Securing hardware stash in the wild

This is not about the ethic of if one should or should not stash hardware.
Having had opportunistic hunters steal good amounts of hardware from a lovely crag I and other lovely souls have been putting work into I wanted to come up with a solution that would at least make it troublesome to get the goods and also something that is water tight for obvious reasons.

Enter the harbor freight .50cal ammo box. They make little kits that make it so you can add a pad lock to them and I got inspired to DIY it.
The boxes come on sale for 10 bucks pretty regularly.
It will hold my small dammer hammer, 12v Milwaukee, 1-2 batteries, brush(es), and all the hardware I need for handful of routes.
Now I can lock it, and chain it around something or to something, and someone is going to have to actually try hard-ish to get the goods...or at least come prepared.

I think it looks pretty sweet.

rubber washer keeps it water tight.

The hanger because it's cool.... and functional for a lock to attach too.

Just the drill in there but fits much more as described above. This was the first iteration where I used a large bolt instead of a hanger, and works swimmingly as well, but the cool factor was way lower...lulz.

I am curious what you other boltin' fools out here do.... or have thoughts on my endeavor. Even better, maybe this offers a solution for some of ya.
Cheers!

I stash my buckets under boulders or bushes out of sight. Most people aren’t going too far off the beaten path

generally camouflage and a good hiding spot are top of the list.  locks and chains are pretty useless these days.  they work for that chance encounter, but if someone want's something badly enough they'll bring a grinder and/or bolt cutter next time...

the ammo boxes are excellent, but still subject to condensation, temperature differences, etc.  that becomes a factor with long-term stashes, time frames where you're stashing through several seasons or even years.  other downsides are size and weight, which matter when you're way off the beaten path.

stashing is an interesting topic, part skill, part art, and ultimately part luck ;-)

Stealin' pigs'll find it. . .

I've used cheap drybags (ideally with straps) like this :

But I've also had a stash stolen and it's the worst :( I definitely was getting a little lazy with my hiding spots... 

Out of sight, well off the beaten path, burried in sticks and leaves.... but there's always the chance someone finds it, and then they're probably taking it.  

To address much of which has been said above in no particular order.

Condensation
I could see this being a problematic if left for long periods of time with things that would get affected. Only thing that would get left for extended periods would be the stainless hardware itself and some brushes. not worried about those items. But a good note anyhow. A drill or battery left all winter or something might not fare super well.

Camo
Always. under rocks, in hollow trees, cover with sticks etc are all in the playbook already. If it not secure at all it can literally walk away despite best efforts in this catagory. to Jims point, easy to stash is usually easy to find. This plays into the luck of your stash as well sometimes. But there's a reason I have gotten to point of making a bolters deposit box, cause humans suck, and making things even marginally harder to get throws a lot of people off. Humans be lazy.

Finders Keepers
Yes, if folks find things that are easy to take, usually get taken.
In the case of a metal lockable box, they have to come prepared, which mitigates the potential losses. To what degree? IDK, but it's better than just a stash that isn't solidly attached to something. Many of the areas I'm stashing things are not places anyone but climbers would be, so it would take a special kind of climber to want to take it, and I dont know many climbers who carry bolt cutters or an angle grinder regularly when going to climb. So at least they would have to pre meditate the theft more than likely and this just makes it more of a PITA, especially for the "out there" crags Im stashing shit sometimes.
"A lock only keeps an honest man honest" is a phrase I heard years ago about bike locks...basically a lock keeps those with some moral inside them to exercise it, and this who don't have the moral wouldn't care anyway and are gonna get your shit if they want it. Kinda like those signs that say you're on camera....even if there is no camera.

Off the beaten path
indeed this helps tremendously and honestly combined with camo is usually a good enough tactic to employ. Especially in areas that are not "public" yet. When a crag becomes active, fools be wanderin' to go shit or something, our out just exploring, find things. I think of myself and finding random geocaches that were quite well hidden and way off any path. 

Dry Bags
One word. Rodents. Where I'm at in the Sierra, they will fuck up most synthetic bags for nesting material or for the forbidden plastic snackies. I don't like a stash that can just become trash. That being said they do work well if thats not an issue where you're at.

Thanks for engaging with my little side piece here.
Any more tactics out there? Ways to improve on secure(ish) stashing?

Bike lock the ammo can to a 1/4 button head? Definitely put those dehumidifier packs in there if you’re leaving for drill. Maybe laminate and tape a little blurb about the purpose of the stash?

Jabroni McChuffersonwrote:

Bike lock the ammo can to a 1/4 button head?

Yeah, this is what I do, either chain it to a bolt, or wrap th chain around something. Ive thought about having the bolt come through the bottom and securing it on the inside so its fixed in place.... 

Definitely put those dehumidifier packs in there if you’re leaving for drill.

This is a great tip for sure! So simple....

 Maybe laminate and tape a little blurb about the purpose of the stash?

I just write on the the thing in paint pen or permanent marker saying basically that its not trash, was meant to left behind, My name and phone #,  and please to call the number if you have any issues with it / questions / complaints.