Poor hit rate

[+Merlin-K]

I seem to have a fairly poor hit rate - so far found 32 but failed to find 10 - of around 75% success. At least this feels fairly poor. Maybe you can tell me that this isn't so bad for a relative newbie (although registered for a long time I haven't attempted that many cahces, just picking up the activity recently).

 

Any hints, how did you improve your find rate etc.

 

Thanks.

[+Chokecherry]

Some people are better at looking for one type of cache over another. And some caches are hid with a higher difficulty rating for finding them.

 

Just keep working on them. I've had multiple trips and many hours involved to find at least one of the caches I've looked for.

[+FreeBird65]

I'd say don't depend on what the GPS says. Get in the general area and start looking. Use a flashlight even when you think you can see everything. Find an experienced cacher in the area and ask if you can tag along on a run.

 

When I get stumped on a cache, I make my 9 year old go with me - he is usually good at thinking outside the box and finding something that was difficult for me. I'd consider renting him if you are interested.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

75% isn't bad -- it's not really good, either!

 

Sure, you have been around geocaching for quite a while, but you just haven't been practicing.

About the only thing that makes a person good at anything (this won't really be any news to you), is practice, practice, practice.

 

Think about playing a piano -- at what point is it that you actually become good at it? What about soccer? What about an auto racing pit crew? You get the point, I think.

 

Besides, compiling a good hit/miss ratio really isn't the point, is it? It's more the adventure or challenge. If you get them all, it's sort of like going fishing and always catching them all, never getting skunked.

It may be nice to get them all, but that wears thin. Soon, you would lose all interest.

 

Good luck!

 

EDIT: speeling, D'oH!

Edited May 18, 2010 by Gitchee-Gummee

[hoosier guy]

Just keep at it Bro!

[+briansnat]

I'm no newbie and your hit rate is about the same as mine.

[+ngrrfan]

And not everything is below eye level. Raise your expectations and sight line a bit. "Practice" finding by looking for 1-1.5/1.5-2 rated caches. Skip the micros for a while and only look for small or regular sized ones. Just hang in there, you'll get the hang of it.

[+StarBrand]

I fail to find about 1 in 6 I look for after 8+ years - so your not too far off that.

 

Here are some general hints:

 

Look for caches with a difficulty of 2 or less for your fist few caches. Stick with regular sized caches for your first few. Micros can be quite hard to find sometimes. Stick to areas you are familiar with. Look for anything out of place or unusual. Look for unusual piles of sticks, grass, leaves, rocks, sand, etc. Feel where you cannot look. Think vertical, not all caches are on the ground. Look up or at eye level. Look for traces of previous searches to zero in on the spot. Think like the hider - where would you put a container in this location? Look for things too new, too old, too perfect, not like the others, too many, too few. Change your perspective - a shift in lighting can sometimes reveal a cache. Keep in mind that many micros are magnetic or attached to something (via string, wire etc). Slowly expand your search area to about 40 feet from where your GPS says ground zero is. Bring garden gloves and a flashlight - they help! Be prepared to not find the cache more often then you think.

 

Most of all - have fun!!

[+Merlin-K]

Well I feel slightly less disheartened now.

 

Some of it is learning what can or can't be suitable. And I do try looking above the ground. I haven't yet worked out if it can just be in some vegetation above the ground, I knid of feel that wouldn't work during the winter but wonder if I am missing some there.

 

I think I am sometimes not aggressve enough in my search. One I missed recently but then found later after an email with the owner was in a tree trunk, I didn't move enough material the first time because I felt I was breaking the tree. It's important to respect the environment.

 

Once more unto the breach dear friends ..........

[+Geovius]

One good idea might be that you contact other cacher in your area (more experienced) and go find something together. You will do the work and other cacher gives you some hints during the hunt. Generally speaking I can assure that most fellow cachers are eager to help you if you just ask.

Edited May 21, 2010 by Geovius

[jholly]

You know some days I go out and I have a hard time finding my left foot, let alone a cache. Some days I find them all, some times I can't find a few. It happens.

[+9Key]

8+ years caching, 3864 finds, 629 DNFs. Happens to us all!

[+d+n.s]

I'd say don't depend on what the GPS says. Get in the general area and start looking. Use a flashlight even when you think you can see everything. Find an experienced cacher in the area and ask if you can tag along on a run.

 

When I get stumped on a cache, I make my 9 year old go with me - he is usually good at thinking outside the box and finding something that was difficult for me. I'd consider renting him if you are interested.

This is true. I know we have found that whoever is holding the GPS is rarely the one who finds the cache

 

and I totally hear you on the "breaking the tree" thing

There have been some caches I have missed due to supposing I wouldn't have to trample someone's greenery or because I assumed a spider would bite me if I dug around in a hole.

We've started bringing a glove which has helped us a little, but some caches seem to push the guidlines and seem worth missing IMO.

Edited May 22, 2010 by d+n.shults

[+ADTCacheur]

My stats:

 

Found 17

DNF'd 4

Found, but was 30' up in a tree so I didn't get it 1

[+Zwack_&_Irish_Eyes]

My stats:

 

Found 17

DNF'd 4

Found, but was 30' up in a tree so I didn't get it 1

 

Mine so far...

 

Found 24

 

Didn't find 4

 

I am certain that at least two of the DNFs are no longer there... Nobody has logged any of them as being found since, and one of those has been logged as not being there by someone who had previously found it.

 

I'm working on some puzzle caches at the moment... I've completed the puzzles on two, one is a DNF, the second I haven't tried yet. The third puzzle has me completely stumped.

 

I can always go and try for a 1/1 to remind myself that it's not that bad...

 

Hardest I've found so far is only a 2 but the hardest terrain was a 3.5

 

Z.

