Ammunition box
An ammunition box or cartouche box is a container designed for safe transport and storage of ammunition. It is typically made of metal and labelled with caliber, quantity, and manufacturing date or lot number. A rubber gasket is commonly found in the hinged lid to protect the ammunition from moisture damage.
The resealing ammunition box is largely a NATO tradition. Warsaw Pact nations typically stored and transported ammunition in single-use "spam cans". They had crates that had a sealed zinc lining on the inside. In World War II, Duct tape was used to seal opened ammo cans.
Commercial Ammo Boxes
Not all ammunition boxes are metal, however. Wood and cardboard have also historically been used as a method of packaging and selling ammunition. Some enthusiasts and investors collect historical ammunition boxes.[1][2]
Storage
Due to their durable construction, used metal ammunition boxes are popularly re-used for general storage and other purposes.[3][4] Used ammunition boxes have lead and propellant residue inside, so they should not be used to store food or drink. Commercially made new or fully reconditioned used cans do not have this problem.
Players in the sport of geocaching commonly use ammunition boxes as the containers to hide logbooks and treasures.[5][6] Used boxes are often sold at military surplus stores.
References
- ↑ Rains, Richard (2006). "Collecting .22 Rimfire Boxes". Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ↑ "Collecting Shotshell Boxes". 2005. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ↑ Perkins, George (2003-05-23). "The "AmmoLAN"". Mini-ITX.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ↑ "Images tagged "ammobox"". Flickr. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ↑ Spradley, Kyle (2008-07-12). "Sport of geocaching gaining in popularity". Columbia Missourian. Archived from the original on 18 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ↑ Castenda, Erin (2008-06-29). "State parks cache in on trend". Lawrence Journal World. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-22.