7.62x54R Spam Can - Now What? Please Help

Its like a can of sardines, use a knife and open it.

You have to cut around the lip of the can, like you would with a can of food and a can opener.

Usually a special "can opener" is shipped with the cans. Aim's ammo might just come with one in the wooden cases (2 spam cans). Though I've never ordered spam cans from Aim, every other can I've ever gotten had an opener glued to the top. (With obvious exception to the keyed cans.)

You might need to find somebody that has an extra opener. (If you strike out everywhere/everything else, I have quite a few laying around. You can have one for the cost of the shipping.) The openers look like oversized, non-folding, P-38 can openers.

I've also seen where people have used a hammer and a chisel to open them.

Or an angle grinder used along the top edge may work. Just grind through the sealed edge. And though it shouldn't affect anything, I'd try to keep heat to a minimum.

Wyman

You get one can opener with each crate, so you only get an opener with a crate.

Just stick a knife around the edges, facing down, and cut it. Its easy.

If you don't have the opener, a cold chisel and hammer gets them open pretty quickly.

--wally.

Stab the edges with a screwdriver and hammer, works for me.

The openers are a joke dont waste your time they don't cut the corners fer crap . I use the old screw driver and a hammer just hold it at a 45 degree angle and tap it around the edge you only have to open it 1/2 way enough to get the ammo out . Then save the can makes a dang fine target .

What I did was tilt a screwdriver at an angle and pound it with a rubber mallet. Once I got all the way around I tried to pry it but could barely get it separated more than 1/8". So I set it on its side and used the screwdriver as a chisel (sort of) and hammered it to separate the steel. I made enough of an opening in the side to take out one 20-rd box at a time (this was 7.92x57 though) and I made sure that I didn't accidentally drive the hammer into the primer cap of a round, too. There are more effective ways, but lacking anything but a screwdriver and mallet, it'll work.

I use an air chisel with a V shaped bit to cut them open. Quick and easy.


NCsmitty

DON"T cut it open with a oxygen acetylene rig.

had the same problem, and like others here I just used a hammer and screwdriver to open the can enough to remove the ammo. once emptied of ammo I used my jigsaw to make a nice clean cut to the top of the can. It now sits on my reloading bench as a mini trash can for used primers and such.

Learn from the Commies, waste nothing.

I would love to see the bunker in Russia all those spam cans came from. I bet those things were stacked 100 feet high.

Well then you should see my basement!

I would love to see the bunker in Russia all those spam cans came from. I bet those things were stacked 100 feet high.

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they're only stacked about 80 ft high these days.
seriously, I do wonder how much of the "supply" we've actually imported into the country. My guess is that there is much, much more still sitting in bunkers still. We may have only seen the tip of the iceberg.
We can hope.

offthepaper said:

they're only stacked about 80 ft high these days.
seriously, I do wonder how much of the "supply" we've actually imported into the country. My guess is that there is much, much more still sitting in bunkers still. We may have only seen the tip of the iceberg.
We can hope.

Click to expand...

I dunno... I thought the same thing about all of that surplus 8x57 that was on the market 6-ish years ago (you remember, $3 for a 70rd bandolier?), so after I shot up the few hundred rounds I bought I went to buy more, and the price had tripled or more, IF you could even find it!

Of course, we all know that Russia has always had numbers on it's side...

did the same thing with rubber mallet and flat head screwdriver. I took out one box at a time, shake the can some more so more boxes "fell" to that one lil hole. My second can came from CTD and they are nice enough to include the can opener even though they said they'll only ship one per crate. Works great.

Or an angle grinder used along the top edge may work. Just grind through the sealed edge. And though it shouldn't affect anything, I'd try to keep heat to a minimum.

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That's what I do too, even though I have the proper "can opener". If you grind the lip off nice and smooth, you can even re-use and re-seal the can.

For those of you who think the issue can opener stinks...try harder...I can get a can open in about 30 secs....

Dremel tool cut-off wheel along the inner sides of the rolled top edge works well, and you can potentially re-use the can bottom without worrying about sharp edges. I used one as a catch-can for cleaning bolts and pistol barrels, and others down in the garage for storing small oily engine bits.