Question for you guys...

[swFLbeardchaser]

Went scouting this past Saturday to a place I haven't been in a few years. A buddy of mine had deer hunted the area this past season and he had birds all over him. But Saturday they weren't there. We took a very long walk around the entire area and things just didn't look good. When we found tracks they were old. We did bump 1 bird off the roost very early, but that was it.
We then jumped back on the bikes to check out another spot, not too far away 3/4 of a mile or so, where I'd seen birds a few years back, and that paid off. Tracks on top of tracks, strut marks in the sand. Everything you look for. The problem is this sign was right in the middle of a road intersection where, come opening morning, everybody is going to be passing through.
The other issue is that I have the second hunt in this place. If I had the first one it's a no brainer, get to the check station 1st and then hit that intersection hard.
My question is what should i do? I know where the birds are now, but given their exposed location I doubt that it'll be very long before others know as well. I am tempted to go back to my first spot because i feel that once the pressure on these birds starts (this Saturday) i feel they may get pushed back towards that area which is more secluded. I only have 4 days (and since it's FL on public land that means 4 half days to get this done) and i want to focus everything i have on the right spot
Any opinions here would be greatly apprciated.

[Gobbler]

If you can squeeze in a scouting trip AM before the second hunt. Maybe you could verify if there are Gobblers in the two areas you have looked at. I had the third hunt last year at a management area. It took me going to three of the 10 spots I scouted to find birds. I wish I had gone the day before and listened.

[swFLbeardchaser]

It's possible to get 1 more scout in. And i have been thinking this may be the only way to know for sure. I may not be able to get in there during the AM hours (depends on if I get to go to opening weeekend in GA. or not), but i thought i might head up there after work one evening, after the first hunt is over, to check and see what the birds are up to. Be easier now that the days are a little longer.
Thanks.

[Turkey Talker]

what you need to do is stop worrying about sign. once those birds are shot or pressured, they will not be in those places. birds love deep secluded spots, ie through cypress, through pine. they go on main roads every now and then, and sure, you probably found fresh sign there. but your best bet is to let everyone pass you, walk in, take your time. hoot early in the morning and walk in to a gobbler. now then, if you do see fresh sign or know where birds are moving, then by all means set up in spots you think they will go, the only problem with this tactic of "not knowing and taking a gamble" is that you dont know what happened to those birds yesterday or that morning. someone could have killed a tom next to the hens or other toms...this will shock them and their patterns will change, also if someone roost busts them in the morning, more than likely they will not roost there the next night. birds know when stuff doesnt sound right or look right. you may even have a gobbler near you on a roost but he wont gobble to let anyone know where he is cause he is already roosted next to 2 hens. there are so many variables that its hard to determine what you should do because of the fact that it is public land. guys mess up hunts, guys come running to gobbles even if you are in there with the roosted bird at 6 in the morning. public land means FREEFoRALL! guys dont care about YOU getting a bird cause THEY just drove 1200 miles to Florida to get an osceola!
anyways, your best bet is to possibly get in there around 7pm and listen for them gobblers when they roost. (if you have that option)
If not, then the run hoot gobble shoot method will be your best bet.
Also listen for hens, they wont give you much to go on down here cause they really only like to cluck and purr to locate other birds and use slow cadence "soft" yelps around gobblers. hell half of them barely do the "flydown" cackle!
so call softley but also remember that when dealing with daytime locating "owl hooters and crow calls are garbage!" they work 15% of the time. its easier to cluck/purr/soft yelp while you walk slowly. You never know when that little prick bird will gobble back at you.
If you hear hens cutting, then you cutt! follow the leader and you will bag a tom down here.
and also, stay away from other hunters. birds do this, so should you. if some guy is making so god awful noises, 80% of the time, those birds will go in the opposite direction. finding open ground where you can call without a soul around will be true gold for you.
Good Luck out there and BE SAFE!

TT

[swFLbeardchaser]

Well guys i appreciate the advice. I actually did get to go out yesterday evening. Got there at 5:00pm, changed and got on the bike. Saw 5 birds (at distance in a couple different locations) while riding in. Funny part. I found strut mark on the ground over tire tracks from where someone had parked durning the first hunt. In that same spot I found fresh scratching. And that was in the first spot i scouted a couple weeks back where there was no fresh sign.
I then headed for the intersection where i had seen all the fresh sign. Bumped 2 birds (hens) off a little green field as i rode around the corner of the intersection. I parked the bike and went back to a spot i was thinking about setting up Monday morning. About 6:15 heard a gobble, then a little while later another. Back around where i came from. So i moved back over there and sat under a tree on the edge of a field next to a cypress swamp. About 7:00 he gobbles again 3 more times. And close too. Around 100 yards. 7:20ish i hear wing beats. I sat until 7:30 after hearing the gobbler gobble 2 more times on the roost, and then walked back to the bike and headed out. I never saw him, and i never heard or saw any hens heading into the swamp to roost with the old boy. Maybe they were just being quiet, but i was sure thinking he sounded lonely. Too bad i can't hunt until Monday (that's the first day of the permit).
I did hear 2 more gobblers way off in the distance in another block of woods between 7:00 and 7:30. And had 2 bucks (1 had 4 nice points on 1 side and had broken off his antlers above the brow tine on the other side, the other was a heavy and wide rack 6 point) darn near walk right over the top of me. thye got to about 10 yards before they realized i was there.
So i have options... which isn't a bad thing. I think I'll try that lonely bird first. He's not all that far off the road, but it's just too good not to try.

[Turkey Talker]

you should do well on that property! green swamp west holds alot of birds.