[Garand]

I've been giving caches some thought the last few day. Size and contents should reflect your circumstances so everyones won't be the same. I figured that the human body and brain can still function on a minimum of 1,200 calories a day. I would pack it in a 20 mm ammo can, painted with rustex paint, ensuring the "o" ring is intact and double wrapped in plastic. Contents of the box would be sealed with a good food sealer. The number of caches and distances between will depend on your topography.


Based on a minimum of 1,200 calories a day for 3 people

Beef Bouillon (14 cal/pkg) x30 = 420 cal
Quaker Instant Oatmeal (153 cal/pkg) x30 = 4590 cal
Hot Chocolate (75 cal/pkg) x30 = 2250 cal
Fruit punch Drink (16 cal/pkg) x30 = 480 cal
Rice (162 cal/cup) x30 = 4860 cal
Dry Lentils (230 cal/cup) x 5 cups = 1150 cal
Peanuts (Oil roasted, salted, 837 cal/cup) x 2 cup = 1674 cal
Canned Luncheon Meat (602 cal / can) x 9 cans = 5418 cal
Corn Oil (1,927 cal/cup) x3 cups = 5781 cal
Raisins (435 cal/cup) x 6 cups = 2610 cal
Honey (1 kg plastic container) = 3041 cal
Brown Sugar (827 cal/cup) x 2 cups = 1654 cal
Molasses (771 cal/cup) x 2 cups = 1542 cal
Hard candies (24 cal/each) x 100 = 2400 cal
---------------------

Total calories 37, 870 calories

- chapstick
- foot powder
- insect repellant
- sunscreen
- first aid kit/ibruprofen/polyspori
- sewing kit w/ tweezers
- waxed dental floss
- toothbrush
- potable aqua & neutralizer tablets
- 15 meters Para Cord
- P-38 can opener
- KFS
- Windproof matches (4 boxes)
- disposable lighter
- Cotton balls in plastic container
- folding mountain stove w/ 8 trioxane fuel tabs
- collapsible nalgene canteen
- insulated plastic mug/lid
- space blanket
- small cooking pot
- 4” hunting knife and sheath

 

[RIKA]

Excellent idea. They also make orange adapters that allow you to use screw on lids for 5 gal buckets. You seal them with silicone and the things seem to last forever.

Just another option and they're available from the survival supply companys.

RIKA

 

[TM123]

Garand, good list, might I suggest throwing in some 000, or 0000 fine steel wool.It catches a spark real easy and will let you start a fire using flint and steel like a breeze.Or a mini mag light.mmm there's more but I'll have to get a list to ya when I have more time, OT's been whoopin me up lately.

 

[andy]

caches r for small, hard to make, bad to be caught without items, or stuff you can't risk having around, or the very most compact, longlived foods, like hard winter wheat, blackstrap molasses, salt, spices, and non-hybrid seeds.

Cache only at night, only in an area you've checked out in daylight, right before dark, and in a thicket. Use no light at all, or only a red lense, with # of tape on the lense, only straight down, and only sparingly, in pretty uninhabited areas. Go check the cache the next morning, to see if you cleaned it up well in the dark. Put your excavated dirt on a tarp, keeping the top layer separate from deeper dirt. Replace it as it was. Stomp the dirt down, or it will "settle" with time and precipitation,making a depression over your dig. Walk past your caches monthly, looking for signs of animal or human digging. Don't mix metal with anything non metallic, and bury metal items next to a culvert, steelpost, guardrail, etc, so a metal detector wont find it. Dont mix food with anything else, and use Sakrete concrete to form walls and a "lid" over food caches, or animals WILL dig at it enough to reveal the container to humans. don't trust PVC to keep guns or food protected. Animals can chew thru pvs, if they are highly motivated to do so. Freezing and thawing, and earth pressures can and will crack pvc, then moisture ruins your goodies.

Bury the stuff horizontally, and shallowly. The deeper it is, the harder it will be to access when you need it, and it might be frozen-in. The deeper it is, the more earth pressure will put upon your containers. If you might need a shovel to access your stuff, then SHALLOWLY bury one, with a fiberglass handle, 100m or so from your cache. Wrap it in sheet plastic, perhaps leave a wire near the surface, to help you pull up the shovel.

 

[Garand]

Caches are for anything that you may deem that you require in an emergency. Not limited by mine or anyone else's list. I choose the 20 mm can for a couple of reasons. I have had successfull experience with steel ammo cans buried for a number of years in the past and the 20mm cans can be carried by one person if needed to. Steel doesn't crack and they are airtight.

As for burying the cans, circumstances will dictate the time of day that items can be buried. Burying below the frost line could also be another problem. Try under the floor of a barn or other covered facility that doesn't see a lot of visitors. I guess this must mean that I'm off the ignore list

 

[brass hammer]

nice list, GARAND!

i have stashed a few ammo cans in my day, under the flooring of barn/shed is my favorite, a few scattered pieces of cut re-bar slung/buried is peace of mind in the a.o.[metal detection]



thanks.

 

[Garand]

I estimate that to be emergency rations for 3 people for 10 days, that would fit in my chosen container. Does anyone else have any ideas?

 

[brass hammer]

some hot sauce

for the rice/lentils, spare socks,' cheap' .22 cal revovler/with ammo.


a bought 2 saturday night specials[german22's, from the mail order magizines of the fifties] off an old gal about 3 months ago for $37 for the pair?[she gave me back$3 change, go figure?]


so you can still find them once in awhile.







thanks.

 

[Magnum88C]

That's a good Idea Garand, I never thought of using such a large one for cache purposes. Although I have made caches in .50 cal cans. I haven't made all-in one caches. Some have a decent amount of food and basic med kit, others have some of the Coast Guard survival bars (the gritty lemon ones), basic med kit, 2 rifle magazines, one pistol magazine, and ammo to fill both.

I've never put the ammo cans underground where they'd be subject to a full freeze/thaw cycle, have you come across any that were compromised from such, and how many cycles did they last?

 

[Garand]

I've had 2 experiences with buried .50 cal cans. One set I buried, the other was from an EOD recovery call. Mine were in the ground for 4 years. They were painted with rustex paint, the "O" ring was intact and then double wrapped in green garbage bags. The contents were as good as the day they were planted when they were recovered.

If you notice that the vast majority of the food that I chose was dehydrated in order to last for longer storage. Add a good food sealer to your packing proceedures and your home free. A limited amount of ammunition in a common caliber could also be considered if you have any room left.

 

[Aslan]

I also like to throw in a USCG survial ration (big foil package of compressed food bars) into the cache, tastes like crap, but could be the difference between life or death.

I also like to melt parafin into the containter, place my stuff in (all sealed in bags) and then pour melted parafin over the top. this is before closing and burying the box. The parafin is useful in of itself, plus it adds another layer of protection, should the can become damaged or leak.

:devil: