Decoys

[+piscatore]

Of course "Ethical" is a term I've yet to see in these forums, but what about placing decoy hides around a chache area. UPOS, UPOR, something white far down a hole in a stump. The idea would be to lead people away from the actual hide by giving them too many places to look.

[+BillsBayou]

So long as the coordinates are correct, you're free to make the hide spot as misleading as you want.

[+nfa]

I agree with BillsBayou...as long as the coords are good, decoys are fair game. I have a cache that does not have decoys as such, but has multiple containers, all with logbooks and trade items, within 10 feet of the given coordinates. Finders do not know that they are finding one of many containers, but I know which one they have found from their online log.

 

jamie

[Not So Lost Puppies]

There is a Multi/puzzle near us:

Ice Age Millionare 1/3

Done in the form of 'who wants to be a millionare' each stage is multiple choice with a set of coordinates for each answer, there are caches hidden at ALL the answers, the wrong answers are done up with things like 'poll the audience' or '50/50' etc. They are all similar in size to the correct containers.

 

I say that as long as you put a note in the decoys telling someone that it isn't the one and to try again it would be fine.

[Not So Lost Puppies]

I agree with BillsBayou...as long as the coords are good, decoys are fair game. I have a cache that does not have decoys as such, but has multiple containers, all with logbooks and trade items, within 10 feet of the given coordinates. Finders do not know that they are finding one of many containers, but I know which one they have found from their online log.

 

jamie

 

I'll bet that would throw off some TB/coin hunters

[+donbadabon]

We have a cacher in our area that will hide notes at the cache site.

If you are looking for a cache under a rock, you may pick one up and find the words "Nope, not here" written on it.

[+budd-rdc]

It depends on the alleged intent of the decoys.

 

So far, all the decoys I've found had notes inside telling the cacher it's a decoy, "so keep looking." Not sure if that's considered unethical, but for me, that's OK.

 

I don't know of any caches that are meant to maliciously deceive people into logging their finds, so the owner can dispute it and delete it. I doubt those will remain listed for long. THAT would be "unethical" if you want an example.

[+reveritt]

I have seen decoys used a few times. Don't expect them to survive long--a frustrated cacher may not bother to rebuild your UPOR. It's a great way to bedevil the local FTF mafia, however! Make 'em work for it!

[+piscatore]

I like the idea of a note. Something like " This is not a cache, please re-hide this note".

Maybe there's even a way to play "Warmer and Colder" with the notes.

[+Renegade Knight]

...Maybe there's even a way to play "Warmer and Colder" with the notes.

 

That would be a nice variation of the decoy game.

[+fox-and-the-hound]

We both have a great laugh when it happens to us and enjoy another laugh when we read the logs after we've done it to others! It's no different than hiding a camo cache that looks just like it's surroundings. Rock in a pile of rocks, etc.

[+The Leprechauns]

...Maybe there's even a way to play "Warmer and Colder" with the notes.

 

That would be a nice variation of the decoy game.

I tried that once after many finders were having difficulty with one of my caches. The decoys were hidden where the finders had reported searching, and gave a nudge towards the right place to look. But then I got complaints that the nudge was too cryptic. Those complainers would likely say that I was "unethical" although I disagree with that. I was trying to be helpful and also have a little fun. One person even signed the hint sheet in the decoy! Eventually I wound up removing the three decoys and returning the cache to how it was originally designed. It's worked OK since then.

[+CYBret]

They're getting more prevalent around here lately. Honestly (IMHO) in the beginning they were cute....now they're on the verge of annoying.

 

That happens when the unexpected becomes expected.

 

Bret

[+sept1c_tank]

This gives me an idea. What if the decoy is actually the cache?

New, they're a bit expensive, but a used one well hidden and tethered in a marsh might make a ducky container!

 

[+piscatore]

This gives me an idea. What if the decoy is actually the cache?

New, they're a bit expensive, but a used one well hidden and tethered in a marsh might make a ducky container!

 

 

You wouldn't want to look for that one during duck hunting season.

[+ParrotRobAndCeCe]

Silly me. To think all this time I thought the idea behind hiding a cache was so people COULD find it!

[+wimseyguy]

Let's not confuse using decoys as a cache (which I have seen here and elsewhere) with teasers as they are called in these parts. Teasers can be both fun and frustrating, it's really up to you (and the frequency in which they are used ) I'd much rather find a teaser in the field than decrypt the hint only to read "nope no hint for you". That habit is just plain mean and stupid IMHO.

Decoys make fine cache containers, and they do not all have to be in the water either.

[+piscatore]

Silly me. To think all this time I thought the idea behind hiding a cache was so people COULD find it!

 

I thought the idea of hiding a cache was to callenge people to find it. I'm talking about increasing the challenge.

