15.99 and both work great.

I got my metal ammo boxes with gasket at Walmart for $12-$14 they are the 50.cal ones they are perfect even did a water test and the ammo was dry also use silica gel packs to keep moister out

I get original ones from army surplus stores, and Academy Sports and Outdoors has some real nice ones, and you can get the original ones with the stencil on the back from Amazon as well

I love my SJ cam. Used it at watkins glen on my front bummper. Interested if you would compare the plastic ones and metal ones. Plus newer manufacturing/cheaper manufacturing

Even the smaller, plastic ammo cans have a rubber gasket. They are great for storing things like tie down straps, batteries, small parts, etc.

I BOUGHT 11.....4 LEAK AND THE ONES THAT DID LOOK AT THE PLACEMENT OF THE WELDED HINGE, IF THERE IS A GAP THEN LOOK AT THE SEAL. IT WILL HAVE NO LINE IMPRINT AND MISSING THE SEAL CONTACT TO THE BOTTOM CAN ALL TOGETHER. ALSO IF IT IS EASY TO LATCH THEN CHECK THE SEAL IMPRINT .

They recently changed the design on these and you really have to go through them to find one that: 1 Clasps securely 2 Hinges are crimped or fitted well and isn't loose 3 corners by hinge aren't already effed up due to the hinges falling apart. The lid binds and the metal bends and pint cracks off. I had to squeeze the female end of the hinge tighter to keep the lid from falling off when I opened it.

I bought one and it makes a good lunch for one thing use.

Good demonstration.

Good work, I’m heading to HF to grab some👍🏻

OK!!! Happy Birthday Carl ll!!!

Dude, that flashlight is deadly!!!

my uncle is a electrician and store almost all his tools in them that he keeps in the back of his truck and his tools look like new in them

Great video!!! Thanks for sharing 😄👍.

Great Video! Well Done 👍👏

Thanks for the video. I just picked one up at Harbor Freight. They must have had an old stock because it took me literally 2 hours to remove the label in pieces no bigger than a 1/4" and had to rub it several times with 91% alcohol. What a hassle... Did the dunk test for 7-8 minutes. Dry as a bone.

I buy my 50 cal. ammo cans at Walmart for $9.87 on special. I have about 48 of them and not one problem. Been using USGI ammo cans for over 45 years.

I like that you tested it. Could have just put water in the can and see if it leaks out.

I think a small dessicant in a corner of bottom corner might help to remove humidity in captured air inside. Crispy clean and dry

If you get the military surplus cans online, such as from a bulk ammo site, some like SGAmmo replace the gaskets with new gaskets. You can also get new gaskets and replace them yourself (there are youtube "how to" videos). The problem I have with Harbor Freight and stores like ACE/Atwoods is the ammo cans may look like authentic ammo cans, but are actually made in China knock-offs. That doesn't mean they don't work, it's just a personal preference. I would rather pay less for fair to good condition made in USA military surplus cans.

As prices on actual original military surplus ammo cans has shot up, I waited and found the HFT cans on sale going for $11.99 ($5 off) for the .50 cal size over the past Labor Day Weekend sale. I purchased a few, and this is what I have found. First, check the latches at the store before you check-out. About 2/3 of the ones I checked did not have solid, positive-lock latching, instead feeling "mushy", without that solid "snap" one should feel when the latch fully shuts. Of course, I was checking what was on the shelf on the last day of a 4 day sale, so perhaps I should have expected this. What I didn't expect was when I inquired about whether they had any inventory "in the back" of the store, they pulled out two, unopened cardboard boxes of 6 each of more cans. One whole box of 6 had b/o latches, all of the other 6 cans in the second box were just fine. The sales lady said she has seen where it often comes down to how they were stored/stacked when shipped (bottom of the pallet?). Be aware of this, and check before you purchase.... Second, about 1 in 8-10 cans or so will not stack properly. There is an indent stamped into the bottom of each can that is supposed to sit over the handle of the can below it while stacked. There are also four "nubs" on each corner of each can lid on which the can above is supposed to rest. The bottom stamped indents in these cans are not nearly as deep as those on my mil-spec cans. Perhaps it is the shallower indent in the bottom of the can, or perhaps it is a too-proud (high) handle on the can underneath, or too-short nubs on the can lids, but be aware of this and double check the stacking issue with the cans in the store before you purchase. I ended up with one that rocks severely, and after checking both the upper and lower can with different HFT cans, I have come to the conclusion it was the shallow indentation stamped into the upper can that was the issue, not a higher-than-usual "proud" handle. Third, is the !%*)#)! huge stupid sticker/label on the side. It is not meant to come off. No amount of slow peeling, scraping, etc will work to get it off without leaving a gooey, sticky mess of label adhesive and shreds of paper label. Who does this in this day and age? The only solution is to use a hair dryer or heat gun to heat up the label at one corner, and slooowwwlllly heat the label as you go and peel it off, hopefully in one piece. Then use paint stripper (mostly mineral spirits), alcohol (high-proof, like 99% Isopryl, or denatured alcohol), etc, to saturate and wipe off the sticky residue with blue shop towels or a cloth. Lastly, realize these are "copies", and are not quite made to to the same exact specs or quality of the originals. The metal gauge is a bit thinner, the metal bends a bit more, and the latch pieces may not quite latch or wear right. That is what you get for the lower price than typical mil-spec surplus. Hope this helps. P.S. For your needs, you may also want to check out the "Fat" .50 cal ammo cans, both mil-spec surplus and newly mfg imports. They are a bit bigger, but if (for example) you order say 4 or more of the imports from some websites, you can get them down to about $15-16/ea with shipping. They also hold a noticeable amount more. Of course, some may find hauling very heavy .50 cal or larger cans to be very impracticle, opting instead to go with .30 cal cans for ease of moving and transport. A .50 cal can with 1k of loose, unboxed ammo is a bear to move if you are older or have compromised hand or arm strength. The HFT cans are spec'd to #35 lbs each. That is quite a bit if you are trying to maneuver in a small space, say like a small closet, narrow storage area, hard to reach corners of a vehicle. That is why the plastic MTM "ammo crate" options and others like it are so popular. Figure out how you will use it and what you need in advance and avoid getting stuck with storage solutions that are not sized for your unique needs and physical capabilities.

