Tough Osceola #2....

[blackmagic]

Ok, been reading about the other posters' tough bird, and I've got a similar situation and would love some input.

I'm hunting public land and am hunting an area where a parcel of private "L's" into the public land.  Found a bird about a week ago within a couple hundred yards of private parcel.  He gobbles twice on the roost, once, maybe twice on the ground and then becomes a ghost.  When he's gobbled twice on the ground, he cut the distance between us then disappeared.  I've moved to where I thought he was roosted, but he seems to move a couple hundred yards east or west.  He seems to be roosted right on the edge of the private line.  I sat on a corner with a firebreak around it the other day hoping I'd get a glimpse, but all I've seen is a coyote.  Any thoughts?  Try to get right up on him if I can hear him on the roost and get get between him and the short distance to the private section?  Move on?  I'm now wondering if he's learned this quiet behavior due to the predators.  The private also has large fields and more open adjacent woods. 

[chcltlabz]

Have you tried to get in there in the evening and roost him?  My guess is if he's roosting right on the line, you might be SOL if he's headed for the private ground, but if you keep an eye on him, he may roost a bit further into the public land, giving you a chance to get between his roost and where he's headed.

If you can really pattern him, you might find that he roosts in different spots for different weather.  Maybe he roosts over water when its raining, again, giving you a chance to get between his roost and his strut zone, which I'd guess is the fields where he's headed.

Just a few ideas.