 

Z.

[+geodarts]

As a candidate for the worst cacher in my area, I have had a lot of experience with this type of thing. There are certain types of caches that I seem to have a hard time spotting. Hanging bisons. Caches in piles of rocks. Ivy hides. Juniper hides I might pass up on sheer principle. So start with larger caches, or the type of caches that you most enjoy.

 

Go to a caching event, meet other cachers, and go out on a group effort. You can learn about many of the types of hides just by being part of a group that is searching. And you can develop a support network.

 

Look for things that might be just out of place or that have tell tale signs of caching. Check the usual spots first -- the fence cap, the lamp post, the pile of rocks, a pine cone hanging in an oak tree, loose screws, fake rocks. Follow the geo trails. Think about where you might hide a cache (this rarely does me any good, since I would never hide a cache in most of the places I am looking, so don't take it too literally).

 

After a DNF or two, take a short break or get a couple of easy ones for confidence boosting. If you find you are not having fun at a particular cache, stop looking and do not worry about it. Life is too short as it is.

 

Look at past logs if you have that ability. When was the last time it was found. Has there been a string of DNF's, NM logs, and logs by past finders telling the owner that the cache is not there. That happens a lot and can save quite a bit of aggravation.

 

Get a different angle. Sometimes you need to go around to the back of the bush to see what is hanging from the front.

 

If you can't find it and the hint says that there is no hint, move on without a second thought.

 

If the cache description does not state a cache size, its probably a nano.

 

Some of the dnfs I have had were because I made incorrect assumptions about the cache and focused my attention accordingly. Assume nothing that you do not know.

 

Sometimes the caching spirits are not with me and I realize I just have to do something else and try it again later. Sometimes you can be on a roll. Its just the way life works.

Edited May 23, 2010 by Erickson

[+Chokecherry]

I had a high DNF rate today. Came to some conclusions which I know contributed to the rate. One is that I was going after caches that were in theory in a range that my mom with mobility issues should be able to get to. Some of those were not rated appropriately (I was going after 1 and 1.5 terrain caches).

 

Two for some of this trip we were caching around a community. I discovered that it's interesting to find stuff hidden right under people's noses. However, after a few it was not keeping my attention like caching while out hiking in more rural areas does. Less attention span meant much less work towards finding caches.

[GOF and Bacall]

> Poor hit rate, Any advice for a farily incometant geocacher

 

Spell check? I'm just say'n.

[DannyCaffeine]

Its about the HUNT not the FIND. If you relax instead of tense up it helps alot, sometimes people I cache with tense up and rush me. I just chill out and have fun searching.

 

Also look for unnaturals objects and disturbed places. These are good hints. Know what kind of urban hides are done for micros (fence ends, LPC's, key hiders ect)

[+Chrysalides]

Any hints, how did you improve your find rate etc.

If you're as blind as I am, I only have one advice - get used to it

 

The ones that scare me the most are the 1/1 where someone with 5 finds logs "Easy find!".

[jholly]

The ones that scare me the most are the 1/1 where someone with 5 finds logs "Easy find!".

 

Oh boy, been there, done that, got a couple T-shirts.

[+Pandora’s Box]

My partner & I went for our first cache with some friends today (who had a couple of kids and had no idea what it was all about). We had a go some years ago, but after spending HOURS trying to find a couple, which we didn't find, we lapsed and didn't get back into it.

 

Today's was great fun. The title of the cache, plus the clue helped enormously. Everyone nearly gave up, but I was determined to find it, as we were at GZ according to 2 GPS's, so I just persevered and kept thinking about the clue. And bingo! It came to me in a flash. Very well done to who thought of it, I must say. I will be following their caches in future ...

 

Due to my lack of experience, I will be sticking to easy ones, in reasonable sized containers, until I get more experience.

 

When I read the original post in this thread, and saw the amount found, I thought "hooly dooly!" To me that's a really good rate! So I for one, think you're doing great!

[+Running Crazy]

Keep at it you'll get better. You learn from each cache and will be able to apply to the next.

[chephy]

It's not so bad. Remember that some of the caches that you did not find have quite possibly been muggled and are not there anymore. That is especially likely if you are caching primarily in urban areas.

 

Also, don't compare your DNF rate to other cachers'. Many people don't always log a DNF (especially if they feel they did not put all that much effort into a search or if they keep coming back multiple times).

 

Then you might just want to avoid some types of caches entirely. For example, I love creative little micros, but hate the types that require no thought, only tedious, numbing sifting through a ton of equally likely possiblilities (e.g. a lot of thick bushes or a huge metal bridge), akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. Unfortunately, there is a hider right in my area who loves to place *exactly* this type of cache, and I do look for them anyway because I am somewhat of a radius-clearer (want to find ALL caches within a certain distance to home). But there is nothing that says YOU should be as silly as I. :-)

[+geodarts]

Its about the HUNT not the FIND.

 

We all enjoy different things. The hunt is not what I enjoy most about caching. But I do like finds.

[+FancoverFive]

 

Some of it is learning what can or can't be suitable. And I do try looking above the ground. I haven't yet worked out if it can just be in some vegetation above the ground, I knid of feel that wouldn't work during the winter but wonder if I am missing some there.

 

I found a micro cache while on holiday in Canada that was hooked on to a rather thick branch, and camoflagued in green/brown colours. It was a right pain to find, I can tell you! Remember that some cachers can get very creative with their hides and it may be best to read the previous logs on the cache before attempting to find it.

[+DarkZen]

I know we have found that whoever is holding the GPS is rarely the one who finds the cache

Same here. Trust your instincts once you get to GZ. You have know way of knowing how accurate the CO coords are.