I had roosted a bird the night before and phoned my uncle about it. It was late in the season and he hadn' t shot a bird yet this spring so I told him I would take him there before the sun came up the next morning. And so I did and there we were, picking the " right" tree to sit under as we listened to him gobble for the first time. I quickly placed the decoy and joined my hunting partner beside the tree. We were set up on a bench that overlooked a deep valley with a pine ridge on the side we were on. There was some mix with white oaks that were let to grow large. I often find birds roosting in these areas. I pulled my slate and did a few clucks and he answered with aggression. Rick whispered over and ordered that I not call. I nodded and we listened for approximately 2 minutes. I asked him if he thought the bird had came down off the roost yet and he shook his head with a no. Just then the bird broke out with a growling gobble 40 yards away and just over the edge of the ridge from us. We quietly laughed and I gave a few more cuts to this lovesick tom. He appeared over the ridge and melted into a strut as soon as he laid eyes on my decoy. Wasting no time, the bird closed the gap and was now in range. Rick mumbled something about the bird dying and then shot. A beautiful long beard with some of the biggest spurs I’ve seen. The hunt was all in about 10 minutes. What a great time it was!