Opening A Russian (or other Communist Bloc) 'Spam' Ammo Can Without The Can Opener

Have you ever bought Russian, or other Com-Bloc, military surplus ammo, such as 7.62x54R, that comes in the so called spam can, then found yourself without the specialty can opener made for the job of opening those cans? If you have, then you know those cans can be darned difficult to open and you may also have learned that there are plenty of ways not to open them. Prying them open with the wrong tool, in the wrong way, can result in damage to the ammo. Worse yet, you could get cut in the process.

I just ordered 440 rounds of this ammo sealed in a spam can. It will not be coming with the opener so, tonight, I looked around online for one for sale. I am not about to pay the $15.00 plus shipping at which I found one available. Not satisfied with doing that, continued my search and wound up on YouTube where I found a very informative video that was posted there by Oldcarjunkie. The video shows, what I think is, a pretty good looking way to open these cans with a hammer and screwdriver when you don't have the proper can opener. About the only things I might do differently would be to wear work gloves while doing it, especially when pulling the lid off of the can. I also suggest being very careful when taking out the packets of ammo because the cut edges of the can are sure to be pointy or sharp in places. Of course, I'd also be careful not to hit my foot with the hammer. Safety glasses are also a good idea.

Here is the video, enjoy and please leave a nice comment at YouTube for Oldcarjunkie cheeverracing89, whose video replaces that of oldcarjunkie who seems to have closed his YouTube account:


Simple, but apparently effective.

All the best,
Glenn B