[+Team Neos]

You know the advice that we give new cachers about looking for an "unnatural or unusual pile of sticks in the woods"?

 

I found one, no!-- two, no!--make that ten or so unusual brush piles around the bases of trees near a cache! I laughed myself silly (after I found the right unnatural pile, that is). Ethical? Sure. Funny, too.

[+briansnat]

I don't think decoys are unethical. Now digging pits near the cache, filling them with punji sticks and covering them up with camoflage, that would be unethical.

[+Snoogans]

I used several different decoys on my cache: Before You Can Torment, You Must Learn to Annoy.

[+wesleykey]

I don't see a problem with decoys, just make sure you have identified them. I have found items before, signed them and claimed a "find" only to find out later that the item that I and others had signed was actually a decoy.

[+Corp Of Discovery]

This gives me an idea. What if the decoy is actually the cache?

New, they're a bit expensive, but a used one well hidden and tethered in a marsh might make a ducky container!

 

 

There was a temp cache exactly like that at our 2003 annual picnic.

[+Pablo Mac]

...digging pits near the cache, filling them with punji sticks and covering them up with camoflage, that would be unethical.

 

You're right...I suddenly have some major cache modification duties to get busy with...

[+reveritt]

I don't think decoys are unethical. Now digging pits near the cache, filling them with punji sticks and covering them up with camoflage, that would be unethical.

Well, there goes that idea!

[bogleman]

I had a cache that used a decoy(s) but it was far too much trouble maintaining the way it was set up. I did get many good laughs out of it but in the long run it was not worth the effort. If you are going to use them just make sure they are durable

[+Strider - King of Gondor]

We have a cacher in our area that will hide notes at the cache site.

If you are looking for a cache under a rock, you may pick one up and find the words "Nope, not here" written on it.

 

That would be really cute...might have to try

[+TotemLake]

I like the idea of a note. Something like " This is not a cache, please re-hide this note".

Maybe there's even a way to play "Warmer and Colder" with the notes.

 

Cool idea.

[+rnlorna]

There is one near us called Hogan's Cache, I believe. There are red herrings around and you are warned they are there. I found one, and there was a note inside saying, "Nope, keep looking." When we did find the real one, it was pretty clever.

[+Mastifflover]

I've found a couple that had decoys and it was kind of fun. I would have to agree though that if it got to be common it would just be a pain.

[+Ladybug Kids]

I think decoys can add an element of fun to the hunt. At one Anchorage cache, I was certain I had found the microcache cigar tube. I opened the tube and found a note which read "close, but no cigar!" I cussed the cache hider, ran to the airport, logged a DNF and returned next trip to find the real cache. In Tucson, I worked on a multicache which featured rocks painted gold on the bottom with the words "not here...keep looking!" At least I knew I was in the right area in both instances. In Edmonton, I found a cache that was surrounded by UPSs which kept me busy for awhile, especially since the cache page requested that all decoys be reset. What fun in the rapidly falling dusk!

Edited February 23, 2006 by Ladybug Kids

[+cudlecub]

This gives me an idea. What if the decoy is actually the cache?

New, they're a bit expensive, but a used one well hidden and tethered in a marsh might make a ducky container!

 

 

Imagine what Dick Cheney would do for a FTF.

[4wheelin_fool]

This gives me an idea. What if the decoy is actually the cache?

New, they're a bit expensive, but a used one well hidden and tethered in a marsh might make a ducky container!

 

LOL. They are not too expensive. I have a multi in which one stage is a decoy duck. The first placement was a CITO item which broke loose from the tether, to replace it I had to buy a dozen for $16 (2 diff styles!) After using a few for "lawn art" I still have 8 left. Anyone want one? Send me an e-mail(and postage)

 

In 2 other caches I have hidden hints in 35mm containers near the caches. I didnt want any DNFs, but I didnt want it to be too easy either. Everyone who has found the hints, or decoys, that I have spoken to, has said that the hints made the hunt more enjoyable.

[+edscott]

This gives me an idea. What if the decoy is actually the cache?

New, they're a bit expensive, but a used one well hidden and tethered in a marsh might make a ducky container!

 

 

There is one that I know of where the real cache appears to be a decoy. The container has a false bottom and there is a note inside that says to read the clue again. The clue is realtively cryptic so most assume as I did on trip #1, that they have found a decoy.

[+Two Geeks and a GPS]

This gives me an idea. What if the decoy is actually the cache?

New, they're a bit expensive, but a used one well hidden and tethered in a marsh might make a ducky container!

 

 

 

There is one by us that is actual stuffed blackbird on a tree limb. The cache is a lipstick tube in the birds **s.

[+VegasCacheHounds]

...Maybe there's even a way to play "Warmer and Colder" with the notes.

 

That would be a nice variation of the decoy game.

 

Yeah, but that would take a sick individual to do something like that