Should have put the can in upside down. Water pressure will be what breaks the seal and the is directly related to depth. Pressure = (fluid density)*(acceleration due to gravity)*(depth of submersion) Great Video either way!

I've had zero problems with Harbor Freight hand tools, air tools, tool boxes, flashlights, gloves, shop aprons, etc. I bought an electric angle grinder that was complete junk and drill bits that were worthless after a couple uses. But if you stay away from power tools and bits - and do a good inspection of other stuff before you buy it - there are some great deals to be had.

Very interesting. Thank you for the video.

I use them for tool boxes.

I just get the ones grom Walmart.. They are like $9.99 and flawless.. They are and look new and never onced used.. Ive seen the surplus ones and the Eagle brand ammo cans.. They cost more and look used.. The Walmart ones come straight from the factory new and on to shelves.. Metal.. Rubber gasket.. Tight seal.. I can pick mine up full of ammo by the latch and it wont open.. Its a strong latch.. Its a pain in the ass latch its so good

Great video. Thanks

No Harbor Freight here but seen reproduction ammo cans at our Costco of all places. Thinking of picking some up and seeing if they're comparable to my USGI ones.

I wonder if thay have the smaller ones?.......thanks for sharing this.

The gaskets on the army issue cans can be replaced. But for $12 I will be on the lookout for some harbor freight cans.

JD Did you know you can buy the ammo cans from Walmart , Same or better Quality for less money. Just thought I would let you know., Great video.

The one issue I had with a HF can was a bad spot weld on latch attached to the can. HF exchanged it with no problem. Just check it before you leave the store

I bought US military surplus for $6 a piece for 50BMG cans. Bought 6 plan on going back and buying 10 more.

I hav a 30cal real military surplus box with the extra handle on the front its great

Nice video 📹 it would be cool if someone pressure tested ammo can brands to see who's on top

I have one and it's solid. Have a second one on order

The thing about harbor freight is they are dismissed by snobby people but it’s actually a great store. It fills a need. Not to mention, if you know what to buy, you’ll save hundreds or thousands of dollars. For example, Harbor Freight car jacks are absolutely as good or better than Snap on. Their Apache cases are practically as good as pelican. These ammo cans work excellent. If you know what they make well, you can save a fortune. I also have had excellent luck with their foldable trailers. I opted for one over a Lowes trailer of the same size. Saved 800 bucks and this trailer from Harbor freight is actually better for what I needed in the end. Just know what they make well and you’re good.

If you fill the can with water and it doesn’t leak out, it’s the same test and you save a lot of water😉

I just purchased 4 of these cans at $11.99 each. I am using them for the reloading bullets that I normally buy at Cabela’s. I was leaving them in the boxes they would get shipped in, until I had a box break on me and almost have the box of 500 bullets hit my foot, the handle makes it easier to move.

Try the same test with the can upside down rather that the seal sitting g right at the water line. There was no atmospheric pressure on that seal.

Our local Costco is currently selling a 50 & 30 cal ammo can bundled for $20.

Just like the G.I. ones! They’re the same ones made in the same factories just haven’t been marked. Good thing to stress about though

Do an initial peel or scrape of the label then spray it with goof-off. Let it sit for a few minutes then go back and you should be able to get all the residue.

They make great first aid kits for camping.

FYI Walmart sells exactly the same cans for about 4 bucks less. Found them in Walmart in Scottsdale !😎👍

I watched your video and then decided I was gonna go get some. They're on sale for inside track club members today. I don't know when the sale's over though. The current batch says they're made in Vietnam. So that's better than made in china in my book.

I like to put a little Vaseline or petroleum jelly are the gasket. you ask why one Vaseline prevents rubber from rotting to it makes it pliable and a better seal preventing any kind of water

great Video. question I'm looking for foam inserts for these 50cal boxes. is there a site that offers foam that I can customize? either for ammo or to transport pistols etc.

I like the plastic ammo cans they carry. They hold 1000 rounds of 5.56 with room to spare and are tough, low price and much lighter than steel and they stack well.