Why Buy Ammo Cans? 25 Survival Uses 

You could post twice a day and I'd still make time to watch them all. The work you put into making these is much appreciated.

I swear this guy reminds me of Burt from Tremors. That is a compliment.

Tupperware for real men!

You basically spent 13 minutes telling us "This is a box" yet I still enjoyed watching it lol

25 survival uses that could be summed up in 1 sentence. "Put stuff in them."

You can never have enough ammo can's.... although my wife would disagree with me! Great video and info!

Don't use oil or anything else petroleum-based on the seals in the lids. Petroleum products will gradually degrade the seals. Use a silicone-based product instead. A cheap and easy lifetime supply can be had by picking up a tube of dielectric grease at walmart or a local auto parts store. It comes in handy for lubricating anything plastic or rubber.

EX infantry myself I kept and collected over 500 various sizes 20 years later i have them in storage and pristine over all them years i bet they will last a lifetime, the thought of them being scrapped is horrendous. they are the best designed metal box ever designed in the whole world.

My parents didn't know where their original marriage license was until long after my maternal grandfather died. Mom's older brother was given an ammo can that Grampa had for years with documents and trinkets that were important to him. Uncle David found my parents' marriage license in it, in very good shape. My aunt and uncle put together a BEAUTIFUL shadow box for my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary. Made possible by an old military ammo can.

Careful with cooking or heating. The when heated, the galvanized coating will release fumes and chemicals that are harmful to you. So if you intend to use it as a heater or stove, make sure you burn it in a well ventilated area for quite a while before you intend to seriously use it.

I told my wife to put my ashes in one.

Don't put that car "kit" in your car, unless it's in the trunk. You don't want to see what a 8 lb. can will do to a human head going 60 mph in a accident.

Grab some Krylon paint in “The Colors of Preping” for what you put inside. Red for first aid, orange for fire, etc

I'd also throw a desiccant into any ammo cans which are being used to store moisture sensitive items such as ammo, fire starters, seeds, ect., just for an added layer of protection. Nothing worse than coming prepared only to find something damaged and unusable! Love the video!

I loved 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.

I bolted em in my jeep for tool kits. Used em all the time. Best mod ever!

Ok you ask for it, I knew a family the wife she was about 90# woke up at about 0300 she went to get some water in the kitchen and found the back door open she though her daughter hadn't closed it right locked it and was going back to bed this time she glanced in the daughters room and saw a man standing next to her bed she grabbed a 30 can that was sitting next to the gun safe in the hallway burst through the door and hit the stupid man nearly to death the police found him laying asking the husband to stop beating him. He weight about 150# and was happy the police arrested him to save his ass from a house wife that weighted 90#.

You could always beat the crap out of someone, if worse came to worst.

I have been using an ammo can as a fishing tackle box for more years than I can remember. It carries everything I need to go fishing. U.S. Army, Ret. Texas

You can use it as an improvised weapon. -attach it to a pole and use it like Mjolnir -as a weight, with sand or dirt for working out -as a mold for making cement blocks -use it for sheet metal -cut knives out of it

The 50 cal ammo cans can hold up your jeep if you have no jack and need to swap your spare tire. Ask me how I know.

Sootch- One thing that might/will come in handy, is to use an ammo can as a small Faraday Box for your small radios. Place card board inside on all four walls, bottom and lid. As long as your radios are not touching any metal of the can, they will be safe from an EMP. Also, Trevor Spencer has a good point about all the work you do on the videos. Thumbs way way up, my friend.

I just love your positive spirit and friendly approach. No profanity....my grandchild could watch all your videos. Thanks so much.

A while back I picked up a dozen large 30 mm ammo cans. Great for documents and certificates. Works better than a Kzinti Stasis Box. I stored things like this after I saw my dad's papers and momentos getting destroyed in rain-soaked cardboard and wood boxes in the garage. A lifetime of World War Two history gone.... Never again. Store it tight in a US Army ammo can.

Hell back in my army days there was times I used one as a pillow.

