This was back in 1995 on the last morning of a hunt in northwest Alabama. The only bird I was hearing was across the Sipsey River. There was a wide and steep valley between us, and since my time was limited, there was no way I could plot a course to him. I had already taken a gobbler earlier in the hunt, so I decided to just sit and call, and enjoy hearing him gobble. He gobbled to every call on this sunny, quiet morning. Then, there was silence. All of a sudden, I heard a thump just below my position, and up pops a longboard. I was so unprepared I blew the shot completely. He flew back across the 400 yard wide valley.