Car emergency kit, brilliant! Way better than the plastic tote we're currently using. I always learn something from your videos since you are so engaging. Thanks

So many uses! I have 2 of the small ones from my Dad when he was in Korea in the 50's. Just have them stored away. Thanks for the ideas.

I have about 30 of them in my garage some with the lids off that I built a rack for and use as a storage rack system for odds and ends. Not to mention a few of the uses you shared in the video. Great video as usual Sootch

Great info, I made a generator out of mine, basically Battery, with some 12 volt out lets on exterior with a 800 inverter mounted on top for some 120volt power, for camping, or when we had hurricanes knocking our power out, they came in very handy. Keep up the good work

Put you dirty clothes in the ammo can with soapy water close the lid and shake or swing it around. It will be like a washing machine agitating the clothes in soapy water.

Whaaat? Bike Panniers! Mind. Blown. Love the camp laundry idea, too. So many great ideas!

I never thought of using a fat 50 for portable latrine. Great idea! I use 2 50cal cans for first aid supplies. Painted them white then stenciled a Red Cross on top and both sides for easy ID of same.

Great practical ideas. My dad used ammo cans to store mechanic tools. We also used a 3'x2' ammo can to store chicken feed, too. And the eggs were delicious!

Hi great video I filled one with rocks and shot it on my channel I could believe how much it stopped the only thing that went through was a 50 BMG

I have used them for storing my cans of black powder and when heading out to cowboy fast draw meets, they are great for carrying 200 rds of 45lc , 200 shotgun primers, and cleaning kit all in a little 50 cal ammo can

Thanks Sootch!!! I learned a lot of uses for all my can! Love your channel brother!

I actually had one under the hood of my Jeep Wrangler, so when I rode around town to wal-mart, etc. with my hardtop off, I didn't worry about certain items being stolen. Who would think to look under the hood?

Awesome off road tool, chain and rigging boxes.

Bolted one in my surplus military jeep and mounted an AM/FM radio from a car in it. Looked good and no one knew. Great boxes for a million things. After a range weekend, we usually managed to bag a few each before we put the extras on the empty pile at the ammunition storage facility at the base.

When I was in the Marines on a track vehicle we use ammo cans with the plastic bag inside as a toilet

a trap - you remember the old "prop a box with a stick" and then pull the string when the critter is in the right place

You missed one really good use.. Stuck in dessert or urban areas and no cooker, firewood or heat available? Enter... The "Benghazi Boiler!" Take off lid, fill 3/4 with sand, add a pint - quart (depends on the size) or about 1/4th to 1/3rd full of diesel (or white gas, etc. just burns faster, use less fuel, be careful...) and light ! The sand holds the bulk of fuel letting the fumes rise and burn and make a great imromptu cooker. Place grate, expanded metal or some metal rods, etc. on top to hold cookware. Use pot for boiling or pan for frying, don't cook food directly in flames. Also good emergency heater if vehicle breaks and you're caught in desert, etc. and no firewood or other flamables are available. Drain fuel from vehicle. You should always have a sand bag in vehicle anyway! :) Replace lid to extinguish. Saved our butts a time or two...

Tape the outer seams with metal tape and use them as a faraday case. Make sure the tape sticks tight. Be sure to sand the taped areas before hand. You can always paint over the tape and exposed sanded areas to keep from rusting.

Seemed like 3 uses: Stand on it, sit on it, put stuff in it.

My Gramps used to use these as spanner/wrench boxes, My first encounter cost me my knuckles because man that front latch was tight! Only down side I have seen with these is that they can sweat but this can be prevented by throwing a bit of rice in the bottom or one of those little silica gel packs that seem to be with everything nowadays. Great video Don, always enjoyed and love the bloopers at the end haha #LLTR Chris UK

That cigar, I died.

I just left the range and they had the ammo cans on sale. Going back to stock up. You're a hoot Don and so full of helpful training

NO PETROLEUM PRODUCTS on your gaskets! It will slowly eat the rubber. Use silicon grease. I strongly suggest 100% silicon dive grease. It's used to preserve the O-rings on divers gear. I've researched this DEEPLY. C'mon Sootch. Get it together buddy.

Morning coffee with Sensible prepper! The day just got a whole lot better

Always be sure to mark it , so you know what you put in there LOL .

If you do want to use one as a buried cache, you can get a rattle can of rubber undercoating from any big chain auto parts store. Fill your cache, close the can, spray the whole thing. Cut along the seam when you need to open it back up.

I was around these for ten years, it's great how versatile they are. For any purpose you can imagine.

I built a wood stove out of one of the bigger ones. I wish i had a picture of it. Its great for heating a tent.

I've been a subscriber for a long time and I've never seen a video of yours that was less than awesome. LLTR!

When my friends and I were a little younger we would store our plastic Airsoft BBs in ammo cans. Kept them clean and it was a great way to grab a bunch without worrying about spilling them out of a bag or something.

Buy these and clean them up and paint them with the flat cammo paint. I used different colors for .22, .223, 40 SW, 12 guage, and 7.62 x 49. I painted contents on the end and top of each can as well. Great container for a lot of things!

i dont mind promotions in videos bc it helps people keep putting quality videos out, but damn.. Sootch was so smooth with the promotion

My two cents: I was using poly ammo cans and thought I was beating the high cost of proper storage. The problem with poly is the more weight inside the box, the more the lid will flex when lifted or expanded and contracted. I noticed that on all my poly boxes that the sides moved or lost seal. I converted to all 50 cal. metal ammo cans, use desiccant and O2 absorber and have not noticed any deterioration of contense or performance.

I use a plastic variety of ammo cans to sort tools and supplies by category within one of the underbody tool boxes on my work truck. I do landscape installation. Got a box for: -irrigation - assortment of fittings, tools, pipes -electrical - connectors, few feet of wire to fix cuts, ability to patch a coax cable, etc -garden hose - can fix a cut in a hose, got a mini sprinkler, various nozzles, extra rubber gaskets, Y connector, etc -sod stamples - so many uses for these! -tools - got a small assortment of sockets, pliers, wrenches, tire patch, etc. -measurement and survey - tape measures, soap stones, penciled, hand transits, string line, line levels, etc Oil box- having two cycle oil, motor oil, and grease for tractor on hand is always smart. First aid- first aid kit, Mylar blankets, a LifeStraw for each employee, and one brick of SOS food rations. PPE- gloves, eye protection, ear protection, a few N95 masks for when cutting stone/concrete. Prolly a few more I am not recalling. Helps keep the truck and jobsite tidy. Vastly reduced the amount of tools "lost" by myself and employees.

Ran across this video and watched it, great info on the can use, I agree with Trevor, The work you put into making these is much appreciate. I also like the comments other send in, nice friendly chat.

This is the only “military grade” material that is actually quality...coming from a military guy lmao

Used my carkit ammocan as a shovel, to dig a car free which was stuck in sand on the beach.

I use one ammo can to carry spare wheel bearings for my tandem boat trailer. It also holds pieces of pipe that can be used to drive out the bearings, extra grease, a couple blocks and emery cloth. A second ammo can is used to carry my 20 foot log chain along with a paddle lock which just fits.

Sootch: Thanks especially for this vid. Given a lot of time, and situational stress, I could think of all these ideas myself. But you've saved me the efforts. I've been carrying a 5 gal bucket for...uh...toilet duty. But your device is much smaller/lighter. And the supplies still fit inside. My one (so far) use is for tools in my car trunk. I was so impressed with how many useful items fit into it, that I sawed off the handle of an old hammer, just so I could say it fits. Good on ya bro. And the beard looks bad. You know..good bad. whatever.

I would NOT store ammo in cardboard boxes long term in these cans--or any other cans, for that matter. I put away about 1500 rounds of 7.62 NATO in 20 rd boxes around 1999, and when I looked in on them around 2005, the brass had begun to corrode. My belief is that the cardboard has absorbed atmospheric moisture prior to storage, and sealed in the ammo can, was unable to dry out. While I think silica gel could have helped, I believe that dispensing with the cardboard boxes would be safest...

4:50 You could put a string under one of the ammo boxes that would come out at both sides of the box. So instead of trying to get a grip on the box with your fingertips, you just pull the first box out by the string, then the extra space gives you further access to remaining boxes.

We used the 20mm cans as cookers in the desert when I was a young Marine ... there certainly are a million uses for them... thank you for the video and your time ...

I am glad there are good folks like Sootch00 in this world.

Imagine these in stainless steel...

Large ammo cans can also be used during the winter filled with snow to make ice blocks to build an igloo or went to shelter.

I've used them during winter when we have a case where our power goes out for weeks at a time due to weather and even after the snow is gone we are waiting for them to get the power up, I take our food and put our refrigerated goods and put them in cans and set them in the river that's almost under our deck. Keeps everything dry, but also cold so I'm not losing anything. And keeps animals from getting it if you just put stuff outside in the cold. Also keep a few large ones filled with gravel for winter weather to put weight on the back of the truck.

Great video! I had a lithium ion battery fire, exciting and dangerous. Fortunately no injuries or damage. Another hobby video on You Tube recommended these ammo cans to store the batteries safely. They proposed that taking the seal out would keep the batteries from exploding. Burning yes, but containment was much safer. Great ideas SensiblePrepper. Now I have a bunch of fresh ideas about what to do with a tool shed full of ammo cans I've been hoarding since 1976.

I buy new ones from harbor freight they work just as great, my local surplus store has used beat up cans for $17, HF sells them new for $15

Just bought one over the weekend... Costco $18.47. Good thing to keep the protein bars in in the car when you can't stop on the road for lunch.

Great vid I use these things all the time , my latest thing being a cigar man as well they make great humidors if you line them with good cedar and put a moisture pad of some kind in them .

I saw the grill, haha, awesome. Might get paint fumes in your food, though. I've seen them used as wood stoves for portable heating. Might work as a decent faraday cage, too. Keep a small folding solar panel in it, with a tablet PC that's loaded with survival info. Probably be worth more than it's weight in gold in a long-term grid down or EMP situation.

Interesting stuff Mr Sootch is like me some "men's Tupperware!". 🙃

Excellent video I use these in my tiny home 🏡and RV great survival guide The finer things in life

I live near fort Knox and never thought about it ? Thanks Man

I really started backing away when he loaded up that can with aerosol cans.

I love the telemarketer voice for the shirt you gotta start using it more often in your videos

Thank you so much for this video, nicely done and very smart!

Bunches of fun and cool ideas I NEVER thought of! Cheers!

Great video. Now I need to buy more ammo cans...

I actually thought of using ammo for a Scrambler motorcycle, years ago. But my supply sergeant keeps stealing them for himself, every time we go to the qual range.

This video is awesome 👌. I had no idea on the different uses for these tins. Now I'm gonna buy a few more. Thank you!

Thanks for the info , very useful . It's my car kit also .

A field toilet haha. That's where the entrenching tool (E tool) would come in handy 😂

You might want to pour in dry sand, add the hot rocks, cover with dry sand, etc until full. The sand will keep the heat in a bit longer and will also keep hotspots from showing up quite as strong on the metal outside, reducing the chances for burns while providing steady heat.

Some really great ideas that I have not seen or thought of. Thank you

Not really what I was looking for when finding a video on ammo can ideas, but I am so glad I did click on this video and watched it

7:00 my god that is a sexy firearm. Love the *Browning Hi Power*

10/10 for “the finer things in life” Edit: My house is now made of ammo cans thanks to this video.

This is an amazing job! Your innovation and education is outstanding! Thank you!!

Thanks again for an informative video. Sir, you are appreciated.

I melted some bees wax with a hot airgun into the seams inside along the bottom for extra corrosion resistance and sealing

Great ideas! And nice video! Thank you. Any idea where I can get replacement rubber seals? Otherwise I guess I can google it :)

Lots of great suggestions for uses. Thanks!

This was great, cool ideas, will be getting more of these babies here in spring of 2024! Sootch you look so young, love the mustache. Cheers! ❣️🍀

I keep one packed with toiletries, wash cloth & towel. I don't have to worry about gathering things up just before I leave, its ready to just grab and go, and you don't forget things either. It's great for when you decide at the last minute to take a road trip, or go camping, etc.